Scrubblade Heavy Duty Windshield Wiper Upgrade on the 5th Gen 4Runner
After putting 40K miles on a set of blades, it was time for an upgrade before heading into winter and Scrubblade was our first choice.
After Frank did a recent review on the wipers, we were eager to try a set-out.
Typically, I stay with OEM wiper blades but based on what Frank had to say, we thought we would run them for a season and see how they performed.
We decided on the Heavy Duty blades over the platinum model based on Franks’ feedback in that previous article.
Driving in Poor Weather Conditions
Good windshield wiper blades can make or break your driving experience in rainy conditions.
I was in an Uber the other night and it was pouring rain. The guy asked my lady and if I if we liked the rain? Yeah, I love the rain – I just don’t like driving in it.
If I am taking a stroll down to the store and it’s pouring rain, that’s fine. If on the other hand, I have to drive 4 hours on the freeway at night while it’s pouring rain, that’s a whole different story.
Driving on the freeway at night in the rain is not what I would call “fun”, but it does happen. We all have to push through the elements one way or another.
Being prepared for those elements, harsh conditions, and debris getting stuck on your window is key.
Whether you are taking a trip to the store or pushing through a blizzard, good windshield wiper blades are a must-have.
Introducing the Scrubblade windshield wiper blades
Scrubblade windshield wiper blades are among the top aftermarket blades available for extreme conditions that are designed to do exactly what their name implies; scrub.
The Scrubblade windshield wipers are designed to literally scrub and clean your windshield of debris.
Pictured above, you can see the textured design on the outside of the wiper blade. This is what Scrubblade refers to as their “new patented scrubbing technology” and it does seem like a great feature to have on a wiper blade.
Check Price:
5th Gen 4Runner Wiper Blade Size:
- Driver 24”
- Passenger 20”
- Rear 12”
The Heavy Duty SCRUBBLADE is superior to even the finest conventional wiper blades. It boasts a sturdy steel frame, nano graphite coated blades for a quiet, smooth wipe featuring our scrubbing design to deliver a clean wipe like no other blade on the market. Included in the package is a standard adapter for fast and easy installation covering about 80% of all vehicles. – Scrubblade.com
If you have driven for any long periods of time on the freeway, you know your windshield can get coated with dead bugs.
After hundreds of tiny bugs explode on your glass, the best you can do is hit your windshield washer fluid and hope your blades clean the mess. If you are lucky, you will have successfully debugged your glass. This is not always the case, though.
Most of the time, our factory windshield wiper blades don’t do a great job of cleaning the surface of the glass if you have bug buildup like this. Sometimes hitting your blades can make matters worse by smearing dead bug guts across the windshield.
So how do you get all those bugs off? You use Scrubblade windshield wipers of course!
Installation
The installation was incredibly simple. Just remove your old windshield wiper blades and install new ones.
We don’t need to cover this in a full step by step.
If you want to see the install, check out Franks Review and also an overview of changing out 4Runner blade refills.
For a basic overview though, unclip the factory blades and slide them out of their position. Then reinstall the new blades in a similar fashion. Very simple.
How do they Perform?
At first, the wiper blades were squeaking a little bit but after a couple of days of use, the noise stopped.
Once the squeaking stopped, the blades did push water aside as you would expect without leaving any streaks behind. The blade coverage over the glass was no different than the factory.
The performance of the blades have performed quite well in the rain so far.
I have not had the opportunity to scrub any dead bugs or bird poo off the glass but once that day comes, I will update this post.
Worst blades I have ever used…..misses 2/3rds of the windshield and the other 1/3rd it does actually touch, it leaves extreme streaks and sounds like a banshee being beaten with a concrete hose..
I live just south of Seattle. I’m thinking of getting these and if I do, I’ll let you all know how they work in a lot of rain. LOL
I probably missed something, but tried to install the rear window wiper and the Scrubblade adapters did not fit. I started to look into just ripping apart the housing to get the actual blade, as on the OEM it slides out of the housing real easy, but it quickly became clear the Scrubblade is a two piece set up that wouldn’t work well, at least my take. How did you get the rear wiper on?
thx
I am unsure on that one. We have not installed the rear blades.
Thanks Brenan, You may want to highlight that or remove the reference to the 12″ blade in the post. If people did what I did then they may assume that the 12″ blade from Scrubblade will fit the 4Runner. I saw that the 12″ rear blade size does not come up on the vehicle finder option on the web, so I’m guessing they don’t make a blade to fit the rear. Here is an option from HODEE I have heard good things about, in addition to buying from the dealership. Thanks !
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087NF8YQB/?coliid=I144OWJDZXJ8PK&colid=1JT8PKC88WUQM&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Interesting concept. I wonder how they perform in snow and icy conditions? Anyone know? I’ve been running Trico Force wipers for many years and love them. They are a beam wiper and perform extremely well year round.
I’m heading to north CO mid Feb and just installed the HD scrubblades (Minus the rear since scrubblade does not make a replacement for us so don’t waste your money on the 12″ like I did). I’ll try to remember to update this comment while I’m up there or when I get back.
Not super impressed with the performance. Seemed to hold a lot of moisture to freeze between the nibs causing more smear unless I used a LOT of wiper fluid. Had a good bit of issue on I-70 between Denver and Silverton and through Rabbit Ears pass when was coming down. Was using fluid on almost every third wipe. Full disclosure: I did NOT use the fluid tablets.
Back in south central Texas it does handle bug guts much better.
Thanks David. Your findings don’t surprise me. Like I said previously, the Trico Force are hard to beat in ALL conditions.
May go ahead and jump over to try. Just getting too much smear unless it’s raining hard
Hi all. Is it possible to take of the basket on a 2020 4Runner Pro and just put on rails? I don’t have to drop the headliner or anything like that do ?
It appears to be the same mounting points as the 2018 and below factory roof rails. You can probably sell your 2019+ factory roof rack on the forum. Lots of guys actually like the design. I am not a huge fan, personally.