When it‘s freezing rain, my instincts are to pull up my windshield wipers so they don‘t get stuck to the windshield. Someone told me that this can cause the wires inside the plastic coating to break. Is this okay to do this, or should I leave them against the windshield?
Your instincts are correct. To move a frozen blade risks tearing the fine rubber edge from the blade. No wires.
the assumption of it being undesirable is that sturdy wind and freezing rain can wreak havoc on them sitting up like that. it may harm the arm that holds the blade and such. certainly I on no account had subject with it, yet I sparkling my BLADE OFF to boot. Wipe them off and get the ice off of them.
Two options, leave them up or put them down. Pros and Cons to both. If you leave them down, you risk reducing the life of the actual wiper blade itself. If you raise them up however you potentially extend the wiper blade life, but there are other potential issues to consider. The someone who told you about wires was not completely incorrect. Although there are no actual wires, the wiper arm that the blade attaches to has a spring in it. The spring applies tension which holds your wiper to the windshield. When you routinely raise your wiper arm up for extended periods of time you are stretching the spring. Should the spring become used to being stretched it will reduce the tension put on the arm and as a result your wipers ability to clean the windshield is reduced. Consider this: Wiper blade - $6. Wiper Arm Replacement for a Civic for example - $78 for the part alone. I would suggest you keep your blades down. Worst case you just heat up your car for a few minutes to defrost them if they are really stuck. Stretching the springs, although generally fine for short bursts, if left for a full day and if done frequently will more than likely affect the function.
