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If your wiper does not remove water as before, you may need a new one. Here is how to replace them safely and effectively, and provide expert tips.

Windshield wipers are one of the most important consumables in a car. If the wiper is broken, your visibility will be greatly reduced, which will greatly increase the risk of accidents. No one likes events. Therefore, we provide instructions and tips provided by experts on how to safely replace the wiper.

Road & Track spoke with Kevin Hines, a senior technician at McLaren Philadelphia, to learn about the correct way to replace wiper blades efficiently and safely. Hines is the only McLaren F1 technician in North America who has obtained factory certification, which means that his daily work is doing exotic things worth 20 million U.S. dollars. If anyone knows about replacing wiper blades, it is him.

Before reading further, we recommend that you consult the user manual of your car for exact instructions on how to replace the wiper blades on your car. The manufacturer’s recommendations may differ from the instructions below.

There are a large number of different wiper blades to choose from, but the first thing is of course to ensure that you have a wiper blade suitable for your brand and model car. When deciding which variant is best for your windshield, keep an eye on reputable brands and make an informed decision. If you want to eliminate guesswork, go to OEM.

If you are driving an ordinary car of a major brand, you are likely to find compatible wipers in your local auto parts or department store. If you are driving something that is not common, you may need to go online to find a suitable kit.

Most cars do not require tools to replace the windshield wiper; you only need two hands. Find the blade on the car and raise the wiper arm into the air. They are usually held in place under spring tension, giving you room to easily replace the blade. On some cars, you may need to lift the hood to reach your arms.

Now is the part you have to figure out for yourself: how to physically remove the wiper blade from your arm. There are dozens of different manufacturer designs for this connection, but most require a little fiddle and bend a little to remove the wiper. We recommend that you refer to your user manual to learn how to remove the blade from your car without damaging anything.

After removing the wiper, please be extra careful. "Every time I make a set of windshield wipers, whether on my personal truck or on a McLaren F1, I always use something to protect the windshield," Hines told us.

After the wiper blade is closed, the metal wiper arm is ready to contact the glass. If you accidentally bump into it while replacing the blade, it may slap and damage the windshield. "I never like to let my arm hang in the air without a wiper," Hines said. "Because I broke the windshield, I almost shed tears."

Our suggestion: Take a towel or two on the windshield as a barrier between the glass and the wiper arm. This way, if the arm swings down suddenly, it will hit the towel instead of your delicate windshield. The last thing you want is to turn a quick DIY job into a $300 windshield replacement.

Take the wipers you just removed and place them next to the replacement kit. Make sure that both have the same size and length and have the same connection points. After confirming that your new wipers are suitable, use the opposite method of removing old wipers to eject them. After fixing the new wipers to their respective arms, gently put the arms back on the windshield.

Get in the car, turn on the accessories, and turn on the wipers to make sure they work as expected. Make sure they do not touch any parts of the car that should not be touched, such as the fairing or windshield frame. If not, congratulations, you are done.