There are lots of different beam-style wiper blades that claim to offer majority market coverage for all vehicles currently in operation. 98% or better market coverage sounds really great, doesn’t it?
Here’s the problem:
There are some really popular makes, such as Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, Volkswagen, and Porsche that aren’t always covered. These vehicles are unique because they feature a top lock wiper arm, (commonly referred to as top-button) which is a slim 16mm wide compared with the standard 19mm top lock arms found on most other vehicles. If you’ve served a customer driving one of these vehicles in the past, you’ve probably had to use a special adapter to install new wipers. Of course, if you didn’t have the adapter, you probably didn’t make the sale.
The following diagram shows the difference in shape and dimensions between a standard top lock wiper arm and the slim top lock (TB16) found on the previously mentioned vehicles.
Here is a list of all the applications that utilize this problematic slim top lock wiper arm:
| MAKE | MODEL | FROM | TO |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALFA ROMEO | GUILIA | 2017 | 2018 |
| ALFA ROMEO | STELVIO | 2018 | 2018 |
| ASTON MARTIN | DB11 | 2017 | 2019 |
| ASTON MARTIN | VANTAGE | 2019 | 2019 |
| AUDI | A3 / S3 | 2014 | 2018 |
| AUDI | A4 / S4 | 2009 | 2018 |
| AUDI | A5 / S5 / RS5 | 2008 | 2018 |
| AUDI | A5/ S5 Convertible | 2010 | 2018 |
| AUDI | A6 / S6 | 2019 | 2019 |
| AUDI | A6 / S6 | 2012 | 2018 |
| AUDI | A7 / S7 / RS7 | 2012 | 2018 |
| AUDI | A8 / S8 | 2014 | 2016 |
| AUDI | ALLROAD QUATTRO | 2013 | 2018 |
| AUDI | Q 3 | 2015 | 2018 |
| AUDI | Q 5 | 2018 | 2018 |
| AUDI | Q 5 | 2010 | 2017 |
| AUDI | Q 7 | 2017 | 2019 |
| AUDI | Q 8 | 2019 | 2019 |
| AUDI | TT | 2015 | 2018 |
| BMW | X1 | 2016 | 2019 |
| MINI | CLUBMAN | 2016 | 2019 |
| PORSCHE | 911 | 2013 | 2018 |
| PORSCHE | BOXSTER 718 | 2013 | 2018 |
| PORSCHE | CAYENNE | 2019 | 2019 |
| PORSCHE | CAYMAN | 2010 | 2018 |
| PORSCHE | MACAN | 2015 | 2018 |
| PORSCHE | PANAMERA | 2017 | 2018 |
| PORSCHE | PANAMERA | 2014 | 2016 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | ATLAS | 2018 | 2019 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | BEETLE | 2012 | 2018 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | CC | 2013 | 2017 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | GOLF / GTI | 2015 | 2018 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | JETTA / GLI | 2011 | 2019 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | PASSAT | 2011 | 2019 |
| VOLKSWAGEN | TIGUAN | 2018 | 2019 |
| VOLVO | S 90 | 2017 | 2019 |
| VOLVO | V 90 | 2017 | 2018 |
| VOLVO | XC 40 | 2019 | 2019 |
| VOLVO | XC 90 | 2016 | 2019 |
As you can see, it’s a significant number of some really popular late model vehicles. But, do not worry! ECOGARD has a premium solution that every installer should be stocking.
With the all-new APEX Premium Beam Blade from ECOGARD, the necessary adapter for any vehicle with a 16mm slim top lock wiper arm is included. With this innovative new blade, installers get extra market coverage for all of the previously mentioned vehicles, which would normally require the purchase of a separate XLD-OE2 adapter.
In the video below, we demonstrate how to install the APEX Premium Beam Blade using all of the provided adapters.
If you want to know how to install the new APEX blade on a vehicle with a specific arm, please check out the rest of the ECOGARD APEX Playlist on our Youtube channel.