Silblade, mfr. of 5 year guarantee silicone blades, finally has blades to fit the latest generation Avalon. I've been waiting to try these blades as other forum members like them but the company didn't make blades to fit the Avalon until now. My OEM blades are streaking badly and need replacement but the dealer wanted a lot of money for the same blade that wears out in a year and I was looking for something better. Mine are on order and will arrive today. I'll post later as to whether they were worth the dough...about 60 bucks for the set...just a little more than OEM wipers.

I can comment on the SilBlades. I have a set on my Mustang that have been on it since I bought the car some 7-years ago and they still work better than brand new rubber blades. Bought a set for my truck, bought a set for Mom's car and I also have a set on my '07 Avalon that have been on it for the past 6-months.

Are they worth it? You bet they are! If I use the example of the Mustang's wipers - $50 for a set that have lasted 7-years? Simply the better deal than to have to replace rubber blades every 6-months or so. Then factor in that the SilBlades just work better. The windshield stays clear during rain.

Now, about the Avalon... I must have been one of the early customers for the Avalon blades. I ordered and received the two sizes (24 and 26-inch?). The 26-inch came off after about 2-weeks when the part that attaches to the wiper arm broke. I contacted SilBlade about it and they said they'd send a replacement out right away. I ended up calling them three separate times over the course of about 2-months asking about the replacement. Finally I spoke with a guy there that explained that they stopped making the 26-inch model because of fit-&-finish issues. He offered to send me another 24-inch, which I accepted. That 24-inch does a good enough job but leaves just a bit more of the windshield uncleared. That's not really a problem though because of how the passenger side wiper overlaps a good portion of the driver's side.

I would recommend the SilBlades to anyone that needs to replace the OEM blades. They'll cost you more up front but will be worth it in the long run.

Thanks for the info, Tom; very informative and helps make me think I may have made the right decision with these Silblades. They arrived today and I installed them. As usual with "one-type-fits-all" wipers, the directions left a lot to be desired but I got 'em on after some minor hassles. The big one is, indeed, a 26 incher, the smaller a 20 incher. They didn't offer 26 inch on their website until recently; indeed, they didn't offer any wipers at all for the 07 Avalon until recently so you must, indeed, have gotten in early months ago and then, as you say, they pulled them off the market for awhile. Hopefully I don't have the problems you did. It's pretty dry here in Illinois this time of year so I'll have to wait awhile to try the Silblades out.

Thanks again for your comments.

Thanks for the correction on the passenger side being 20". I was at work when I posted that and couldn't verify the size.

So it seems they decided to make the 26" again. Good. While it's not a big deal for me to use the 24" on the driver's side - 26 would provide a better sweep.

Trust me - you did make the right decision. I haven't regretted it once.

Another side benefit to using the silicon blades is they leave a film of silicon on the windshield. Quite often I'll run in the rain without even turning on the wipers because the rain runs right up the windshield leaving a perfectly clear image out the windshield. You'll see...

Tom; this is a copy of a post I left in Toyota Nation. In August 08 I said I would give the Silblades some time and form an opinion; here it is:

I bought the Silblades about a year ago. FYI we had the worst winter in years here in the Midwest and I travel a lot therefore lots of winter nights in hotels with frost, ice, etc. on the windshield to deal with in the morning. We had an exceptionally rainy Spring, also, the rainiest in years, so I've had plenty of opportunity to use the wipers. The Silblades are still streakless after a year and, to my surprise, their claim that some silicone rubs into the glass seems to be accurate. (I gotta confess, it sounded like BS to me.) I've always used RainX on my windshields but find I don't have to with the Silblades because the rain beads up and runs off at speed just as it does with the RainX. Bottom Line: by now I'd have had to buy at least two sets of OEM blades. My opinion; the Silblades are FAR better than the OEM blades that came with the car and lasted only six months in good weather.

Another year; Silblades still goin'.

Another nasty midwestern Winter and a very rainy Spring and early Summer. The Silblades are still working great and I haven't used the RainX in a couple of years now. The rain beads up and runs off at highway speeds; I often don't turn the wipers on when on the freeways unless it's REALLY raining hard.

The Silblades do, indeed, chatter a bit when the rain is very light and the car speed is so low that the beads don't run up the windshield and off. But the chatter is nothing compared to what I've saved so far on wiper blades.

I wish every product I bought over the years were as good as these wiper blades.