I have found a lot of info on how to change windshield wiper blades on a 2006 Honda Civic, but none of the info I have found was useful. One article talked about clips on the ends of the blades, but my 2006 Civic has rubber ends. Another article talks about prying a piece off, but was not clear on what direction to pry. Other articles about windshield wiper blades on Civics use terms seemingly interchangeably, making it even more confusing. I did find one post that told me to consult my manual, which I thought I did, and that turned out to be the best advice going, go figure. I will admit though, even with reading the manual there were a couple things I did not realize about the Civic’s windshield blades. So here is what I learned in hopes to save you some time.
First of all, let’s get on the same page with terminology. While these may not be the right terms, they are the terms I am going to use for this article:
– Wiper blade: This is the thin rubber that actually touches the window and wipes the water off your windshield.
– Wiper Arm: this is the part that is connected directly to the motor that moves your windshield wipers.
– Wiper Unit: This holds the wiper blade and attaches to the wiper arm. Generally when you go to Pep Boys to buy new wipers, you get the wiper unit and the blade.
First of all, you don’t need to take off your windshield wiper unit if you don’t want to. While the 2006 Honda Civic did not have any caps at the end of the wipers, they do provide the ability to replace the wiper blade only. Your Civic manual provides great info on how to do this. Just lift up the edge to expose the back of the wiper blade and slide it right out. Of course removing the wiper unit will make replacing the wiper blade easier, but not necessary.
If you do go down the path of removing the windshield wiper unit, be sure to slide the top plastic piece out and not up. The Civic owner’s manual will tell you to squeeze the cap and slide in the opposite direction of the wiper arm. I tried this and did not have much luck. I eventually resorted to a screwdriver and it came off very easily. There is a small plastic knob that will break if you try to pry the unit straight up. Also once you have the windshield wiper unit off, do not let the wiper arm snap/fall down against the window as you will likely crack your windshield. May not be a bad idea to lay a folded towel down on your windshield to help prevent this. This plastic cap is specifically designed for this type of windshield wiper unit so if you plan to replace both the windshield wiper blade and unit, you need to find the same unit or be prepared to discard the cap. I purchased my wiper units from Costco. While they did fit, I was not able to put the cap back on and it definitely did not look as good as when the cap was on. Anyway, if you are trying to figure out how to change your windshield wiper blades on a 2006 Honda Civic, this is how I got it done. Your scenario may be different so be sure to check with your car dealer before attempting this on your own. Good Luck.
UPDATE: So I have now learned that the wiper blades that come installed on the Honda Civic are made by Bosch. If you want to search for the exact product that will fit with your model, you can check their website https://www.boschautoparts.com/auto/wiper-blades. I would recommend you go with the Icon wiper blades. At the time I looked up the blades, Bosch said that you would need the Bosch ICON 24OE wiper blade and the Bosch ICON 28OE wiper blade. These wiper blades will look like the original and will look WAY better than the wiper blades I purchased from Costco. Here are some links to