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Having read through this thread I know what I'll be doing.

First I'll be reading the warranty for the 2024 myself and verify that they are still covered for the first three years, and then about a year from now (bought the 2024 three weeks ago) I'll buy a pair of the subaru ones to store in the car until needed. If I'm near a dealer when I need new blades I'll let them do them for free, but the price of the subaru blades are cheaper than what I've been paying for high end blades that I put on my other cars and probably not worth the hassle of waiting for a dealer to put them on for free.

When I read about Subaru requiring you to use their blades I expected them to be $25 -30 each, surprised that the price was actually reasonable.
 
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Sorry, but I am confused. You did need the adapter for the drivers side? And it came with the wiper blade? Thanks for the helpful post!

Yes. You need the adapter, and you need it for both sides. The standard on 2020 and later OBs is Denso Top Lock (I think 19mm). Bosch labels Bosch's adaptor as Top Lock/Denzo #6. It appears that the only Bosch line that carries the Top Lock/Denzo #6 packaged with the blade the Envision line. OP had luck with the Focus line having the #6 adapter included. My visit to multiple stores this past weekend is showing that Focus no longer carries the #6 adapter...and that Envision line is the only blade in the Bosch line that will fit on a 2020+ OB. (Note: as off 6/2023 the Focus FS26OE and FS18OE come with the #4 adapter as the largest....which was waaay too small for the OB.)

I bought only the drivers side as 1.) I really needed it right now, and 2.) I wanted known part numbers and SKU numbers in hand, in the attempts to find the passenger side for less than $35 online. It's looking like I'm stuck going back to AutoZone for the passenger side. No one online is selling that particular blade (or any Bosch blade) that will fit the GEN6 OB.

I was BS'ing with the parts guy. He did a cross reference, and without really digging into the computers, it appears that that Top Lock standard (size) is unique to late model Subarus and Mercedes-Benz.
 
If you're in Canada, Canadian Tire Reflex wipers are available for all 3 positions. My car came with new front wipers, so I have only verified the rear wiper fitment.
Image

Ivan MacKenzie.
 
Wow! What a stupidly long thread (NO offense to the people here... it's Subaru that I am growing to despise. It wipers! I've changed wipers for decades on other cars with no problems. Wasting too much time with this goofy connector.

And on the rear wiper...

Subaru's website for the 2020 Outback says it's 14".


A SUBARU dealer's website says 16 inch.


As does Trico. WTF?! I called subaru corporate - who's right - your website or dealer's. I want to buy online and install it myself. Oh we'll get back to you.

They reply a couple days later:

Thank you for contacting Subaru of America Inc. Please reach out to a Subaru retailer and they will be able to further assist you and provide the correct wiper blade size you would need.

So they don't care if their website is inaccurate?

My wife likes the car itself, but we've had to call corporate several times in these 3 years.... and I don't think it ever was a smooth resolution.
 
What is a third party wiper blade? If OEM is first party then aftermarket would be second party, or am I missing something? If aftermarket is third party, what blades are second party? Is someone at Subaru selling black market OEM blades under a different name? Busaru maybe? Or Usarub? If so, and if it can save me a buck or three, I want some.
 
@SilverOnyx yes that simplifies things : ) Measuring. But 'that's not the point'. Would you expect the manufacturer to have the correct info on their website?

@Alex_W Yeah, I've wondered that too - why are aftermarket always called third party, not 2nd party.

Goolging, there's loads of pages about 3rd party vs. oem.

A quick look and I only see 1 about 2nd party vs. oem:


related to contact lenses: 2nd party lenses would be a lens that is designed by say Nikon but licensed to be manufactured by someone else (eg Sigma), as opposed to a 3rd party lens which is designed and manufactured by someone like Sigma.

Oh, and they talk about 2nd part and third party checks!? (financial checks)...
 
@SilverOnyx yes that simplifies things : ) Measuring. But 'that's not the point'. Would you expect the manufacturer to have the correct info on their website?
I understand that a manufacturer's website should be 100% accurate but this is reality. If information has a discrepancy sometimes it's easy to figure out what's what, like measuring a wiper blade, but sometimes it's much more difficult.

If we insist on perfection we will be no doubt disappointed. To think that Subaru "doesn't care" when 99.99% of the parts are correct but for whatever reason some of them are bizarrely wrong, is a reach.

Of course Subaru wants their website to be correct. Suppose they provided a button to click "report wrong information" they will be flooded with people insisting things are wrong when they're actually right. It's not a simple task to keep millions of parts correct - it's not as if Subaru employees make the website directly - no doubt they hire a subcontractor that might even use overseas labor to do data entry.

I think we're making a mountain out of a molehill here.
 
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@SilverOnyx yes that simplifies things : ) Measuring. But 'that's not the point'. Would you expect the manufacturer to have the correct info on their website?

@Alex_W Yeah, I've wondered that too - why are aftermarket always called third party, not 2nd party.

Goolging, there's loads of pages about 3rd party vs. oem.

A quick look and I only see 1 about 2nd party vs. oem:


related to contact lenses: 2nd party lenses would be a lens that is designed by say Nikon but licensed to be manufactured by someone else (eg Sigma), as opposed to a 3rd party lens which is designed and manufactured by someone like Sigma.

Oh, and they talk about 2nd part and third party checks!? (financial checks)...
It would be helpful if you posted the link at the Subaru website where you found the incorrect information.
 
I understand that a manufacturer's website should be 100% accurate but this is reality. If information has a discrepancy sometimes it's easy to figure out what's what, like measuring a wiper blade, but sometimes it's much more difficult.

If we insist on perfection we will be no doubt disappointed. To think that Subaru "doesn't care" when 99.99% of the parts are correct but for whatever reason some of them are bizarrely wrong, is a reach.

Of course Subaru wants their website to be correct. Suppose they provided a button to click "report wrong information" they will be flooded with people insisting things are wrong when they're actually right. It's not a simple task to keep millions of parts correct - it's not as if Subaru employees make the website directly - no doubt they hire a subcontractor that might even use overseas labor to do data entry.

I think we're making a mountain out of a molehill here.
One correction, ‘we’ are not making a mountain out of a molehill’. 😎
 
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@wtumrd0 here's the links.

@SilverOnyx certain don't expect things to be 100% correct! At the same time (my psychologist says that's better to say than 'but'), when someone takes the time to point out confusion / an error, they ignore it / no interest in fixing it. THAT'S what I take issue with. And this is a common thread with Subaru. Again, the car is great. It's calls to corporate that disappoint. Consistently.


Subaru's website for the 2020 Outback says it's 14".

2020 Subaru Outback Base Glass Wiper Blade Refill. Windshield Wiper Blade Refill. 14 Wiper Blade - SOA591R614 - Genuine Subaru Part
Glass Wiper Blade Refill. Windshield Wiper Blade Refill. 14 Wiper Blade (Rear, Back). 2020 Subaru Outback Base. Genuine Subaru Part - SOA591R614 (86548XA09A, SOA591R514)
parts.subaru.com

A SUBARU dealer's website says 16 inch.

Subaru Wiper Blade Rear - SOA591R616 | Subaru Online Parts
Shop Subaru Wiper Blade Rear - PN: SOA591R616 online! Choose SubaruOnlineParts for affordable oem parts & save up to $4.36. Order Now!
www.subaruonlineparts.com
www.subaruonlineparts.com
 
From a psychological perspective, if you hold a corporation on a pedestal, it's easy to be disappointed/disillusioned and feel betrayed. The world's largest most high tech corporations do many screw-ups, so much so that one might even think it's their business model.

Intel, Microsoft, Boeing, Google, Tesla, Apple - and in the big picture, there are some kinds of screw-ups that have more impact than others. Getting the windshield refill wrong on the parts website could indeed cause someone to buy the wrong insert. I get it. But when I searched for wiper blades on Subaru's parts website that item didn't come up for me - in fact I couldn't find any wiper blades. Maybe it's my lack of skill in finding the parts, or maybe the way the website is set-up is just awful, but it it is what it is and I just find work-arounds for the realities of an imperfect world, and it's frustrating. I get it. Something that should be so simple conceptually, just in the real world somehow get missed. It just seems so bone-headed. Google's own guidance on their products are so out of date that they tell you to use options that no longer exist, things like that.

I'm not trying to defend Subaru - I too wish they were "better" and I feel the same way about almost everything. But to me it's like wishing I didn't have to watch out for pests in my garden. One simply has to deal with the limitations of whatever it is.

If that's a litmus test for you I guess you can check the parts websites of other brands and find the ones that have the correct refills listed and buy that brand of car? (tongue in cheek obviously)
 
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From a psychological perspective, if you hold a corporation on a pedestal, it's easy to be disappointed/disillusioned and feel betrayed. The world's largest most high tech corporations do many screw-ups, so much so that one might even think it's their business model.

Intel, Microsoft, Boeing, Google, Tesla, Apple - and in the big picture, there are some kinds of screw-ups that have more impact than others. Getting the windshield refill wrong on the parts website could indeed cause someone to buy the wrong insert. I get it. But when I searched for wiper blades on Subaru's parts website that item didn't come up for me - in fact I couldn't find any wiper blades. Maybe it's my lack of skill in finding the parts, or maybe the way the website is set-up is just awful, but it it is what it is and I just find work-arounds for the realities of an imperfect world, and it's frustrating. I get it. Something that should be so simple conceptually, just in the real world somehow get missed. It just seems so bone-headed. Google's own guidance on their products are so out of date that they tell you to use options that no longer exist, things like that.

I'm not trying to defend Subaru - I too wish they were "better" and I feel the same way about almost everything. But to me it's like wishing I didn't have to watch out for pests in my garden. One simply has to deal with the limitations of whatever it is.

If that's a litmus test for you I guess you can check the parts websites of other brands and find the ones that have the correct refills listed and buy that brand of car? (tongue in cheek obviously)
The key to happiness is to keep your expectations low. Not just regarding automobiles, but in all things. By expecting below average performance/behavior/durability or whatever you can be assured that you will be pleasantly surprised most of the time. High expectations, on the other hand, will more often lead to disappointment. The higher the standards, the greater the likelihood that they will not be met.

The people that one meets who profess to have "very high standards" or who "demand excellence" tend to be miserable jerks. This is the cumulative effect of perpetual disappointment.

Think about it.

As for wiper blade fitment; What kind of man does not own duct tape?
 
NAPA's exact fit works the best; it is OE equipt.
The Bosch front wipers are also OE and exact fit. The rear window is an exact fit, too.
 
@Alex_W
The key to happiness is to keep your expectations low. Not just regarding automobiles, but in all things. By expecting below average performance/behavior/durability or whatever you can be assured that you will be pleasantly surprised most of the time. High expectations, on the other hand, will more often lead to disappointment. The higher the standards, the greater the likelihood that they will not be met.
Well said and (unfortunately?) very accurate for me! I've recently come to that realization - needing to have lower expectations is the solution. At the same time, it's a) it's disappointing to come to that conclusion and b) being analytical, I wonder if / where's the line between shrugging when something disappoints and saying 'no, I'm not going to roll over on this'.

I went to supermarket to return 3 sealed bottles of gatorade just today. My son bought them. I didn't have the receipt. customer service said no, called manager. (I kept saying I was just looking for a store credit). Manager keeps saying can't take it back, it's against policy. He leaves, as I am putting them back in the bag I brought, I asked the CS person if the policy is posted. Points to the wall. It says 'without a receipt, we will give you lowest sale price in last 30 days as store credit'. That was all fine with me and different than the manager saying we can't take it back even for store credit. Wait around for manager again, he says 'huh! I learn something new'. Really? a store manager doesn't know the store policy on returns?

Just basic customer service is gone these days. Yes, there's been a pandemic, yes, hard to get good help.

Calling Subaru to point out a possible error on their website / clarification is too much to ask for?
 
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