How to measure wiper blades, and why looking up your car is safer
To measure a wiper blade, lay a tape measure along the rubber from one end to the other in a straight line and round to the nearest inch. Measure the blade, not the arm, and measure the driver's, passenger's and rear blades separately because they're usually different. The catch is that you're measuring whatever is fitted now, which may not be the size your car was designed for, so check the listed size for your car before you buy.
How do you measure a wiper blade?
You don't need to take the blade off. Lift the arm away from the screen until it stays in the raised position, or use your car's wiper service position if it has one (check the handbook).
- Hook the end of a tape measure over one end of the blade.
- Run the tape straight along the rubber edge to the other end. Don't follow any curve in the blade.
- Read the length in inches and round to the nearest whole inch. If you've measured in millimetres, divide by 25.4.
- Repeat for the other front blade and the rear.
Measure the blade, not the arm and not the area the wiper sweeps. On hybrid blades the plastic cover can stick out slightly past the rubber, so measure the rubber itself.
Why shouldn't you trust the old blade?
Measuring is fine as a sense check, but it's a poor way to choose a size. There are four common traps.
The previous owner fitted the wrong size. If a car has had blades changed several times, there's no guarantee the last person picked the right ones. A blade an inch too long can hit the screen edge or the other blade; one too short leaves an unwiped strip.
The two front blades are different. On a right-hand-drive car the driver's blade is on the right. It's often longer, but not always. Two cars we've verified show why you can't guess:
- The Mini Hatch R56 has an
18"driver's blade and a longer19"passenger blade. - The Ford Focus Mk3 uses the same
28"length on both sides.
Odd sizes exist. The Vauxhall Astra J takes 27" and 25", and the Ford Fiesta Mk7 has a 15" passenger blade. If you round a worn or bent blade to the "usual" size, you'll get these wrong.
Generations and facelifts change. Two cars with the same name can take different blades. The Fiesta Mk7 uses 26", 15" and 12" blades on hook fittings, while the Fiesta Mk8 that followed it uses 28", 13" and 11" on push-button fittings. If you're not sure which you have, our guide on which generation your car is helps.
Length also isn't the only thing that matters. The blade has to clip onto your arm, and there are several fitting types. See our guide to wiper blade connector types.
What are the common wiper blade sizes in inches and mm?
UK retailers quote wiper lengths in inches, often with millimetres alongside. One inch is 25.4 mm, but packaging usually rounds to a neat figure: 24" is sold as 600 mm, 26" as 650 mm and 28" as 700 mm.
This table shows the exact conversion and how often each size appears across the UK car generations we've verified.
| Size | Exact mm | Driver's blade (294 verified) | Passenger blade (276 verified) | Rear blade (178 verified) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
10" | 254 | 23 | ||
11" | 279 | 30 | ||
12" | 305 | 45 | ||
13" | 330 | 25 | ||
16" | 406 | 69 | ||
18" | 457 | 46 | ||
19" | 483 | 38 | ||
20" | 508 | 30 | ||
22" | 559 | 31 | ||
24" | 610 | 98 | ||
26" | 660 | 108 | ||
28" | 711 | 26 |
Only the most common sizes for each position are shown. Other lengths do turn up, as the Astra J and Fiesta Mk7 show. Of the generations we've verified for a rear wiper, 16 don't have one at all.
How do you find the right wiper size without measuring?
Look it up by car. The owner's handbook sometimes lists blade lengths in its technical data or maintenance section; our guide to finding sizes in the handbook shows where to look.
On FitsMyCar, each car's wiper page lists the driver's, passenger and rear lengths plus the arm fitting, with the source we checked it against. Where sizes split by facelift or body style, the page shows both. You can start from the wipers index or all makes.
If your measurement matches the listed size, good. If it doesn't, trust the listed size and be suspicious of what's fitted, then fit the correct length.
Check your car
Here are the verified front and rear lengths for some of the cars on the site:
| Car | Driver | Passenger | Rear | Fitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta Mk7 | 26" | 15" | 12" | Hook |
| Ford Focus Mk3 | 28" | 28" | 12" | Push button |
| VW Golf Mk7 | 26" | 18" | 11" | Push button |
| Vauxhall Astra J | 27" | 25" | 12" | Push button |
| Mini Hatch R56 | 18" | 19" | 10" | Hook |
| Toyota Yaris XP130 | 28" | 12" | 12" | Hook |
Common questions
Do you measure wiper blades in inches or centimetres?
UK shops sell wiper blades by the inch, so it's easiest to measure in inches. If your tape is metric, divide the millimetre figure by 25.4 and round to the nearest whole number.
Can I fit a slightly longer wiper blade?
It's best not to. A longer blade can foul the screen edge, the trim or the other blade when they cross, and can lift at speed. Fit the size listed for your car.
Are the driver and passenger wiper blades the same size?
Usually not. The driver's blade is normally the longer one (the most common sizes in our data are 26" driver and 16" passenger), but the Mini R56 is the other way round and the Focus Mk3 uses the same length on both sides. Our guide to driver and passenger blades covers this.
How do I measure a rear wiper blade?
The same way: tip to tip along the rubber. Some rear wipers have the blade built into the arm, so the whole arm is replaced. Our rear wiper guide explains how to tell.
Checked against our verification rules. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.