How do you get to the wiper arms of a Kia Sedona?

Answer 1

You will first need to remove the wiper arms, You will undoubtedly need a wiper arm removal tool. There are many different ones you can buy, note that the wiper arms are large on this vehicle and all removal tools will not work. The best one I have come across is a Lisle Battery terminal and wiper arm puller part #54150 Trust me inferior pullers will not work, not fit, and end up scratching the hell out of the arms, or not work at all. Also make sure to remove the nut first, the nut is under a plastic cap that just pops off. After the wiper arms are removed you will need to remove the cowling under the arms. The cowling is held on by pushpins under the rubber seal, they can be easily pushed up from underneath the seal. After the seal is removed there will be a couple more pushpins exposed; you will need a Phillips screwdriver to remove the center screw on these pushpins. After they are all removed the cowling will pull up easily, remove the drivers side first as it covers a portion of the passengers side cowling. Be careful not to break the plastic tab that holds the cowling in place under the windshield. After the cowling is removed you will see the wiper motor assembly; this will need to be removed from the vehicle in order to assess why the wipers aren't working. (It is recommended to disconnect the battery before working on any electrical systems) Disconnect the two plugs that plug into the motor. After that you will need to remove the motor assembly, you will do this by removing the 4 bolts that holds it to its base. When the bolts are removed you can completely remove the motor assembly from the vehicle. The reason my wipers did not work was the Nut that holds the wiping mechanism to the motor simply loosened up and fell off. This is where my curiosity got the best of me and I moved the mechanism to see how the wiping action worked. I'll tell you that was a big mistake, in doing so I reattached the mechanism back to the motor 180 degrees off causing the wipers to operate in reverse (you will never know until you put it back together). In the future I wouldn't move the mechanism just simply reattach it in a manor while moving the mechanism as little as possible. Sometimes the plastic pins that pivot can also break causing the mechanism to stop working. They are available from your local Kia dealer. Also sometimes the motors go and can be easily replaced at this point also available from your Kia dealership (hopefully if the motor isn't working you have already checked the fuse). Now you can put the motor assembly back into the vehicle, once the 4 screws are secure, plug in the two electrical plugs (keep your fingers clear of any moving parts). Have someone turn on the wiper switch. Take note of which way they turn, if they do not move in the correct direction then you will have to remove the motor assembly, disconnect the mechanism from the motor and move the mechanism approximately 180 degrees of motion then reattach the mechanism to the motor. Then reinstall the motor assembly and retest the motion. With any luck it should operate correctly at this point. Once the wiping motion works in the correct direction you can then reattach the cowling, weather seal, and the wiper arms using the reverse procedure. Be careful to put the arms in the original position. Test them to ensure they are not wiping too far or hitting the plastic cowling on the down stroke, if they do you will need to remove the wiper arms and reposition so you do not put unnecessary stress on the motor or wiping mechanism potentially causing future problems.