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Mazda Wiper Blade Sizes & Replacement

Every Gen 6 Mazda except two runs a 24” driver blade and an 18” passenger blade. The exceptions are the small cars: the ND MX-5 takes 18” and 19”, and the CX-3 takes 22” and 19”. Replacement is a five-minute, no-tool job; the only ways to get it wrong are buying the wrong length or the wrong connector.

Sizes by model

Section titled “Sizes by model”
ModelDriverPassengerRearArm connector
MX-5 (ND, 2016+)18”19”noneSmall J-hook (9x3)
Mazda3 (2014–2018)24”18”12” (hatch only)J-hook
Mazda6 (2014–2017)24”18”noneJ-hook
Mazda6 (2018–2021)24”18”nonePush-button (top-lock)
CX-3 (2016–2021)22”19”10”Small J-hook (9x3)
CX-5 (2013–2016)24”18”14”J-hook
CX-5 (2017–2020)24”18”14”Push-button (top-lock)
CX-9 (2016–2020)24”18”14”Push-button (top-lock)

Two traps in that table. On the ND MX-5 the passenger blade is the longer one (19” vs. 18”), the reverse of every other car here, so don’t assume the big blade goes on the driver’s side. And the 2017 CX-5 redesign swapped the familiar J-hook for a push-button top-lock arm, which the 2016+ CX-9 and the 2018 Mazda6 facelift also use; standard hook-pack blades from the parts-store aisle won’t clip on. Mid-cycle changes can shift specifics, so before ordering, confirm your exact year in a fitment lookup (any parts-store site or Rain-X’s blade finder works) rather than trusting a chart, this one included.

Beam vs. conventional: connector and length matter more

Section titled “Beam vs. conventional: connector and length matter more”

A conventional blade holds the rubber in a sprung metal bracket; a beam blade is one curved spring strip with no exposed frame. Beam blades earn their price mainly in winter, because the bracket on a conventional blade packs with ice and stops conforming to the glass. Beam blades also sit lower in the airstream, which matters at the base of the ND’s fast windshield rake. Against that: conventional and OEM-style blades take cheap rubber refills, and beam blades generally don’t.

Either type wipes a clean windshield fine. Pick by connector first, length second, and replace the rubber roughly yearly: when the blade streaks, chatters, or leaves a haze in the swept arc, the edge is done.

The swap: hook arms

Section titled “The swap: hook arms”
  1. Lift the arm off the glass until it locks upright. Lay a folded towel on the windshield first; a bare metal arm that snaps back will chip the glass.
  2. Press the release tab where the blade meets the hook and slide the blade toward the arm’s base, out of the hook.
  3. Slide the new blade in until the hook clicks over its adapter. Tug it to confirm it’s locked.
  4. Lower the arm gently. Repeat on the other side, and keep the sizes straight: driver and passenger differ on every model in the table.

Push-button arms are simpler: press the button on top of the blade’s center bridge, slide the blade off the arm pin, and press the new one on until it clicks. Blades sold for the 2017+ CX-5, CX-9, and 2018+ Mazda6 either come with the top-lock adapter fitted or include it in the multi-adapter pack; check the box.

Rear blades on the hatches and SUVs

Section titled “Rear blades on the hatches and SUVs”

The Mazda3 hatch (12”), CX-3 (10”), CX-5 (14”), and CX-9 (14”) carry a rear wiper; the sedans and the MX-5 don’t. The rear blade is a smaller plastic-bodied unit on a short arm: lift the arm, rotate the blade perpendicular, and pull it off its pivot, then push the new one on. The attachment differs from the fronts, so buy a rear-specific blade for your model rather than a third front blade. Rear blades age slower than fronts (less spray, less UV) but are usually the most neglected rubber on the car; if you can’t remember replacing it, it’s due.

Refills cost a few dollars; whole blades cost twenty

Section titled “Refills cost a few dollars; whole blades cost twenty”

Mazda’s factory blades are built to take rubber-insert refills: the rubber strip with its two metal spines slides out of the frame’s claws and a new strip slides in. Your owner’s manual documents the procedure under “Replacing Wiper Blade Rubber,” and dealers and PIAA both sell inserts by length. If the frame and arm are sound, a refill restores the wipe for a fraction of a blade’s price and keeps the factory fitment.

Buy whole blades instead when the frame is bent or corroded, when you’re switching to beams for winter, or when matched refill stock for your length is harder to find than a complete blade, which for the odd sizes (19”, 10”) it often is.

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