This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
During the first rainstorm since I bought my used Blazer, my front windshield wiper didn't work when turned on. After repeatedly turning the switch on and off, the wiper finally worked at high speed only. After a while, it worked at low speed and intermitent speed. Then while in the intermitent speed position, the wiper worked in low speed only. When switched off, the wiper didn't immediately stop. Since the rainstorm, this problem was an intermittent problem with the wiper either working correctly or malfunctioning. I removed the windshield wiper pulse control module from the wiper motor, examined the circuit board, and found eight cracked solder joints. I resoldered the defective solder joints and reinstalled the module into the wiper motor. The front windshield wiper has worked correctly since my repair. The design of the circuit board is poor. These failures occurred at stress points. Apparently no accommodation was made to mechanically secure the leads to the circuit board before the leads were soldered. Instead, solder was used to both mechanically secure the leads to the circuit board and electrically provide the electrical conductivity required. To exacerbate this situation, not enough solder was used at these joints. The previous owner told me that the front windshield wiper operated erratically, but it happened after the warranty period and the erratic operation was not so bad that he was overly concerned about it. It is a fact that cracks on defective solder joints widen when subjected to stress over a period of time. This has been an identified safety problem in General Motors' 1994 to 1997 pickups, sport utility vehicles, and vans.
While driving in inclement weather windshield wipers came on and off. Dealer was aware this was intermittent problem. Consumer drove vehicle to dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that windshield wiper motor needed to be replaced.
My windsheild wipers in the front and rear began by only failing to work when it was raining, and now the front wipers do not turn on at all. You can hear the motor turning on, but the wipers do not move.
The consumer stated that while driving it started to rain and the windshield wipers stopped working. This caused the vehicle to almost have a collision. The windshield wipers were replaced once.
- Saint Johns, MI, USA
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Windshield wipers quit working in the rain. Took to dealer, they said there had been a recall for 1997 models, and expected one for 1998 model. Did not replace wiper motor decided to wait for recall. Looking on internet, found this to be a problem with many 1998 Chevy Blazer.
On my way to work on a rainy Monday morning my windshield wipers failed..I had no choice to cut off a couple cars to get to breakdown lane..there was no accident or injuries invovled but it could have been very serious if there was due to not being able to see..I checked fuses and wiper motor connection they were fine..I called my boss told him I was going to be late..he told me about a recall on GM products and to shake the wiper arms to get them going again..they did start working again..after checking with several GM dealships they informed me that the recall was from 1994-1997 on several makes and models but my 1998 was not included even tho there were several reports that the problem still existed in 98's and above due to they changed the part # on the wiper motor..keep in mind here they changed the # not the part.."????..how can they get away with this??" I have taken today off from work at a $200 loss to replace the part myself due to I cant afford to pay dealship prices to fix this problem and will never go to someone like GM again when they wont stand by their products anyway. Thank you kenneth gough.
I have a 1998 Chevrolet Blazer, my windshield wipers will not start, or if they do start. They will stop with warning. In addition to this my air conditioner does not hold coolent.
I purchased the vehicle used. But from the day I purchased it, I had a problem with the windshield wipers! it seemed as though sometimes they will freeze halfway through the motion, and other times they wouldn't shut off. One year later - due to lack of time and funding - I have been unable to fix this problem - which has now progressed to the point in which 80% of the time my windshield wipers will fail to work! I will turn the knob - and they don't not come on! I have found that a short in terms of loose connection does not appear to be the cause of this malfunction. I have also tested this theory by turning on the wipers to max speed (of the 20% of the time my wipers work, about 3/4 of that time will the wipers only work when I have them set to maximum speed) - I have even seen several times, while driving over a completely flat surface, my wipers set to max speed, suddenly come to life again! only to stop working again later. I also attempted driving over potholes to see if the bump would jarr the chip into working - it did not work once. GM has stated that this problem is caused by the wiper pulse control modual. I searched around - and found that this wiper modual (wether it is the same one, or variations of the same unit) go back I believe to the 1980's! now that is insane worst of all - 1998 was one of the only years not recalled by GM! I have found this to be a very common problem - and find it obsurde that I must pay $130 to the dealership to have this item repaired. I would easily pay the $100 for the board if I was not a college student - who can't afford to spend $100 on something like this - and I also just find it stupid that I should be forced to pay the dealership a lot of money for something that they have been having problems with for 10+ years! thank you for reading this report - I just had to express my deepest anger with GM for watching them continue to ignore this large threat
My wife has a 1998 Chevy Blazer. She is having problem with her wipers. They have been acting up for some time and are getting more frequent. They will just stop working. Im sure you are aware of this complaint. I know there are recalls on this for certain years but, the 1998 model is not included. I have seen on line the complaints of other people with this same problem. I have even contacted GM about this. They told me because of the age and mileage on the vehicle(107,000 miles) we could not have this fixed free of charge. It seems to me this is an ongoing problem that GM does not wish to resolve. Is there anything we can do to have them fix this?
The windshield wipers will engage then go off by itself. Now it will quit working while it is engaged. The consumer has to push the wiper plug in to restart the wipers. The dealership indicated this is due to a crack in the solder joints on the controller circuit board. There's a recall on this issue 03V159000 but the VIN # is outside the remedy scope.
Windshield wipers sometimes stop on there own. Sometimes they are on intermitent and just start working like the on the normal setting. Sometimes when I shut them off they won't stop. I have called General Motors and even though there is a recall for 1997 Blazer for this problem, since my Blazer is a 1998(manufacture date 10/97) they will not help me at all.
Front windshield wipers quit working while engaged or engageing by themselves in the fastest mode. Consumer had to turn vehicle off and restart it to correct both failures. Recall 03V159000 was issued, but this vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Rafael, CA, USA