I was on my way home during a downpour when, with no warning, the windshield wipers quit working. My visibility was immediately zero AND we were driving in Amish country, as in there may have been buggies on the road! We had to pull over and wait until the rain subsided to proceed. I had the wiper transmission replaced. I called the GM Customer Service number to complain about the issue with the high pressure fuel pump and mentioned the danger I was in when the wipers failed. The rep informed me that a special bulletin had been issued in December 2019 for the wiper transmission and emailed me the form to complete and submit for review to see if GM will reimburse me the $288 it cost to repair the faulty wiper transmission.
I am sharing this in case there are others out there who experienced an issue with their 2010 Equinox wipers failing so they know there has been not a recall, but a "special bulletin" regarding this issue. Beware!
In the rain, my wife was driving at night, heard a noise and the driver side wiper stopped working. The passenger side is still functional. Although she could still see, it is dangerous to have an obstructed view like this.
Functionality of windshield wipers is a critical safety issue. This defect could result in a fatal crash.
2. GM already acknowledged this issue as a design defect for the 2013 model. They recalled it. See below.
3. For a company that has been making vehicles for decades, it is incomprehensible how this design defect can go unfixed.
4. We have a 2010 Equinox, and as of today (end November 2018) the Equinox 2010 model year does not have a recall. It is pretty obvious it is a design defect -- the NHTSA/GM recalled it for the 2013 model.
5. If this happens to you, call the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 and make a complaint. Then call Chevrolet at 1-800-462-8782 and make a complaint. GM's customer service rep will probably tell you 'sorry, it is out of warranty'. Demand that GM fix design defects that have possible fatal consequences.
6. Shame on GM for not voluntarily extending the recall to earlier model years, when you know this critical safety issue exists. You are knowingly and/or negligently putting your customer safety at risk, including risk of death.
Details below on existing recall of 2013 models:
NHTSA Vehicle Safety Recalls
Recall Number
16V582000
Recall Date
08/04/2016
Component
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
Summary
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the ball joints in the windshield wiper module may corrode and wear over time, possibly resulting in one or both of the windshield wipers becoming inoperative.
Consequence
Inoperative windshield wipers may reduce the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
What Owners Should Do
GM will notify owners, dealers will repair the AIP-hole, inspect and, if necessary, replace the front wiper module, free of charge. The recall began on April 13, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 25302.
Same issue others have reported. I was on the toll road with family in rain storm and the windshield wipers just stopped working. Very dangerous since I was on toll road. Had to keep driving in rain with no wipers. Did not just want to sit on toll road. In my 40 plus years of driving I have never seen anything like this where the wipers just stop working. You can hear motor is fine and not a fuse. The arm from wiper transmission has come loose. I have watched You Tube on how to repair. I am currently waiting to hear back from the dealer on how much they will charge. I agree with others, should have been a recall.
OK, THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED!! YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT IT'S ME OR THE MECHANIC! THERE IS DEFINITELY A PROBLEM WITH THIS PART. ALL I DID EVERY TIME WAS TURN THE DANG WIPERS ON! GM NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF THIS!! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER CHEVY!!
I was driving on the NY Thruway with my daughter and a thunderstorm occurred. The wipers were working and then just stopped and I could not see. My daughter assisted me to the shoulder where we sat for 4 hours until the rain stopped. During those 4 hours we found online other people with the same problem which leads me to believe it is a safety hazard and there should have been a recall. When I brought it to the dealer within 5 minutes they knew it was the wiper blade transmission, which leads me to believe it is a common problem. I am the original owner and want to be reimbursed.
I was driving in the middle of the night in the rain. It was pouring so hard, as soon as I changed the speed of the wipers, they stopped working in middle of the highway while I had two more hours before reaching home. It was the worst night I experienced. This is 2nd time this happened to me. I truly believe there is a defect and a recall should be in order. Very unhappy with chevy right now.
This morning it was raining, so like any rainy day I turned my wipers on. Get to Daycare and drop my kid off, get back in the car and continue on my merry way. I get about a mile down the road and my driverside wiper goes off the windshield and froze. I turned the wipers off and cautiously guided myself to the next driveway to pull off the road. I pushed the wipers back down, got in my car, and tried the wipers again and nothing. Ugh! Seriously! Luckily I was only about 4 miles from home and my husband uses a company vehicle so I drove myself home with non-operable wipers, got in my husband's truck and got to work safely. We hope it to be an easy and cheap repair because of course our warranty just ended in July. I've never had this happen to me with other vehicles and I owned a Toyota Camry that was 14 years old with this never occurring.
This is an issues that have happened to many: in heavy rain the wipers just quit!. Very hazardous situation and could be fatal.
Part is a design flaw and should be a recall by GM, so if this has happened to you write a letter to GM at the following address: General Motors, PO Box 33170, Detroit, MI 33170-5170 with the case file# 8-2261613426. I am trying to get establish a well documented case file, so GM will issue this problem as a recall and have this design changed and/or have the availability to get reimbursed for this design issue.
On Monday, it was pouring and I left for work at the usual time - 4:15am, with wipers going. Drove 15 minutes and it started raining harder and started the faster speed for the wipers and they quit. I saw a number of other complaints about this.
Fortunately, I have mechanical breakdown insurance that was about to expire. I had to manage to get home without an accident an hour later. The dealer didn't have the parts in and had to order them. It was fixed the next day by noon. I asked the dealer if this happened often. They wouldn't say.
Driving to Topsail North Carolina from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in pouring down rain on interstate 77 doing 55 mph and my wipers made a clunking noise and just stopped working, had to make an emergency stop on the shoulder of the highway. Had to drive to nearest gas station without wipers and could not get them fixed, had to drive to Pep Boys and could not get it fixed there either because it is a dealer item and of course the dealer wasn't open on Saturday at 4 pm, thank god for Rain X. I will find out tomorrow (Monday) how much this issue will cost me.
From what I have read on this site and others, this is an issue with this vehicle GM needs to step up and handle this issue. I had a 2001 Toyota RAV 4 with 185000 miles on it and never had an issue with it. I bought this Equinox with 51000 miles on it and so far it been the biggest mistake I have made with a vehicle purchase.
Windshield wiper drive failed without warning. I believe this could be a serious safety hazard (see later). Since it's winter, had to repair ASAP. Bought a new wiper transmission assembly from local GM dealer to repair it myself. Removed wipers and fascia material and found that bracket from motor had detached from linkage (it's full off nylon bushings that push on together and use only a friction fit (with some grease to lubricate). Removed complete assembly, (3 bolts) and had to transfer old motor to new linkage assembly. Analyzed nylon bushing and found it had some moisture/rust dust within it (looks like it didn't have enough grease from initial build), but the worst thing was that all the bushings in this assembly are made of nylon.
With the stresses/forces applied to this linkage (in northern climates with ice/snow), it's a virtual guarantee that anyone who owns one of these will likely need to replace it within 5 years of purchase. At $200 Can for the linkage assembly (with no motor), this seems extreme, but having this fail on the road (saw a few other complaints of this issue) would be very unsafe. I thought back to my driving history (>40 years) and I cannot ever remember having to replace/repair a windshield wiper linkage assembly in the past. This is definitely a cheap and inferior design of this part. The linkages should be bolted together, retaining flexibility, using steel components (not nylon friction fit only). I couldn't believe the cheapness of the original fabrication. I expect the new one will fail within a few years and so I will be repairing and modifying the broken one to make it more robust.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I was on my way home during a downpour when, with no warning, the windshield wipers quit working. My visibility was immediately zero AND we were driving in Amish country, as in there may have been buggies on the road! We had to pull over and wait until the rain subsided to proceed. I had the wiper transmission replaced. I called the GM Customer Service number to complain about the issue with the high pressure fuel pump and mentioned the danger I was in when the wipers failed. The rep informed me that a special bulletin had been issued in December 2019 for the wiper transmission and emailed me the form to complete and submit for review to see if GM will reimburse me the $288 it cost to repair the faulty wiper transmission.
I am sharing this in case there are others out there who experienced an issue with their 2010 Equinox wipers failing so they know there has been not a recall, but a "special bulletin" regarding this issue. Beware!
- Theresa R., Ravenna, OH, US