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.
The windshield wipers will stop, and then start back up on a slower setting. It-??s very alarming and dangerous when it-??s pouring rain to have them suddenly stop. Ford is trying to say it-??s normal but it definitely is not. There-??s a glitch somewhere in the motor.
I live on the north Oregon coast, very rainy one minute, nothing the next. Rural area, could be anything man or beast in the road. The windshield wipers stopped operating in a heavy down pour even though I had the setting for the wipers on low. Felt unsafe, almost zero visibility. The wipers did not restart on their own, had to turn the switch on and off.
This seems to be a very common and reproducible issue that Ford Motor Company has yet to address. Here is an clip from a Bronco forum that I follow, and there are literally pages and pages of owners reporting the same issue. This happened to me last night during freezing rain. It was not just an inconvenience, but extremely dangerous! Doing 65-70 on the highway with medium/light rain and the wipers on my Bronco kept changing speed and slowing substantially over time. I had to constantly switch speeds, change the setting on the stalk just to keep them going at times. It was terrifying. @Ford this is legitimately worrying and I do not feel safe taking trips or driving with this. I have seen other threads with this issue but to experience it is a totally different feeling. Anyone else experience this or have had the issue fixed? It's any setting, the continuous, the rain detecting, any one and it slows super slow over maybe 3-5 minutes almost to a crawl. This truck has never been off road or beat on. It did this over an hour highway drive and about an hour around town on one trip.
The wipers will slow down to almost a complete stop after approximately 1 minute of operation no matter what setting they are on (constant or intermittent) no matter how much rain is on the windshield on my 2023 Ford Bronco. This issue requires the driver to constantly adjust the wiper switch to keep the wipers operating to keep the windshield clear. Ford has issued a SSM on this issue for 2021-2022 Models, but does not appear to be considering this a safety problem. Text of SSM: "2021-2022 Bronco vehicles are equipped with a smart windshield wiper motor, which has the capability of sensing load of the wiper blades coming across the windshield glass. As a result of this operational characteristic/design, the operation may not be what is expected in certain conditions. The vehicle is programmed with protection features to prevent damage to the wiper motor in case of overheating, operation with dry windshields, or obstructions to the wiper blade (snow, ice, etc.). In such conditions, the wiper motor will temporarily reduce its speed and/or reduce area of cleaning until the condition is no longer present."
- Hillsdale, IN, USA
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While driving in heavy rain/snow, the windshield wipers will slow down or stop altogether until the wiper speed is changed manually. This occurs at any speed setting - intermittent, slow, fast. Very hazardous having to constantly manually vary the wiper speed to keep them operating. Ford says that this is a feature intended to protect the wiper motor from excessive load. Ford is trying to reinvent the wheel and has created an unsafe condition.
The vehicle's wiper kept slowing down to a very very slow pace no matter what setting it was on. It caused the wipers to become so low it was ineffective in the rain and required constant changing of setting to reset, but would slow again in a minute or so. I was driving in the rain at highway speed and rain buildup caused me to exit the highway and drive on slower roads and even then visibility was hard to keep due to the problem keeping rain off the windows. There were no alerts, no warnings, no signs.
Ford Bronco windshield wipers do not maintain the fastest wiper settings. Troubleshooting: I put my bronco wipers in the two highest settings indicated by an up arrow and a double up arrow. The wipers started at max speed, then dropped down to a slower speed after a few minutes, Then back down to an intermediate speed. To resolve the issue, I had to adjust the wiper speed to a lower level, then immediately back to a higher level. But this is just a temporary fix and the wiper will again slow down.
- Place windshield wiper switch to continuous (second from fastest setting) - Continuous wipers make 25 full wipes of windshield then cut back to slower setting - I have tested and repeated this more than 10 times -?"?it happens around 90% of the time the wipers are in continuous mode
The wipers will slow down or stop even during heavy rain and on a constant setting (not an intermittent setting). I have to turn the switch on and off to get them to wipe continuously which is very dangerous during torrential rains.
My windshield wipers just slow and go into intermittent all on there own when it-??s still pouring outside. No warning lights come on. Pouring down rain, I turn them on, they work fine for a few minutes then stop to a 3-5 second intermittent speed. I have to keep turning off and on to get them to work. Very scary while driving. Significant reduction in visibility. Needs to be addressed. Happens almost every time I use the wipers.
While driving in mild rain the wipers when set on low or high speed will slow down and stop then start up after a short period of time. Visibility was severely limited, want the low and high speed to be manual control, no automation. This is not safe!
While the windshield wipers are in the low setting, after about 50 seconds they automatically change to a slow intermittent setting. After they are changed on the switch to either high or intermittent and back to slow, they work for another 50 seconds and do automatically change to a slow intermittent again. This is hazardous having to pay attention to the windshield wiper switch during heavier rain.
When I have the wipers set on normal speed, they will swipe about 25 times then slow to intermittent. I then have to switch to high speed setting and back to normal to get them to stay on at steady normal speed. Repeating this over and over. This is happening during a rain. The wipers are needed and the windshield is not dry. i tried one time to leave on high speed setting for awhile, then switched to normal speed. They worked this time until I restarted the Bronco the next morning, then back dropping in speed to the intermittent setting. I have looked this up and there are several people experiencing this condition. I have also taken to dealership, which they have contacted the hotline and are being told that does not have rain sensing wipers. So not sure what to do next. But it is dangerous and if driving in a rain, having to switch the switch on and off is distracting. I am afraid that they may just completely working. I have owned this Bronco for about 4 weeks.
I was driving home today in the rain and noticed that regardless of the mode I had my wipers on, they slow down and go into a slow intermittent mode all on their own. After about 35 seconds the wipers start to slow down then after 50 seconds they stop causing a serious safety concern. I was constantly having to adjust the speed of the wipers. This can be very dangerous in poor weather and heavy traffic. There is no rain sensor in my car.
My 2023 Ford Bronco has these "Advanced" wipers that automatically stop wiping when they think the windshield is dry or think the wiper motor may be damaged. When driving in heavy rain and you put the wipers on High (or even Low), they automatically switch to Intermittent after about 1 minute. They actually stop wiping at a high speed and pause between wipes for several seconds. In order to keep the wipers going in heavy, blinding rain you have to keep switching the wipers from Low to High to keep them moving. This is a safety hazard since you honestly cannot see though the windshield during heavy rain. I have spoken to many Bronco owners and seen thread on online message boards that everyone has the same issue. After reading the Manual it appears this is a "feature" of the new Ford Bronco. This is a major safety issue and Ford should be required to fix the wiper motor on these vehicles. The issue happens on all of the model years - 2021 - 2023.
The windshield wiper controllers are seriously malfunctioning. When switched on, they work for the first minute, then the speed at which they are running changes significantly. On 1/20/23, I had the wipers on the highest setting with a heavy rain, after a few minutes, they suddenly began decreasing the frequency of when they would wipe the windshield until it eventually nearly stopped wiping all together. This is a serious safety hazard as I was unable to see and had to turn off the wipers and turn them back on to reset them. I hope this issue is handled rapidly as I have noticed many others have the same problem. I have not had the vehicle brought into the shop yet, but concerningly, I have not seen anyone confirm that the dealerships or Ford have a solution to this point.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chesterton, IN, USA