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.
After parking the truck for several hours at a secure police department parking lot, on my approach to the car I used the remote start and when I entered the vehicle I immediately noticed that the rear window, behind the passenger seat was shattered. Inspection of the window I clear observed the bottom left of the window was a burnt mark on the outside. It's clear that the rear defrost when in remote start status malfunctioned and caused the window to crack. Researched on the internet, many Ford customers had the same problem
I started my truck and turned in the rear defrost. Approximately 2-3 minutes after starting the vehicle and activating the rear defrost I was on the roadway when I heard a loud sound and noticed my rear passenger side window was shattered but otherwise in tact. The window fractures covered the entire window. I inspected the damage and smelled what I believe was wires overheated/burning. The temperature outside was 9 degrees at the time. I believe the rear defrost likely malfunctioned and overheated the window too quickly causing it to shatter. At the time the damage occurred I was stopped at a red light.
Early one morning when it was around 27 degrees out I started my 2011 F-150 and let it run about 10 minutes to warm up. I used my remote start, which turns on the window defrosters. Within 3 min of leaving for work I heard a sound similar to a breaking light bulb. Once I got to work I happened to move my rear view mirror and noticed my driver side rear window ( 3 part, double pane motorized rear window with defrost) was shattered on both sides (panes) I am 1 of thousands of people who apparently have had the same issue. Ford does not cover the glass on there vehicles in any way shape or form, even on there newest models, and apparently refuses to fix or rather, replace these windows when damaged by there inappropriately adjusted defroster. I believe this is a serious safety hazard. I frequently take my nephews and 2 year old niece places in this vehicle. Placed in the back seat for obvious safety reason. Now I dont even feel safe putting them in the truck at all. What do you think a 2 year old is going to do with tiny shards of broken glass" also take a glass mug, put it into the freezer for an hour, take it out and pour hot coffee into it. What does it do" these are common sense things.
At approximately 8 in the morning on 12/2/2018 I was at a stop getting ready to make a left turn, I had the window defroster/heat on, as well as the rear window defroster. Over the last year the rear window defroster light has illuminated intermittently but the defroster has always worked. As I started to move the vehicle, I heard a loud pop and thought someone had thrown something at my truck, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. When I got to my destination less than 5 minutes and about a mile later, I got out and looked at the roof for any sign of something hitting the roof, when I noticed a steady trail of smoke coming from the rear window area, noticed that the rubber had melted and the passenger side rear window had shattered completely. I believe this is due to an electrical short in the rear window defroster circuit, I have since removed the fuse for the rear window defroster which disables my mirror heaters. I request that NHTSA investigates this further as there have been thousands of cases of this issue and it is a known issue and Ford is aware of it. It is a safety concern as it could harm a child or someone sitting in the backseat if the glass shatters and blows out of the frame as well as scaring someone causing them to react by braking, steering, etc. And possibly causing an accident. As far as I know, Ford has not issued a recall and has denied responsibility. This should be addressed and fixed free of charge on Ford's behalf based on the fact that it is a known manufacturer defect.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. While driving various speeds, a loud thumping noise was heard from the rear of the vehicle and the rear sliding windshield fractured. Jacky jones Ford Lincoln, Inc. (714 new highway 68, sweetwater, Tennessee, (423) 337-5066) was made aware of the failure, but an independent mechanic repaired the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not disclosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 157,882.
I was driving when I looked in the rearview mirror and saw smoke coming from the back window. Before I could pull off the side of the road the rear window shattered. The casing around the window had began melting and was dripping down the outside of the cab. Rear defroster was on and nothing impacted the window
Rear glass shattered due to rear defrost shorting out. Started truck after some freezing rain and turned on the rear defrost. Started to go down the road and about 10 mins later on the highway I hear what sounded like a shot gun blast. The glass had shattered but was still in place. I taped it up. I do not have the money to replace this. This is a design flaw that could cause a serious accident.
While driving at about 35mph on my road I heard what sounded like a gunshot inside the cab and then discovered that my passenger side window literally exploded. This is a known issue and seems to be related to the rear window defrost. I called my local Ford dealer and they said this is not something they will replace. I'm not alone with this issue, this is happening to many F150 owners and no one is doing anything about it!
Issue: Rear power slide window heated on the way to taking my son to school this morning I had my rear glass defrost on to help reduce the fog on the glass. About 5 minutes into our drive the panel of glass right behind his head shattered (rear window, passenger panel) with a very loud and scary boom. Upon pulling over and inspecting the glass both inside and out there was zero signs that anything had actually hit ht rear glass. It is still in the window and smooth in appearance from the outside, just cracked into a million small pieces. This is a major problem that Ford and or their glass mfg. Need to own up one. This costs us, the owners $500+ every time we have to repair this issue and eventually a child sitting in the rear is going to get glass blasted into their head. Please help us and keep out children safe!! thank you
Rear windows equipped with defroster and rear passenger side windows with slider windows shatter when the rear defrost button is used. My vehicle has the slider window and upon replacing at safelite glass they said they see this frequent on Ford trucks and that to prevent is to either not hookup defrost when window is replaced or not use the rear defrost.
About 5 minutes after turning on the rear window heater, a large bang sound was heard and the passenger side rear window panel was shattered. Outside temperature was about 34F.
It was a cold morning and I switched on the rear window heat to clear the window. About 15 minutes later, as I was driving on the highway, there was a loud bang. It sounded like a gun had been discharged inside the vehicle. All dashboard indicators were in the normal range. As I left work later that day, I noticed that the passenger side of the rear window was completely shattered. All of the glass fragments had remained in the window frame. I believe that the window heat malfunctioned and caused the rear window to shatter. I researched the problem on the internet and found that this is a common problem with numerous complaints.
Turned on the rear window defrost and the passenger side window shattered shortly thereafter while I was driving definitely a defect in the defrost mechanism
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. While driving 45 mph, the rear passenger side window shattered. The contact stated that the rear defroster was activated prior to the failure occurring. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. Atchinson Ford (9800 belleville road, belleville, mi 48111) informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The manufacturer was notified and confirmed what the dealer stated. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Tuned on my rear defroster and light did not come on. I pressed it a couple more times and nothing. About 10 minutes later when I was getting gas in my local city in Alabama, it sounded like a gunshot went off. I look and the passenger side rear window panel has shattered. I did some research online and file hundreds of similar complaints due to a fault rear defroster. Ford is willing to do nothing about it, leaving customers with the expensive bill. This should be a safety issue.
My 2011 F150 rear window pane broke about 1 minute after turning on the rear defrost as I was driving down my street. This needs to be recalled as it is a very dangerous situation to have a window breaking directly over the rear seats. Kids and passengers are being put in a dangerous situation by entering the backseat. This is clearly a problem as others have stated. Ford and my extended warranty will not cover the window unless it is diagnosed, however I have contacted 5 dealerships who said they are unable to diagnose a problem like this. I can no longer have anyone ride in my truck in the backseat.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Denton, MD, USA