I was in serious danger on the highway due to wiper failure

[Lanshark]

The people posting that it isn't a problem just haven't experienced it and don't understand. It's not that you're trying to drive as fast as you can and the wipers can't keep up. The problem is that you ARE driving a safe speed for conditions and randomly your wipers change the visibility you have available. In some cases its zero and within a second or two. Thats not an exaggeration. It might not happen to you, you may not live somewhere with severe weather. Or your vehicle doesn't do it. This thread isn't for you. Just move along.

So, if you have coated your windshield, you'll see even at 70mph, wind doesn't move the droplets up or around the windshield on the lower 30% of the glass. They either stay there or move down toward the cowl. I think a big component of this problem is the amount of water the wipers have to push up AND down, as aero is providing very little help. I really hope they offer a solution soon. I'd rather the motor burn up (and be predictable) than operate like it does. I assume that Ford has so many recalls and issues right now, it just can't get to this yet. But, they will have to eventually, even if its just a software fix that increases the 'smart' protection load limit.

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[cyxpack]

Happened to me once, heavy rain (only heavy rain I have been through). Sept 22 build, Wildtrak. Reported it to NHTSA. It is the only issue I have had with my Bronco, love it regardless. I didn’t feel endangered, (conditions had me slow to about 45 in the interstate) but would have prefer to focus on driving other than the slowing wipers, and constantly turning them off/on every 3 minutes. Glad one of kids wasn’t driving.

I can’t believe there are posters that expect us to pull over during every heavy rain because Ford can’t install a wiper motor with a fraction more horsepower.

 

[Lakelife36]

Hi there. This windshield wiper concern doesn’t sound like something we want you to experience with your Bronco. Could you please send us a PM with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer? I'd be happy to look into how I can assist you on my end.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I literally came on here to search to see if someone had this same issue, and your thread was on the front page. Crazy. I've had this issue MANY times since owning my Bronco for just over a month now. It caused me some issue during some heavy rain the other day and the wipers damn near stopped while at full speed. They were slowing their pace about every 5-10 seconds until almost not working. I'd have to keep switching it back and forth between speeds on the stalk just to keep them working at full speed in the rain. I was pissed.

Hi Austin. Can you send us a DM with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into this for you.

 

[esquared]

I've had my 2D for about 13 months now. I definitely experienced this many times earlier on, very frustrating. Back in October I had my windshield replaced (OEM), and since then I can't recall this happening anymore. So I'm not sure if it's related to the factory glass or needing some "break in" for the wipers themselves, who knows.

Either way, terrible idea to have this "self throttling" mechanism on the motors. Years of living in snowy conditions and running wipers through snow/slush/heavy rain and I've never had issues with a wiper motor overheating or dying out. Maybe Ford has moved to cheap motors, I wouldn't be surprised. But if someone is running them in dry hot conditions and that overheats the motor, well that's the drivers fault. This is an instance where trying to be "smart" and "optimized" in design of something goes against the customers safety/well-being, which really should be illegal.

 

[2023bronco]

I didn’t feel endangered, (conditions had me slow to about 45 in the interstate)

Around these parts, the flow on the interstate is 70+ mph even in inclement weather. I'd be scared poopless doing 45.

 

[2112]

Around these parts, the flow on the interstate is 70+ mph even in inclement weather. I'd be scared poopless doing 45.

+1

 

[Ksjrb03]

Around these parts, the flow on the interstate is 70+ mph even in inclement weather. I'd be scared poopless doing 45.

Exactly. Driving 45 on any interstate around here is asking to die. No matter the weather.

 

[BobRandall]

Hi there. This windshield wiper concern doesn’t sound like something we want you to experience with your Bronco. Could you please send us a PM with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer? I'd be happy to look into how I can assist you on my end.

Come on @Ford Motor Company - you said the same thing to me when I posted about this issue and really nothing happened. I reported the issue then someone at Ford contacted me to tell me to take my Bronco to the dealer ... really? THis is a design issue, nothing that the dealer can do to fix. Obviously everyone has this issue and you need a recall to fix it. I am NOT going to the dealer to sit there for a couple hours waiting for someone to come back out to say, yup thats an issue. Fix it Ford!

 

[35tires]

Ford had a representative call me, scheduled arrangements for my car to be taken to a local dealer for service, get me a loaner, and follow up. It was actually really good service.

 

[BobRandall]

Ford had a representative call me, scheduled arrangements for my car to be taken to a local dealer for service, get me a loaner, and follow up. It was actually really good service.

@35tires Did they fix your wiper issue?

 

[35tires]

@35tires Did they fix your wiper issue?

I don’t hand it over until Tuesday.

 

[Bronco B]

I literally came on here to search to see if someone had this same issue, and your thread was on the front page. Crazy. I've had this issue MANY times since owning my Bronco for just over a month now. It caused me some issue during some heavy rain the other day and the wipers damn near stopped while at full speed. They were slowing their pace about every 5-10 seconds until almost not working. I'd have to keep switching it back and forth between speeds on the stalk just to keep them working at full speed in the rain. I was pissed.

Same here - last night in freezing rain. Very not cool!

 

[Bronco B]

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/wiper-control-speed-issues-urgent-safety.31809/

Please see the below master thread on this. 19 pages worth of bronco owners experiencing this. Also I visited my local dealership today and was provided the following service bulletin.

SSM 50692 2021-2022 Bronco- Various Windshield Wiper Performance- Smart Wiper Motor Operation

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.

So wait...having wonky windshield wipers is a 'feature'???

 

[WeirdGuy]

Got my Bronco back from being at the dealer for 2 weeks. Wipers are NOT fixed. They cannot figure out the issue and I told them to just give it back to me until Ford puts out an actual fix. This is frustrating but, whatever.

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