Wiper problems of the 2023 Ford Bronco - part 2

When driving at any speed from local roads to highways in inclement weather from light rain to sleet to heavy rain, the wipers revert from high speed to intermittent (slow) speed after a period of 30 seconds to 2 minutes and do not revert back to the necessary speed for safe vehicle operation. During sleet and heavy rainfall it became difficult to see out of windshield and I had to keep adjusting the speed of the wipers every 30 seconds to 2 minutes in order for them to operate correctly. Vehicle was brought into the service department at a Ford dealership and I was told it is a “feature of the Smart wiper motor operation” and to pick up the vehicle with no repair available. According to service department it is Ford special service message #51377. I have also found the statement referred to as “ssm 50692” in my own research.

While driving in the rain the windshield wipers will randomly slow down to a very unsafe level, making it very difficult to see out of the front windshield. I talked with the dealership and they said there is no known fix for this issue. Ford does not seem to have an answer either. This happens every time the wipers are on. And happens frequently, like every 30 secs the wipers will slow way down. They are not rain sensing wipers.

Wipers will not stay in continuous setting (low) for more than 20 seconds before slowing down to extra slow for another 20 seconds, then stopping continuous and becoming intermittent. Have to keep changing the wiper speed control manually to keep them going continuously. It appears that the factory windshield is extra high friction even when clean and since new, which may be causing the issue of wiper motor slowing itself down to protect itself.

When driving in rainy conditions, the windshield wipers cease to function at the selected setting. This happens at any setting. Specifically, after approximately 30 seconds, the windshield wipers slow to a greatly reduced and intermittent speed. This causes extreme issues with visibility, which in turn, creates a major safety issue, especially at highway speeds. This is not one incident. It happens every time the windshield wipers need to be turned on due to visibility.

Windshield wipers stop moving at regular wiping speed. After a short time the wipers change from regular speed to intermittent speed causing loss of vision to the road ahead during rain and snow.

Windshield wipers slow down when driving in rain/snow. Even on the highest setting, they start to slow down after a few minutes and you have to toggle them off and on again to get them back to normal speed.

Wiper motor does not stay on low or high. Within a minute, they revert back to intermittent and the driver must constantly switch between low and high in order to keep visibility. This has been happening since the day I took delivery (in the rain). I will be contacting the dealer on 3/6 to discuss. Many others in forums have reported the same exact behavior. There has been no inspection yet. No warning lamps, etc.

Wipers run normal speed for 39 seconds and they revert back to five seconds in between wipes, no matter what the rain conditions or settings.

I was driving in moderate rain today and had the windshield wipers in the low setting (continuous wipe, not intermittent). After approximately 60 seconds, the wipers stopped continuous wipe and I could not see. I switched to high, the wipers began working again so I switched back to low. 60-90 seconds later, the wipers once again stopped their continuous wipe, I could not see, so switched to high to get them working again. I continued my drive, having to switch the function from low to high to keep them operating. When the rain let up, I was able to see when the wipers quit and noticed they decided to wipe intermittently, despite being in the low (continuous) position. As my drive continued the rain let up a little, I switched to intermittent high (shortest delay). This function worked for about 10 wipes, then the delay increased and I couldn't see between wipes and had to manipulate the switch again to gain visibility of the road and oncoming traffic. To answer the questions I offer the following: 1. The wipers do not work in the position selected even if there is significant water on the windshield. 2. When the wipers stop working, you can't see out of the windshield. This requires constant manipulation of the switch, taking a hand off the wheel which endangers me, any occupants, and others on the road. 3. I have not gone to the dealer. I read the 25 page post on the b6g forum and found many others have experienced this as well and a link for this site to post the issue. 4. It has not been inspected by anyone. 5. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms. The vehicle only has 700 miles and this is the first time I've driven it in the rain when I needed continuous wipers.

Wipers automatically dramatically slow down when placed in the high setting during heavy rains causing unsafe driving conditions.

Windshield wipers fail to maintain consistent operation. Cadence slows down on its own to an unusable speed causing unsafe visibility. Clearly there is something wrong with the programming.

I was driving in rain and the wipers were initially working fine. Then for no reason they just started slowing down. The rain was still heavy and the vehicle does not have rain sensing wipers so there is no reason they should have slowed down. I had to keep changing the wiper speed from high to low to high to get it back to the necessary speed. This is a major safety issue that the wipers do not work consistently.

When attempting to use the wipers on low speed setting (constant on at a low speed, not on any of the intermittent settings) in medium and heavy rain situations, the wipers will initially operate at the constant low speed, and then after 1 to 2 minutes, the wipers will slow down significantly to a very low speed intermittent speed. The only way to get the wipers to return to the constant low speed setting is to switch the control stalk setting to high speed wipers and then return the switch to the low speed setting. Even when turning on the wipers at the high speed setting, the wipers will slow down significantly to a very low intermittent speed. This is a dangerous condition that creates issues in attempting to see during steady rain conditions.

In moderate or even heavy precipitation the vehicle will reduce wiper speed from high or low continuous to intermittent, severely reducing and limiting visibility. I took it to corwin Ford in reno to fix this and they say that it does this on purpose and it is working as designed. Picture was taken while it was doing this, even with this much rain on the windshield the wipers won't stay in low constant and reduces the wiper speed to intermittent resulting in this level of visibility.

Wipers will slow down during constant on operation is selected, in low and high speed mode. They wipe as normal for 30-45 seconds, then start a slow speed wipe (in high or low, both slow to a crawl) for 2-3 wipes, then stop completely until the switch is changed to another setting. Then the cycle repeats. Makes driving in anything more than a drizzle challenging to see while constantly fiddling with the wiper switch.

The wipers slowed and stopped during heavy rain making visibility very poor. I had to manually turn the wiper speeds in order to see the road.

Wipers function for about 30 seconds on continuous, then go to intermittent, then stop. Does this at all speeds and all rain settings (heavy to light rain). Constantly having to turn wiper off and on to get it to function. Makes it difficult to see in rainy weather.

When wipers are on they will intermittently stop even when in run mode. No change in how hard the rain is coming. Causes inability to see anything. Will sometimes start back up but usually can't wait that long and chandelier to fast mode to get them moving again.

After less than a minute of running, the wipers suddenly slow down to the lowest wiper delay setting. You notice because, if you're in a storm or rain, you suddenly can't see out of the windshield. It does this on all of the wiper settings. If you're in a bad storm and you have the wipers running on maximum, they suddenly stop and go to like a once every 30 second wipe. You have to constantly turn the wiper control back and forth the whole time you're driving to keep the wipers working.

This is the same complaint as #11509166. I couldn't find a way to add more documentation to the already filed complaint so here is the original information plus more complaints and examples of the safety issue. . . . . Read more...

When wipers are on slow speed, after 17-22 sweeps will either stop, or to slow intermittant, does not matter on amount of water on the windshield. Ssm from Ford is not an answer. Wipers should stay on.

Windshield wiper blade action slows down or comes to a stop, no matter low speed high speed or intermittent. Driving at 55 mph at early morning darkness during a heavy rain the windshield wipers come to a complete stop. Oncoming traffic headlights glaring through the rain soaked windshield provided almost zero visibility. Quick action had me reaching for the wiper control to fiddle with it upon which the wipe motor started up again, no matter the position the blade continually stopped, unless I constantly flipped the wiper stalk from high to low to keep the blades functioning. I have a manual transmission, imagine trying to shift gears with one hand, flipping the wiper stalk with another all while maintaining control of the vehicle. This not only endangers me, but others on the road should I lose control and hit them head on! what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? windshield wipers how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? total loss of vision out the windshield has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no however others have reported the same issues. . Read more...

I set my wipers to the speed that fits the weather conditions. However, after about 45 seconds the wipers automatically slow down. They are not rain sensing wipers. This is extremely dangerous during a heavy rain as they automatically slow down and you literally cannot see.

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.

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.

Wipers slow down or stop in moderate to heavy rain.

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.

Wipers have some type of Smart setting and the will actually stop working in heavy rain situations. Very dangerous configuration.

So when wipers are on fast or slow constant mode that 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. This has now happened several times. I was unable to see in front of me and almost hit another’s car. There were no warning lights. I am taking to a dealer next.

Wiper control issue - when the wipers are set to the standard slow or fast speed the wipers start to slow down after about 30 seconds and eventually go into intermittent. We have experienced this in the pouring rain, while traveling with children and it makes it impossible to see. We have contacted 2 dealerships, and both were able to replicate the problem and acknowledged it. However, Ford will not acknowledge that there is a problem, and we are told that there is nothing that they can do. We also called Ford customer service and were told to read page 100 of our owner's manual and if we still had problems to seek out dealerships until we got a resolution.

Windshield wipers operate for a limited time before slowing & then stopping completely. Multiple adjustments are required of the wiper control to reactivate the wipers. However, after a few minutes, the wipers will again slow & stop functioning completely. This situation creates a safety hazard, due to limited visibility & obscured driving conditions, during wet conditions.

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.

High speed wiper setting runs fast and then becomes extremely slow requiring driver to twist down and back up to reset to high. This is a safety hazard.

- 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.