Wiper problems of the 2017 Ford Explorer - part 1

The rear tailgate window has blown out twice. First time 2/10/2026 and again 3/22/2026. Both times happened while parked with the car running.

Issue: rear liftgate window on my 2017 Ford Explorer sport spontaneously shattered without any impact. Conditions: occurred in cold weather (approx. 5 f) within 30 minutes of starting the vehicle. Description: the glass failed suddenly with an explosive sound and scattered fragments inside and outside the vehicle. There were no prior cracks, chips, or external forces. Safety concern: sudden loss of rear visibility, risk of injury from flying glass, and potential hazard to pedestrians or nearby vehicles. Pattern: multiple owners of 2017 Explorers report the same issue—rear window shattering in cold weather or during defroster use—suggesting a possible systemic defect in the rear glazing or defroster system. Request: please review this incident as part of a potential defect trend and assess whether an investigation is warranted.

The windshield wipers activate by themselves, even when it is not raining and there is no water.

In January of 2025 the rear windshield suddenly blew a hole in it after starting the vehicle with the remote start. I was advised that due to the cold temperatures and then the heat from the rear defrost caused this to occur. On Wednesday 12/31/25, the same exact thing happened. My vehicle was parked at my home in the garage when I remote started it. A few minutes later, my daughter and I got in, started it, then proceeded to back up when we heard a loud boom. Same thing happened as the first issue in January of 2025. No reason, no damage and it blows a hole it in near the rear wiper. This is causing glass shards to explode into the interior.

Exterior windshield a-pillar flew off on the highway and Ford said the repair was suppose to be ready on the latter half of 2024. This repair is not being dealt with in a timely manor. Manufacturer recall number 24s0. Nhtsa recall number24v031.

So for starters the visibility wipers should have a auto wiper function as in when it detects rain they will automatically come on. Well they do but they also come on at random intervals even when it’s not raining. Secondly the glove box design is horribly engineered and it falls apart by its self. My glove box flew open while driving down the road and caused me to run off the roadway with my kids in the car. Luckily my kids and I are safe and no one was hurt but something should be done about this. The tension cord that hooks to the glove box just snapped from the looks of it.

This recall has been out for over a year and a half and I still do not have parts. It is loud in my car. At what point, can I get it fixed myself and charge it back to Ford? thank you.

To whom it may concern, I am writing to formally file a complaint with Ford. I request immediate assistance regarding multiple open recalls on my 2017 Ford Explorer platinum. Despite multiple attempts to have these recalls addressed by my local Ford dealership and others, they have refused to perform all the necessary repairs. When I asked if they could at least order the required parts, I was informed that they would not, due to the parts being on back order with no timeline of when they would be available. This situation has become increasingly concerning, as one of the un repaired recalls has now led to water intrusion inside my vehicle, causing additional damage. Along with other recalls that are further causing damage. I depend on my vehicle daily, and the ongoing delays and lack of action from the dealership have only worsened the condition of my vehicle. At this point, I am requesting further help. I believe this situation warrants urgent attention, as it involves manufacturer-issued safety recalls that remain unresolved through no fault of my own, after various attempts to get these recalls fixed. I would appreciate a prompt response confirming that this case has been escalated to the appropriate department.

The weather stripping/seals around the windshield are crumbling/cracking and fly off the vehicle while driving and when loose create wind noise/rattle. Both sides and base near hood called a cowl I believe. Dealer indicated the cowl and trim could be replaced but would require significant labor and was not part of the a pillar recall. I asked if windshield was at risk or if it was just cosmetic and was advised no safety concern.

The windshield wipers on my 2017 Ford Explorer will not turn off, when the vehicle is. Of course the wiper switch is in the off position and it persists. This issue began without warning and continues consistently. This is distracting, obstructing my vision, and giving me a headache every time I get in my car. This potentially dangerous while driving, especially in dry conditions where the wipers can damage the windshield or reduce visibility by smearing debris. Based on online forums and other owner reports, this appears to be a common issue affecting many 2017 Ford Explorer owners. It also seems to be common in early models of the same generation meaning it has been a known issue and hasn’t been resolved. This should be investigated as a potential manufacturing defect. A malfunctioning wiper system can create a hazardous driving condition and may warrant a recall.

In addition to the details involving NHTSA safety recall 24v031, any trim at the top of the windshield has either deteriorated or fallen completely off, while the material below the windshield is rotting away. This all makes me worry that the windshield could potentially shatter or come off on the road. I am not sure when the problem occurred or started to occur and I just became aware of it.

Safety recall notice 24s02 / NHTSA recall 24v031 for my 2017 Explorer was done in January 2024 and I received the letter in February 2024. The parts still aren't available after 9 months which is unacceptable. I am now having to use long strips of duct tape on my windshield to hold these loose parts in place which affects my vision to drive and my windshield wipers to work correctly. I wasn't in any accident but concerned about what may happen. This has been going on since July 2024 when I went to the beach and we were going down interstate the piece came loose. We have been using duct tape since that has to be replaced weekly nothing should take this long and replacements parts need to be made available to repair as soon as possible.

The top and bottom rubber of the windshield is corroded, falling off, and flapping against the windshield. It is also making a whistling noise and wind is coming into vehicle from the top. I was told that the recall would fix that but once they came to fix it they only did the left and right side of windows and left the rest the way it was. I expressed my concerns on a few occasions but they refused to fix it. I’m an elderly wheelchair bound female whose only transportation method is this vehicle. I have my daughter driving me to doctor’s appointments and the whole time I’m in the vehicle I’m afraid the windshield will fly off. The noise is so loud and hard to hear. The sun roof appears to be leaking as well so air could be seeping though there too. The windshield wipers go off by themselves even when it’s off or not raining. Even when the wipers are on there’s a big delay to wipe windows which makes it hard to see. I’m not sure if any of these issues are related but they have been brought to the attention of the manufacturer with no response.

The trim around my windshield fell off while driving. I called a local Ford store, ed martin Ford in anderson, indiana and was told the current recall does not cover this.

A piece of the driver side exterior column flew off and into windshield causing crack and poor visibility because of it.

All plastic parts around all doors and windows have become detached. Windshield wipers do not stay on. All lights and gps go haywire and flash on and off gps system goes off and makes loud buzzing noise.

My windshield and windows collect condensation inside the vehicle during the winter and cold months. This occurs continuously while vehicle is in use and it causes me to not be able to see out my windows or windshield while driving.

The black trim/molding around the front windshield is breaking and perking off in chunks while driving on the freeway.

The trim of our windshield flew off and almost caused an accident. Water got in and caused damage shortly after.

The windshield trim is detaching and won’t go back into place. I’m afraid it’s going to fly off why driving and cause a wreck behind me. I’ve read this is a known problem. I shouldn’t have to pay for a known design flaw.

Windshields wipers coming on and staying on although the settings are on the off switch. The wipers won’t turn off at all.

2017 Ford Explorer. Driving down the interstate and the window trim around front window starts flying off. It’s completely dry rotted. No warning, have not taken it to the dealership because they charge $150 just for diagnostic.

While driving down the road, the right-side windshield trim came off and struck the vehicle following me.

The trim and seals around the front windshield are cracked and coming apart. This has caused parts to fly off potentially hitting other cars. This has happened in multiple occasions.

- the weather stripping around my front windshield failed and caused the molding around the windshield to also fail. - this failure occurred while driving at highway speeds. The flying debris alarmed me and could have obstructed my view. It could also have hit another vehicle and caused an accident. - there are instances online of this happening to Ford Explorers. Unknown if it has been inspected by dealers. - my vehicle has not yet been inspected for this defect. - there were no warning lamps or messages/symptoms before this failure. It first appeared on 12/1/2022. My vehicle is a 2017 and at 56000 miles.

Back window just spontaneously shattered, nothing hit came out from work and it was shattered.

Rear window glass spontaneously shattered while sitting at stop light. Defroster was off, outside temp was 38 degrees fahrenheit. No known reason. Google shows this happening to other 2017 Ford Explorers, but when I called Ford, they denied any knowledge of this problem.

Used auto start feature to start the car. When I got in the car the rear glass exploded. Temperature was around 15 degrees fahrenheit. I believe the window heater caused the failure.

While driving my Ford Explorer, the rubber seal trim piece on the driver began to come loose and flap around smacking onto the windshield and side front windows. Luckily, there were no other cars next to me when I swerved slightly after being started by the pieces slamming against the car. Since then, the both the driver and passenger side trim pieces have come completely off. I have not taken the vehicle into Ford to get the pieces replaced because I researched the parts required and it is an expensive fix given the way Ford originally installed the trim molding pieces. This should most certainly be a recall as it could result in serious accidents.

On January 11, 2020, I turned on the ignition of my 2017 Explorer sitting in my driveway and immediately had 4 warning lights and multiple error messages appear. It was the abs, stability control on and off lights and a wrench. Then there were multiple messages about my four wheel drive not working. I turned the car on and off several times trying to get all of the messages and to see if it would clear. After the third restart the entire dash panel went out completely except for the radio which stayed on continuously for 3 days until it got to the dealership on Monday. None of the vehicles basic necessities were working. . . No speedometer, gas lights, wipers, or climate control, etc. Only the engine, headlights, and taillights worked. The dealership is currently working on the vehicle and is claiming it is a battery problem. The service department has admitted they don't know if it will fix the problem but they are going to try it. They also stated that "the vehicle cleared itself after the battery died which it's not supposed to do". I have seen multiple reports about the exact same problem with different items being replaced, including the battery, to no avail. This is my family's primary vehicle and I regularly drive my 6 and 11 yr old children around in this vehicle. We also travel the highway and 4 lane suspension bridge extensively. Losing these basic systems could result in a life threatening situation for me and my family. I have seen complaints on the internet dating back to December 2016 and the problem is still occurring. The vehicle was in proper working condition, no major problems prior, and well below the mileage expected for a vehicle of this age when the issues occurred. I don't trust it now.

Driving on interstate, temperature around 54 degrees, light rain, no traffic, heard a loud "pop" noise. Broken glass from the sunroof slid off the roof on to the road. Found a large hole in the center of the sunroof window. Insurance adjuster found no point of impact and declared it an internal stress fracture/part failure/manufacturer defect. It was not covered by insurance. Mileage was at 19,000.

Driving down the road I turned on the rear windshield wiper. When I looked the window was completely shattered.

Tl- the contact owns a 2017 Ford explored. The contact stated that the passenger front power window roll up independently. The contact concerned for the safety of her child that it could amputated his fingers. The contact called gosch Ford temecula dealer, (26895 ynez rd, temecula, CA 92591) and informed them of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. Aw.

Took my 2017 Ford Explorer in to auto dealer for service (under 11,000 miles) and had oil change and windshield wiper changed for a trip I was taking. I turned the rear windshield wiper on due to the rain and the blade flew off , permanelty scratching my rear window. Dealer stated it was not thier fault so must be an issue with the wiper blade.

Tl the contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rear window exploded without warning. The vehicle was taken to delacy Ford (3061 transit rd, elma, NY 14059, (716) 668-1200) to be diagnosed, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and started an investigation. The failure mileage was 70,000.