Rear Window Defogger Problems of Ford F-150 - part 2

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 2 mph, the rear defroster became inoperable and melted the rubber strip. In addition, the rear passenger glass shattered. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the defroster and rear glass needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000. The VIN was not available.

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The contact owns a 2010 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 60 mph, the rear passenger side window shattered without warning when the defroster was activated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was unavailable.

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The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. While the vehicle was in reverse, the contact turned on the defrost and the rear window shattered. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

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The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. After the rear defroster was activated, the rear windshield shattered without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 42,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 45 mph with the rear window defroster engaged, the defrost warning indicator was intermittently illuminated. The contact turned the defroster off and back on, and the defrost warning indicator would not illuminate. The contact pulled over and discovered that the rear passenger side of the rear window shattered and the wiring inside the window was melted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the defrost wiring shorted out which caused the window to shatter. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

The contact owns a 2010 Ford F-150. While the vehicle was parked, the rear window defroster was activated and the rear window shattered. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the defrost connector plug needed replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure recurred one other time. The approximate failure mileage was 18,681.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the rear defroster failed to work properly. The failure caused the rear window to fog, which diminished the contact¿s visibility. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer stated that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 30,625.

The contact owns a 2010 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the rear defroster was activated and the rear window shattered. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the rear window needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,200.

The contact owns a 2010 Ford F-150. Upon starting the vehicle, the contact activated the rear window defroster and the rear passenger window shattered. The outside temperature was 31 degrees fahrenheit and there was ice on the window. Approximately five minutes later, the contact heard a loud abnormal pop sound near the vehicle. The contact discovered the shattered window along with a substance that melted from the explosion. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.

I allowed my car to warm up. It was approximately 28 degrees outside. I began to drive my car. I engaged the rear defroster. Within 60 seconds I heard a loud bang, similar to a gun shot. Along with a smell of smoke. Then glass went flying towards the front of vehicle. After looking around I noticed the rear window was shattered. The rear window consists of three pieces of glass. Only the passenger (far right side) was shattered. Luckily, there was no people sitting in the back seat at the time. Took it to the Ford dealership, they said the Ford company has not addressed the issue. I was told numerous f150's have had similar problems. Ford refuses to cover repairs.

I started my 2010 f150 super crew this morning to let it warm up, it was approx. 45 degrees outside and the windows were fogged. I turned on my rear defroster for my power sliding rear window, when I re-entered the truck about 5 minutes after starting the truck, I was sitting there for a minute and I heard a loud pop sound, I looked back to see the right side of my rear 3-piece window shattered and there was smoke coming from the inside of the rear glass at the bottom where the heater element was, there was no fire just a small amount of smoke. There had been no impact to the glass and it has become apparent to me that this was a malfunction of the rear defroster element overheating the glass. I got out to inspect the damage and found small "sliver" type shards of glass on my seat. This is especially a problem for me because had my wife not had off today I would have had my 8 month old daughter in her car seat directly under the window which would have for sure caused potentially severe injury. After doing a simple google search for this problem it is obvious this is a very large issue with thousands of documented cases of the exact same incident occurring to the right rear window of the power sliding defrosting window of 2010 Ford f150's. I contacted Ford and they would not cover the defect and I was less then pleased with their customer service. I have contacted my insurance company and they are going to replace the window, my expense being the deductible.

While I was driving I turned my rear defroster on and about 5 min later I heard a load bang, looked around to see what it was and saw the passenger portion of the rear window was completely shattered. There was no impact on the window are clue to why it shattered. So I looked online and found this to be a common issue with the 2010 f150 trucks with power rear sliders. My daughter's car seat is directly under that window! Ford denied any knowledge of this issue and insisted they were not responsible and wouldn't cover repairs. I then learned that Ford has changed the wiring design for this window, a design that keeps electrical surges from over heating the defroster. My concern is that a shattering window poses a huge safety issue and Ford should be held accountable for their failure to keep their customers and more importantly the children of those customers safe!.

Cpsc: i1310446a. 2010 Ford f150. Consumer stated his rear window exploded after turning on the rear defrost. . . . Updated 03/20/13.

Rear window defroster/window assembly connection defective, shorts out causing fire and glass breakage. I dropped off my daughter at preschool and five minutes later I noticed smoke coming out of the passenger side rear defroster window behind her car seat. I pulled over to find this becoming a fire. It began as smoke, then spark, and then flame. Fortunately, I had a bottle of water in my truck, which I began to pour on it to stop. It got worse with the sparks, but eventually went out. While trying to distinguish the fire, the "explosion" occurred shattering the rear window. I took this to my local Ford dealer and began to research issue. I quickly found several Ford forums where other people experienced the exact same issue on 2010 f150 Ford trucks. Here's a link to one that helps explain the issue clearly. I posted my experience in post 38. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2010 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the rear passenger side window of the crew cab shattered once the defroster was activated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where they advised the contact that they were unable to assist. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

The contact owns a 2010 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the rear defrost system was defective. The rear defrost system overheated, causing the rear windshield to fracture. The vehicle was previously taken to the dealer for the failure; however, the dealer replaced the rear windshield and did not provide a diagnostic to locate the cause of the defrost system overheating. The windshield was not replaced. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 29,000.

Started truck at 0700 am, outside temperature was 50 degrees. The rear window was foggy so I turned on the rear defroster. After about 15 minutes of driving along a road with no traffic I heard a loud explosion that sounded like a large rock had landed on the roof of my truck. I pulled over and inspected my roof and all exterior panels of the vehicle and did not notice any damage that could have justified the noise. I could not find any "rocks" in or around my vehicle. . . No pedestrians were in site. Returned to cab and as I was pulling back onto the roadway I noticed that my rear window (right panel) was shattered. Took vehicle to Ford dealership that evening and was told it was not a warrantable repair. The glass remained intact and there were no visible signs of a projectile hitting the glass (I have photos). I insisted that a warrantee claim be opened, and I contacted customer relations. Ford then tested the defroster and could not find a malfunction so they said they would not warrantee the failure. I have photos, a case number, dealer invoice, and voice mail recordings of the 3 weeks of hell trying to get Ford to do the right thing. They finally agreed to pay for half the wholesale cost of a replacement glass; I had it installed professionally on 11/15/2011.

Vehicle doesn't come equipped with a rear defogger system. As a result, driver is unable to see out the rear in rainy or snowy weather.

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