Wiper problems of the 2022 Lincoln Aviator

Ref recall 26v117 (wiper motor failure) & my (2) prior NHTSA complaints; 11681607 & 11688314 (autosense wiper operation failure). Autosense wiping does not clear windshield enough for visibility & therefore can’t be relied upon for safe driving. The only way to get manual intermittent wiper operation is to go to sync settings & turn off auto wiper while driving in rain on hwy at 65+ mph. Seriously?! this is distracted driving at its worst. Took dealer 2+ yrs to discover the shipping protective film used on wiper sensor was not removed by chicago assembly plant prior to installing the sensor. Apr 2025, dealer replaced my sensor however it failed again by Aug 2025. Dealer had car 10/28/25-12/22/25 to fix multiple issues incl autosense wiping. No codes appear & they can’t id root cause of problem. Took car back for service 12/29/25-2/13/26 (multiple issues incl this) & they still can’t id root cause. Given there’s now also a recall for wiper motor failure I requested a loaner from Lincoln chq but they have refused. I’m requesting NHTSA require Lincoln to provide loaners until they fix all wiper operation failures.

This requires a recall ASAP. Dealers are well aware of this problem as is Lincoln chq but Lincoln refuses to address it. Rear camera cannot differentiate between steady rain & an object which then causes car to engage the collision avoidance system which then prevents ability to drive in reverse gear. There have been many rearview camera recalls on this car & each has made things worse. The only way I can drive car in reverse (in rain) is to turn off collision avoidance system (insane). Having to turn off this safety feature when it’s needed the most (in rain) is very dangerous. I tapped a person backing out of a parking spot. He was walking in blind spot, couldn’t see him on rearview camera, parking sensor alerts failed, collision avoidance was off because I can’t drive in reverse in rain. Thank god he wasn’t injured. Begging NHTSA to force a recall before a human gets run over.

Reference my NHTSA complaint # 11681607 dtd 8/19/25 regarding the problem with autosense wipers that I’ve had since I bought my Aviator 2. 5 yrs ago. As I previously reported, problem was finally resolved in April when dealer replaced the autosense sensor. I have come to learn that the plastic covering dealer found on the sensor (see attached pic) is actually a protective film for part shipment & should have been removed by the assembly plant prior to installing the sensor but was not. There are other owners that have this same ‘wipers gone wild’ condition with autosense wiping in which the windshield does not clear enough for safe driving & you need to switch to manual wiper operation to clear the windshield. This plant assembly error should trigger a recall with all manufacturers that use this part, not just Lincoln.

Despite multiple backup camera recalls & fixes, the backup camera blurs visibility & engages the backup collision avoidance system when there’s a steady rain thereby preventing me from backing car up my dw & parking in garage. The vehicle repeatedly stops & engages the rear collision avoidance system so much so that I had to turn it off in settings to back my car in. Cleaning the backup camera lense did not improve this condition. It appears the system cannot differentiate between rain & an object.

The autosense wiper function has been erratic & not working properly since my Aviator was a yr old (2022). None of the autosense wiper stalk positions worked correctly to clear the windshield enough for safe visability. I had dealer check this problem 3 times in 2023 & 2024 & they indicated no problem was found & no codes appeared. After experiencing dangerous visability issues on a 4 hr trip in which I needed to keep the regular wiper on to see (because autosense didn’t clear windshield enough to see on hwy), I left vehicle at dealer & refused to pick it up until problem was corrected once & for all. Since car is under warranty they decided to replace the sensor & found it to be defective (yellowed). Since replacing the sensor autosense now works. This leads me to believe these sensors are failing prematurely. I’m posting this in case others are experiencing a similar problem with autosense wipe.

After dealer did 3 software updates for recalls I experienced 2 safety issues: 1) wiper blades now do not recline to the proper position. Right blade goes down past windshield & hits the plastic piece making an extremely loud whack. Left blade does not lower to proper position & obstructs the lower view of windshield & the washer on left blade no longer works. 2) more concerning is while driving in reverse (in rain & dark), the car came to a complete & sudden halt practically giving me whiplash & making an extremely loud crash sound. Car came to such a hard & sudden stop I thought I had hit a wall even though there was 1) no warning light displayed or sound to indicate an obstruction or pending crash 2) nothing displayed on rear camera. Got out to see what I hit & why car stopped but found nothing wrong. Proceeded to continue backing up & it happened again. The car went about 3’ more then same thing happened. Then another 3’ it happened a 3rd time. It jolted my neck 3 times leaving me in pain. This incident was extremely frightening given I’m a handicapped driver & could have been stranded somewhere alone unable to drive the car at all. I suspect these 2 safety issues are related to Lincoln’s recall remedy & software updates as nothing else was done on my vehicle during my recent service other than replacing the front grill emblem.

Lincoln Aviators 2020-2024 using the sync 3 radio screen. Have a issue not switching to dimmed/night mode during night time driving. This is a major safety issue because when driving a night you have a super bright display inches from your eyes creating a blinding issue at night. This issue has been reported by many folks, a simple google search will reveal this. Unless NHTSA steps if to doing something 10s of thousands Lincoln Aviators 2020-2024 are on the road with blinded drivers. [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).