Ford Recalls Over 600,000 Trucks, SUVs For Faulty Windshield Wipers

Opening image courtesy of Automotive Rhythms via Flickr.

Ford has issued its third recall of the month. This one affects more than 600,000 Ford Motor Company trucks and SUVs, which the National Highway Traffic Administration issued due to potentially faulty windshield wiper arms.

According to the NHTSA, stripped wiper arm splines are causing the blades to come loose, not work, or detach from the vehicle, which can happen with either the driver- or passenger-side arms. The blade could also operate slowly or sporadically, which is never good when they’re needed. Visibility is important, especially in inclement weather conditions when poor visibility could lead to a collision.

The recall affects the 2020-2021 Ford F-150 and Ford Expedition, the 2020-2022 Ford Super Duty, and the 2020-2021 Lincoln Navigator. Some 653,000 vehicles fall under the recall.

The Defect Information Report notes that Ford technicians had noticed the stripped splines as well as missing or loose alignment keys with the blades. The supplier, Trico Componentes, according to Automotive News, discovered that some splines did not meet the correct specification for each vehicle.

Earlier this month, Ford issued two other recalls affecting over 700,000 vehicles from the brand. One affected the Bronco Sport and Escape, where an oil separator housing could crack, leak, and increase the risk of a fire. The other recall was for the trailer brake controller on the Maverick, Expedition, Navigator, F-150, and Super Duty.

Ford will begin notifying affected vehicle owners starting May 23. FoMoCo will replace both front wiper blade arms, which will happen at your local Ford and Lincoln dealers. If your vehicle is affected, you might want to check the weather before leaving just to be safe.

Ford first learned of the potential issue back in February 2020, and by February 25, 2022, the automaker had received 257 reports of inoperative or detached windshield wiper arms. The Defect Information Report also notes that the arms were built “with an alternative higher torque wiper motor due to chip shortage issues.” Ford built vehicles with different wiper motor torque ratings, which could have contributed to the varied performance.