Hello:

The past 3 days I have been having issues with my windshield wiper motor.
The wipers just came on for no reason for about 3 minutes. Tried everything to turn the damn things off.
Then it was raining and the suckers would not come on until 5 minutes driving down the road, haha.
And today, they just came on again for no reason and it was difficult to get the things to stop.

Is this a defect or a known issue with Ford?
Has anyone had this problem and what did you do to fix it?

Thank you,
David

 

Hi David,
With an older vehicle without electronics we would usually look for a poor ground and the wiper motor was a possible path to ground for some other function.
TODAY, it's a whole new ball game !
There are electronic modules in newer vehicles that tell the module what to power when a switch is closed or a request is made for some function. Sometimes these modules go haywire and start doing things on their own. I would suspect that a "body control module" / front electronic module is either getting a request to operate or may be deciding to act on it's own. There could still be a ground problem, but chances are pretty good that it is an electronic problem. A quality scan tool should be able to confirm if that is so. Keep in mind every technician's nightmare is that elusive "intermittent that doesn't always do it thing". Would like to offer better suggestions, but we need to know our limitations !

 

Well, I am hoping Ford will not gouge me to fix it.....

 

You most likely would be charged for diagnostic time and then request an estimate before having it done there.
Good ole Ford, some modules need to be reconfigured after replacement and that could be included in the estimate.

 

Well, I didn't think cars or their electronic boards would go haywire within 3 years??
I guess since I'm in Quality Assurance my expectations are different than Ford's, haha.....

 

Just think,
Your vehicle has more electronics than the first space capsule that went to the moon !

 

I have very similar issue, my 2015 ESCAPE was hit in the front, so the drivers wiper motor had to be replaced. After installed, the wipers dont work properly, they hit one another and get stuck. I dont know what is the problem.

 

The 2013 Escape I bought used in March started doing this yesterday. Naturally it's not covered under the "extended warranty" I let the dealership talk me into buying and I am NOT paying dealer labor rates!

When I got home I called the shop I've been using to maintain my cars for the past few years. These guys are honest, dependable, reasonable and aware that I was an ASE Master Automotive tech up until I broke my back 15 years ago so I trust them not to BS me.

When I explained what was going on to the service manager he said "If you're real lucky it's just a bad multi-function switch. BUT, it sounds like the BCM and that is STUPID EXPENSIVE!" I guess I'll find out, the hard way of course, next week when they can get me into the shop. Man, do I ever hate paying someone else to work on my cars but with 9 fused vertebrae, limited range of motion in my neck and nerve damage in both legs my wrench turning days are over so..................

 

I remembered that I had $110 in service credit following the purchase of my used 2013 Escape in March. I called the dealer, was told to bring it in for diagnostics and did. The service manager took one look at me when I walked in the door and asked why I looked like I was mad at the world. When I explained the situation he said that they would make things right and man did they ever!

In addition to a bad BCM I also had some codes related to the vacuum purge system. Parts had to be ordered and it took 5 days to get my car back but they gave me a loaner and ate the repair costs even though my extended warranty only covers the power train. I drove the car home with a grin on my face and $2300 in free repairs! Oh, and I just checked and I still have the $110 service credit on my account! Hall Motor Mile in Virginia Beach ROCKS!

 

It's always nice to hear of a service agency extending a helping hand AND it does more for their reputation that loads of $$$ spent on advertising just cannot compete with.
Do you think they made you a permanent customer?