Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Windshield wipers stop working
Most reported: 2015 Chevrolet Equinox with 243 reports. Across the 106 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 1,969.
- 1,969owner reports
- 106model years affected
- 59,660median miles
- 8involved a crash
- 5involved a fire
These owners had the wipers stop working, often in the rain, which is the worst possible moment. More than half of the complaints here mention rain or a storm. This sheet is about wipers that quit working, not blades that streak.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of wiper failure reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 12015 Chevrolet Equinox1 crash1 fire24336% of its complaints78k mi
- 22014 Chevrolet Equinox2 crashes15930% of its complaints80k mi
- 310527% of its complaints80k mi
- 49833% of its complaints72k mi
- 58337% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 62014 GMC Terrain1 fire7225% of its complaints78k mi
- 72022 Ford Bronco1 crash5715% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 84530% of its complaints54k mi
- 9353% of its complaints40k mi
- 102016 Ford F-1501 fire332% of its complaints56k mi
- 11325% of its complaints80k mi
- 12323% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 13313% of its complaints8k mi
- 14273% of its complaints8k mi
- 15235% of its complaints8k mi
- 16233% of its complaints5k mi
- 17221% of its complaints41k mi
- 18224% of its complaints9k mi
- 19201% of its complaints56k mi
- 20203% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 212011% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 22192% of its complaints39k mi
- 23172% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 24171% of its complaints16k mi
- 25172% of its complaintsfew mileages
Where it dominates the complaint file
Model years with at least 25 reports, ranked by the share of all their complaints that describe wiper failure. That takes most of the sales-volume effect out (small sellers still swing more).
- 18337% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 22015 Chevrolet Equinox1 crash1 fire24336% of its complaints78k mi
- 39833% of its complaints72k mi
- 42014 Chevrolet Equinox2 crashes15930% of its complaints80k mi
- 54530% of its complaints54k mi
- 610527% of its complaints80k mi
- 72014 GMC Terrain1 fire7225% of its complaints78k mi
- 82022 Ford Bronco1 crash5715% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 9325% of its complaints80k mi
- 10353% of its complaints40k mi
By model, every year together
The 12 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
- GMC Terrain215
- Ford F-150169
- Ford Bronco152
When it happens
974 of the 1,969 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 20,000 and 84,000 miles; the median is 59,660. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of wiper failure, grouped by the model year of the car. 8 involved a crash and 5 a fire. 6 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 1,969 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
That distinction matters for the fix. Blades that smear, chatter or leave droplets are a wear item: Firestone's list of causes is dirty glass, worn rubber and a bent wiper arm, and it notes many manufacturers suggest new blades every six months. Wipers that stop moving point further back, at the motor, the linkage, the switch or a fuse. About one in five complaints here mentions a fuse or the motor.
The group is small, about 2,000 complaints across the vehicles on this site, and heavily concentrated. The 2014 to 2016 Chevrolet Equinox accounts for about a quarter of it by itself, and GM's 22V-165 covers two of those years: ball joints in the wiper module of some 2014 and 2015 Equinox and GMC Terrain models could corrode and let one or both wipers fail. Owners give a median of about 57,000 miles, higher than most groups on the site.
The recall files hold more than two dozen wiper campaigns, so it pays to check. Ford's 22V-250 replaced wiper arms that could break on some 2020 to 2022 F-150, Super Duty, Expedition and Navigator trucks, and 26V-117 replaced wiper motors on some 2020 to 2022 Explorer, Escape, Aviator and Corsair models. Hyundai recalled some 2020 and 2021 Palisades whose wiper motor could stop working (22V-627) and later replaced the driver-side arm on some 2021 to 2023 models whose motor could quit under snow and ice (23V-180). The recall language is the same each time: wipers that don't work can reduce visibility and raise the risk of a crash.
Those recalls map out where a dealer looks: the wiper module and its joints, the arms and the motor. Electronics can do it too. Honda's 20V-771 fixed body control module software on some 2018 to 2020 Accords and 2019 and 2020 Insights that could knock out the wipers along with other systems.
If they stop while you're driving in rain, slow down and get off the road where it's safe. Don't drive in bad weather until they're fixed. Tell the shop whether they stopped all at once or got slower first, whether both sides stopped, and whether it happened in snow or ice.
Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup before paying for a motor or linkage. If it isn't recalled and the car is under warranty, get a repair order written; the FTC says a defect reported during the warranty period must be fixed even if the warranty expires before the repair.
Sources
- Easy fixes for three annoying windshield wiper problems, Firestone Complete Auto Care
- NHTSA recall 22V-165, GM wiper module ball joints
- NHTSA recall 22V-250, Ford wiper arms
- NHTSA recall 26V-117, Ford wiper motor
- NHTSA recall 22V-627, Hyundai Palisade wiper motor
- NHTSA recall 23V-180, Hyundai Palisade wiper arm
- NHTSA recall 20V-771, Honda body control module software
- Check for recalls, NHTSA
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,040 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 27, 2026. All problem explainers.