Skipping/Jerking Wiper Issue Saga Continues - New Motor Did Not Fix

[vinnymac]

I have been dealing with the skipping/jerking wiper issue now since I bought my truck. I am starting to see it cropping up on many other people’s trucks too and hoping we could discuss what could be causing it.

What I'm referring to is only when the wipers are on intermittent mode, when they reach the end of the cycle to rest at the bottom of the windshield, they seem to skip/jerk ahead to a further stop rather than resting at the original point. When the windshield is dry it doesn’t do it and when using the regular low/high or washer modes they work perfect as well. I have checked and my wipers are aligned to the marks on the windshield, and I have even gone through a couple sets of blades and cleaned the windshield.

I have had it to 2 different dealers who could not replicate the issue. So based on feedback from other owners, I went ahead and just replaced the wiper motor myself. It’s an easy job and I had Ford points which made the part cheap enough to be worth the gamble.

The wipers are doing EXACTLY the same thing as before. I’m completely stumped now and all I can think of is this is either an inherent design flaw or maybe it’s the wiper linkage that’s to blame? I have no idea and this issue drives me absolutely crazy. Would love some input from other owners on this!

Added some videos as well to explain (note not all videos are mine).

I use 00 steelwool and a good glass cleaner to start next after fully dry I use topcoats glass cleaner to finish my wipers run smooth all the time

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[RyanS93]

I just cleaned the windshield with Meguiars Perfect Clarity cleaner (great stuff by the way!!) and installed new blades (Rain-X Silicone Endura). As of now they work nice and smooth. I will report back and see how long it lasts. It’s been dry here so my ability to test is limited but hopefully this mitigates the issue. The Meguiars cleaner definitely got rid of some stuff that the previous cleaners did not and did not leave a grippy residue.

 

[Skifletch]

I just cleaned the windshield with Meguiars Perfect Clarity cleaner (great stuff by the way!!) and installed new blades (Rain-X Silicone Endura). As of now they work nice and smooth. I will report back and see how long it lasts. It’s been dry here so my ability to test is limited but hopefully this mitigates the issue. The Meguiars cleaner definitely got rid of some stuff that the previous cleaners did not and did not leave a grippy residue.

Hows it working now? Any weird-ness with all the fire smoke in the air?

 

[RyanS93]

Hows it working now? Any weird-ness with all the fire smoke in the air?

So far so good, just did a long road trip but there was no rain other than a brief shower, seemed to work okay during that. Just using the wipers for windshield washing they seem a lot smoother now. Fingers crossed, but it’s been very dry here so haven’t had a real chance to test it out.

 

[Skifletch]

So far so good, just did a long road trip but there was no rain other than a brief shower, seemed to work okay during that. Just using the wipers for windshield washing they seem a lot smoother now. Fingers crossed, but it’s been very dry here so haven’t had a real chance to test it out.

Yeah, samesies at this end of the lake. Hasn't rained in 3 weeks. This is my fault for planting grass (and now being punished to have to water it daily)

 

[fossil]

I use 00 steelwool and a good glass cleaner to start next after fully dry I use topcoats glass cleaner to finish my wipers run smooth all the time

00? you're braver than I am lol. I have used 0000 lightly but since usually having fine grade bronze wool on hand for firearm restorations it's my "go to" for stubborn glass stains/contamination. A plus for bronze, slivers that come off do not rust and stain paint.

 

[fossil]

Yeah, samesies at this end of the lake. Hasn't rained in 3 weeks. This is my fault for planting grass (and now being punished to have to water it daily)

Similar here, local strawberry crop is toast this year and sweetcorn is in danger.

 

[jewc75]

Its called self parking. My Maverick, Colorado, and Peterbilt do this. Id think i had a problem if they didnt do this.

 

[vinnymac]

00? you're braver than I am lol. I have used 0000 lightly but since usually having fine grade bronze wool on hand for firearm restorations it's my "go to" for stubborn glass stains/contamination. A plus for bronze, slivers that come off do not rust and stain paint.

I do the 00 very lightly and haven’t had any issues. I’m sure there are several different ways to get it done what I do has worked

 

[maverick4natic]

Same thing for me too, was pretty sure it was just the "stickiness" of the windshield in the Intermittent mode when they are kept in the "at attention" position and not parked down in the cowl.

Kind of annoying but not a deal breaker. Curious to find a long term Polish/Cleaning solution.

 

[RyanS93]

Just an update now that we got our first real rain in a long time (thankfully, we needed it). It still does the skip. However, with the new blades and clean windshield there is no noise, so I am going to have to deal with it and it’s far less annoying than before where it would squeak obnoxiously every time. I have a feeling this is operating as designed.

For an experiment I tried adding a coat of Rain-X, and while it didn’t help, it didn’t seem to hurt it either. Never used Rain-X before so we will see how I like it. I had someone else suggest a ceramic coating spray for the windshield where it would create a slick surface to help the wipers glide better? I have some Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic Spray (on the recommendation from Project Farm), and it works beautiful on paint, but I’m hesitant to use it on glass even though the bottle says it can be. Just don’t want to make anything worse!

 

[blackb13]

OMG. I just found this thread. My wipers do the exact same thing and it's driving me nuts because it is NOT consistent. Sometimes they do the half-park/make noise and sometimes they stay exactly where they're supposed to be. I'm guessing something in the wiper module itself is causing this. Of course any trip to the dealership will result in either "no fault found" or "normal operation."

 

[RyanS93]

OMG. I just found this thread. My wipers do the exact same thing and it's driving me nuts because it is NOT consistent. Sometimes they do the half-park/make noise and sometimes they stay exactly where they're supposed to be. I'm guessing something in the wiper module itself is causing this. Of course any trip to the dealership will result in either "no fault found" or "normal operation."

Yep! Sometimes they work beautifully and then they’ll skip. It’s so inconsistent. At least I’ve got it to a place where it doesn’t make noise.

 

[dhill59]

Mine was built in December 2021 and does the same damn thing. Drives me nuts too. I’m guessing it is some kind of . . . never mind, no guessing. I’ll follow this post and see if there’s a solution found. I drive my Miata when it rains. The wipers work great on it.

 

[RyanS93]

Mine was built in December 2021 and does the same damn thing. Drives me nuts too. I’m guessing it is some kind of . . . never mind, no guessing. I’ll follow this post and see if there’s a solution found. I drive my Miata when it rains. The wipers work great on it.

I can honestly say it’s my only real gripe with the truck. Otherwise I am super happy with it and it’s my favorite vehicle I have owned.

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