2013 Ford Focus: windshield wiper failure

Filed Mar 18, 2026 · Electrical · FL · fire

The vehicle was serviced at Bartow Ford in Bartow, Florida, where approximately $1,100 was paid for the installation of a Body Control Module (BCM). Less than two weeks after this repair, the vehicle was returned to the same dealership due to issues involving the windshield wipers. According to the dealership’s own written statement, their technician began diagnosing the issue by replacing a blown fuse and tracing the wiring harness. While inspecting the wiring harness near the heater hose area, the technician observed coolant dripping onto the harness. When the technician touched the harness, it immediately caught fire. The shop foreman then had to disconnect the battery to prevent further damage. This fire occurred while the vehicle was in the possession and control of the dealership and during active diagnosis by their technician. Despite this, the dealership is now attempting to charge approximately $3,700 to repair the wiring harness and related components. We find this unacceptable. It is unreasonable to expect the customer to pay for repairs to damage that occurred during dealership service and inspection. This situation raises serious concerns, particularly because the dealership had recently performed electrical work on the vehicle involving the BCM only two weeks earlier.

Filed Mar 13, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · OH

I had my engine on in park and it stalled left me stranded and dashboard said engine fault service now when I tried starting the car it would turn over and I heard a bunch of clicking and the lights were flickering the dash and radio had no power and my wipers wouldn’t go off. I had to abandon my car on someone’s private property until I could get it towed they ended up calling the cops and gave me 48 hours to remove my car off there property. In my 2013 Ford Focus se I have experienced reduced engine power, hesitation, ENGINE STALLS while driving with NO WARNING Front and rear lights flicker and dim random spikes in voltage and inconsistent start-up issues like sometimes the vehicle does not start when turning the ignition on and car suddenly starts or idles down unexpectedly and stutters/lurches when driving. Also sometimes my radio fails to have power. I have replaced relay fuses starter fuses purge valve bought a new battery bought a new alternator I changed o2 sensors spark plugs filters etc I took it to Fred Martin Ford and they advised me they found intermittent communication failure between PCM and TCM. Performed wire trace on harness found harness frayed that runs along transmission unit. There are wiring harness recalls on Certain 2013 and 2014 Model Year Focus ST and Escape Vehicles Equipped with a 2.0L Engine Engine Wiring Splice Repair Safety Recall 14S17 My 2013 Ford Focus SE 2.0L Engine does not fall under this recall how come? There are several other customers having the same wiring harness issues.

Filed Aug 5, 2022 · Fuel system · 142,000 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated while stopped, the vehicle lost motive power; however, the windshield wipers were still activated. The contact replaced the battery and the vehicle restarted, but the vehicle would not accelerate as needed. The vehicle was towed. The contact stated that the failure was similar to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V515000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The dealer diagnosed the vehicle in past under the recall and stated that the vehicle was not affected. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 142,000.

Filed Dec 10, 2021 · Visibility · 140,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the windshield wipers were inadvertently activated. The windshield wipers failed to operate when the contact attempted to activate the wipers. The contact was unable to drive the vehicle when it rained due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The mechanic informed the contact that an unknown part needed to be replaced and the vehicle needed to be taken to the dealer for repair. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was not manufactured with the unknown part and the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Filed Mar 1, 2021 · Visibility · 145,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford focus. The contact stated that the windshield wipers failed to operate as intended. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer priority ford (3420 n military hwy, norfolk, va 23518, (757)583-3673) where it was diagnosed with needing the body security module (bsm) fuse box to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.

Filed Feb 24, 2021 · Visibility · 111,000 miles · PA

I was backing out of my parents drive way and as soon as I turned my wheel straight the wind shield wipers started going and would not stop I turned my car off and took the key out and they still would not stop and then they stopped working completely. They worked for 3 days like usual and then they started going by themselves again and are currently not working, I've talked to people who have had this issue and they had a recall on their wipers. If it starts raining I can not see because sometimes they refuse to work, and when they start going by themselves it's harder for me to see because they go full speed and will not stop even when the car is off and the key is out, they went for about 20 minutes while my car was off. This is a serious saftey issue and it's happened to multiple other people with the same vehicle as me and they did everything to try to fix it and nothing worked.

Filed Sep 21, 2020 · Visibility · 115,000 miles · SC

I was driving my car out of the gas station and I turned left and honked the horn because someone was still sitting at the green light. As I turned my steering wheel back straight the wipers came on by themselves and wouldn't go back off. This has been going on for a year. They turn on by themselves even when the key is out of the ignition. I have video proof not pictures. They don't work in the rain and I've tried just about everything I can to fix them but to no avail. If you look up wipers coming on by themselves on 2013 ford focus you'll see that my car isn't the only one doing this. I'm scared someone is going to get injured or possibly killed because they couldn't see when a rainstorm sneaks up on them.

Filed Aug 29, 2020 · Visibility · 150,000 miles · KY

Wipers would not turn on. Then they can on by themselves, functioned irrationally and would not turn off even when the car was turned off and the keys were removed from the ignition. The car was stationary.

Filed Jan 22, 2020 · Visibility · 138,000 miles · KY

Windshield wipers will go erratic for about 10-15 minutes while driving in the rain. When the wipers finally turn off they wont come back. Currently the wipers will not work at all after this last incident.

Filed Oct 17, 2019 · Visibility · 7 miles · CA

While driving, the wipers will go off non-stop. I pulled over, turned off the car and it was still on. I had to pull the fuse off to get to my destination. At this time, it's still happening. All at random times while driving.

Filed May 26, 2019 · Visibility · 75,000 miles · KS

While driving at highway speeds in the rain, front wipers stopped working causing visibility issues. Rear wipers continued to work correctly. After parking, we tried the wipers again, still would not work. Tried wipers again later in day in a garage, they still would not work. Checked fuse, fuse is still good. Swapped fuse with another known working fuse, both fuses worked but wipers still did not work. Later wipers started working without prompt, again causing visibility issues as it was not raining, but would not slow down or turn off. Shut car off, removed key from ignition and wipers continued to run until fuse was pulled again.

Filed May 12, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 63,000 miles · CA · fire

Since ive purchased my ford focus back in 2013 I have taken the car back to ford dealership on numerous occasions in relation to the faulty transmission and electrical issues. On my 5th attempt my transmission was replaced. This was around the end of 2017 to 2018. On may 2nd 2019 I was driving to work and as soon as I turned on the car the windsheild wipers started to go off and for some reason I could not turn them off. Once I arrived onto my work campus I turned the cornee to park my car... When all of a sudden my car flashed an error message on my dash stating the following, " transmission failure repair now". I calmly parked the car and within seconds of turning off the car I see smoke and then flames from the bottom of my engine hood. I quickly exited the car abd the flames got bigger and bigger. The fire department was called and the had to smash the back window due to the flames that had over taken the front of the car. Unfortunetly my car is not a total loss. I was at the end of my contract agreement with ford and inly having to pay 6400 left on my loan. Ive called their customer service to complain and see what can be done and was told I would get a letter in 2 weeks by their legal council. This has caused me to delay my entry into nursing school since now I have to work to handle the car the new car I just had to buy. I need transportation for work and ford took that from me. Ive now seeked out a lawyer to see what can be done. With all the times I asked for help and I ended up seeing my car go up in smoke. Im just so thankful I was able to get out iof the car in time. But believe me im still shaken and this has caused me to never buy ford again.