Wiper arm stops working or stays in up position. Intermittent issue.
Ford Ranger wipers problems
226 of the 8,200 owner complaints about the Ford Ranger describe windshield wiper failure, most of them for the 1999 model year.
- owner complaints
- 226
- worst model year
- 1999
- typical repair cost reported
- $300
- typical mileage
- 60,000
Is there a fix? There are 7 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Headlights 16Check engine light 6ABS 6Overheating 5Airbag light 3Stalling 2Fire or smoke 2Windshield crack 1
What owners say
Date/Time: [XXX] Approximately 3:00PM local Weather: About 10F, light wind. No precipitation. Event Description: Vehicle had sat for > 12 hours. Started vehicle and operated wipers to clear snow. Vehicle was in 2WD; Shifted to “D” and began driving forward down driveway slowly; normal throttle response. Shifted from 2WD to 4WD. 4WD engaged, and there was normal throttle response. After driving for about 15 seconds, near end of driveway, removed foot from accelerator to slow to see if there was traffic. I saw that there was none and tried to accelerate. No throttle response; the vehicle came to a stop in the snow. Note: when I state “no throttle response”, I mean no engine revving; it was not simply that the drivetrain wasn’t sending engine power to the wheels, the engine wasn’t increasing throttle as I commanded. Momentarily surprised, I pressed harder to about 30% throttle, still no response. I removed my foot from the accelerator and applied the brake. As I did so, looked at the center console display. It was showing that it had lost connection with my phone (I had left it in the house) and it was trying to reconnect. At that moment I felt a slight “bump” of acceleration. The time between first noticing no throttle response and feeling the “bump” was about 3 seconds. I decided to go back for my phone (and I also didn’t want to get on the road with a wonky throttle) so I backed up to the house; normal throttle response. I retrieved my phone and everything operated normally after that. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
High beam lights failed on, the hi-lo beam switch in turn, hazard, wiper combo switch later overheated, burn up, smoke in cabin causing complete loss of lamps, wipers at night in rain. Clearly a common issue based on web. If you are going to send full load current with no control relays force a higher standard on design margins and and mttf. You have (4) head lamps on a car no reason a design should be allowed to cause all (4) to failure. Force multiple relays, modules, and contacts, wiring circuits and fuses. Also fix the blinding headlight issues. I see almost no difference between lo and hi beams on new cars and see spots for 30 seconds after passing cars on lo. Set standards and force certs on every new head light design. Dot/the federal safety agency should be liable for any crashes related to being blinded with headlights
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Ranger. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the windshield wipers, the defroster, headlights low and high beams failed to work. The contact veered to the side of the road for a short while and then drove the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rodents had damaged the soy-based insulated wiring harnesses at the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired however, the rear lights would fail to turn off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the soy-based insulated wiring harnesses at the rear of the vehicle had sustained rodent damage. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000.
Purchased used 2008 ford ranger that has issues with multifunction switch malfunctioning on several occasions with the windshield wipers not working or high beams engaging although the turn signals are not affected as of yet. This happens when vehicle is stationary as well as moving . The windshield wipers will just quit working while driving same with high beams. I notified and asked ford today if this was normal .
99 ford ranger xlt sport package. 5 speed manual. Truck body is rust free but frame has rotted out. Rust began on left rear frame and spread to entire frame and cross members. Spare tire fell off, frame cracked in half causing bumper to fall off, gas tank fell off truck hitting a small road bump at 60mph. Both sides of rear frame, bumper, and gas tank were repaired. Now frame has cracked in half under passenger side door. Truck is unsafe to drive with only 99,000 miles. Windshield wipers also go off intermittently and do not always work when turned on.
Windshield wiper motor on 2000 ford ranger xlt pickup truck began to fail about 1 year after I bought the truck. The wipers would work occasionally and then fail on me. Took it to ford dealership and they diagnosed problem as the windshield wiper motor is defective / bad and will need to be replaced. I note that in 2006 ford rangers had a recall on wiper motor problems. I googled this problem on google.com and found that numerous consumers have experienced faulty wiper motors on ford ranger pickup trucks. I believe it is a defect in the manufacturing of this motor. Very dangerous as sudden thunderstorms and rain occur where I live - can be heavy at times, causing complete loss of visibility when driving and could cause an accident.
Tl*the contact owns a 1996 ford ranger. The contact stated that the windshield wipers would activate intermittently while driving obstructing his view. Also, the interior dome light door ajar alarm would continue to illuminate when the door was been closed intermittently. He also noticed that the electronic overdrive light would illuminate intermittently. All three electrical failures began september 2010. The dealer and manufacturer informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The current mileage was 107,000 and the failure mileage was 100,000.
Horn and windshield wipers come on when I turn on headlights on 2004 ford ranger xlt.
Windshield wipers frequently either do not work at all or will stop working in the middle of operation. Condition comes and goes with no apparent warning or trigger. Condition occurs in all kinds of weather or operating conditions.
Related recalls
Visibility: windshield
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Bronco and Ranger vehicles. During manufacturing, the windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach in a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 212, "Windshield Mounting."
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, windshield detachment can increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will remove and replace the windshield, free charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 20, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C52. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on on October 14, 2025.
Recall number 25V683000 · Recall details
Visibility: power window devices and controls
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024 Ranger and 2024 Lincoln Nautilus vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 24V‑597. When closing the windows with the global closing feature, the windows may not automatically reverse after detecting an object. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
- Risk
- A closing window may exert excessive force and pinch a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the driver door module (DDM) and the passenger door module (PDM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 15, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C10.
Recall number 25V237000 · Recall details
Visibility: power window devices and controls
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024 Ranger and 2024 Lincoln Nautilus vehicles. When closing the windows with the global closing feature, the windows may not automatically reverse after detecting an object. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 118, "Power-Operated Window Systems."
- Risk
- A closing window may exert excessive force by pinching a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will update the driver door module (DDM) and the passenger door module (PDM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 13, 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24C24.
Recall number 24V597000 · Recall details
Visibility: windshield
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2022 Bronco and Ranger vehicles. The windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, which could allow it to detach during a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 212, "Windshield Mounting."
- Risk
- A windshield that separates from a vehicle during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will remove and reinstall the windshield, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 18, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22C12.
Recall number 22V451000 · Recall details
Visibility: defroster/defogger/HVAC system: fan/motor
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019 Ranger vehicles previously repaired under recall 19V‑726. The service replacement Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) blower motor that was installed may have an improper clearance between an electrical terminal and the conductive base plate that may result in an resistive electrical short.
- Risk
- A resistive electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the HVAC blower motor, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 6, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S12.
Recall number 20V137000 · Recall details
Visibility: defroster/defogger/HVAC system: fan/motor
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019 Ranger vehicles. The Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) blower motor may electrically short.
- Risk
- An electrical short can increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the HVAC blower motor production date, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began December 4, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S34.
Recall number 19V726000 · Recall details
Visibility: windshield wiper/washer: motor
- What is wrong
- On certain trucks, passenger cars and sport utility vehicles, the windshield wiper motor may have been produced without grease being applied to the output shaft gear.
- Risk
- After a period of continuous use on the high speed setting, lack of grease on the output shaft gear may cause the gear to distort or fracture during operation resulting in a loss of wiper function. Inoperative wipers under inclement weather conditions could cause a crash due to impaired visibility.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the wiper motor for the presence of grease and grease the wiper motor gears if necessary. The recall began on november 22, 2005. Owners may contact ford at 1‑800‑392‑3673 or lincoln/mercury at 1‑800‑521‑4140.
Recall number 05V520000 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford Ranger wipers
Which Ford Ranger years have windshield wiper failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1999 (67 complaints), 1995 (64 complaints) and 1996 (37 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix windshield wiper failure on the Ford Ranger?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $300 (median of 6 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used Ford Ranger?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history