1999 Ford Taurus: windshield wiper failure

Filed Oct 7, 2014 · Visibility · 74,000 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns 1999 ford taurus. The contact stated while driving at 35 MPH, the windshield wipers failed intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,000.

Filed Mar 29, 2008 · Visibility · VA

Wipers come on and spray wiper fluid while the switch is in the off position. This occurs while the blinkers are switched on. They will eventually turn off by giggling the lever. Not once was the wiper switch ever found in the on position. This has been a troublesome experience for years.

Filed May 22, 2005 · Visibility · 85,000 miles · CT

Car: 1999 ford taurus se sedan a problem has started occuring with my front windshield wipers since oct 2004. The wipers are malfunctioning, whereby they come on intermittently even when the wiper-switch is in the off position. I took my car to my dealer ( dillon ford, 30 tolland turnpike, manchester,ct ) to have this problem examined and fixed. The dealership charged me $75.00 to examine the problem. The technicians reported that they were nto able to reproduce the problem and felt the cause of the problem might be a failed gem module. I ordered a new gem module through the dealership and had my gem module replaced. This cost me about $400.00. The replacement did not fix my problem at all. I still have in my possession my old gem module; the car has the new gem module. I took the car agian to the dealership on 05/20/2005 to have the problem fixed, however the technicians again reported that they were not able to reproduce the problem. Meanwhile I still have the problem with the malfunctioning wipers, and I feel this is not only a huge irritant, but also a safety hazard.

Filed May 12, 2005 · Visibility · 21,970 miles · WI

When driving my car,the windshield wipers will come on periodically without being turned on.this happens while driving down a road with or without having made a turn. It has happened at least 40 times within the last year.my ford dealer says they cannot fix it under warranty because they can't make the problem happen,therefore,they can't fix it.this same problem is occurring with a 2nd 1999 taurus that I own and my son drives.pretty strange coincidence,wouldn't you say?my fear is that when I need the wipers to work someday they will fail completely and not go on at all.

Filed Feb 18, 2005 · Visibility · 2,000 miles · NC

The windshield wipers would come on and go off while driving in inclement weather. The consumer was able to drive to dealer. The mechanic informed the driver that the windshield motor needed to be replaced. Please fill in additional information. *jb left back window motor fell out of window. Window will not go up or down. Dealership found motor was broken.

Filed Oct 27, 2004 · Visibility · 55,000 miles · WA

I have a 1999 ford taurus. When the windshield wiper switch is off, sometimes the windshield wipers will come on for no reason. Sometimes this is just once then it will stop. Sometimes it is several times in a row then it will stop. It is most prevalent during the summer, or on hotter days. Although, it has even happened in cold weather. I notice that others have complained about this same problem, but as yet it appears that there is no recall on this apparent defect in the design by ford. It is clear to me that the switch tolerances do not adequately take account of expansion and contraction over the operating temperature ranges of the vehicle. The problems I describe above have been observed in sacramento, ca, which is not the worst place in the u.s. For severe temperature changes between seasons. Hence, if it doesn't work in california, it probably will be a problem in more severe climate changes also. His problem occurs several times a week during the summer. Ford really should do the right thing and do a recall on this issue. I am an engineer and this is clearly a design defect. If the windshield wipers were to fail to work due to this problem during inclement weather, this defect could be dangerous.

Filed Oct 21, 2004 · Visibility · AL

Driving down the road the winshield wipers fail at times or come on by them selves, espcially when turning nothing has been done yet to correct failure

Filed Sep 30, 2004 · Electrical · 105,600 miles · TX

Intermittantly the windshield wipers activate when the brake pedal is pushed! I have owned the car for three years. Usually by turning the wiper switch on then off, it would stop. Today that had no affect on the wipers. I drove the car for about 2.5 hours today. The wipers came on for a total of about twenty minutes . I am taking the car to ford tomorrow. I talked with the service specialist today. He stated this was not an uncommon problem over several models of ford vehicles. The multifunction switch malfunctions. Why was there no service bulletin issued? Further, why would pressing the brake pedal activate the wipers? They are two separate systems!

Filed Jun 19, 2004 · Visibility · MA

Windshield wipers turn on without using the switch.

Filed Mar 10, 2004 · Visibility · TX

Windshield wipers come on for intermittently for no apparent reason. Estimated cost of parts is around $150.00. I am afraid the whole switch system will go out due to excessive use and unnecessary use. This could be a potential hazard if they go out during inclimate weather.

Filed Nov 4, 2003 · Body, Electrical · 27,430 miles · PA

1999 ford taurus is suffering from electrical problems. *mr the vehicle would shut off with no warning, the locks on both doors were off and would have to be played with to get them to open at times, the headlights were inoperative, also the dash lights were inoperative behind the gas gauge/radio/heating/AC/clock/and speedometer, the RPM gauge was delayed at start, the passenger door made noises when opened and closed, the wipers were intermittent, the turn signals were intermittent, the brake light had come on, the vehicle would not start in the morning but would start at night, the vehicle was sluggish and had poor gas mileage. The vehicle was taken in due to defective relays which were replaced. The VIN# on the vehicle and the VIN# on the sticker were different. *scc

Filed Sep 28, 2003 · Visibility · CA

The windshield wipers activate while the switch is in the off position.