The vehicle is equipped with “rain-sensing windshield wipers” but they do not work due to poor design. They should not have failed this quickly (33,000 or so miles). The windshield wipers must be manually activated because of this defect, but since the manufacturer thought they would be automatic, they made the manual activation very hard to access. It is very dangerous trying to activate them while operating the vehicle because A) your eyes are off the road for an extended period in poor conditions and B) the control is in a hard-to-reach area. You have to turn the nob 6-7 positions to put the wipers on low or high, and for the first 5 positions the windshield wipers don’t activate.
GMC Yukon wipers problems
90 of the 5,032 owner complaints about the GMC Yukon describe windshield wiper failure, most of them for the 1994 model year.
- owner complaints
- 90
- worst model year
- 1994
- typical mileage
- 105,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Power windows 3ABS 3Engine failure 2Check engine light 2Brake failure 2Won't start 1Spongy pedal 1Loss of power 1
What owners say
Windshield wipers stopped working while driving. Once engine turned off, the wires began working again. Additionally, later in the day while driving home the wipers stopped working again. The wipers have not worked since.
Vehicle can be completely off and windshield wipers are still going. So you have to pop the hood and pull fuse out. If you want to use them ( it starts raining, dirty windshield) you have to stop pop the hood and put fuse in. Has been in shop almost weekly repaired every part they could possible switch and still not repaired.
I purchased the vehicle in July 2024. I drove the car for 10 days, and when I was driving 65 mph, the check engine light blinked three times and then went off. After that, the engine made a sound that was not there before. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they had the car for many weeks, concluding that the lifters broke and the engine needed to be replaced. The dealership said they replaced the engine and the car was returned to me towards the end of August. Since then, the AC has been worked on three different times in the past year and on the third attempt, there is finally cool air coming out of the driver's air vents. The driver's seat AC blowers malfunctioned and were repaired. The dealership put the original engine's belt back on and then broke. The electric system inside glitches from time to time when you first start the car. The front windshield wipers will randomly swipe while driving. After getting a regular oil change, the car sprang an oil leak due to the cap not being tight enough. Over the past 5 months, there has been a random popping sound in the front driver's side area when coming to a stop that two dealerships can not figure out. The belt in the engine still makes a high-pitched sound when first starting up and lasts for about 1 minute. While in park or sitting at a light, the engine will idle up and down from time to time. The vehicle has been worked on by the dealership where it was purchased and also a GMC dealership.
The front windshield wipers suddenly stopped working and will not turn on.
On multiple occasions, more recently 03/28/2025, the windshield wipers would stop working. On 3/28/25 in pouring rain at night the front windshield wipers were working and then stopped. The rear window continued to work. I finally found somewhere to safely pull over and check fuses for front and back wipers. They were both good and I even swapped the fuses for front and back and the back wipers continued to work while the front would not. This continued on our our trip in rain and even the next morning the front wipers would not come on. An hour later driving (with the wiper switch in the OFF position) the front wipers came on. I switched the switch to on and they were functioning. This has happed several time in the 6 months of new ownership with the dealership denying they have ever heard of such a problem. As we arrived to our destination and telling the story to the other families we were meeting another family there said they just had the same exact problem on their 2024 Yukon denali on the trip too. This put 2 families in a very dangerous situation. As I google this problem there are multiple reviews of individuals with this same problem.
Windshield wipers quit working while raining and driving. I was able to get home even though I couldn’t see. I tried turning the car on and off multiple times and testing the windshield wipers but they still didn’t work. After about 10 mins, I restarted the car and the wipers worked again. I took video of the wipers not working while the car was on. They will work fine and then all of the sudden while it is raining they will stop work. This is the second time this has happened in 4 months.
Serious Safety Issue: While driving in the Rain, with the wipers on (actively working), randomly they will stop working. They will not work again until 10-15 minutes of time has passed. Any alternative setting makes no difference. During the 10-15 minutes of non-working wipers, there is nothing the driver can do…. Except wait. Depending where and when this occurs, this could be a deadly safety issue. I’ve checked the fuse; Turned off the rain auto-sensing feature – yet the vehicle is scary to drive in the rain, not knowing if / when the wipers may stop working again. During my ownership of this vehicle, this has happened three times; of course you must be driving during rain for the issue to occur.
Windshield wipers quit working. I turned off the rain sensing feature and they did not work even then. This is the second complaint I am filing on this vehicle. The vehicle is at the dealership for the second time to address this issue. Very very unsafe! they will work fine and then all of the sudden while it is raining they will stop working. Night time is the worst.
Windshield wipers quit working. Either with or without rain sensing on or off.
Related recalls
Visibility: windshield wiper/washer
- What is wrong
- On certain minivans, pickup trucks, and sport utility vehicles with certain model-engine combinations, the windshield wiper motor may fail due to cracked solder joints on the controller circuit board. The windshield wipers could work intermittently or not at all.
- Risk
- If this were to occur during bad weather, driver visibility would be reduced, which could result in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the wiper motor circuit board and cover. Owner notification began on june 19, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑222‑1020, gmc at 1‑800‑462‑8782, or oldsmobile at 1‑800‑442‑6537.
Recall number 03V159000 · Recall details
Visibility: windshield wiper/washer
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, 2 and 4-wheel drive. Solder joints near the wiring harness connector can crack causing the windshield wipers to work intermittently.
- Risk
- This condition can result in inoperative wipers, reducing a driver's visibility, and increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the wiper motor circuit board and cover.
Recall number 98V150001 · Recall details
Questions about the GMC Yukon wipers
Which GMC Yukon years have windshield wiper failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1994 (19 complaints), 1998 (17 complaints) and 1996 (11 complaints).
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