While driving at speed, vehicle electrical went haywire. Headlights went on and off. Horn sounding on and off, Wipers and washers going on and off, HVAC blower on and off. Pulled over vehicle and turned off and removed key and it still remained running, all horn, lights, and wipers still going on and off. Opened hood, removed negative battery terminal, and with that, car still ran! Was several minutes and car finally shut itself off. Scary that the car went completely haywire and would not shut off, even with key out, and battery disconnected!
2008 Jeep Wrangler: windshield wiper failure
67 of the 873 complaints about the 2008 Jeep Wrangler describe windshield wiper failure.
- owner complaints
- 67
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- typical mileage
- 88,500
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 6 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Windshield wiper failure by model year
What owners say
Vehicle while driving, wipers start, horn blows, washer fluid sprays, abs light goes on, engine dies making braking and steering impossible.
The TIPM shorts out then the wipers, start running, horn blares, windshield washer fluid sprays, lights flash. The only way to stop it is unhook the battery. This is so unsafe driving on the highway you cant see the road. I almost crashed trying to pull over. After doing some internet research this is so common. This should be a recall it is dangerous! I wont let my son drive it now.
The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds or while the vehicle was parked, the horn would sound, the windshield wipers would engage while the windshield washer would spray washer fluid on the windshield, the doors would lock and unlock, and the headlights would turn on an off intermittently. The contact stated that the vehicle would lose electrical and motive power and become difficult to steer. The contact stated that the failure had occurred at least 30 times since owning the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and several dealers who were unable to diagnose and determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that he was informed that this was a known issue with Jeep vehicles. The contact stated that there was a recall for the issue for other years, makes, and models however, his vehicle was not included. The contract also did not have the recall information to provide. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
TIPM/ all warning lights came on. Started with radio Turing on, wipers malfunctioning, lights coming on out of no where. Now vehicle will not stay on in addition battery will not stay charged.
The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that the horn, alarm, windows, and windshield wipers spontaneously engaged. There were several unknown warning lights flashing. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the clockspring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact was then informed that the TIPM needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified if the failure, however, no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000. The VIN was not available.
I was driving down a state highway at 40 MPH. When my horn started blowing, windshield wiper turned on, lights flashing so I had to turn onto a side road. Motor was still running so I turn it off. The engine stopped but everything else remained on. Horn was still blowing, wipers on...I disconnected the horn wires to stop the horn. I started to move some wires thinking that there may be a short somewhere. Finally everything stopped but now my car wouldn't start. I had to get it towed. Through some research I found it to be the tipm ( total integrated power module. It has been fine since I had it replaced. Fortunately this all took place during the day in good weather. Had it happened at night or in the winter snow or in some remote area it would have caused a great deal of pain or a dangerous situation. From what I have researched myself this is not a isolated incident. Please review this information. Thank you.
Vehicle components begin malfunctioning, wipers turn on, wiper washer pump floods windshield, lights flash, headlights randomly turn off while vehicle is in motion, horn sounds, cannot turn vehicle off. Turn key to off position and vehicle continues to run creating an extremely dangerous situation. Wipers and washers blind driver randomly. Online research all points to known issue with totally integrated power module that has well documented failure rate. This is a horribly dangerous situation that deserves investigation and remediation.
The horn blows on its on, the wipers and washers come on by there self, lights come on by there self, and the only way to turn them off is disconnect the battery. It happens moving or stationary.
2008 jeep wrangler has had several issues with tipm. Wipers will come on, horn will sound, washer fluid sprays, and transmission will not shift (when the vehicle is in motion and this happens) intermittently and will sometimes create a no crank/no start condition after the malfunction happens while the vehicle is in motion and has been shut off. Defect has been traced back to tipm and tipm was replaced with an aftermarket remanufactured tipm. Problem resolved and now has reappeared with additional symptoms, such as when vehicle is put in reverse wipers will go off and engine will rev to higher rpms than necessary to allow for acceleration. The tipm defect creates a significant safety hazard when it interferes with the shifting, acceleration of vehicle. Most recent issue was 11/09/2020; issue has been ongoing since 06/2019.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that on several occasions the doors locked and unlocked independently, with the horn blaring and headlamps flashing with the windshield wipers activated without warning, or driver input. The contact became aware that the failure was due to the failure of the totally integrated power module (tipm). The contact stated that to prevent the failure, the negative battery cable was disconnected while the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.
With vehicle either not running or running. Random events where horn blasts continuously, wipers turn on, washer fluid sprays. Opening door has caused horn to sound, with engine off.*dt*jb*dt consumer stated dealership did not give faulty tipm diagnosis.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2008 Jeep Wrangler wipers
Is windshield wiper failure a common problem on the 2008 Jeep Wrangler?
67 of 873 owner complaints about the 2008 Jeep Wrangler (8%) mention windshield wiper failure. The model year with the most reports is 2008.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2008 Jeep Wrangler?
There are 0 recalls and 6 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2008 Jeep Wrangler
Airbag light 202Won't start 30Fire or smoke 22Headlights 18ABS 16Ball joint 15Adaptive cruise 12Coil spring 12Stalling 12Brake failure 10Fuel pump 8Check engine light 7Door locks 7Engine failure 7Loss of power 7Overheating 7Warning lights 7No deployment 6Fuel smell 6Jerking 5Transmission failure 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2008 Jeep Wrangler?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history