Ford Recalls 605K SUVs Due to Windshield Wiper Issue

Michael Strong
by Michael Strong

Ford Motor Co.’s quality issues continue rearing their ugly head as the company just recalled nearly 605,000 SUVs due to a problem with windshield wiper motors.


According to  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents, the company needs to repair 604,533 small and midsize sport-utility vehicles, including select Ford Escapes and Explorers as well as Lincoln Corsairs and Aviators built between 2020 and 2022.

The affected vehicles have front windshield wiper motors where the motor’s cover terminal isn’t properly aligned with the brush card terminal. As a result, this can produce a poor electrical connection causing the front wipers to work “intermittently” before they stop working altogether.

Ford told NHTSA there have been 1,374 warranty claims related to the problems since 2021. After an initial investigation about the matter was closed in September that year, Ford reopened its query late last year as part of separate investigation into production problems for a different component.


“Between November 2025 and February 2026, Ford and its supplier collaborated to review historical teardown records, analyze warranty claims, and conduct replication testing to gain a deeper understanding of the onset of the failure mode. This analysis established the suspect period of production driven by the root cause terminal mismatch condition,” the recall report notes.

Owners will be notified by mail if they’re vehicle is part of the action. They’ll be told to take their vehicle to the nearest Ford or Lincoln dealer where the motors will be inspected. If faulty, they’ll be replaced at no cost to the owner.

It’s the second major recall by Ford in the last 10 days. On Feb. 26, the company announced it was recalling 4.4 million trucks, SUVs, and vans due to a problem where those vehicles could lose their brake and trailer lights while towing.


[Images: Ford, Lincoln]


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Michael Strong
Michael Strong

Michael Strong has spent more than 25 years writing about the automotive industry. A Detroit-area native, he’s written about everything from local car shows to product reviews to financial news. Currently he writes and edits for a variety of national and local publications. He’s also a longtime member of the Automotive Press Association and the International Motor Press Association, and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Hail Southern! Despite a love for ’70s land yachts and BMWs from the late ’80s and early ’90s, his personal vehicle is neither of those.

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6 of 34 comments
  • Original Guy Original Guy on Mar 05, 2026

    I LIKE INTERMITTENT WIPERS!!

  • EBFlexing on ur mom EBFlexing on ur mom on Mar 06, 2026

    Yesterday Ford had 14 recalls when I checked. Now they have 17. Built Ford Proud

    • See 3 previous
    • MaintenanceCosts MaintenanceCosts on Mar 09, 2026

      Looking forward to when EBFlex is old and gray, because he will reject the electric wheelchair and insist on one powered by a two-stroke lawnmower engine.


  • Peeryog Everytime I see one I am reminded of the current Santa Fe. And vice versa.
  • Original Guy I watched that Moscow parade thing. (With the Cyrillic captions because my Russian is a little rough.) I won't give the whole thing away, but it started off with a couple of dudes riding around in stupid useless convertibles, standing up like Hitler, who I'm pretty sure was an actual Nazi. They drove around in circles and kept stopping to ask if anyone had seen all the missing military equipment, and all the guys kept moaning back, that no, they hadn't, ask the next section of guys.They looked around for someone shorter and sicker-looking than Putin but they were unsuccessful so they let him speak.The North Korean military was there, I guess the invasion has begun. The North Korean guys were skinny but their rifles were nicely polished, I guess they have plenty of time on their hands between meals.Some of the Russian military guys carried little white flags, I assume they keep those handy in case they run across any U.S. Marines.
  • Marc J Rauch EBFlexing on ur mom - Ethanol is compatible with more types of rubber, plastic, and metal than gasoline and aromatics. This means that ethanol is less corrosive. The bottom line is that long before ethanol could have any damaging effect on any engine component, gasoline and aromatics would have already damaged the components. And the addition of ethanol doesn't exacerbate the problems caused by gasoline and aromatics; it actually helps mitigate them.
  • Original Guy Today I learned that a reverse brake bleeder (and a long borescope) can be helpful if you are autistic and don't have any friends and no one wants to work with you to bleed your brakes. Also it is quick, once you figure out the process.When Canada assembled my truck back in circa 1995, they apparently used a different clip to attach the brake pedal (and switch) to the brake booster than what is technically called for. It is tough to realize this when the spring steel clip flies off to who knows where. Of course I ordered the wrong clip trying to match the style that I saw buried up in the dash before it flew away. My truck now has the 'correct' clip, everyone can relax.I ordered some more brake fluid (DOT 3, nothing fancy) but it turns out I still have two fresh bottles (my shelves aren't empty, I just have too many shelves).Went to install my fancy new Optima YellowTop battery and it turns out I need a new side post terminal bolt. (Yet another order placed, bring on THE TARIFFS.) It would be a shame to strip out the threads on a nice new battery, no?Good news: The longer it takes me to get my truck started again, the more I save on fuel. 😁
  • Normie Weekends here would be a great time for everyone to join in praise of dog dish hubcaps on body-color matched steelies!
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