Problems · by component

2013 Ford F-150 visibility/wiper problems

143 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2013 Ford F-150 cite visibility/wiper, 5% of all 2,796 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
143
5% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the visibility/wiper

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Driving to work this morning after remote starting my truck due to cold weather. 10 minutes into driving, the driver side of the 3-piece power slide rear glass shattered with no impact or any other damage. Online searching indicates it is a frequent problem and likely caused by the rear glass defroster.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 13, 2024Visibility/wiperODI 11625029
“2013 Ford F150 crew cab back window shatters when defroster activated. When I pushed the defrost button the window on the back drivers side shattered. This is a major safety concern.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 27, 2023Electrical system, Visibility/wiperODI 11557059
“sitting in truck that was off and heard a loud crack. looked around and the rear drivers side window was shattered. nothing hit it and defrost was not on. just shattered for no reason. 30 degree F out”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 19, 2022Visibility/wiperODI 11498022
“This morning (45 degrees F) I remote-started the truck to warm it up. As I strapped in my 5 year old into his carseat (Which does not contact the rear window at any point), We were startled by a load pop as the driver's side rear window broke. I immediately walked to the back of the truck to inspect and a small amount of smoke was raising from the bottom right side of that window where it meets the frame. I believe the rear window defroster was the cause of it. This happened 6 inches from my son's head..”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 10, 2022Visibility/wiperODI 11446880
“I was driving down the street around 7am, it was about 54 degrees outside and the portion of my rear window behind the driver seat exploded, sounded like a gun shot. I pulled over and I could hear sizzling and saw steam/smoke coming from a seam in the window so I got back in and turned off my rear defroster and the sizzling went away. I am concerned this will happen again after I get the window fixed or worse, I am worried my truck could go up in flames with my wife or kids in it.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 8, 2021Visibility/wiperODI 11439755
“THE REAR WINDOW DEFROSTER STOPPED WORKING (WINTER). IN RESEARCHING THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE REAR DEFROSTER ISSUE WE FOUND OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS STORIES & POSTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY DETAILING SPECIFICALLY THE ISSUE WE WERE EXPERIENCING WITH THE DEFROSTER AND REALIZING THIS WAS A KNOW ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE. THERE WERE COUNTLESS STORIES, MANY HARROWING ACCOUNTS OF BROKEN REAR WINDOWS DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE ENGINEERING TO REPAIR AS WELL AS WAY TOO MANY STORIES WITH CUSTOMERS HAVING TO DEAL WITH LOCAL AND NATIONAL FORD REPRESENTATIVES TO TRY TO ADDRESS THE OBVIOUS ENGINEERING ISSUE. WHILE I MAY AGREE THIS MAY BE A PERSONAL OBSERVATION, THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY OCCURRENCES OF THIS PROBLEM OCCURRING ACROSS MULTIPLE MODEL YEARS FOR FORD LEADERSHIP TO NOT BE CONCERNED WITH THIS ISSUE AND DOING SOMETHING TO FACILITATE THE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THE DEFECT.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 2, 2021Electrical system, Visibility/wiperODI 11414784

Showing 6 of 143 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.