2021 Ford F-150 Visibility/wiper Problems
Owners have filed 56 complaints with NHTSA about visibility/wiper problems on the 2021 Ford F-150, 5% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 33,230 miles. The words owners use most often: “windshield wipers” (25% of reports).
- 56visibility/wiper complaints
- 33,230median miles at failure
- 0mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 65%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Windshield wipers: mentioned in 14 of 56 complaints (25%)
- Wiper motor: mentioned in 11 of 56 complaints (20%)
- During rain: mentioned in 5 of 56 complaints (9%)
- Rear window: mentioned in 5 of 56 complaints (9%)
At what mileage do visibility/wiper problems happen?
Based on 8 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
None of the 56 complaints report a crash, fire or injury.
Ford F-150 visibility/wiper complaints by model year
| Model year | Visibility/wiper complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 F-150 | 6 | 6% | — |
| 2024 F-150 | 4 | 2% | 20 |
| 2023 F-150 | 17 | 4% | — |
| 2022 F-150 | 25 | 4% | 13,000 |
| 2021 F-150 | 56 | 5% | 33,230 |
| 2020 F-150 | 25 | 3% | 4,732 |
| 2019 F-150 | 25 | 2% | 2,200 |
| 2018 F-150 | 54 | 2% | 19,000 |
| 2017 F-150 | 39 | 3% | 40,894 |
| 2016 F-150 | 107 | 5% | 45,000 |
| 2015 F-150 | 77 | 4% | 40,000 |
| 2014 F-150 | 117 | 8% | 51,500 |
| 2013 F-150 | 146 | 5% | 56,000 |
| 2012 F-150 | 95 | 5% | 60,000 |
| 2011 F-150 | 91 | 4% | 64,500 |
| 2010 F-150 | 104 | 12% | 73,000 |
| 2009 F-150 | 1 | 0% | 186,000 |
| 2008 F-150 | 4 | 1% | 90,000 |
| 2006 F-150 | 2 | 0% | 110,000 |
| 2005 F-150 | 9 | 1% | 114,000 |
| 2004 F-150 | 23 | 1% | 82,750 |
| 2003 F-150 | 4 | 1% | 103,500 |
| 2002 F-150 | 2 | 0% | 145,000 |
| 2001 F-150 | 2 | 0% | 149,390 |
| 1999 F-150 | 2 | 0% | 45,250 |
| 1997 F-150 | 1 | 0% | 200,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists visibility/wiper for the 2021 Ford F-150. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
When using the window wipers, they become inoperable. Stopping in the middle of the window, pausing when moving, or completely stopping and unable to get them to start moving until they begin to move on their own. This has occurred multiple times and at multiple different speeds of operation for…
The rear window basically has 3 parts. Driver side, center sliding section, and passenger side. Only the driver side section defrost. According to online forums specifically for Ford trucks, this is a common issue. Fordâs Special Service Message (SSM) 48490 does reference this as a known issue.
Here is what happened on Feb 21st 2026 at about 8:00 AM MST. We were driving east in the mountains on I-70 in Colorado approaching the Eisenhower tunnel. The truck had been parked in a heated garage overnight. There had been some snow the night before which had been melted by sand and salt, so the…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2021 Ford F-150s have visibility/wiper problems?
No. NHTSA has 56 owner complaints about visibility/wiper for the 2021 Ford F-150 (5% of the 1,029 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2021 Ford F-150 visibility/wiper?
No recall currently lists visibility/wiper for this vehicle.
At what mileage do visibility/wiper problems start?
The median reported mileage is 33,230 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about visibility/wiper problems on the 2021 Ford F-150?
The most frequent phrase is “windshield wipers”, in 14 of 56 complaints, followed by “wiper motor” (11).
Other 2021 Ford F-150 problems
See all 2021 Ford F-150 problems or visibility/wiper problems across all F-150 years.