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Stripped Out Wiper Arm

Flying J

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Like a lot of the country this week, we've had a lot of rain here in Michigan.
I was driving yesterday morning in heavy heavy rain with my wipers on high when the drivers side wiper slowed down then stopped.
I had to pull over and when I grabbed the wiper arm it would move with very little resistance.
The rain eased up and I slowly drove home with no wipers,
At home I pulled the wiper arm off and found the wiper shaft was OK, but the wiper arm itself had all the splines stripped out.
If this happened with rain whats going to happen with heavy wet snow?
The dealer where I bought it from has Saturday service hours,so I took it in to them.
When I told the service manager what happened and that I thought it would be covered under warranty he said no.
Not covered!
It really wasn't worth getting to a argument over it, so I went to the parts department and ordered a new arm.
This really shakes my confidence in this vehicle as I plan on many long distance trips.
I'm planning on driving to Seattle via the Trans Canadian Highway in the near future. I think I'll pack a couple of spare wiper arms along with the rest of my gear.
Anyone else have any wiper problems?
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Rex3rd

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Like a lot of the country this week, we've had a lot of rain here in Michigan.
I was driving yesterday morning in heavy heavy rain with my wipers on high when the drivers side wiper slowed down then stopped.
I had to pull over and when I grabbed the wiper arm it would move with very little resistance.
The rain eased up and I slowly drove home with no wipers,
At home I pulled the wiper arm off and found the wiper shaft was OK, but the wiper arm itself had all the splines stripped out.
If this happened with rain whats going to happen with heavy wet snow?
The dealer where I bought it from has Saturday service hours,so I took it in to them.
When I told the service manager what happened and that I thought it would be covered under warranty he said no.
Not covered!
It really wasn't worth getting to a argument over it, so I went to the parts department and ordered a new arm.
This really shakes my confidence in this vehicle as I plan on many long distance trips.
I'm planning on driving to Seattle via the Trans Canadian Highway in the near future. I think I'll pack a couple of spare wiper arms along with the rest of my gear.
Anyone else have any wiper problems?
That's pretty bad when you have to pack spare wiper arms for your overlanding trip lol. That's crazy. Dealership should have fixed it
 

saintpauljeff

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Not covered?!? Uhhh I thought all JTs had the 3yr/36k mile bumper to bumper warranty?
 

Gatorized

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Sad the dealer didn’t fix it just for the good will points. But I doubt it is a repeatable issue since it was the arm that stripped. Suspect the shaft is a harder grade of metal so the arm gets sacrificed in this situation. Probably not tightened correctly at the factory. Both arms are same part number so should be good to carry just one spare. Just make sure you don’t over-torque and strip anything else!
 

WXman

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The dealership is mistaken. The wiper blade is a wear item and isn't covered. The wiper ARM should be covered and I would fuss about that if I were you.
 

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Papa_smurf

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I'd contact @JeepCares

@WXman is correct, the wiper arm should be covered by the bumper to bumper warranty, the wiper blade is a wear part.
 

Up venture

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That's pretty wild. I've had my wipers froze solid to my windshield already and had left the wipers on when I parked it and so when I started it again the arms jerked but didn't move. I quickly shut them off and after they thawed the sat a bit higher but after using them the returned to there normal resting place. Sorry but no amount of rainx or other product is going to help in an area that's constantly exposed to freezing rain and other harsh winter weather. I've used many and they're great for rain and do nothing for ice.
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