2021 Explorer rear window washer

[AJs Explorer]

My 2021 Ford Explorer and a friend’s 2022 Ford Explorer both have a problem with the rear window washer. The nozzle above the the wiper blade just dribbles washer cleaner and only cleans the top half of the wiper radius. The bottom half of the radius remains dirty even though the wiper swipes the full radius. Our service writer checked and advised Ford does not note any known issues creating this problem. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[peterk9]

YES, I read Peter's post. Did you even read my response? Guess it's time to drop off this forum. This thread transitioned from the washer problem to possible concerns about dropping the headliner to resolve the problem. All I'm getting is warnings without WHAT or WHY dropping the headliner could be a problem. That does not give me anything to discuss with my dealer.

If I'm following this correctly, you haven't actually had the dealer check it out yet beyond saying they have to drop the headliner. Is that right?
If so, I think that is the first thing to have done. We can speculate all we want here but unless someone actually gets in there and starts to troubleshoot, you aren't going to get anywhere. There isn't really anything to discuss with the dealer that I can see. You have a rear wiper that isn't working and would like to get it fixed. That is all they have to know.

Peter

 

[AJs Explorer]

While I've never had it done, removing the headliner requires removing all the cabin plastic, a bunch of fittings in the top of the car, and releasing the headliner from the weatherstripping. While others don't seem to want to describe the actual issues they had, I suspect this procedure can result in broken plastic parts, squeaks, poor alignment, or damaged / dirty headliner cloth.

To troubleshoot your washer flow issue:

1. Check that the fluid outlet in the rear hatch isn't blocked. Correct if it is. Otherwise
2. Disconnect the fitting at the canister. If no flow at the canister, it's the pump or canister internals. Otherwise
3. Disconnect the hose where it enters the vehicle. If no flow, that hose is blocked. Otherwise
4. Disconnect the hose where it exits the roof. If there is good flow, the problem is is in the plumbing in the rear hatch. Otherwise
5. It seems like there is an issue with the water line inside the car. It could be kinked or blocked in places that can be checked without messing with the headliner. Otherwise
6. It seems like there is a problem with the water line under the headliner.

You can start a procedure like this in the front, or the back of the vehicle. The goal is to eliminate all the things that are easier to fix first before doing something more drastic. Hope this helps.

Spacey, thank you for the information about removing the headliner and the troubleshooting suggestions. My service writer has eliminated everything not covered by the headliner. We're waiting for a loaner vehicle since he said it might be a couple three days in the shop and this is the only vehicle we have. You and blwnsmoke have both helped with the headliner question. Thank you again and I will post what the problem is and the dropping the headliner..

 

[Spacey]

I suggest you examine the headliner closely when you pick the car up and make sure you are happy with its condition before accepting it.

 

[RickyG]

I suggest you examine the headliner closely when you pick the car up and make sure you are happy with its condition before accepting it.

A smarter move would be to take close-up photos of your entire headliner before you turn it over to the mechanic. Then when you inspect their work you got photos to back up any and all damages they have done to the headliner

 

[AJs Explorer]

A smarter move would be to take close-up photos of your entire headliner before you turn it over to the mechanic. Then when you inspect their work you got photos to back up any and all damages they have done to the headliner

We'll do that the day before we take it in. That way the date and time of the pictures will confirm when taken. Thanks again!

 

[dejen3303]

denjen3303, could you give some details about what happened.

We had left it, 2011 Denali version, parked at the airport for a vacation. It rained pretty hard one day and when we got back there was water on the floor. Still under warranty we took it to the Olympia GMC dealer when we got home. They found the panorama window had leaked and the water ran down the inside roof frame on the passenger side. They had to pull the headliner down to fix it. When we got the car back we found 3 or 4 pieces of hardware rolling around on the floor. We took it back and I think they just threw the hardware in the trash. That was a nice solid car until then. From there on out it had a rattle in the headliner I couldn't find or get rid of. It rattled until the day we traded it for the Explorer.

 

[AJs Explorer]

We had left it, 2011 Denali version, parked at the airport for a vacation. It rained pretty hard one day and when we got back there was water on the floor. Still under warranty we took it to the Olympia GMC dealer when we got home. They found the panorama window had leaked and the water ran down the inside roof frame on the passenger side. They had to pull the headliner down to fix it. When we got the car back we found 3 or 4 pieces of hardware rolling around on the floor. We took it back and I think they just threw the hardware in the trash. That was a nice solid car until then. From there on out it had a rattle in the headliner I couldn't find or get rid of. It rattled until the day we traded it for the Explorer.

Thank you for explaining the problem you experienced. We're going to have to take a chance in order to solve the rear window washer problem. We'll follow Spacey's and RickeyG's suggestions above before taking our's in. We'll post the outcome when our dealer finally gets a loaner vehicle in so we can leave our's in the shop for a couple three days.