NHTSA Complaint #11047363 — 2013 FORD EXPLORER

CONDITIONS: THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY. THERE WAS HEAVY RAIN. THERE IS TRIM MOLDING ON THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD OF THE 2013 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING A FEW WEEKS AGO, THE DRIVER'S SIDE MOLDING FLEW OFF, LEAVING EXPOSED A STRIP OF WEATHER STRIPPING, WHICH WAS COVERED WITH A BLACKISH GLUE. AS A RESULT OF THE MOLDING HAVING FLOWN OFF, THE NOW UNSECURED WEATHER STRIPPING WAS REPEATEDLY HITTING THE WINDSHIELD LEAVING IT COVERED WITH THE STICKY RESIDUE FROM THE GLUE. WHILE THAT ON ITS OWN MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SO BAD, IT WAS RAINING AND THE AUTOMATIC WIPERS HAD ENGAGED. THIS RESULTED IN THE WEATHER STRIPPING GETTING CAUGHT UNDERNEATH ONE OF THE WIPERS AND SMEARING THE GLUE ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD RENDERING IT COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE. THE COMBINATION OF THE GLUE FROM THE WEATHER STRIPPING COMPLETELY OBSCURING MY VISIBILITY, THE WIPERS BEING RENDERED WHOLLY INOPERABLE, AND THE HEAVY RAIN WAS A DEVASTATING COMBINATION. I WAS ON A HIGHWAY, DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MILES PER HOUR, WITH MILD TO HEAVY TRAFFIC, WHILE IT WAS RAINING, AND IN THE SPAN OF LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS: (1) THE TRIM TO MY WINDSHIELD FLEW OFF IN TRAFFIC; (2) THE GLUE ON THE WEATHER STRIPPING THAT WAS HELD IN PLACE BY THE TRIM BEGAN REPEATEDLY FLAPPING ON THE WINDSHIELD; (3) THE WIPERS, ALREADY ENGAGED, GOT CAUGHT ON THE FLAPPING WEATHER STRIPPING, AND SMEARED THE GLUE ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD; AND (4) THE WIPERS WERE LEFT COMPLETELY INOPERABLE DUE TO THE WEATHER STRIPPING THAT THEY HAD GOTTEN CAUGHT ON. ESSENTIALLY, IN THE SPAN OF LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS, I WENT FROM BEING ABLE TO SEE AND DRIVE WITHOUT ISSUE TO HAVING TO DRIVE WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SEE WHAT WAS IN FRONT OF ME.