Alot of us may not pay attention to this yet we use it everyday with bugs or dust or pollen on the windshield, but when you press the stalk button to activate washer fluid do the wipers activate first before squirt or does it squirt before wiping? on mine the wipers start off then the fluid jets out... so today i brought home a 2014 taurus with the same stalk system, on that the jets started first then the wipers came on.

 

In my Mustang I have missed a feature that I've had on Hondas where I can flick the separate wiper stalk UP to get a sweep of the wipers if I have just a bit of mist on the windshield. I found that in my Mustang I can give that button in the end of the stalk a quick jab and get the same effect of a single sweep without washer, although sometimes I don't hold it in long enough and nothing happens.

 

The operation you describe is documented in the owner's manual... a quick press gives one wipe with no washer fluid, a short hold gives three wipes with washer fluid and a single "courtesy" wipe afterward, a long press will provide continuous wipe with up to ten seconds of washer fluid.

 

And I rag on other people about not reading the instructions. Shame on me.

 

courtesy" wipe .... Just sounds wrong

 

I HATE that **** courtesy wipe!!! It's always unnecessary and just dry wipes the windshield, which wears out the wipers quicker and can scratch the windshield. Fortunately I rarely ever have to use mine

 

I only use mine when there is enough moisture on the windshield to hamper visibility but it isn't accumulating fast enough to warrant turning on the intermittent wipers.

 

I made a video in the Taurus..maybe its better to ask in a video form

 

yeah if the wipers are going off before the fluid, that's going to burn up the wipers and likely scratch the windshield. I'm pretty sure the Mustang is supposed to release fluid before the wipers start.

 

Motorcraft wipers are $14 per side (probably even less in the US). Considering that its one of the least expensive things that can be replaced once or maybe every other year, I wouldn't worry if they burn out sooner rather than later. I personally like the it doesn't blast windshield windshield washer fluid right away. You may want to press it if its spitting out and want a quick wipe.


It would be good to know why ford decided to setup the mustang differently from the Taurus. I can see how it would raise questions.

 

You can scratch the windshield. And you will burn up the wipers at a faaar quicker rate than a normal car. This is unacceptable in my eyes. I don't care how cheap wiper blades are. Oil is cheap, would it be ok for the engine to have a small leak?

 

Be serious, the ONLY time I've ever heard of someone ever scratching their windshield is if they didn't have a wiper blade and were operating the wipers with the arm directly on the windshield. I'm not sure why you're comparing apples to oranges. a small leak in the engine would prove to have a problem somewhere. within the engine.


The way Ford setup the how the wipers operate is not the same comparison. IF the OP posted this thread showing that his wipers worked in a completely different form from everyone else, then I'd understand your comparison better, but it isn't. its normal.


ALL I'm saying is that wearing out wiper blades and having to replace them annually is NOT the end of the world. 90% of people on this forum wouldn't squint at spending thousands of dollars on mods, replacing perfectly good parts on their cars, yet people are irate over having to replace $14 wipers once a year? I don't get it.

 

Not all of us are 1%'ers
And I have witness first-hand the scratching of a windshield from running wipers dry.

 

I see you have a 2013GT. How many times have you replaced your wipers?


My 2014 was picked up in June/July so, it will be almost a whole year that I've been driving it. I've put on over 25,000KM on it so far and it is my DD. the wipers work like the day I picked them up. not a streak, not a squeak or smears of any sorts. perfect. Considering I drove the car through the winter and didn't bother replacing those wipers, they STILL work awesome. I'll have no qualms about replacing them once a year if they hold up this well.

 

Zero times. The car has 7k miles on it.
My DD Elantra I drive 15k miles a year and I avoid putting wipers on it until about every 12-15 months. Wipers are NOT cheap in my eyes. $15-20+ EACH for stamped steel assembled with rubber. My wipers don't get all streaky and the windshield doesn't get scratched because I make sure plenty of fluid gets sprayed on the windshield before wiping.

 

I'm afraid I going to have to call "BS" on this one. Unless the wiper rubber is torn or missing, there is NO WAY a piece of rubber is going to scratch the glass. In 40 years of driving and working in the automotive field, I have NEVER seen any wiper that still has the rubber intact create a scratch in a windshield.

It is true that dry wiping can cause somewhat more wear than when the windshield is wet. However, it was more pronounced years ago and isn't a major factor with the design and materials used in modern wiper inserts. I have replaced my wipers twice in 4.5 years and I'm due for the third change right about now. So that comes out to somewhere around $20 per year on average which is quite inexpensive in the overall scheme of car maintenance.

 

A rubber wiper isn't scratching glass. Let's be realistic here.

Dirt? Perhaps. Rubber...no.

 

lmao of course the rubber doesn't scratch the class, the dirt and debris that get picked up by the wiper can scratch the glass. Call BS all you want, but I've seen it first hand a few times. One time when I was working at the Chevy dealer a guy was reaching around and bumped the wiper stick without knowing it and scratched up the windshield. It happened on my 99 Accent when I was young and didn't know any better. It can happen. Dry wiping can cause scratching. In more ways that one

 

I just went out and tried mine out. It squirts first, then wipes. Dry wipes are not a big problem for me because I keep my windshield pretty impeccably clean and I don't like it. The least bit of dirt, roadkill, or dirt is cleaned off wen I get home. (obsessive compulsive). I only use dry wipe for mist and not when the windshield has the least dust, roadkill, and bird poop has it. A squirt wipe will only spread the shi+. I use both features but not very often at all. The squirt is only when a bug is right in my line of sight. Even then, it takes several passes to get rid of the bug. The solution also hits cars next and behind me and I'm afraid it might pi55 them off. That's just what I personally do.

 

yesterday mine wiped before spraying. I think that may be because it wasn't primed from not using it for several weeks. you can hear the motor running before fluid comes out