Wipers Failed 2011 Malibu

[AJT1961]

I was just driving home on I-95 in the rain in my 2011 Malibu LS when my wipers suddenly failed. I pulled over to see if a fuse had blown, but not so lucky. I can hear the motor running, but the wipers can be moved freely back and forth by hand. They do remain in sync with each other when I move them by hand, but they are obviously are no longer connected to the motor. Anyone have any experience with this problem? Is it common on these cars? Is it usually a wiper motor transmission problem or a linkage failure? Do I need any special tools to get the wiper arms off, or is there some makeshift way to do it? Any advice greatly appreciated as I need to fix this fast.

[GMCustomerService]

Hi AJT1961,

We are sorry to hear that that you've experienced concerns with your wipers in your 2011 Chevrolet Malibu. If you plan on taking it in to the dealership, we'd be happy to assist you with setting up an appointment for diagnosis. We'd also be happy to document this in our database. We can be reached via private message, if you'd like our assistance.

Andraya
GM Customer Care

[Tech II]

Sounds like the linkage has popped off the crank arm, if you hear the motor running.......

[AJT1961]

That's exactly what happened. The linkage mechanism is attached to the motor by some kind of cheap ball joint type connector. I put it back on, but whatever plastic ridge is supposed to hold the plastic semi-sphere part onto the ball part must have worn out or broke off because it did not feel like it would have stayed on for very long when I rejoined the two parts. Because of this, I decided to remove the assembly, clean and re-grease the joint, and then drilled a hole completely through the cover and the ball and put in a small cotter pin with washers to hold it together (and function like an little axle). It will probably last forever, but out of an abundance of caution, I'm going to order a new linkage assembly which I can now replace at my leisure. Thanks for the response. I really could not afford to be without the car tomorrow and it going to be like a monsoon here tomorrow.