You’d think after a two-year delay, they’d have figured things out. Perhaps if the “they” in this scenario wasn’t Tesla, and the delayed thing wasn’t the Cybertruck. To say the electric pickup’s launch has been off to a rocky start is an understatement, considering its sticky throttles and wheel covers that ruin tires. The latest issue pertains to the vehicle’s massive single-blade windshield wiper, of all things—and like the accelerator problem before it, it seems to be holding up deliveries as of late.
Prospective Cybertruck owners with pending orders have been informed of a weeklong postponement, per InsideEVs citing multiple sources. If these customers have been patiently waiting since the pickup was announced in 2019, what’s another seven days?
According to forum posts over at Cybertruck Owners Club, the snag is due to an issue with the wiper’s motor, which now needs to be replaced. Based on the comments, the one-week delay seems specific to new-vehicle deliveries. But the inoperable wiper becomes a safety concern for those who already have their trucks, and existing owners were reportedly told by Tesla Service Centers to wait “a few weeks.” That’s not an encouraging discrepancy, especially with those unpredictable summer showers picking up across the country.
One owner in Florida said a downpour occurred shortly after picking up his truck last week. Of course, the wiper didn’t work, so he resorted to waiting at a local Dunkin’ Donuts until the rain passed—for three-and-a-half hours. That’s a lot of Munchkins and mocha. Roadside assistance transferred him to the service center, which gave him a multi-week timeframe. In the meantime, Rain-X and driving with his head out of the window has been his recourse.
This is not a sudden problem, either. Last month, another owner reported on Reddit that they reached out to their local service center complaining of a non-functioning wiper and was told that, yes, another Cybertruck was onsite with the same issue but, no, the company couldn’t repair the vehicles even if it had parts on hand, perhaps because Tesla was still working to pin down a fix.
Electrek says its Cybertruck tester had a wishy-washy wiper as well, that the site initially attributed to a poor automatic wiper system. In its experience, other Tesla models’ wipers would start and stop on a whim. But we’re learning now that the Cybertruck’s particular defect may be a more widespread, serious problem—not that Tesla’s made any official comment on the matter.
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