So as I drive around WI with temps in the teens, I find my windshield washers don't work. I pulled the car into my heater shop to sort it out, and they worked great. All 6 holes shot out great. Hmm. Ok, I'll take an easy fix. But then today after driving for about 20 minutes I went to use them again and nothing.

Are they freezing up?? I can hear the pump run when asked...

 

Does that car have heated jets?

Is the washer fluid old?

The problem is that the alcohol component evaporates and you are left with a much weaker solution.

The heated jets just make things worse because they add an additional level of evaporation.

 

I had a precipitate on the bottom of the tank which blocked the pump.

The pump just pulls out of a rubber grommet at the bottom.

If there is a blockage and you clear it, you then lose the contents of the tank.

Great design!!!

 

If it's worth the few dollars, you can always siphon it out.

But since the tanks have been seen with fluid turned to gel due to bacteria growth ... maybe fresh fluid is not such a bad idea.

 

I'll be able to shrug anything like this off after watching my $78 a quart transmission fluid pour out onto my garage floor....

 

If the bottle is sludgy, you can poke a hosepipe deep inside and run the tap. The squirting water dislodges the sludge and it will gush out of the filler orifice. The water also washes away the initial fluid that spills out. You can then cunningly leave the hose inside the bottle but disconnect the other end and lie it on the ground and it will syphon the water out of the bottle so you can refill it with fresh fluid.

 

Good tip!

 

If you're using water in the system, yes.

 

NO, I'm using the blue washer fluid. And my issue is not blockage. When I put the car in my heated shop, it works great. All 6 jets pump perfectly. But as it is -9 degrees here, they are actually freezing! Never had a car do this before! I know there is a pinkish washer fluid for extreme temps...I'll try that.

 

The X350 doesn't have heated jets, in fact the jet is on the wiper arm itself. It's what looks like a good idea not being good in practice. If your in a very cold location, you need fluid that will not freeze at very low temperatures. Here in England we can buy stuff for use down to about -14C, but that's it.

 

-9F is -22C (I only know metric when it gets that cold) and that's border line for some washer fluids, even the winter stuff.

I'd drain it out and put the good stuff in right away.

 

Nah, move somewhere warmer

 

Yes, put in the stuff for US/Canadian winters, as -22C will cause most standard screen washes to freeze. We never get temps like that in the UK, maybe Scotland high up in the Cairngorms, but it would be unusual.

 

I exposed the fluid bottle today and unplugged the line from the pump expecting fluid to drain out. However, it was full of slush. Even the pump was frozen. I drained the tank and put in new fluid that claims to be good to -34. Seems to be working fine, but the next few days will tell...

 

I've had the same thing occur with mine at those temps. Used the good winter washer fluid and haven't had any issues since.