I have a bmw 325i and i live in NY. It gets cold up here and what i noticed recently is that, when i turn my car on and even after driving for hour or so if i try to spray water to clean my windshield, nothing comes out.

Its like there is something blocking the path to come out. I can hear it working and all but nothing comes out.

Then lets say 4-5 hours later, usually when i take my lunch i go out and they work fine, they spray fine!!!

What could be the issue? Is there anything i can do? or go to the dealer and have them play with it?

Thanks for any help in advance!

Slavisa

Do you have the correct kind of fluid? If you are still using the summer fluid, it may be freezing in the tubes/nozzle then thawing under the sun. I would try to empty it out and use a winter solution that is rated for temps way below freezing. Just go to WalMart, this is all they'll carry this time of year.

Im not sure, i just got the car last week....ill do that today at my lunch break and see if it works?
Any wiper washer fluids are good? any recommendations?

thanks

Im not sure, i just got the car last week....ill do that today at my lunch break and see if it works?
Any wiper washer fluids are good? any recommendations?

thanks

You probably have the "blue stuff" in there now which is usually a summer formula. I use the orange stuff in the winter, it is the lower temp rated fluid and is a de-icer also. Any supermarket, walmart, auto store, heck even most convenience stores sell it too.

Fluid should be free from the dealer under free maintenance. Stop in for a fill up. I don't know if all dealers use the same stuff, but my dealer uses some good stuff, it has never frozen and I can tell from the smell that is has a lot of alcohol in it (but don't drink it:eyecrazy). It is clear in color.

I had similar issues until I filled my reservoir with blue cleaning solution. My blue fluid is rated to below zero so no problems once it got filled. No, I did not get in my car and drive 20 minutes to save 50 cents worth of solution.

Color Is Not A Sure Fire Way To Establish What Temp The Fluid Is Rated For............................................... ......

And As Far As The High Alcohol Content Mentioned Above Could Be Bad For The Paint

I have a bmw 325i and i live in NY. It gets cold up here and what i noticed recently is that, when i turn my car on and even after driving for hour or so if i try to spray water to clean my windshield, nothing comes out.

Its like there is something blocking the path to come out. I can hear it working and all but nothing comes out.

Then lets say 4-5 hours later, usually when i take my lunch i go out and they work fine, they spray fine!!!

What could be the issue? Is there anything i can do? or go to the dealer and have them play with it?

Thanks for any help in advance!

Slavisa


Hello "slavisa":

I use this stuff:

http://www.prestone.com/products/windshieldWasherFluids.php

It also helps when I am too lazy to scrape a thin layer of frost or ice.

Thanks all of you for a quick response.

I went out for lunch and like i said they were working fine now. I want to Walmart and picked up orange color washerbelow so i guess ill see tomorrow if it will be any better. The label mentioned that its for -25F so it should be good.

Ill post if it worked or not!

I had similar issues until I filled my reservoir with blue cleaning solution. My blue fluid is rated to below zero so no problems once it got filled. No, I did not get in my car and drive 20 minutes to save 50 cents worth of solution.


Was that a shot at me? My dealer is very close, closer than most stores I would by washer fluid so no wasted gas. :)

Was that a shot at me? My dealer is very close, closer than most stores I would by washer fluid so no wasted gas. :)

No. That was a shot at the guys/gals who say "this stuff is free. Drive to the dealer". :D I can buy sub-zero rated cleaner for $1.09 a gallon at K-Mart and I might as well fill up the BMW when I am doing the other three cars. The Prestone orange stuff is four times the cost of the generic K-Mart brand and both go to sub-zero. I am guessing that a lot of the price difference is the marketing for Prestone?

No. That was a shot at the guys/gals who say "this stuff is free. Drive to the dealer". :D I can buy sub-zero rated cleaner for $1.09 a gallon at K-Mart and I might as well fill up the BMW when I am doing the other three cars. The Prestone orange stuff is four times the cost of the generic K-Mart brand and both go to sub-zero. I am guessing that a lot of the price difference is the marketing for Prestone?


Hello "Grumpa72":

I use the Prestone mostly because it will de-ice. You can purchase pretty much anything that protects to low temps. The Prestone (and I am sure there are others) will actually liquify and allow your wipers to remove a thin layer of ice even before the windshield is warm.

Hey, when you get old, you notice things like that.

Hello "Grumpa72":

I use the Prestone mostly because it will de-ice. You can purchase pretty much anything that protects to low temps. The Prestone (and I am sure there are others) will actually liquify and allow your wipers to remove a thin layer of ice even before the windshield is warm.

Hey, when you get old, you notice things like that.

Make sure you are very careful when you are using solutions that contain methanol. They are highly flammable, poisonous, and rips the wax right off your car in the matter of seconds of exposure.

I will just stick with whatever I can get from Canadian tire (the blue stuff).

By the way, shouldn't your car come with heated windshield washers?

I have a bmw 325i and i live in NY. It gets cold up here and what i noticed recently is that, when i turn my car on and even after driving for hour or so if i try to spray water to clean my windshield, nothing comes out.

Its like there is something blocking the path to come out. I can hear it working and all but nothing comes out.

Then lets say 4-5 hours later, usually when i take my lunch i go out and they work fine, they spray fine!!!

What could be the issue? Is there anything i can do? or go to the dealer and have them play with it?

Thanks for any help in advance!

Slavisa

what dealer in NY was it? Because my dealer delivered my car filled with WATER in the windshield wiper container and it was JANUARY. The trouble I had defrosting the system- you would not believe.

By the way, shouldn't your car come with heated windshield washers?
Not sure if that will prevent them from freezing on contact with the cold nozzles. I had that issue only once and that was when I was switching from summer to winter solution and it was 0F outside. No problems since.

One bottle of concentrate is not enough to provide adequate freeze protection, and they're about $4. Warranty is not going to cover $12-16 worth of washer fluid, which is what it would take to fill the reservoir.

what dealer in NY was it? Because my dealer delivered my car filled with WATER in the windshield wiper container and it was JANUARY. The trouble I had defrosting the system- you would not believe.

i actually found the car that i wanted in CT and thats where i bought it.

when i sprayed it on the windshield i smelled a bit of alcohol on it so idk if the washer that they gave me was summer or winter stuff.

i hope the new Washer i put in fixes this, but we'll see.

One bottle of concentrate is not enough to provide adequate freeze protection, and they're about $4. Warranty is not going to cover $12-16 worth of washer fluid, which is what it would take to fill the reservoir.

Last winter I stopped in the dealer for a minor issue with my E46. I mentioned the fluid was low and they filled it up for free. I have not needed a refill yet this winter.

Tested mine today with outside temperature of - 34.5C (wind = - 45.0C) and they work fine. The wipers are frozen so they are not very useful.

Hello "Grumpa72":

I use the Prestone mostly because it will de-ice. You can purchase pretty much anything that protects to low temps. The Prestone (and I am sure there are others) will actually liquify and allow your wipers to remove a thin layer of ice even before the windshield is warm.

Hey, when you get old, you notice things like that.

I use my windshield ice scraper in lieu of spray on products. If I activate the squirters to spray a de-icing agent, then the windshield wipers are activated. Don't want to scrape them across ice. Fwiw, my kids already say I am old! :D When I get out of bed in the morning, I feel old.

Last winter I stopped in the dealer for a minor issue with my E46. I mentioned the fluid was low and they filled it up for free. I have not needed a refill yet this winter.
No luck doing that here, I need to fill it up every 2 weeks or sometimes more often. They use so much salt, that the roads are white when dry all winter long, the lane markers become invisible. Even the trees turn white and no, not from the snow. When I lived in Boston, I used to visit Montreal often and wondered why the cars there are always dirty in winter time even when it is not snowing. When I moved here, I realized why. You can't keep a car clean even on dry roads, the salt dust turns it while in a day or less.

No luck doing that here, I need to fill it up every 2 weeks or sometimes more often. They use so much salt, that the roads are white when dry all winter long, the lane markers become invisible. Even the trees turn white and no, not from the snow. When I lived in Boston, I used to visit Montreal often and wondered why the cars there are always dirty in winter time even when it is not snowing. When I moved here, I realized why. You can't keep a car clean even on dry roads, the salt dust turns it while in a day or less.

I feel your pain and can relate. We had very mild weather last weekend here in Chicago and I got my car washed just to remember what the color my car was, it only last 1.5 days. Now it's the salt gray again, ugh.

No luck doing that here, I need to fill it up every 2 weeks or sometimes more often. They use so much salt, that the roads are white when dry all winter long, the lane markers become invisible. Even the trees turn white and no, not from the snow. When I lived in Boston, I used to visit Montreal often and wondered why the cars there are always dirty in winter time even when it is not snowing. When I moved here, I realized why. You can't keep a car clean even on dry roads, the salt dust turns it while in a day or less.


I drive the 335 through the winter but on the snowy days I have another car to drive so I don't go through a lot of fluid. I am probably about two squirts away from the light coming on though. Plus I have noticed that BMWs have a large reservoir compared to other makes.

then the windshield wipers are activated. Don't want to scrape them across ice.

Wiper blades are free at the dealership! (Please don't reply regarding wasting gas driving to the dealership) :)

Wiper blades are free at the dealership! (Please don't reply regarding wasting gas driving to the dealership) :)
Yeah, although I wouldn't recommend using the wiper blades on ice covered windshield all the time, I do that from time to time for thin ice layers and the wipers still seem to last more than a year (2 at least). Since you take your car in for oil service at least once a year, you can always ask them to check/replace the wiper blades then. Sometime it is too much of a hassle to use an ice scraper for a little ice buildup, esp. on those negative F days.

Last winter I stopped in the dealer for a minor issue with my E46. I mentioned the fluid was low and they filled it up for free. I have not needed a refill yet this winter.Some dealerships have a barrel of washer fluid they use to top off cars.
Wiper blades are free at the dealership! (Please don't reply regarding wasting gas driving to the dealership) :)They are, but if you go through too many, they'll stop giving them to you.:stickoutt

Wiper blades are free at the dealership! (Please don't reply regarding wasting gas driving to the dealership) :)


Hello "Jhunter":

I did not know this. Next time I am in the area, I will ask them for a new set. Our winters are tough on them.

Hello "Jhunter":

I did not know this. Next time I am in the area, I will ask them for a new set. Our winters are tough on them.

They are part of standard maintenance. Whenever I am in for an oil service I just have them change the blades. So they get changed about one a year and have never had them question me on it.

Once A Year Is About Average. Any Mkroe Then That And They Will Eventually Tell You They Won't Do It Anymore.....

i went out this morning and it was around 20f and washers worked fine, i think it was the non-winter wash fluid in there that was freezing and then later in a day worked.

Thanks alot guys for your help.

They are part of standard maintenance.Not really, unless you mean that they're covered by the maintenance warranty. In that case, you are correct.

Wiper inserts, just like any other warranty issue, will not be replaced unless you specifically complain about them. Just tell the service writer that they're streaking, and you'll get a new set.

Not really, unless you mean that they're covered by the maintenance warranty. In that case, you are correct.

Your are correct. I meant they are covered if they need replaced. Not that they would be automatically replaced with the oil service for instance.

When I had my E46, I would just buy rubbing alcohol from Wal-Mart or something and dump it in there and that seemed to work pretty well. (Wisconsin)