[dtox9]

Thought I would share my experience with my F25 issue... 2017 / 66k miles

Couple weeks ago discovered my washer spray was reduced by about half.... and was hitting LOW on the windshield. I've only had the car a short while, but do know that they were working fine when I took possession of it before Summer.

Did some research and found a few posts talking about BMW reservoir tanks growing sludge/slime in them and mucking up the pumps. I could hear the pump working... just wasn't getting the result through the sprayer.

I have no idea what brand washer fluid was in there when I bought the car.
I put in some rain-x when I thought the tank was almost empty thinking that was the cause of the low spray. The tank didn't even hold a half gallon before it was full - nope / that wasn't the problem. I've since read in the foums that rain-x is thought by some to actually cause problems with the pumps.... so, I will not be using that moving forward.

All 3 nozzles on the hood were firing about the same half power, and were hitting the windshield at the same spot (right below the wipers)... looking more closely, learned that all three of them had broken clips... ugh... I haven't seen this reported by others... maybe I'm just lucky?

Anyway, some silicone to hold them into their preferred positions.. and 4 or 5 flush outs of the tank... and my windshield now receives FULL spray from edge to edge... even greater than what I had before, actually.

Bought a pair of pumps thinking while it was apart, I would go ahead and replace them... but never even had to drop the tank.

FWIW - when I called the stealership and talked to one of the service guys about what it was doing... he quoted me close to $500 for the repair to replace the pumps and clean the tank - - no thanks.

For now I've just got water in there.... going to replace it with actual cleaning solution washer fluid...

what's everybody using ?

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by dtox9

Thought I would share my experience with my F25 issue... 2017 / 66k miles

Couple weeks ago discovered my washer spray was reduced by about half.... and was hitting LOW on the windshield. I've only had the car a short while, but do know that they were working fine when I took possession of it before Summer.

Did some research and found a few posts talking about BMW reservoir tanks growing sludge/slime in them and mucking up the pumps. I could hear the pump working... just wasn't getting the result through the sprayer.

I have no idea what brand washer fluid was in there when I bought the car.
I put in some rain-x when I thought the tank was almost empty thinking that was the cause of the low spray. The tank didn't even hold a half gallon before it was full - nope / that wasn't the problem. I've since read in the foums that rain-x is thought by some to actually cause problems with the pumps.... so, I will not be using that moving forward.

All 3 nozzles on the hood were firing about the same half power, and were hitting the windshield at the same spot (right below the wipers)... looking more closely, learned that all three of them had broken clips... ugh... I haven't seen this reported by others... maybe I'm just lucky?

Anyway, some silicone to hold them into their preferred positions.. and 4 or 5 flush outs of the tank... and my windshield now receives FULL spray from edge to edge... even greater than what I had before, actually.

Bought a pair of pumps thinking while it was apart, I would go ahead and replace them... but never even had to drop the tank.

FWIW - when I called the stealership and talked to one of the service guys about what it was doing... he quoted me close to $500 for the repair to replace the pumps and clean the tank - - no thanks.

For now I've just got water in there.... going to replace it with actual cleaning solution washer fluid...

what's everybody using ?

Thanks for the thorough post! Are you saying that they were indeed at full pressure but since the clips had broken, it was just aiming too low? I simply use the el cheapo blue alcohol based windshield fluid meant for winter zones. Never had an issue using that on any of my cars.

.

[dtox9]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Thanks for the thorough post! Are you saying that they were indeed at full pressure but since the clips had broken, it was just aiming too low? I simply use the el cheapo blue alcohol based windshield fluid meant for winter zones. Never had an issue using that on any of my cars.

.

Thanks for the reply.... that's one (1) for cheapo-Blue
(I'm guessing that's probably the norm - that's usually what I've always tossed in there... but never had a car before that was said to be susceptible to slime?)

Spray was lower than standard... not quite "spitty" yet, but not that far away....
The tank definitely needed a flushout - no question.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by dtox9

Thanks for the reply.... that's one (1) for cheapo-Blue
(I'm guessing that's probably the norm - that's usually what I've always tossed in there... but never had a car before that was said to be susceptible to slime?)

Spray was lower than standard... not quite "spitty" yet, but not that far away....
The tank definitely needed a flushout - no question.

There is a filter screen at the cap where you pour the solution in, is yours there? Do you happen to know if there is another one somewhere within the tank before the pump? Yeah, I've read horror stories about using fancy solutions like RainX, etc and simply avoid them. This blue cheapo stuff is basically water and alcohol with coloring added.

[dtox9]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

There is a filter screen at the cap where you pour the solution in, is yours there? Do you happen to know if there is another one somewhere within the tank before the pump? Yeah, I've read horror stories about using fancy solutions like RainX, etc and simply avoid them. This blue cheapo stuff is basically water and alcohol with coloring added.

Not a traditional "screen" at the fill hole under the cap... but a little cone shaped doohickey that makes filling a bit of a challenge if you're OCD like I am and do your best not to allow any liquid to go anywhere other than where you're trying to put it - LOL.

There's got to be some kind of internal screen or something in there... trying to get a syphon tube in the tank is like trying to play twister with your elbows taped to your ribs.

I believe there is a physical screen right at the pump perhaps - but don't quote me on that one since I never had to get that down and dirty.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by dtox9

Not a traditional "screen" at the fill hole under the cap... but a little cone shaped doohickey that makes filling a bit of a challenge if you're OCD like I am and do your best not to allow any liquid to go anywhere other than where you're trying to put it - LOL.

There's got to be some kind of internal screen or something in there... trying to get a syphon tube in the tank is like trying to play twister with your elbows taped to your ribs.

I believe there is a physical screen right at the pump perhaps - but don't quote me on that one since I never had to get that down and dirty.

I stand corrected, I must have been thinking about my wife's GTi, the X3 does not have a screen filter at the filler cap - it mush have one but who knows where....ugh!

.

[dtox9]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

I stand corrected, I must have been thinking about my wife's GTi, the X3 does not have a screen filter at the filler cap - it mush have one but who knows where....ugh!

.

Yep - that's it...
Every time I'd try to put fluid in there, it was a splash fest.
Slow and steady - I know I know...
Sometimes easier said than done, however.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by dtox9

Yep - that's it...
Every time I'd try to put fluid in there, it was a splash fest.
Slow and steady - I know I know...
Sometimes easier said than done, however.

I use a funnel and stick the funnel just about into the opening of the black hose, works well, no mess.

[jizzlebizzle85]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

I use a funnel and stick the funnel just about into the opening of the black hose, works well, no mess.

Works for me too

[sachakorell]

I have the same vehicle and same problem.
How did you flush out the tank? Just with a water hose? Once it was full of water, how did you empty it (you said you flushed it out 4-5 times). Did you actually remove the tank for the flush outs?
I tried to remove the jets, but can’t figure out how to unclip them, so I may try the flush first (before I break the clips lol).

Thanks!

[mwat]

Here's my post from a different thread about this, as time has passed I do really think you need to take it apart and clean the screen. I've only had partial luck flushing with hot water/vinegar etc....

Here's what I did and would say I fixed it like 70%, will be redoing some of these steps over the weekend to hopefully clear it out more.

1) Drained the remaining fluid from the tank via the rear washer, that took awhile.
2) Unhooked the connector that is on the passenger side right by the windshield. It is a white/black piece with the black piece pushes back and then you can slide the nozzle out.
3) Blew down the nozzle that goes down into the tank, heard bubbles after a bit of blowing. I could tell it was gunked up based on that alone. (I may have done this prior to draining the tank, I really don't remember)
4) With the tank empty, I poured some hot water (not boiling, that makes me nervous) but very hot + some white vinegar down there. Let it sit for 15-30 minutes each time, did about 4/5 rounds of this. Two cups of hot water each time, 1/4 cup of vinegar. Rough estimates.
5) Attached a small hose to the nozzle coming out of the tank so the water wouldn't spray all over the inside of the hood and drained into a cup.
6) Like I said, I repeated this about 4/5 times until it looked like the color of the water coming out was mostly clear.
7) Hook everything back up and spray the front windshield, it works but I would say it's struggling to pump and I will encounter this again. Going to buy some drain cleaner and use a little of that + hot water etc.

I would classify the current state as "good enough" but not 10/10
I can post pic's if needed, I took a few throughout the process.

[mwat]

Originally Posted by sachakorell

I have the same vehicle and same problem.
How did you flush out the tank? Just with a water hose? Once it was full of water, how did you empty it (you said you flushed it out 4-5 times). Did you actually remove the tank for the flush outs?
I tried to remove the jets, but can’t figure out how to unclip them, so I may try the flush first (before I break the clips lol).

Thanks!

You remove the hose from the nozzles (Top left side of engine bay) attach a small hose to the nozzle and then go in the car and pump it out. At least that's what I did.

[BMW JA]

The gunk in the line is probably bacteria growth. When I refill I put a few ounces of bleach in the tank. No problems!

[mwat]

Originally Posted by BMW JA

The gunk in the line is probably bacteria growth. When I refill I put a few ounces of bleach in the tank. No problems!

I've heard this but have been scared to put bleach in it as it would in theory ruin the paint if it got on it, which it inevitably would...

HOWEVER, I think maybe an ounce or two and drain ALL of it and rinse several times may be okay? Seems like the definite way to clean it out...

[MPDev]

Anyone had issues with water leaking into the boot compartment? I'm having issues similar to the above so was emptying the tank via the rear windshield wiper only to realise in the boot, the storage compartment on the right hand side had half an inch of water in it…