[Davey90]

Hi Guys,

My washer fluid is empty both confirmed by pulling the stalk and the idrive – but when I try to fill up the tank, it literally only accepts a few ‘glugs’ before overflowing. I’ve pushed a plastic straw down from the water tank opening into the plastic tube that connects to it, it seems to go in fine so no obvious blockage anywhere there. I’ve got the car booked into be checked tomorrow, but before I waste my time, am I missing anything obvious here – I mean it took me 5 mins to work out I had to pull the bonnet release twice to open it :s

[Dandle]

Mine is similar its a poor design. If I put my hang in and lift the pipe a little it flows much easier without the glugs of air coming out. The whole thing is odd, I dont know why they didnt just have the pipe coming up with a lid rather than the silly tray thing.

[littleump]

i know these dont like aftermarket windscreen wash and gunge up the little filter, but are the jets working even though it says empty? if its full and not taking water maybe faulty sensor? can you get your mouth over the cap and blow?

[Davey90]

Its actually completely empty and not taking any water - i will see if i can blow down the tank later - this is only the second time i've attempted to fill the tank, the first i just filled with water only and it did seem to fill up very quickly but took a liter at least.

is it okay to fill with tap water only or do i need to put a solution in there all the time?

[littleump]

when you use your jets nothing is coming out?

[Alias1431]

Originally Posted by Croms

Its actually completely empty and not taking any water - i will see if i can blow down the tank later - this is only the second time i've attempted to fill the tank, the first i just filled with water only and it did seem to fill up very quickly but took a liter at least.

is it okay to fill with tap water only or do i need to put a solution in there all the time?

If you do water, use distilled. Not tap.

[Davey90]

there might be a tiny amount in there if i pull the stalk for a while - may try holding it for a good time to clear any last drops and see if it allows a fill up - why can't they just keep sh!t simple is beyond me - these cars are built to fail sooner or later.

[ContactPatch]

Originally Posted by Croms

there might be a tiny amount in there if i pull the stalk for a while - may try holding it for a good time to clear any last drops and see if it allows a fill up - why can't they just keep sh!t simple is beyond me - these cars are built to fail sooner or later.

Because BMW wants to drive you crazy, pull your hair out, jump up and down, require medications from your doctor and have you seek the the philosophy behind German engineering.

[willjames]

It may not be blocked jets, however to avoid this going forward it's best to buy the BMW OEM screenwash. It's pretty cheap on Amazon and can be diluted.

It's all I've ever used on my last 4 BMW's and thankfully it seems to have worked.

As others have mentioned some of the screenwash bought in auto stores or supermarkets may congeal and gunk up your jets.

A small price to pay to avoid a bill with the garage should you not be able to clear it yourself

[Davey90]

Thanks for all the replies.

So the car went to the garage and it turned out to be the blocked filters thats been widely reported for various models - an airlock had been created hence i was unable to top up the fluid.

I was charged 100 pounds for this to be sorted, a little annoyed as i’ve had the car around 6 months and only topped up once in that time with just water - so the supplying bmw garage i bought this from (was their demo) had possibly been pouring any old crap into the wash fluid as thats what causes it apparently.

Its an absolute joke we have to use bmw additives to avoid this - although relatively cheap its a bloody incovience and just another cost, not to mention nobody seems to be informed about the importance of this when these cars are purchased, only when you’ve had your pants down to resolve the problem.

Rant over!

[The.bands]

Just wondering if anyone has used these?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BMW-Genuine...0807466&sr=8-3

I've never seen them before.

[SO8]

Mine won't take water and hasn't since it is new ... seems like an airlock to me on mine too ! I have tried jiggling the pipe and get the odd bubble of air - seems a poor design. I can get the screenwash in only by a bit at a time
.

[Davey90]

Originally Posted by SO8

Mine won't take water and hasn't since it is new ... seems like an airlock to me on mine too ! I have tried jiggling the pipe and get the odd bubble of air - seems a poor design. I can get the screenwash in only by a bit at a time
.

If you do decide to take it to bmw, makesure you get some of their additive in the tank first - apparently the technitian noticed my tank didn’t have any in, how he noticed this i’m not sure, by colour, smell, or by dipping his toe in the bottle - might save you a few bob.

..and yes, piss poor design - on another money making note i was also advised to ensure i use bmw only adblue as any other could cause issues, which had been seen many times, various parts may need replacing if a fault occurs..yada yada

Interestingly i took our merc for its service today and asked about adblue for that car, was told its all the same, any will do and just do it yourself as its much cheaper.

[SO8]

Originally Posted by Croms

If you do decide to take it to bmw, makesure you get some of their additive in the tank first - apparently the technitian noticed my tank didn’t have any in, how he noticed this i’m not sure, by colour, smell, or by dipping his toe in the bottle - might save you a few bob.

..and yes, piss poor design - on another money making note i was also advised to ensure i use bmw only adblue as any other could cause issues, which had been seen many times, various parts may need replacing if a fault occurs..yada yada

Interestingly i took our merc for its service today and asked about adblue for that car, was told its all the same, any will do and just do it yourself as its much cheaper.

To be fair I only use BMW screen wash anyway so not an issue.

[Aliendrive]

Here in US they top mine off for free. Will even add air to my tires while they are at it.

[lo_cheng]

I don't understand, it is not blocking the washer jet that spray fluid , but is refill port got block???

Shouldn't the washer jet is much easier to get block if it is fluid issue? It is a pin hole, vs the refill port is much much bigger, even it is not straight down and make some non-sense 90 degree turns.

[Davey90]

Originally Posted by lo_cheng

I don't understand, it is not blocking the washer jet that spray fluid , but is refill port got block???

Shouldn't the washer jet is much easier to get block if it is fluid issue? It is a pin hole, vs the refill port is much much bigger, even it is not straight down and make some non-sense 90 degree turns.

Apparenty the re-fill bottle has some filters in it which get blocked due to using the incorrect fluid - not sure how this would cause an airlock preventing ANY water entering the re-fill bottle, but it did. If the filters did get blocked, i can understand how they may prevent the water reaching the jets, all a mystery to me

[lo_cheng]

Originally Posted by Croms

Apparenty the re-fill bottle has some filters in it which get blocked due to using the incorrect fluid - not sure how this would cause an airlock preventing ANY water entering the re-fill bottle, but it did. If the filters did get blocked, i can understand how they may prevent the water reaching the jets, all a mystery to me

Now would be great if someone have DIY way to remove that filter.
The re-fill port is covered, so not sure why we need a filter for re-fill