Windshield Washers

our nozzles are currently frozen shut too. got rained on, then it froze, and haven't thawed out since...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kaos1 @ Jan 16 2007, 06:34 PM) [snapback]376597[/snapback]</div>

Mine worked OK at 10 F or less. They're not working right now that it's warmed up. I'm assuming I'm out of fluid though.

Dave M.

 

About the only good thing about Canadian Tire - or Crappy Tire as we call it - is they carry their own line of 4 litre jugs of washer fluid good to -45 C.

I've been somewhat surprised to catch Americans living in border areas - such as northern Minnesota and ND - buying washer fluid when up here. Apparently the "winter" fluid down there is only good to -20 F.

I use the Crappy Tire -45 C stuff year round, seems to work ok. It sure reeks once you spray it on the windshield though.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kaos1 @ Jan 16 2007, 09:34 PM) [snapback]376597[/snapback]</div>

That would be my guess. Maybe not a "bad" batch, just fluid that doesn't resist freezing. How cold has it been in your neck of the woods? (Can't tell where you live; I don't read lattitude and longitude very well.)

The factory stuff easily froze in mine last year. I put in some de-icer washer fluid a few weeks ago, in part to prevent freezing, and also to help de-ice the windshield. I haven't had a chance to test it for either purpose yet. Today we had the first sub-freezing temps (with no frost) in a few weeks. You might try that when your reservoir gets low. I think additives are also available that are designed to prevent freezing.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimboK @ Jan 17 2007, 08:08 AM) [snapback]376705[/snapback]</div>

Same here. I haven't put the de-icer washer fluid in there yet, as I haven't had to refill. I might get some to top off the reservoir though.

 

<_< Although extended freezing weather is not prevalent in Dallas TX, I always use 'winterized' washer fluid during the winter months [safe to about 10º F]. Now [Jan 17 07] we're having freezing temperatures - washers working well. One issue, the huge washer fluid tank can last a long time, so anti-freeze solution may need to be added.

 

yep, we dumped the remainder of our fluid and filled it up with de-icer instead... made a world of difference.

 

You can make your own de-icer fluid by just dumping in "a little" rubbing alchol into your regular windshield fluid. Don't go crazy though maybe just a quater of rubbing alchold little bottle into a full windshild washer container.

 

I used de-icing washer fluid (rain-x makes the best stuff IMO) in my last car and will use it in the Prius if need be. A quick spray of that in the morning does the job a whole lot faster and quicker than scraping and idling. The only thing I didn't like about it was that I made the mistake of allowing it to sit on the paint last year and it seemed to leave marks. (Black car...the mark was more of a fine ring where it dried and sat.) Next time I'll be more careful about it because I had a heck of a time washing and waxing it out.

 

Windshield washer fluid has been targeted by air pollution regs in a number of states. In Georgia they have restricted the volatile content in washer fluid to the point where they can't make it any more resistant to freezing than plain water. So it's basically just a soap solution, and yes, will freeze if provoked. Thankfully it doesn't freeze too terribly much here. I guess in Sun Belt states where it rarely freezes anyway, they concluded that the summer air pollution the good stuff causes wasn't worth the antifreeze properties.

Even in states where it's not so severely regulated, depending on where you buy your fluid you may be buying a "50 state legal" formulation, meaning it meets the regs of whichever state is being strictest at the moment, which will be as bad as what is available in Georgia now. The general trend is that we're all going to have more trouble with washer fluid icing up.

Look carefully at the bottles as you shop!

 

Yeah i bought some winndshield washer fluid at Walmart and it wasn' till I pored some in that I realised it said summer on the bottle instead of winter. Lesson is...look at the bottle when buying.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wyounger @ Oct 14 2007, 06:49 PM) [snapback]525587[/snapback]</div>

I thought it was bad enough when Americans were driving up here to purchase "normal" instead of low-flush toilets (They claim the low flush version tends to plug more often)

Now we'll have an inrush of angry American motorists purchasing the -45 C rated Canadian washer fluid.

I wonder if the folks who draw up the VOC regs understand that spraying deicer onto a cold windshield, and having it instantly ice over and turn the windshield opaque, is probably a bad thing