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Is there a recommended windshield washer fluid?
- Thread starter radiocycle
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SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
Msjulie
Active Member
My rule of thumb..
If boiling water to cook something leaves lots of white (calcium, etc) on the pot then the water will probably leave stuff on the window or perhaps react with the cleaner
Our water does not and that tap water has been fine but it comes down to is your tap water hard (calicum, etc) or not.. and how much..
If boiling water to cook something leaves lots of white (calcium, etc) on the pot then the water will probably leave stuff on the window or perhaps react with the cleaner
Our water does not and that tap water has been fine but it comes down to is your tap water hard (calicum, etc) or not.. and how much..
Wiper fluid frequently lives between 75-135ºF except in winter which is premium fertile breeding ground for bacteria. The health concern is that this bacteria could get sucked into the cowl at the bottom of the windshield into the HVAC system and then blown into your face in the cabin.
Tezzie
Member
I just looked in the MS Manual and it says nothing about not using distilled water. It only mentions this:
"Do not use formulated washer fluids that contain water repellent or bug wash. These fluids can cause streaking, smearing, and
squeaking or other noises."
"Do not use formulated washer fluids that contain water repellent or bug wash. These fluids can cause streaking, smearing, and
squeaking or other noises."
That's good life advice in general. Don't use Rain-X, don't use the bug nonsense. Get regular washer fluid. It's alcohol (methanol usually) and water with some blue dye. That's it. Adding anything else is going to make your windshield a total mess, it'll haze over, it'll smear, and you'll have a bad time. Rain-X is *sugar* anyway.
Get yourself some good silicone wipers, clean your windshield with glass cleaner regularly (once a month at least), and everything will be just fine.
Tezzie
Member
timk225
Active Member
As soon as I ran though the factory fill of washer fluid, I started using the Rain-X 2 in 1 all season fluid, the orange stuff. Why? Used it for 3+ years in my 2011 Challenger R/T, and for a few years before that in another car.
It does well, but sometimes I do get some streaking on the windshield, which is annoying, and in nighttime rainy cool weather, the windshield fogging up can be a real pain, I have to go back and forth between different heat and defrost settings every few minutes. Not sure if that is because of the fluid or not.
And I was very disappointed to see that the entire washer fluid reservoir in my 3 only holds 3 quarts at best. My '11 Challenger R/T would hold exactly a full gallon. What the hell, Tesla?
It does well, but sometimes I do get some streaking on the windshield, which is annoying, and in nighttime rainy cool weather, the windshield fogging up can be a real pain, I have to go back and forth between different heat and defrost settings every few minutes. Not sure if that is because of the fluid or not.
And I was very disappointed to see that the entire washer fluid reservoir in my 3 only holds 3 quarts at best. My '11 Challenger R/T would hold exactly a full gallon. What the hell, Tesla?
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NathanielHrnblwr
Member
is there an easy way to drain the washer fluid? in previous cars, I'd just hold the button down and run the level down before i washed the car. on the M3, it just seems to squirt 1x while the wipers are moving. that's a lot of button pushing.
my PPF installer suggested I drain it as it could contain ammonia and that will cause the PPF to rainbow.
my PPF installer suggested I drain it as it could contain ammonia and that will cause the PPF to rainbow.
CapnOMatic
Member
It does make you wonder what these "other noises" are that they found during their testing are so dreadful they wouldn't even dare to describe them.
Try not to use Windex! it has wax in it and with continued use will make the window cleaning harder and cause fogging.
This works:
2 QTS distilled water
5 pints of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (Walmart)
1 drop of Dawn Ultra dish soap
1 drop of Ultra-Palmolive Antibacterial
1 drop of Spa-Guard Anti-Foam (made by BioGuard) (a one pint bottle will last for a lifetime)
mix in a 1 gallon container and label
shake the gallon container to mix add another drop of Anti-Foam if the bubbles do not disperse.
Pull the pump off the bottom of the washer bottle and it'll all drain out.
This is on the bottom of the list of concerns, but it can happen depending on the brand. Near the top, additives can cause all kinds of problems on your windshield. These products do nothing to clear your windshield faster or prevent anything from happening. Like @timk225 I also had serious problems with additives causing fogging and streaking, and it made driving at night in the rain absolutely impossible. Headlights aimed at me basically washed the entire windshield out.
Chattering, squealing, and groaning from wipers is pretty common. Lots of additives cause the rubber of wipers to break down, others cause it to harden, etc. Just get quality silicone wipers, use plain old windshield washer fluid. Don't add anything to it or add anything to your windshield.
Windex contains ammonia which can cause problems with rubber seals after repeated use. Lots of dish soaps contain additives that will build up on your windshield and cause seriously streaking, and others still have moisturizers for skin which your car doesn't need. Just methanol and water.
That's why I use barely any. I've never had a problem with the washer system in my other cars. I do know that using a lot of dish soap or vinegar will definitely wreck the system.
efithian
Member
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
Be careful doing this, Isopropyl Alcohol will react against certain forms of plastic and rubber and aluminum and the hoses are rubber. Don't ask me how I know
It worked great for a couple months in the winter!!! Tesla took care of the issue I created, a couple of the elbow joints got really brittle and I got a leak somewhere below the reservoir.
Incompatibility with various substances: Reactive with oxidizing agents, acids, alkalis.
Corrosivity: Non-corrosive in presence of glass.
Special Remarks on Reactivity: Reacts violently with hydrogen + palladium combination, nitroform, oleum, COCl2, aluminum triisopropoxide, oxidants Incompatible with acetaldehyde, chlorine, ethylene oxide, isocyanates, acids, alkaline earth, alkali metals, caustics, amines, crotonaldehyde, phosgene, ammonia.
Isopropyl alcohol reacts with metallic aluminum at high temperatures. Isopropyl alcohol attacks some plastics, rubber, and coatings. Vigorous reaction with sodium dichromate + sulfuric acid.
Special Remarks on Corrosivity: May attack some forms of plastic, rubber and coating Polymerization: Will not occur.
Source: MSDS Sheet from High School Lab Class https://education.jlab.org/frost/msds/isopropanol.pdf
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Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
You are better off using this or Opti-Coat
How Aquapel Works - Aquapel Glass Treatment
Aquapel on right side, Opti-coat on left
Diamond Fusion below:
How Aquapel Works - Aquapel Glass Treatment
Aquapel on right side, Opti-coat on left
Diamond Fusion below:
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No! Especially don't use Dawn or Palmolive! They are the two brands that contain the most skin moisturizers, which will build up on your windscreen. Also, the whole point of dish soap is to bring surfactants to the mix. By adding Spa-Guard you're literally taking away the on;y reason to add the dish soap in the first place.
The only ingredient you've added here that does anything at all is the alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol is much more expensive to buy than methanol. So basically you created a weaker, more expensive, knock-off version of commercially available windscreen cleaner. Except it'll add contaminants to your screen that will cause streaking and hazing in the most dangerous times possible.
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