Washer Fluid Warning

[ciclo]

Just I want to comment that the spray nozzles are activated by the fluid pressure, so if there is no fluid ...

... and that if you have installed the headlight wash system there is an additional pump for this system ...

[RUM4MO]

Also the headlights pump costs quite a bit, my 2000 Passat replacement cost £90 back in 2009ish, at that time the 9N Polo used the same pump!

I could be wrong, but I think that the pump only runs for a set time, a very short set time, within that allowed time, the high pressure water forces up the spray heads, ie they are mounted on the ends of pistons that are held down flush with the bumper cover by strong coil springs, when the pistons reach the end of their travel, I think that the water channel to the spray head is opened so the pressurised water that pumped up these pistons sprays out and the springs pull the assembly back down to sit flush with the bumper cover.

When the weather gets a bit warmer I really need to book my wife's Polo in at the Fort to get them to look at the slight leak of oil that gets spun/slung around the engine bay, in line with the auxiliary belt pulleys.

[veteran]

This is harping back a bit and is slightly off-topic but I've been trying to find out the official capacity of the w-w reservoir in these Polos and the best I've come up with is a statement on p246 of my 2016-published owner's manual. It states:

The washer fluid reservoir has a capacity of between 3.0 and 5.0 litres depending on the vehicle equipment level.

Nice one, VW! Yeh, that's really helpful - not! And incidentally, the shape of the reservoir is highly irregular indeed, so it's not something you can easily judge for yourself, even if you were prepared to take half the car apart to get to it. I've wondered if perhaps the erwin or nemiga listings might indicate a capacity for the reservoir. Anyone?

As I said before, once you start using a filled reservoir it becomes impossible to judge when you need to top it up, because the reservoir isn't visible. Yes, you can make some guesses as to when to top up but you'd be spending so much time worrying about that that it'd drive you crazy. Life's too short for such things.

An alert on the dashboard that the fluid's virtually all used up isn't going to help when you're flying along a motorway in the most foul of all weathers. I mean, it's not as if you're going to be able to stop the car and magically replenish the reservoir, is it, not unless you were lucky enough to be near a service station? I think it's quite ludicrous that VW's hidden the reservoir from view but have provided a totally inadequate dashboard indication of the running amount of fluid. By comparison, would you, would anyone, think it acceptable if the vehicle's fuel were monitored that way? Of course not.

[SRGTD]

Veteran, the vehicle equipment that dictates whether you have a ‘large’ or ‘small’ capacity washer bottle is whether or not you have headlamp washers. These are fitted to the 6c Polo if you have LED headlamps or the winter pack. The headlamp washers do use quite a lot of washer fluid, even though the only activate once every five uses of the windscreen washers, hence the figment of a larger capacity washer fluid reservoir.

So, if you don’t have either the winter pack or LED headlamps fitted to your car, you’ll have the smaller washer bottle with circa 3 litre capacity. If you’ve got either winter pack or LED headlamps (or both), then your car will be fitted with the larger circa 5 litre capacity washer bottle.

Edit; just found this thread, stating 3.5l without headlamp washers and 5.4l with them. It’s not clear if those capacities quoted were for a 6r or 6c polo, but I suspect they will be the same for both cars.

viewtopic.php?t=62561

[iichel]

well, as soon as the sensor detects a low level, there is still some fluid left. you can see the position of the sensor and the pumps here:



the headlight washers will have no fluid, so won't work, but the windshield washers will continue to work.

[veteran]

SRGTD,

Yes, I'd already seen that older thread, but knowing how much VW's continued to alter the shape of the reservoir in recent years I could only guess that mine (without headlamp washer or winter pack), for example, would still be 3.5 litres. I suppose that in the absence of any other info to the contrary, that's what we'll have to conclude is the capacity. Thanks for digging that out. I'm now keeping a note of it. It looks like, in order to avoid ever getting the warning on the dash, you shouldn't use more than about 2.8 - 2.9 litres.

Iichel's picture is helpful and illustrates the totally irregular shape of the reservoir. I'm presuming that 7M0919382/7M0919376/7M0973202 is the sensor for the fluid level, and that the cylindrical unit just to the right of that is the main inline pump for the windscreen/rear screen, with maybe the fatter cylindrical thing on the right being a separate pump for the headlights.

[iichel]

spot on with your descriptions. i was still editing the picture, but this works as well

[EDI GTI]

Thought I would post an update on this just in case it happens to anyone else.

So after 2 months and 2 trips to the garage this fault has now finally been fixed. First time in the garage they claimed nothing was wrong and sent it back an hour later, but after another little argument it was booked back in today and they have finally decided to fix the fault.

VW blamed the windscreen wash fluid I used (I was using Halfords -10 degrees berry scented one). Apparently this does not withstand temperatures that cold and the concentrate isn't high enough - for that reason it would have thickened up and they suspect, blocked the sensor.

The water pump was replaced along with a new wash bottle and now the warning has finally stopped! I have been told from here on only to use VW's own screen wash as it is apparently a really high concentrate and will still work all the way down at -50 degrees and to stop using "supermarket equivalents". If this is true then I would recommend it as the lowest we got close to was -3 here in Edinburgh (as far as I am aware) and if that was enough to thicken up the Halfords wash then it is slightly worrying.

So if anyone else gets this warning, that could be your cause!

Thanks again for all the help.

[RUM4MO]

Fair enough the official VW Group branded washer fluid concentrate can be used neat and it will protect down to some seriously low temperature - one that I'd doubt the car or we would survive, by the main point to producing a washer concentrate of that type is to allow you to buy a 1Litre bottle and dilute it down to suit your local temperatures.

I'd also agree that some aftermarket fluids and/or their equivalent concentrate versions, when some "nice smells" are added, may well gum up washer jets and not be quite as useful at their claimed low temperatures as they should be, but that last bit would put them in deep trouble with trading standards, so I'd expect even Halfords version of "-10C" to keep you out of trouble down to -10C.

I've used Holts Extreme or something concentrate for years with Fords, VX and VW, Audi and SEAT with no known issues as far as I know, 2 of the VWs were owned for 13 years from new and 87K and 105K miles. After Costco stopped selling that, I moved on to Prestone, again a Holts branded product and so far so good with that - even although I have been fooling myself and the concentration currently being used only gives round about -7.5C - a guess, I've measured it using a refractometer and have the result somewhere else, with no issues, car is normally garaged and I live slightly South of Edinburgh and quite a bit higher up, so will always be at least 2.5C lower than Edinburgh. I do intend to strengthen the winter mix for next year - I promise, probably make sure that it is -12.5C just to be safe!

Edit:- actually I'm surprised that they did any work on that car if they suspected the issue was due to "wrong" washer fluid, ie nothing works but VW Group's version, so maybe you were lucky, if it was me, I would have tried to drain any "funny coloured and smelling" stuff out first just to be safe from that possible outcome.

Another Edit:- as you are a "Fort" VW dealer user, young Selkirk has been sending my wife out the old "is it not time to buy a new one" - fair enough I suppose, wife, who has a Facebook account bumped into one of his postings on Facebook, seems he runs a Porker, so maybe he does manage to sell enough cars to feed his car habit?

[PeterWestSussex]

... mine normally spray all the time (could be either because of the daytime running LED lights or the Auto lights function?) Anyway...

Yes, and so do mine which is an August 2015 SEL with optional Light & Sight pack = auto-dim rear view mirror, auto headlights and rain sensor). Await with interest the outcome of this issue!

[RUM4MO]

I suppose that is okay when you think about it, though I must say that with my wife's 2015 SEL Polo, with all these functions, I tend to leave the light switch OFF most of the time - only switching it on when getting near "lights on" conditions and when rain starts.
It would have been a bit smarter, maybe to only wash the lights if they were actually ON at the time of washing the windscreen, nothing is perfect I suppose so the lights will be as clean as the windscreen when or if they end up switching on.

Edit:- maybe a very good reason to only have the auto lights function enabled when lighting conditions are approaching "lights on" - or when rain approaches, okay maybe it gives you something else to need to do when it could be left completely automatic, but I find that there are quite a few situations when the auto lights function does not work correctly - and you can see those around you who have handed over this light switching task completely to the car's control - at very smart!
Auto switching of lights does have a use and is handy, but the driver still needs to be aware when they need to be driving with lights on.

[EDI GTI]

Edit:- actually I'm surprised that they did any work on that car if they suspected the issue was due to "wrong" washer fluid, ie nothing works but VW Group's version, so maybe you were lucky, if it was me, I would have tried to drain any "funny coloured and smelling" stuff out first just to be safe from that possible outcome.

Another Edit:- as you are a "Fort" VW dealer user, young Selkirk has been sending my wife out the old "is it not time to buy a new one" - fair enough I suppose, wife, who has a Facebook account bumped into one of his postings on Facebook, seems he runs a Porker, so maybe he does manage to sell enough cars to feed his car habit?

I am surprised myself but it sounded like they had no definitive answer, it was all just "could be's" - and seeing as it had been in once before (and its like they didn't even look at it) they might have just decided it wasn't worth the argument. Also it isn't something they tell you, like when they never bothered to mention that you shouldn't use IronX on diamond cut alloys as it will corrode them - something which I found out the hard way! As the car is PCP I don't really need to worry about them as alloy damage is within the agreement as reasonable wear and tear, but they seem quite good at not telling you important information!

Ah yes, David Selkirk - personally wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, I've never had personal dealings with him but the fact that I know his name for the wrong reasons rings many alarm bells. If your wife's car is a 15 plate then I am not surprised he is trying his luck as 3 years is the normal turn over, tell him to back off or you'll go to Newbridge - that seems to always shut them up

[EDI GTI]

... mine normally spray all the time (could be either because of the daytime running LED lights or the Auto lights function?) Anyway...

Yes, and so do mine which is an August 2015 SEL with optional Light & Sight pack = auto-dim rear view mirror, auto headlights and rain sensor). Await with interest the outcome of this issue!

Hi Peter, the issue is now fixed - as for why the headlight washers seem to always work I was told it is most likely because the lights turn onto "Side Light" mode. They told me to try running the car for a few days with the lights off of Auto and as Mo said the headlight washers never activated. I imagine this will be the same for you. I haven't had any issues with the auto lights myself so tend to always leave them on Auto, I find they always turn on/off when they should - and if they are turning themselves onto side lights then it makes no real impact to me!