My wife has a 2019 BMW X3. The windshield washer was working just fine. Light came on to let her know fluid was low. She put more in, and now they will not work, nothing comes out.

I did verify she put the fluid in the correct place. The reservoir is full, so there is no leak. When I am in the car and press the lever, I can hear the motor / solenoid, so I do not think that has gone bad. I did hold the lever for well over 10 seconds, thinking maybe the fluid had to work its way through.

I am kind of stumped how it was working fine one minute, fluid was added, and now it's not working at all.

Edit - Adding, since she parks under a tree at our house, she uses this at least every few days, sometimes every day. So it's not like this sat for weeks or months in between uses.

Any guess?

UPDATE - After looking on some BMW forums the Rain-X fluid is a known issue. Especially the orange, which is what my wife used.

I tried to snake a siphon down into the tank to get the fluid out, but the fill hose twists and turns so much I cannot get it down into the tank.

The process for removing the tank, or disconnecting the pump for drainage involves removing the passenger front tire and the inner fender which separates the tire area from the engine compartment. No thanks, so I guess this will go to a mechanic and I will have learned a many hundreds of dollars lesson.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: holdem,

Mine on my Mini quit working, the line had come off the nozzle once & off a T-fitting another time.

No puddle under the car if you run it?

It's almost always some kind of goopy blockage right where it's sucked up in the reservoir.

Especially common with different kinds of washer fluid in the same reservoir. Using an ammonia based fluid with anything else almost always gives you reservoir snot.

Back in 1976, I bought a new 240D at the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Chicago. The next morning, I drove into the service area with it, and had the following conversation:

Service Writer: "Good morning, how can we help you?"

Me: "I think there's something wrong with the windshield washer."

Service Writer: "Is there fluid in the reservoir?"

Me: "Sure. I just bought the car here, new, yesterday. Here's the pre-delivery checklist that you folks signed off on. See, right here, where it says that you filled the reservoir?"

Service Writer: "Let's take a look." Opens hood, looks at me and says "The reservoir is missing."

Me (smart-ass, having looked and knowing full well that they did not put the washer reservoir in the car during the pre-delivery prep, even though they signed it off on the checklist): "How can that be? Your department checked the item on the pre-delivery list, where it says they filled it."

We recently had failure to wash with our '06 Odyssey. Turned out a rodent had chewed through the tubing.
Last week had a failure to wash--both sides--on our 2024--2024! Mazda CX-90. Dealer: a rodent has chewed through the tubing, not covered by warranty. $212.

Some have check valves that can eventually leak and ruin your day.

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

Me (smart-ass, having looked and knowing full well that they did not put the washer reservoir in the car during the pre-delivery prep, even though they signed it off on the checklist): "How can that be? Your department checked the item on the pre-delivery list, where it says they filled it."

After that, I bet they loved seeing you pull in.

When the washer is operated, is there fluid coming out of anywhere other than the nozzles, i.e., a leak? Is the sound of the pump different than usual, i.e., louder, more muted, sounds like it's straining?

When I had our BMW, I always found this site very helpful. They have a lot of video and tech information.
https://www.pelicanparts.com/c...Cat/9042_catalog.htm

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:

After that, I bet they loved seeing you pull in.

They never saw me, except for a few delivery items that they screwed up. My experience with them was that Mercedes-Benz dealer (on North Clark in Chicago) was run by a bunch of lying bastages.

This was back in 1976.

Did she ever put in anything like RainX washer fluid? Or Deicer?

silicone is not good for bmw.

It kills BMW's washer fluid sensor.

Flush it out and refill with plain washer fluid.

That sounds really frustrating! I once had a similar issue with my car's washer fluid. Even though the motor was working, the nozzles were clogged with gunk from using it too often. I had to clear them out with a needle, and that did the trick. Also, make sure the fluid she added is the right kind; sometimes the thickness can mess with how it sprays. If it’s still not working, it might be worth checking if there’s a blockage in the lines.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
Did she ever put in anything like RainX washer fluid?

Yup, that is what we have always used. But we just got this car a few months back, I think it is the first time we have filled it up.

There is a small filter on the bottom of the washer bottle remove it for cleaning

Update in OP.

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:
The process for removing the tank, or disconnecting the pump for drainage involves removing the passenger front tire and the inner fender which separates the tire area from the engine compartment.

Everything is stupid on these cars. Before it became a recall, my coolant expansion hose on my '18 430 burst and a local place said they've replaced those before but it's labor intensive and wanted a few hours of labor. The part was $30. I kept searching the web and finally gave up and figured out how to remove the headlight which gave me easy access instead of going through the wheel well.

Some things are easy on these cars (brake pads are really really easy) and some are stupid. To change the 4th spark plug on my 430, I had to remove a big long brace bar (stupid convertible car). My current X2 is easier to work on.

quote:

The process for removing the tank, or disconnecting the pump for drainage involves removing the passenger front tire and the inner fender which separates the tire area from the engine compartment. No thanks, so I guess this will go to a mechanic and I will have learned a many hundreds of dollars lesson.

This is by no means unique to BMWs. Almost every vehicle does this. This placement leaves them vulnerable to collision damage as well.

I used to repair the washer systems on 1999-2006 GM trucks all the time. They were located directly under the battery. If the battery leaked, which was often, the acid would destroy the washer pump, or if a Tahoe or Suburban (because those had rear washers), both pumps.