[MikeMinh]

Apparently a well known problem in more or less recent BMWs. The screen washer jets get blocked and you read and hear all kinds of advice about incompatible screen wash liquids. Some people even look up how to spell "coagulation".

I tried to empty washing water using a small plastic tube (from a fish tank supplies shop). No joy as there is no way how to get this flexible tube down into the tank in my 3GT.
Tried to blow air from one of the jets back into tank (by mouth). Air bubbles can be heard, but blockage remains.

And that was pretty much the end of DIY.
Took it to an independent BMW workshop (yes they do exist), they had to take the wheel arch off to access the water tank, clean it out and we're back in business. (£105 of labour)

Their advice: They used to tell customers that only BMW screen wash would avoid this. But not anymore, it happens regardless of brand or type. They think that the nice warm area where the water tank is promotes growth of algae.

I personally don't buy into this theory because algae need light as well.
Apparently, using it a lot more can avoid this.

[simon.]

As i understand it, it's more the mixing of different brands of screen wash that cause issues.

Stick to one brand / flush out if you change & you should be fine.

[saltyamigo]

I always use purified water rather than plain tap water and the same brand screen wash. Sure I read somewhere that purified water helps. My dad has this issue in his X5, also had to remove the wheel arch lining and it's a fairly time consuming job.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by simon.

As i understand it, it's more the mixing of different brands of screen wash that cause issues.

Stick to one brand / flush out if you change & you should be fine.

I think this is sound advice. Whether it's the BMW screen wash or another decent make that you can get hold of consistently then you should be fine.

Whether it should have to be this way is a separate issue, but having had one gunked up bottle on my E46 (which was much easier to DIY) it's happened for years, but now it's a pain to sort so why take the risk.

[rossm]

Local mobile mechanic charged me £40 to clean mine out, works fine now. Local BMW specialist wanted £100+

If you put a compressed air line into the hose by the jets you can blow most of the gunk back into the tank, which is a temp fix until it all settles over the plastic filter again

Was like an off-white plastic stringy gunk that came out of mine, not algae i dont think

[liam_]

I thankfully managed to clear mine earlier this year.

Wasn't a massively complex job, the hardest/most time consuming part was trying to figure out how to wriggle the washer bottle out from its hiding place!

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

I think this is sound advice. Whether it's the BMW screen wash or another decent make that you can get hold of consistently then you should be fine.

If you use another make, you do take the risk that BMW top it up with their stuff during a service. While it annoys me to have to buy the BMW one, I just put up with it, and buy it in large enough quantities to get it cheaply, having once blocked my E46 with mixing.

[teaston]

They blocked on my pre LCI F30 but O have been mixing all sorts of screen wash on this one and there's no problem yet, so maybe it's been redesigned. I know the washer bottle certainly fills up much quicker on the LCI!

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by JD6

If you use another make, you do take the risk that BMW top it up with their stuff during a service. While it annoys me to have to buy the BMW one, I just put up with it, and buy it in large enough quantities to get it cheaply, having once blocked my E46 with mixing.

It's a good point, and hence I've just stuck with the BMW one too for that reason. The odd occasion I've run out I've just out water in till I could get to a dealer. Thankfully I've never run out in winter!

[willjames]

The BMW stuff is not too expensive and can be diluted. It's well worth the cost to avoid blockage and a possible large bill.

[Chris J G]

Had the same problem on my 12m old X3 - BMW garage charged me £150 to fix and said it was my fault for not using BMW supplied washer fluid.
Whilst I will do in future (£18 for large container) I feel aggrieved that I was not warned on purchase.

[speedski]

Mum has just been charged by the BMW dealership for this on her Z4 - shes never filled it up herself, only when serviced by BMW.

So I really don't buy the covered if you use BMW fluid.

To quote Trump (teeerwat) - this is coming across as a bit of a con job...

[Hooded]

Only had this problem so far on an E90, cost about £80 for BMW specialist to clean it all out

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by speedski

Mum has just been charged by the BMW dealership for this on her Z4 - shes never filled it up herself, only when serviced by BMW.

So I really don't buy the covered if you use BMW fluid.

To quote Trump (teeerwat) - this is coming across as a bit of a con job...

My wife has a Z4 that does minimal mileage as it's a second car - about 3-4k miles per annum. Even that needs filling up with screenwash a couple of times a year. The tank isn't very large. But the tank is completely visible on the top of the engine bay.
Are you really saying that your mum's car only needs a screenwash fillup every 2 years or so ?

[JustChris]

Good feedback, cheers OP.

[TiredGeek]

I just use undiluted concentrated screen wash. Never had a problem with getting blocked nozzles on any car in the last 25 years.
I think it's the water that contains wee beasties that grow in there and gunk it all up over time.
No water = no wee beasties

[goodbyalfa]

I only ever used the bmw screen wash in my last 330d, and it still blocked costing me £120 to d have bmw strip it and fix.. Shit design no doubt about it

[GEP77]

I mix Autoglym screenwash with de-ionised water. Never had a blockage and the performance of the screenwash is great. Typically I get through about 20 gallons a year.

[speedski]

Originally Posted by robbiep

My wife has a Z4 that does minimal mileage as it's a second car - about 3-4k miles per annum. Even that needs filling up with screenwash a couple of times a year. The tank isn't very large. But the tank is completely visible on the top of the engine bay.
Are you really saying that your mum's car only needs a screenwash fillup every 2 years or so ?

No I'm saying my mechanically incompetent mother drives it to the dealer to get them to fill it up when it runs out

[RobUK]

Have always stuck with BMW screenwash in mine and have thus far avoided any issues. This includes an F30 328i I had for nearly 3½ years.

[qa15ar]

heres my 2p....

i had the same problem... took the washer bottle out cleaned filter and put back, only after two weeks same problem. This time around i decided to replace the filters, only a few quid from the stealers. One thing is the new filters have a much larger surface area for the screenwash to flow through than the old ones which may help the problem, time will tell.....

[Wills2]

Never had this issue but then again I've never had the squeaking door seals either.

I use all sorts of screen wash generally from Halfords or the garage forecourt none of it seems to bother the washers.