Toyota Auris frozen screen washers ?

[Roy124]

Tony, flocculation I believe.  Turns the content of the bottle to something like undisolved Lux flakes. 

[AisinW]

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Yes they can be mixed but one thing to remember they can also go bad when mixed. I did once two different types screen wash and the results were disaster. After I mixed these the mixture went bad and started smelling like old blue cheese ,, the worst part is that when you clean the windscreen all the fluid goes into the gutter under the wipers, the very same place where the car hvac system breathe and all that nasty smell was coming inside the car. Took few days to realise that, got all nastiness out of the tank, washed the gutter and bought new quality concentrate made by Sonax German brand. Well, all nasty smell was gone and I was enjoying clean view ahead and pleasant smell inside the cabin, no smelly cheese 🧀 anymore. 
The bad screen wash mixture was from Tesco own brand and old holts. And btw, once open the screen wash no matter if winter one best to use it all and buy a new bottle next time. Lesson learned hard way again. 😂

Did you mix summer and winter washer fluid?  I had an experiment mixing winter washer fluid with soap and shampoo.  It becomes gooey and slimy.  Yes, you are right, a winter washer fluid is  very sensitive. Probably some of the lubricant fluid is not compatible with common soap/detergent.  

[DerekHa]

51 minutes ago, AisinW said:

Did you mix summer and winter washer fluid?  I had an experiment mixing winter washer fluid with soap and shampoo.  It becomes gooey and slimy.  Yes, you are right, a winter washer fluid is  very sensitive. Probably some of the lubricant fluid is not compatible with common soap/detergent.  

Haven't tried mixing ready mixed screen wash with anything myself, but methalated spirit would perhaps be a better option if you wanted to experiment.

Think I have some meths hiding away, if I can find it will try mixing small amounts of it with the Halfords -10C ready mix I bought over the weekend and see what happens to it. Not risking it the washer bottle yet! Seems meths doesn't freeze until well below 0C.

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, AisinW said:

Did you mix summer and winter washer fluid?  I had an experiment mixing winter washer fluid with soap and shampoo.  It becomes gooey and slimy.  Yes, you are right, a winter washer fluid is  very sensitive. Probably some of the lubricant fluid is not compatible with common soap/detergent.  

I believe one of the screen washes was old stock opened and unused from the last winter, both were winter ones and similar blue colour. Ever since I stopped buying supermarket screen wash and only quality branded ones. Preston is a good one though, and can be used all year around., so no trouble mixing two different types or brands.
I recently mixed two different brands antibacterial hand gels and the results were pretty much the same as the screen washes, 😂 all went to the bin. Could be something with the alcohol types in their content perhaps. 👍

[AisinW]

I think ethanol is ethanol.  The problem is the additives (softener, detergent, lotion/cream) that cause compatibility issues in hand sanitizer. The same thing with winter washer fluid.  I believe we do not use methanol as denatured agent, but butanon or Ketones family because it is less toxic than methanol. Just in case a wacky guy drink it, butanon taste so bad but not as toxic and will not cause blindness. 

[Justin Smith]

2 hours ago, AisinW said:

I think ethanol is ethanol.  The problem is the additives (softener, detergent, lotion/cream) that cause compatibility issues in hand sanitizer. The same thing with winter washer fluid.  I believe we do not use methanol as denatured agent, but butanon or Ketones family because it is less toxic than methanol. Just in case a wacky guy drink it, butanon taste so bad but not as toxic and will not cause blindness. 

But, unless one always buys the exactly the same type and brand of screen wash (and I cannot think many people go into it in such depth) how can one avoid mixing different brands / types in the tank when you fill it up ?

I can confirm the Bitrex "flavouring" they put in (to stop Alchos drinking it) tastes awful. I syphoned my screenwash tank to ensure it was full of neat stuff and accidentally got a bit in my mouth. I could not get the taste out of my mouth for hours....

[Justin Smith]

I managed to buy some -10 degree screenwash in Morrisons, but even that wasn't straightforward. The stuff in the 5L bottles at the front of the shop was only -2 degrees ! Not only selling that stuff (but actually pushing it) in the winter for Gawd's sake !
I had to go to the "Motoring" aisle and buy a smaller 2.5L bottle to get the -10 stuff.

Put some of the -10 in a container and left it out last night when the temp only dropped to about minus 4, and it was frozen this morning ! How does that work ? It is, however, consistent with the fact my washer bottle probably has -5 screenwash (or lower, it was originally full of -5 but being refilled with -10) in it yet it the screenwashers were frozen last night when it was only about -1 or -2. 

[Guest]

I used to always use Autoglym all season concentrate, it's not cheap and is now a silly price for 5 litre. When used correctly I never experienced any freezing of front and rear washer jets/pipes.

I am currently using Holts concentrate, about £14 for 5 litre. May be diluted for spring/summer but used neat autumn/winter. I haven't experienced any freezing so far this winter - using neat. Without checking the container I can't quote at what minus temp. it's not meant to freeze.

I can also recommend Comma all season allegedly good to -26degC.

 As is usually the case, you get what you pay for.

[MagicBoy]

I've been using Car Plan Demon Shot. Can either be used as a booster if you get caught in a cold snap, or on it's own as a super concentrated screen wash. 50:1 in summer, down to 5:1 at -10C. They quote it can be used neat down to something ridiculous like -60C. 😂

Costs about £7 from Amazon for 1L (2x500Ml bottles).

Can also use it a de-icer in a pinch, just put it in a spray bottle....

[AisinW]

I always buy the jug from Aldi or Lidl with -60C spec. It cost about€8 and it is enough for 3-4 years.   I usually dilute it to 2x and never have frost issue on the nozzle. It is mainly 80% Ethanol/alcohol and after I dilute it to 40%, it becomes -25C freezing point. 

[Justin Smith]

5 hours ago, MagicBoy said:

I've been using Car Plan Demon Shot. Can either be used as a booster if you get caught in a cold snap, or on it's own as a super concentrated screen wash. 50:1 in summer, down to 5:1 at -10C. They quote it can be used neat down to something ridiculous like -60C. 😂

Costs about £7 from Amazon for 1L (2x500Ml bottles).

Can also use it a de-icer in a pinch, just put it in a spray bottle....

I have ordered some.

I will use some to boost the screenwash already in my washer bottle (if cold weather is forecast ! ) and any I have over I will try it next winter at 1:3 or similar.

[Justin Smith]

WEIRD.....

My Auris washer jets (both front and rear) did not work on my drive home. Since there is plenty of sreenwash on the tank I am assuming they are frozen, they were this morning despite it being neat -5 screenwash and only one or two below zero. But it's not even freezing now ! The onboard temp gauge reported three degrees, and my exterior thermometer at home two degrees.

Anyone have an explanation ?

[TonyHSD]

24 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

WEIRD.....

My Auris washer jets (both front and rear) did not work on my drive home. Since there is plenty of sreenwash on the tank I am assuming they are frozen, they were this morning despite it being neat -5 screenwash and only one or two below zero. But it's not even freezing now ! The onboard temp gauge reported three degrees, and my exterior thermometer at home two degrees.

Anyone have an explanation ?

Maybe you have blown the fuse for the washer pumps. You need to check which fuse is in the box and test or replace it. Been very common within Yaris cars recently. 

[Justin Smith]

On 1/19/2023 at 6:04 PM, TonyHSD said:

Maybe you have blown the fuse for the washer pumps. You need to check which fuse is in the box and test or replace it. Been very common within Yaris cars recently. 

They started working again this morning, despite the fact it was colder than yesterday afternoon !

[Justin Smith]

I had had enough of all this, I decided to get serious !

I put a tub of supposedly minus 10 degree screenwash outside over night. The temperature probably dropped to about minus 2 or 3. When I remembered ( ! ) about the experiment it had already warmed up to around plus 2 or 3, but it was still partially frozen ! ! !

See attached pic.

[Cyker]

Can you return it on the grounds of false advertising??  

I think you'll have to find some old-school concentrate/neat screen wash and mix it yourself; These pre-mixed screenwashes are either not mixed properly so the water is freezing, or there is just too much water in them to stay liquid at sub-zero temps...

It's a bit of an uphill battle tho' coz, even with highly concentrated screenwash, when it's in the washer pipes it's still very easy for them to freeze because the pipes are so thin.

I've just learned to not use the washer jets in the winter, as this has been a problem in all the cars I've owned until I've driven it for 10+ minutes...

[Justin Smith]

21 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I've just learned to not use the washer jets in the winter, as this has been a problem in all the cars I've owned until I've driven it for 10+ minutes...

How can you not use your washer jets in winter with all that salty road gunk being sprayed up on your windscreen ? ! ?

>>this has been a problem in all the cars I've owned until I've driven it for 10+ minutes<<

It was a problem, but much less so, in my previous cars, Fords all of them.
I find time driving the Auris makes little difference to the problem, I drove all the way from Kidderminster to Sheff with frozen washer jets, a nightmare.
My theory is that the washer pipes are right next to the metal bonnet but above the bonnet sound insulation, and the jets are also isolated from the heat of the engine by the rubber seal on top of the scuttle.

That said, I am coming round to the view there is something else at work here. My wife's Yaris has had problems with the washer jets and it turned out to be the non return valve in the washer pipe. Maybe the Auris has a similar valve (possibly the same one ! ) and it is slightly faulty and acts up more when its cold ?

Attached is a disassembled pic of the offending Yaris washer pipe non return valve !

[Cyker]

Well the salt/guck isn't normally a problem until I get to a fast road, and by then the engine has usually warmed the pipes enough for the jets to work.

I'm not saying I don't use them *at all* in winter, just for the first 10 minutes or so until the engine has run for a bit, enough to get to minimum operating temperature. It's been a bit trickier with the Mk4 as the engine stays pretty much stone cold until I get to said fast road, but then it doesn't take long to thaw them out, and does so long before guck on the screen has built up enough to be a problem.

It is weird that yours are staying frozen, even when hammering along fast roads; Is it definitely frozen and not just a blockage? I wonder if some grit or something has gotten into the pipes??

[Justin Smith]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

Itis weird that yours are staying frozen, even when hammering along fast roads; Is it definitely frozen and not just a blockage? I wonder if some grit or something has gotten into the pipes??

I am coming to the conclusion that there may be more than one issue at play here.
On the one hand the washer problem only manifests itself when it is really cold, which you would have thought was a cut and dried "fault". But on the other it seems inconsistent, very inconsistent. I am not convinced how accurate the exterior temp reading is but how can the screenwashers be frozen up if it's only 0 degrees, sometimes +1 or even +2 degrees ?

[Cyker]

I wonder... when you park up after a drive do the washer jets still not work? And when that happens, feel the bonnet - If it's hot/warm then there must be something else stopping it from working. Maybe a valve as you mention is getting stuck when it's cold and then stays stuck until something dislodges it??

But if the bonnet is still stone cold (I don't see how it could but I know nothing!  ), then maybe they really are frozen!

I hate stuff like this as it's probably something really silly like my dad's Verso - His washer pump stopped working and we checked fuses, wiring etc. and in the end came to the conclusion that the pump itself was faulty.

Asked my travelling mechanic mate to change it for us, but he just came, took it out, whacked it a few times and bam it was working again  

 

[MagicBoy]

I guess I'm lucky mine's garaged! With the discussion of Fords - generally if they've got a heated windscreen then the washer jets nozzles are also heated, and come on with the heated windscreen.

[TonyHSD]

First cold weather I had Preston mixed 125ml into 5l of water for summer and autumn use, and it was frozen and made the washer stopped working. Then I mixed 250ml into 5l of water and no problems this cold week. Last night down to -5C° and frozen washers anymore. 👌

Prestone PSCW0039A Screen Wash for Cars, Concentrate makes up to 50 Litres of Screenwash, protects to -18C, 2.5 Litre, Yellow https://amzn.eu/d/2ernKvP

[Justin Smith]

On 1/22/2023 at 1:44 PM, Cyker said:

I wonder... when you park up after a drive do the washer jets still not work? And when that happens, feel the bonnet - If it's hot/warm then there must be something else stopping it from working

Good idea, I will try to remember to do that.

[Cyker]

Ironically, my washers stopped working on the way to work and I had to pull off the motorway because the spray from other cars got so bad I literally couldn't see!  

"Oh no!" I thought, "I jinxed it posting in that thread! I hope it isn't something serious..."

...turned out I'd used up all the washer fluid  

In my defence, it appears the Mk4 Yaris, as well as having the smallest fuel tank of any Yaris, also has the smallest washer bottle of any Yaris! I swear it only holds a single litre!!!  

[TonyHSD]

The bonnet won’t become warm in negative temperatures even if you keep the car idling for hours. It’s too cold, and when driving it will become even colder from the wind chill. 👍