Why won't it fill up?

[Gren]

When I got my Cross I noticed the windscreen washer fluid level was low, so topped it up.  But it would only fill the neck of the washer fluid tank, with a large empty part of the tank below.  After a drive it seemed to go down into the tank, but when I tried filling again, I could only fill the neck of the tank.

As the tank was nearly empty, it took several fills to put any useful amount of fluid in.

Anyone else have this problem or is this something I should get sorted under warranty?

[Bernard Foy]

Wow I've never come across that before, must be an airlock. Did you try blowing into it??

[Gren]

I didn't try blowing, but I used a large rod to check and it went right in to the bottom of the tank.  It's really odd.

I used a small funnel to save me spilling fluid into the engine bay, and it fills slowly, so not related to a sudden fill.

[Mojo1010]

Haven't seen that before, get it checked out by a Toyota dealer. 

[Primus1]

Strange one, it’s not frozen is it, if you put the rod down and it was hitting ice, it would appear to be hitting the bottom of the reservoir, but, as others say, get it looked at..

[MikeSh]

8 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

it’s not frozen is it,

Given the location that seems quite possible.

[Jasper.]

Mine does exactly the same...

[DAF XF]

I don't think this is anything unusual...last 3 non toyota cars were all the same. Looks strange but it must be the way they're made. They look massive but actually only 50-60% of what looks to be the volume is actually fillable!

[DAF XF]

This is one

[jimaros]

4 hours ago, Jasper. said:

 

 

8 hours ago, Gren said:

When I got my Cross I noticed the windscreen washer fluid level was low, so topped it up.  But it would only fill the neck of the washer fluid tank, with a large empty part of the tank below.  After a drive it seemed to go down into the tank, but when I tried filling again, I could only fill the neck of the tank.

As the tank was nearly empty, it took several fills to put any useful amount of fluid in.

Anyone else have this problem or is this something I should get sorted under warranty?

 

4 hours ago, Jasper. said:

Mine does exactly the same...

My Avensis 2008 had a similar looking long neck. But it also had a transparent soft tube attached to the cap. When I'd fill up without the tube it did some strange sh**t like that so ik became a habit to fill it with the tube inserted.

Hadn't thought of it ever till now but seeing your post reminded me of it.

There's probably a very strange and narrow spot in the neck (bad manufacturing - plastic remains) and it makes it difficult to fill up. 

See if your cap has a nipple on the underside - inside and either attach a tube (sold everywhere in hardware stores by the meter) or have a length of it handy to help you fill up. Probably it helps the air escape when you try and fill up. 

The tube I'm referring looks like the one on your windshield washers only in transparent.blockquote widget

[jimaros]

16 hours ago, jimaros said:

My Avensis 2008 had a similar looking long neck. But it also had a transparent soft tube attached to the cap. When I'd fill up without the tube it did some strange sh**t like that so ik became a habit to fill it with the tube inserted.

Hadn't thought of it ever till now but seeing your post reminded me of it.

There's probably a very strange and narrow spot in the neck (bad manufacturing - plastic remains) and it makes it difficult to fill up. 

See if your cap has a nipple on the underside - inside and either attach a tube (sold everywhere in hardware stores by the meter) or have a length of it handy to help you fill up. Probably it helps the air escape when you try and fill up. 

The tube I'm referring looks like the one on your windshield washers only in transparent.blockquote widget

This kind of tube

[TonyHSD]

This is typical for many if not all cars. Air lock very likely and it will go away with the time and few fill ups. 

[YarisHybrid2016]

Ours looks exactly the same. Nothing wrong! If you empty it, it holds 2L.

[Mojo1010]

Just filled up mine and it's the same haha. Don't think this happened previously as I'd of noticed. 

[Bernard Foy]

Never had a problem, mine holds above 2lts approximately I never actually measured how much it holds when I’ve filled it from empty.

[hind]

Get a long straw, seal the top end with your finger, push it down the pipe so it hits the air pocket and release the finger 🙂 the air should be able to escape and the fluid should flow to the tank

[TonyHSD]

And when pouring down the fluid you can do slowly to prevent foaming and air lock. Older models has a tube attached to the cap to measure the level and do the trick with the straw eventually. 

[RonYarisX]

Just reading this for the first time.

My immediate thought is what happens when you switch on the windscreen washers?

If there was a blockage then the fluid would only dribble out of the jets.

If it was an airlock then only air would come out to begin with, remaining fluid would fill the void and then the fluid would come out as normal. No more air blocks.

If the fluid is coming out as expected then what's the issue?

Or am I not understanding the problem?

[Gren]

The issue is that I can only add about 150ml each time, even if the tank is less than half full. I don't use any fluid and it goes down a bit after driving a bit so I can add another 150ml a few days later and so on. I've never been able to fill the tank completely.

There's no problem using it, the washer works fine and the level goes down a little in the neck. Then I can put another thimbleful in.

It's not frozen either, and I can put a rod in to the bottom of the tank so no obstruction between the neck and the rest of the tank.

It's just frustrating that I can't fill an empty tank fully.

[hind]

8 hours ago, RonYarisX said:

only air would come out to begin with,

But the pump sucks from the bottom of the tank and here the air is on the top. Why would it suck the remaining air? 

8 hours ago, Gren said:

The issue is that I can only add about 150ml each time, even if the tank is less than half full. I don't use any fluid

Did you try the straw thing?