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Windshield washers freezing up?

11K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  Phantom6655 
#1 ·
Anybody else had this? Maybe dealer is putting straight water in mine. I've never had to fill them. But several times recently with temp in the 20F and below range they have been frozen and won't work. Once temp is up around 32 they are ok again.
 
#2 ·
We've had some stinkin' low temps here and the juice I get free from the dealer has always worked. I'm sure it's not any high-priced special stuff either ;-) All customers get free jugs of fluid as long as you own your vehicle!

Maybe you should use up what you have quickly when it's warmer and then get some good washer fluid good to -20 or so.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Yeah they are putting either summer/bug washing fluid, or straight water. Gets really cold where I am, I use only -40 stuff and have never had it freeze on me, even at -50F. I have used -30F fluid too, and it has never frozen on me either. Highest/warmest rating I've seen on winter washer fluid is -30F, and they go down as cold as -50F (rating on the jug).

You can add one cup of rubbing alcool (isopropyl) to your existing tankfull to make it winter-proof. Add the alcool, wait 30 minutes then all should be good to go. **Do not use methyl alcool** (it eats rubber and is toxic).
 
#4 ·
I've got 0 degree rainx in mine and they still freeze up. 0 is the lowest I can get in Texas. Next year I'm gonna install the heated ones from mopar.


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#5 ·
I've got 0 degree rainx in mine and they still freeze up. 0 is the lowest I can get in Texas. Next year I'm gonna install the heated ones from mopar.
It freezes up ? That's weird. Well unless you mean partial freezing when the spray hits the windshield at speed, which is *normal* I guess. I get some of that too, sometimes, and one swing of the blades clears it right off, if the windshiled is warm enough.

Try one cup of isopropyl alcool. It'll smell, but it's not a bad smell...
 
#6 ·
No, I mean they freeze solid and won't spray. I chalk it up to windchill. I'll be picking up -25 rainx de-icer on my way home.


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#8 · (Edited)
No, I mean they freeze solid and won't spray. I chalk it up to windchill. I'll be picking up -25 rainx de-icer on my way home.
Wow. 0F must be pretty rare in Texas, I'm surprised the fluid froze like that. Any chance the tank is holding a mix of summer / 0F Rain-X ?
No way the -25F stuff will freeze on you. Maybe in Alaska ;)

I'm meaning the same as Len1304 - not on windshield - at the nozzles or before somewhere - nothing comes out till it warms up - rear washer works fine it seems though.
Yep I got that. Summer fluid or water will freeze in the lines or just at the nozzles if the temp dips below freezing.
Try the rubbing alcool, it's what they put in winter fluid anyway. Or use it all up on a warmer day and then fill up with winter stuff.

Edit to add : there is of course the situation where after a snowfall, if you don't clear the nozzles, they can get a coating of ice over them, sometimes it's even hard to see the ice covering the jets. That happens... and when it does, I just pinch the nozzles with my bare fingers for 30 seconds, to melt the ice, and then all is good.
 
#11 ·
My apologies, I personally still drive in sub zero temps a few times a year.

Edit: which is why I'm gonna install heated washers.


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#12 ·
@Mark_ I run 0 degree mix all year. I go through a gallon every two weeks or so. I have a bit of OCD in regards to glass needing to be spotless. My glasses too.


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#13 ·
I am the same way... comes from being a glass installer... it HAS TO be clean.

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#14 ·
Odd I just had this happen last Friday. First winter with my Jeep, first real cold morning...0F...and my windshield wiper fluid would not squirt. I chalk it up to dealer using watered down fluid to save a buck. Temps rebounded to 15 in the afternoon and they worked fine.
 
#16 ·
Mine will spray just fine but will partially start freezing on the windshield in the single digits and below as we have had over the weekend. I have had this happen even in the "old" days.
As soon as the vehicle warms up and the defrosters are blowing warm, and problem is over. Till that happens I have to keep using the solution to clear the frost off till it starts freezing up again.

I always use -20 to -30F washer solution year round.
Its just the rule I have learned: If real cold, Do not squirt till the defrosters are going or pay the price.
Also use that -20 to -30F solution year round. Its easy to forget to change it out when the time comes or you take a trip to a colder area.
In fact our home improvement store in late summer had windshield fluid at a good price BUT I notice it was not anti-freeze type. That was a surprise as up here in the Mid and Northern part of the country I have only seen the -20 to -30 F stuff.
 
#19 ·
True.
But...

Inside car temp 75F ---- outside temp 0F (example).

1)Parked car : blowing hot air on inside of windshield elevates windshield temp enough to melt anything on the outside of the glass. This is, IIRC, named conduction.

2) Same car, same inside and outside temps, same blowing hot air on windshield, but car moving at 60mph. Do you think stuff will melt on the outside as quickly/easily as when the car was parked ? Nope... and this, IIRC, is convection. Throw a fast moving cold fluid (in this case air) on a surface and it will cool down significantly faster than with zero air movement.

So this isn't "wind chill factor" as we all know and love, but it's physics at work. When the cool washer fluid hits a warm (warm enough) windshield, no problems. Get that car moving through cold air and the game changes.

I remember when I first hit a hale storm in 90F weather driving on the highway in a Ford Econoline. The metal roof made cracking sounds (not the same sound as the ice balls hitting) and also the outside of the windshield fogged up instantly. There was so much cold fluid hitting the van at once the temp differential was very high, the contracting metal made noises and dew point on the outside of the glass. Fascinating...
 
#20 ·
Yup, mine froze up last week when it was around 8 degrees outside.
 
#21 ·
Methanol works much better than rubbing alcohol. Put two to three bottles of HEET (yellow bottle) in your reservoir and fill with water in a pinch. Or, mix a 1 to 4 ratio in a gallon jug to mix your own. I add food coloring so I can see it in my reservoir. Works perfectly and also melts ice on the windshield. You can get methanol cheap from hot rod shops or racing strips for about 4 bucks a gallon as well. Or you can buy air brake anti freeze a little cheaper than HEET and in bigger bottles; it is methanol as well (usually; check the label to be sure).
 
#23 ·
Hey Eric and welcome to the forum !

Methanol does work very well with ice, but... it is a rubber eater, and it much more toxic than ethanol or isopropyl alcool... I believe there are restrictions on methanol use, not sure about windshield washer fluid and how much is allowed in it, commercially.
 
#22 ·
And something else at play here also : winter washer fluid depends on alcool content to remain fluid at low temps. Once the fluid is sprayed out of the nozzles, the alcool immediately begins to evaporate. The faster you move, the quicker this evaporation process occurs. And you are left with a solution that has a fast increasing water proportion, on the glass...
 
#24 · (Edited)
Check out the MSDS on Preston De-Icer windshield flluid; it's a methanol mix. I've been mixing my own for 20 years and never had it cause a problem or damage to the rubber hoses. Ethanol, which is usually in regular washer fluid, is also hard on rubber, not to mention car wax, paint and plastic. I Have a 2004 Dodge Ram that's had the mix year round for the last 12+ years; pump and hoses are running fine. Yeah it is toxic...so is gas, ATF, motor oil, coolant, refrigerant, brake fluid, etc. Come to think of it, so is regular windshield fluid since, as I said earlier, it contains ethanol as well along with detergents, etc. Don't ingest any of those, including methanol, and you'll be fine.
 
#25 ·
I think it's a poor design and placement of the front nozzles. Mine ALWAYS freeze with temps in the mid teens and below right at the nozzles mounted on the hood. The fluid reservoir and lines running up to that point are still liquid and rear window nozzle that is protected under the visor seems to work most of the time far lower temps. Vision quickly becomes very hazardous on heavily salted highways, and I have had to exit a few times to clear it.
 
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