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Cost about £20 for a new one which was easy to change. £268 seems beyond ridiculous....!
Yes I agree, may be the new laws on repairable white good could be extended to the motor industry. Hardly anything is repaired but replaced with a brand new part. How can a washer pump cost this much even if you take off labour and VAT although I would not be surprised if the labour charge was 2 hours!
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Cost about £20 for a new one which was easy to change. £268 seems beyond ridiculous....!
Yes I agree, may be the new laws on repairable white good could be extended to the motor industry. Hardly anything is repaired but replaced with a brand new part. How can a washer pump cost this much even if you take off labour and VAT although I would not be surprised if the labour charge was 2 hours!
Put car on lift, remove wheel and wheel arch arch liner, remove botttle, remove pump, go to stores, wait while part located, go and have coffee break, go and reverse procedure.. add Audi liquid gold screenwash, give work card to receptionist, (whose time you are paying for as well), £100 an hour plus vat, Plus parts.
Been there, done that and have done the billing bit too. But used to use the manufacturer work sheets for billing times.
Note. most competent mechanics can do jobs like the above in about half the invoice time and get a bonus too.
Edited by _ORB_ on 10/03/2021 at 15:09
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<< Been there, done that and have done the billing bit too. But used to use the manufacturer work sheets for billing times. >>
I've just had a coolant change AND a new radiator for my 1994 Pug. The car was in for 4 days because the first rad received had the wrong connections. The bill included a whole hour's labour, which I thought was pretty reasonable !
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It's the lack of harmful chemicals in certain brands that causes the problem. The VAG and BMW screenwashes are super-concentrated and by the smell, contain a lot of methanol which is a biocide, stopping the jelly-like sludge build-up from bacteria that gets into the reservoir. The jelly builds up around the pump pick-up and blocks it.
Generally speaking, a screenwash which is usable down to -18C will have enough nasty chemicals in it to stop bacterial action.
I don't think ANY screenwash contains methanol these days. Its dangerous and mostly banned in consumer products. Most likely its ethanol. The last BMW screenwash I had was concentrated and you mixed it with water so could be any strength you wanted. Never had jelly in the tank. I don't think it takes much alcohol to inhibit bacteria.
I think the OP is being ripped off. On the Audi I had it was one pump doing front and rear - it just reverses direction if it does the rear. He can hear the motor so I bet its just a detached or blocked pipe or nozzle. The pumps are simple little things - don't know how they artive at £268. Doesn't sound right at all.
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Interesting thread for such a seemingly mundane subject. It is awful if the screen washers cease to operate, dangerous too. In all my 50 years or so of car ownership or company cars I have never had a problem with blocked screen washer nozzles, tubes or pumps. I have used a variety of products usually anything that comes to hand. I do use the washers fairly regularly which may help, as opposed to being left unused for months at a time. I was hoping some clever chemist in our ranks would provide a definitive answer.
Like the OP I had cataract surgery a few months ago, before they became a problem for general driving, although night driving was more difficult. Now, no problem at all. I do however wear my sunglasses when driving now as the eyes allow more light into the retina it seems more intense than previously, but the results are remarkable and I would recommend the procedure to anyone.
Cheers Concrete
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I picked up on the alleged fussiness of VAG screen washers before I bought my Golf. It was probably on here somewhere. When I got the car I shelled out a ridiculous £8 for a litre of concentrate. I then made up a litre of dilute solution which I gradually used and 12000 miles later I still have 3/4 of a litre of concentrate left.
I guess I didn’t make too many winter journeys but even so £8 for 48000 miles seems a bit if a bargain.
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I picked up on the alleged fussiness of VAG screen washers before I bought my Golf. It was probably on here somewhere. When I got the car I shelled out a ridiculous £8 for a litre of concentrate. I then made up a litre of dilute solution which I gradually used and 12000 miles later I still have 3/4 of a litre of concentrate left.
I guess I didn’t make too many winter journeys but even so £8 for 48000 miles seems a bit if a bargain.
I've found VW Group screenwash cost-effective when diluted as recommended.
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I placed a thread a short time ago about the washer fluid indicator jammed on my E320 CDI.
Happened since I filled up with Aldi winter screen wash.
But a Google search advises using MB fluid , otherwise the sensor gets jammed up.
Massive job to remove the bottle , but luckily the problem fixed itself . So it’s Prestone from now on ,ma Best Buy on Auto Express.
Can we look forward to similar problems when E10 is introduced.
My son is advising his lawn mower customers to fill up with Esso Super unleaded which is ethanol free and avoids replacement carburettor s. Similar problem with classic motor bikes !
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I think Craig and concrete have both made valid points, I use Autoglym screen wash, not particularly cheap but like so many things quality has a price, I also use my washers very regularly.
As to Audis pricing yes it's a bit steep but I guess when you buy into a "premium brand" it's the price you pay....pun intended! :)
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blog.motoringassist.com/news/beware-solidifying-sc.../
Many years ago when I were a poor lad, I bought from supermarkets, discount motor shops (there were lots around, later realised they all sell junk) and had constant problems with smelly fluid, blocked jets etc so as we run all VAG cars, I switched to genuine VAG screenwash for a while, very good, nice smell but very expensive , guaranteed not to block the fan jets of the day. Decided later to change to GM Opticlean, which is equally as good but considerably cheaper as the local Vauxhall dealer would let me have it at trade price. Then finally the Vauxhall parts guy suggested I try Vauxhall Trade Club screenwash, concentrated it cost £2.50 for 5 litres (trade price 3 years ago). Must say its as good as the OE products, less perfume though. And no problems with jets, smell etc.
VTC Trade Club Screenwash UKAMP06
Summer Use 10%
Winter Use 50%
Contains: Methanol, Benzisothiazolinone, <5% Perfumes
I use 20% summer 30% winter
Just googled, Audi, BMW etc washer pumps are still a seperately replaceable part, around £15. Unplug and replace. Took just a few minutes to replace the last one I did about 20 years ago
Note to self: avoid main dealers
Edited by brum on 10/03/2021 at 18:17
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A part of the motor has been damaged by washer fluid, so a new motor is needed. The existing motor works fine (you can hear it trying to pump) but the defective part cannot be replaced separately.
I just don't believe it. Which 'part'? It is far more likely that there is a blockage of gunge which, if it is occupying the mesh of a filter, can be very difficult to disperse.
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I never buy screen wash, always use whatever is in the house for the dishes. Never had a problem
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How do you stop it freezing in winter?
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So if the supermarket screen wash causes these problems why should we expect anything better from their petrol and diesel fuels ?
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I have never had a problem with the brand ASDA sell but I use it at full 100% strength "severe winter" all year through. It has never sludged up in ten years. I suspect having the concentration too weak and mixed with other brands is where the problem starts. When the car goes in for service, I make sure it's topped up to the max so they don't add any of their own brand. I must admit, I've never checked to see whether they still charge me...
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I have never had a problem with the brand ASDA sell but I use it at full 100% strength "severe winter" all year through. .
I would hesitate to use what may be neat IPA, which is a tolerably good solvent for some things. It's not in the paint-stripper class, but it's meant to be weakened with water to reduce that ability, and to make it more suitable for removing those things more likely to accumulate on the screen.
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So if the supermarket screen wash causes these problems why should we expect anything better from their petrol and diesel fuels ?
Fuel has minimum EN standards - screen wash doesn't.
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How do you stop it freezing in winter?
I've heard of this "winter" of which you speak.
Taiwanese sometimes call the Peak Air Pollution season "winter", (AKA The Dry Season) but here ice is considered to be food, not weather.
In The Yook I think I chucked some meths in it.
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I used meths once but found the smell a disadvantage. I've heard the Russians use vodka!
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"
Wed 10 Mar 2021 19:58
Audi A4 Avant - Washer fluid - sammy1
I never buy screen wash, always use whatever is in the house for the dishes. Never had a problem
"
Ditto.
Long term I did get some gunk in the washer reservoir though. Needed flushed out sometimes.
I suppose that, as dish soap is said to have salt in it, it might also promote corrosion. Not likely to be a significant addition to UK winter road spray, but it might be bad for the internal pump.
Since these will probably cost about "1 million dollars" on a new car, I don''t supposed I would feel like saving money on washer fluid if I had one.
Edited by edlithgow on 11/03/2021 at 12:33
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I regret that I have misunderstood the explanation I was given, not that the service advisors take great care to ensure that you do understand before you authorise them to proceed. Probably the majority of motorists these days do not understand the complexities of their cars - and, I suspect, neither do some of the service advisors, but let’s not go down that road.
When I collected the car, they had replaced the rear wiper motor, not the washer pump. It seems that the section of the washer mechanism that was blocked or damaged is part of the wiper motor, so although the motor was working fine, a replacement is necessary to remedy whatever was wrong with the washer. Very frustrating, but I believe a non-operative rear washer is an MOT failure so I considered I didn’t really have any alternative. For information, the motor cost £132 excluding VAT. At the same time they replaced the nozzles (£6 plus VAT). When I got home I studied the bill more closely and found that they had also added a courier charge of £10, which I thought was a bit of a cheek, but I couldn’t be bothered by that stage to quibble. The labour charge was £75 plus VAT To be honest, at my age I can’t be bothered to sweat the small stuff. The car is fixed and so we bash on.
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Their next trick will be just to sell you a brand new motor (the whole vehicle not the wiper motor)!
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Firstly, the rear wash / wipe system is not an mot testable item . If either or both don’t work , it’s not a fail . Secondly , in common with most Vag cars, the rear wash pipe runs through the wiper motor . Very often the tube leaks and wrecks the motor . I suspect all that was required was a new washer spray jet . Costs about £10 .
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