Washer fluid reservoir level

[Londondrug]

How can I check the Washer fluid reservoir level with my 2022 SV? I open the cap, looks empty inside and can't find the reservoir level mark. Moreover, what washer fluid shall I choose from the store?

Thanks a lot for your input.

 

[Bombastinator2]

I’ve got a 2019, so I can’t speak to that problem. I can tell you washer fluid is a pretty famous scam though. Washer fluid is just water and coloring, with maybe a tiny bit of alcohol to keep it from freezing IF it’s cold. The stuff you buy in summer months has no alcohol in it at all. Take an empty jug, fill it at the tap and throw a cap full of vodka in it and you’ve got stuff 3 or 4 times more powerful than you can get in the store, just without the blue dye. There should be a fill line somewhere though.

 

[Learjet]

does it have a tube? if so, hold you finger over the hole on the top of the cap and lift up. The tube will hold the level. It is in the manual:
"
To check the fluid level, use your finger to
plug the center hole 1 of the cap/tube
assembly, then remove it from the reservoir.
If there is no fluid in the tube, add fluid. "

 

[Londondrug]

does it have a tube? if so, hold you finger over the hole on the top of the cap and lift up. The tube will hold the level. It is in the manual:
"
To check the fluid level, use your finger to
plug the center hole 1 of the cap/tube
assembly, then remove it from the reservoir.
If there is no fluid in the tube, add fluid. "

It doesn't come with a tube.

 

[cornbinder89]

I wonder how many tubes were pulled of the caps with the tube and thrown away? "what is this thing doing here, damn thing gets in the way, I'll just pull it off and get rid out it, must be left over from when the molded the cap"!

 

[Drew21]

Our 2014 SV, purchased used from a private seller 2.5 years ago, has a tube on the inside of the washer fluid filler cap. I never really worry about the fluid level, I just fill it to the top every couple months. But, I'm now curious to give the tube a try next time I pop the hood.

I'm one of those profligate owners who, when I'm not making s'mores over a stack of flaming $2 bills, like to splurge on genuine high-dollar (<$4/gallon) Wal-Mart washer fluid. I even swap between summer and winter fluid in the appropriate season, and I suck out the remaining summer fluid in the fall and vice-versa in the spring. Cause I'm crazy.

A gallon of each fills our two cars for well over a year, so I'm spending maybe $0.25/month on each vehicle. It's a heavy financial burden, but almost every time we go to Aldi's some lazy person left a cart in the parking lot so a tiny bit of effort yields a free quarter and I've just paid for my washer fluid for a month. If there are two carts in the lot I'm raking in pure profit. Like taking candy from a baby.

If you're weird like me and run seasonal washer fluid, remember to run the rear washer for a while to clear the tube of the old fluid after swapping from summer to winter fluid or it won't work when you really need it.

 

[knightmb]

I wonder how many tubes were pulled of the caps with the tube and thrown away? "what is this thing doing here, damn thing gets in the way, I'll just pull it off and get rid out it, must be left over from when the molded the cap"!

I laughed when I read this because that is what I've seen happen too. Sadly, for the 2020 models, they quit making caps that way. My wife's 2018 still has it though and she hasn't ripped it out with the same logic thank goodness.

 

[Deleted member 37757]

I’ve got a 2019, so I can’t speak to that problem. I can tell you washer fluid is a pretty famous scam though. Washer fluid is just water and coloring, with maybe a tiny bit of alcohol to keep it from freezing IF it’s cold. The stuff you buy in summer months has no alcohol in it at all. Take an empty jug, fill it at the tap and throw a cap full of vodka in it and you’ve got stuff 3 or 4 times more powerful than you can get in the store, just without the blue dye. There should be a fill line somewhere though.

RTFM

 

[DunanyDon]

I’ve got a 2019, so I can’t speak to that problem. I can tell you washer fluid is a pretty famous scam though. Washer fluid is just water and coloring, with maybe a tiny bit of alcohol to keep it from freezing IF it’s cold. The stuff you buy in summer months has no alcohol in it at all. Take an empty jug, fill it at the tap and throw a cap full of vodka in it and you’ve got stuff 3 or 4 times more powerful than you can get in the store, just without the blue dye. There should be a fill line somewhere though.

I don't know where Bombastinator2 lives, but it must be pretty far south. In Canada, two grades of windshield washer fluid are commonly sold, good to -35 °C (-31 °F) and -45 °C (-49 °F), which contain about 45% and 54% methanol by volume, respectively. Besides dye, which can be blue, green or yellow, there is also a bit of detergent. A capful of vodka would depress the freezing point of a jug water by less than 1 °F and would be a waste of good vodka. Most people in Canada and the northern US use washer fluid year round because the first frost of the fall could be in October or even September and if you are using water at that point, your washer fluid pump would be wrecked.

 

[cornbinder89]

Dunny, what they sell down here is crap, and unless you read the label carefully, you might be buying dyed water. You might find some "purple" stuff that would be good to -25F or so but nothing I've seen down here goes as cold as your stuff up there.
Just like most diesel pumps are at best "winter mix" and you have to really look to find pure #1 diesel. We don't often see your temps, but when do only those that took their own measures for the cold will still be running.

 

[benjwhite9]

Our 2014 SV, purchased used from a private seller 2.5 years ago, has a tube on the inside of the washer fluid filler cap. I never really worry about the fluid level, I just fill it to the top every couple months. But, I'm now curious to give the tube a try next time I pop the hood.

I'm one of those profligate owners who, when I'm not making s'mores over a stack of flaming $2 bills, like to splurge on genuine high-dollar (<$4/gallon) Wal-Mart washer fluid. I even swap between summer and winter fluid in the appropriate season, and I suck out the remaining summer fluid in the fall and vice-versa in the spring. Cause I'm crazy.

A gallon of each fills our two cars for well over a year, so I'm spending maybe $0.25/month on each vehicle. It's a heavy financial burden, but almost every time we go to Aldi's some lazy person left a cart in the parking lot so a tiny bit of effort yields a free quarter and I've just paid for my washer fluid for a month. If there are two carts in the lot I'm raking in pure profit. Like taking candy from a baby.

If you're weird like me and run seasonal washer fluid, remember to run the rear washer for a while to clear the tube of the old fluid after swapping from summer to winter fluid or it won't work when you really need it.

Your post above seems to confirm something that I wasn't sure about until now. Does the rear window washer use the same reservoir as the front? I have a 2019 Leaf S. I've looked, but I've never seen another reservoir for the rear.

 

[Drew21]

Every hatchback I've owned, including the Leaf, has had only one washer fluid reservoir with a tube running to the rear. On my 2010 Honda Fit Sport it runs along the passenger floor/door sill junction, up the rear passenger inner fender to the top passenger corner of the hatch opening, and then through the rubber loom into the hatch with the wiring for the rear wiper motor and license plate lights. I would assume a similar routing on the Leaf.
Regardless of the exact route, it's a long, skinny tube that will easily freeze and block once it gets cold unless you clear out the non-winter washer fluid. If that happens, your best bet is to get the interior floor nice and toasty on a long drive, cross your fingers, and try the rear again.

 

[cornbinder89]

I had one that had a rear res, I think it was my '94 Ford Explorer.

 

[Drew21]

Here's a schematic from the 2014 Service Manual.

 

[Marius25]

Get normal washer fluid either premix or concentrate. -18c or colder mix (let's say it's -10c outside, you'd want a minimum -25c mix). For summer at minimum 10c you can simply use the high concentrate 100:1 /200:1 bottles, they're cheap and effective.

I ran my fluid empty to check the capacity, think it was 3L. Not a whole lot, but the leaf has less pressure than my previous vehicle, so in the end it uses less by not shooting half of it to the vehicle behind. The leaf also does not have headlight nozzles.

Drive the car for a week / month, then fill up to see approximately how much you use. A good practice is always having a bottle of 3-4L -18c premix with you.

 

[rogersleaf]

Dunny, what they sell down here is crap, and unless you read the label carefully, you might be buying dyed water. You might find some "purple" stuff that would be good to -25F or so but nothing I've seen down here goes as cold as your stuff up there.
Just like most diesel pumps are at best "winter mix" and you have to really look to find pure #1 diesel. We don't often see your temps, but when do only those that took their own measures for the cold will still be running.

I had an incident recently with my '19 LEAF where the washer pump stopped working intermittently. Had purchased 2 gallons of the -20F blue stuff from a Walmart. It took awhile to figure this out but the fluid was freezing up near the pump. The unopened 2nd jug was in the back seat of my Ridgeline that was left parked outside in 5F weather during the recent January cold snap. When shook that jug, it looked like something out of the slurpee machine at the gas station so obviously something wrong with that batch. One design aspect of LEAF with a heat pump that I noticed is the HVAC expansion tank & related plumbing is right next to the windshield washer pump. Reach your hand down into that area, it's crazy cold near the washer pump when the heat pump is running and definitely a contributing factor to the washer freezing up.