I looked it up in the manual and I did a search here, but found nothing about this. I ran out of washer fluid without warning today on my way in to work, while I was trying to clear the windshield of dried road grime a truck kicked up. Those people who live in cold climates know all too well- muddy or salty water droplets get on the windshield and almost instantly dry up, forcing you to use fluid to get them off. Luckily I had just enough in there to get the job done, but it would have been nice to have a warning lamp to let me know it was close to the bottom. I don't want to sound like I'm going overboard on this- but just wanted to know if I need to keep a closer eye on it from now on. :smile:

 

Doeas ANY car have a warning light for windshield washer fluid?

 

>>Doeas ANY car have a warning light for windshield washer fluid?

Yes, my wife's '03 Suburban does, my old Pontiac Bonneville did, plus a few other cars I've driven, my MINI seems to run out at the most inconvenient time.

X2

 

Yes, most do. At least my 98 Lumina, 96 Lincoln and my Son's Toyota and my Daughter's Dodge Intrepid do. MINI may have been too busy engineering a Rube Goldberg oil filter to worry about this little detail. :smile:

 

Most American cars do have a warning light for the windshield fluid level (My ex-'01 Impala LS had it), but the MINI unfortunately does not have one so the only way to ensure that you have fluid is by popping up the bonnet and look at the reservoir bottle on the right hand side.


Japanese cars that I have owned, do not have the light either.

 

GJR, no. The tank holds about 1/2 a bottle of fluid...strangely small.

Raider, yes. Most cars nowadays have this. I think MINI left it out since it'd be coming on all of the time due to the tiny fluid reservoir.

 

My 1996 Audi has it, as did my 2000 VW GTI. My MCS does have a whindshield washer fluid dipstick for the front reservoir but nothing for the rear. I suggest that like tire pressure, you do a weekly check of your fluid level and when you top up one, top up the other too.

 

Ah, I get it. Until now, all I have owned were Japanese cars. Still, compared to the original Mini I used to tool around in in the 70's, this baby is pretty well loaded. I am just amazed I am driving a MINI with air conditioning!

 

The BMW X5 has it, but I am not sure about the other newer BMW's. My 1995 M3 did not have it.

 

My MCS does have a windshield washer fluid dipstick for the front reservoir but nothing for the rear.

HUH ?!...I only have a Cooper...but am I missing something here?...a dipstick for windshield washer fluid ????...HAHAHAHA, you had me going there for a second !!!

 

I'm terribly confused...

Dipsticks? For washer fluid? Front and rear fluid resevoirs?

I have one resevoir for both, and it has a little "fill to here" line...

Are you sure you drive a MINI?

 

If you have headlight washers, you have 2 reservoirs, and the one on the driver's side for the headlight washers has a dipstick.

 

Xenons get you the headlight washers and those get the 2nd reservoir

Interestingly the 2nd reservoir handles the headlight washers AND the rear window washer. I discovered that after draining the reservoir. Why MINI does that is beyond (i.e. on cars with xenons, why not just leave the rear window pulling from the same reservoir as the front windscreen washer?)

Screwy.

It still doesn't solve the main issue though that NEITHER reservoir is large enough to hold a reasonable amount of washer fluid.

 

I am so relieved to hear this...cause I just got home after filling tanks on two sides!

I think the split makes sense--if the tanks are about the same size, most people use the same amount on the front windshield as they do the xenons and back window combined.

 

>>The BMW X5 has it, but I am not sure about the other newer BMW's. My 1995 M3 did not have it.

my 86 635Csi had it.

 

Ah... thanks for the clarification! :smile:

 

"Those people who live in cold climates know all too well- muddy or salty water droplets get on the windshield and almost instantly dry up."

I have also experienced this dry film on the windshield during typical Canadian winter driving. I have tracked it down to the windshield vents, more so the passengers side in my case. When you select a heating mode which should direct the airflow somewhere other than the windshield, hot air is still leaking through the vents causing unwanted heat at the windshield and subsequent accelerated drying of road spray.

My 04 MCS for instance will leak air to the windshield when floor heat is selected. You can test for this condition easily by placing a Kleenex or similar on top of the winshield vents and cycle the air flow control to different modes while watching for air leaks. I am returning to the dealer to hopefully have the HVAC mode doors adjusted.

 

I would rather NOT have an additional light on my cluster for windshield washer fluid. I do understand the issues that we Yankees face having to try to clear salt and dirt and snow from our windshields, but I don't need a little yellow light to annoy me all the time. I always keep a spare jug or two of fluid in the basement and pull it out whenever I run low. In the winter, I'm more likely to just add it on a weekly basis though, since I really burn through the stuff. I dunno, this has never really bothered me...I'd rather have some "serious" gauges like oil pressure and water temperature, which the MINI is sorely lacking, but my beat up JEEP Cherokee has in abundance!