I am wondering why my washer jets were frozen this morning even though I have the "Cold Weather Package"? I thought maybe if I drove a little they would thaw, but that didn't work either.

Do I have to do something to initiate the heating process? I did have the rear defrost on and the interior heat set on HI.

Any suggestions?

 

Is there any chance you have water in the reservoir instead of washer fluid? If so, the fluid may have frozen in the lines. . . . .

 

Maybe you have to have the front defrost on?
Not sure..........

 

You need to put windshield washer fluid in the reservoir. It is generally good for -15 to -20 degrees Fahrenheit before freezing. The cold weather package does provide heat but only at the nozzle, not if the lines/reservoir are frozen.

p.s. Read your owners manual, cover to cover.

 

I believe with the cold weather pkg, the washer nozzels and side mirrors warm automatically at ignition in any temp. My MA made a point of showing me the feature.

 

Yes, I have windshield washer fluid in the reservoir. I filled it just 2 weeks ago.

I have read the owners manual, however I did not commit it to memory. I thought I could get a better answer from the helpful people here on the forum who may have had the same experience.

I did have the front defrost on for a minute. It was making the air colder shooting out at the window so I switched it to just the front and foot vents. Maybe I should have given it a chance to warm up longer?

I am hoping when I go to lunch they will have thawed from sitting in the sun.

 

I wonder if modding the MINI to have heated washer fluid like on the new Buick commercial would help? I'm thinking I'm going to figure out how to do that by next winter (not getting the MINI until a week or two from now).

I figure a heated reservoir and maybe insulating the lines (if possible) would make a nice little cheap mod.

 

I'm pretty sure only the washer nozzles are heated, not the reservoir or the lines, which means that it's possible for the fluid in the tanks and in the lines to freeze.

The person who would probably know about this is probably the closest thing NAM has to a resident MINI Cold Weather Driving Expert Mr. Lot15... He's up in the Great White North of Canada (Gooday eh!) and probably has experienced this first hand...

 

Not wanting to sound like another wise ash, but here goes.

The heated nozzles come on every time you turn on the car and take a little while to heat up. The same for the heated outside mirrors.

Check the brand of washer fluid that you used to be sure it is rated for at least -20F and verify whether or not it can be diluted or used straight.

Sometimes I have had a sort of ice "damn" build up in front of the nozzles that I have had to carefully chip out of the way. Maybe you could have someone help you by sitting in the car and activate the washers while you are outside and can observe whether or not the fluid is actually coming out of the nozzle but being obstructed by ice. Can you hear the pump working? Lift the bonnet and activate the washers to see if you see anything dripping from under the bonnet, perhaps the tubing came off the nozzles or came loose between the pump and the nozzles.

 

Just as I thought, I left for lunch and the washers worked just fine. I guess the little bit of warm up helped them to "thaw" so they would flow again.

Since this is just the start of the colder weather, I will need to make an effort to get some fluid that can withstand the colder temps.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

Heated washer jets means the jet itself, and only when the car is on. So, when they DO get frozen, which is pretty common, depending on the snow/ice that settles on the bonnet, you'll find they aren't as useful as you might think- they could take quite a while to thaw!