For those of you who have to deal with driving through wintry salted roads and have xenons, be sure not to let the headlight washers run dry. I'm no expert, but I would think that running the wash system w/out fluid would eventually damage the system. I'm kinda' **** about keeping the washer fluid reservoirs full as it REALLY sucks when you run out of fluid on a snowy/salty day/night with 2 18 wheelers up ahead kicking up s***! Right?

I have noticed that the headlight washer system goes through quite a bit of fluid for 1 round of wash. I even try to get just enough fluid on the winshield using short blasts (vs holding) the wiper stalk, so I don't trigger the headlight wash. I just want to caution everybody to keep an eye on the fluid level as not to run out and possibly burn out the pump motor(s). That is, it that is even possible.

BTW, I do agree that the xenons can reflect off the falling snow and cause a level of glare, but I think in combination with the fogs or yes, fogs only sometimes, the entire system is fine by me. I also prefer the pre '05 xenon design to the "robot eye" although I'm not sure which lens actually throws a better beam. Anyone out there know? All in all, I love my xenons and thery were worth the price. Thanks for reading. Cheers!

 

I'd agree with all of that. I often flip off the headlights (with fogs on, of course), then hit the windshield washer to clear the window then turn the headights back on. That way I don't go through so much of the fluid at the headlights per cleaning.

You're in Cleveland? We have a mod party coming up in February with Detroit Tuned if you want to meet up with some of the MININEO'ers. Check us out at www.minineo.org/forums (I think)

 

[offtopic]Hey Clevelanders - check www.pittstopmini.org, we also have a winter driving clinic coming up 2/25 at Beaver Run. [/offtopic]

You probably won't burn out the motors unless you run 'em excessively without fluid, but point taken on using a lot of fluid, especially considering the relatively small 2 liter reservoirs (many cars have 4 liters, though our /84 VW cabrio has a ONE liter!).

 

I don't think running out of fluid and running the pump will
burn out the motor, unless you do it a lot.

Turning the xenons off and on is not a good idea, as the biggest wear on them is when they fire up. Better to just keep a jug of fluid in the car so you can fill when needed.

Mark

 

My pops picked up a 2007 Lexus RX350 last week and I noticed that the headlight washer has it's own button. I think it's the same story with my brother's IS350. Nice touch. I guess BMW/MINI left it out b/c they don't want another button cluttering up the dash.

For the 2005+ owners, is the low fluid light on the wiper stalk also tied into the headlight washer tank?

Another nice feature on the Lexus is, you can adjust the sensitivity on the rain sensing wipers via the wiper stalk. With the MINI I'm getting conflicting stories. Some owners said yes it's a programable option but my dealer tells me no.

 

Oh crap! I went quite some time with no fluid in there. I hope I didn't do much damage!

 

i have an 06 with out the xenons, well my light has to be tied but it would only make sense that it is tied to both tanks