Hey I just got a 2004 Z4 roadster and my windshield wiper fluid is not spraying I think it might be clogged because it sat for a long time before I bought it. When I look down in it I can see it’s full but there’s a bunch of gunk in it I can see. If this has happened to anyone else or if you think you know what’s wrong please let me know.
2004 Z4 Windshield wiper fluid
- Thread starter Jaydon17
- Start date
Yea same, I mentioned it to TWG when it was in at the time and they dropped the contents and refilled with BMW stuff (I assume). It has definitely helped considerably but I do need to properly clean the tank at some point.
I think you need a decent alcohol content to keep the weird algae crap away which blocks the filter screens on the pump(s).
I think you need a decent alcohol content to keep the weird algae crap away which blocks the filter screens on the pump(s).
Take the tank out and clean it out - i bet it’s full of black gunk? You’ll need to remove the bungs/filters and clean them too (the gauze is white, not black as I thought before I cleaned mine!)
Best thing to clean it out with is sterilizer if you have any; if not, plenty of warm water!
Best thing to clean it out with is sterilizer if you have any; if not, plenty of warm water!
parabolica
Member
Common issue; only one bolt holding the bottle in, undo it, pull out the pump (or pumps if you have headlight washers) being careful not to drop the little rubber bungs and filters in to the engine bay then clean everything. It’s a 5 minute job.
One of the first things that went wrong with our E86 when we got it was the windscreen (and headlamp) washers.
Following advice on here, I carefully removed the tank completely (tricky, fiddly and i grazed my knuckles) and the two bits at the bottom with the filters were just completely covered in slime. I've never seen this in 20 years of car ownership! I nuked it with everything I could think of including bleach, but a year later the same thing happened again. The car spends a lot of time just sitting around which doesn't help. The second time was even with a strong quality screenwash mixture in the bottle.
From the service history, the previous owner also struggled with this!
Following advice on here, I carefully removed the tank completely (tricky, fiddly and i grazed my knuckles) and the two bits at the bottom with the filters were just completely covered in slime. I've never seen this in 20 years of car ownership! I nuked it with everything I could think of including bleach, but a year later the same thing happened again. The car spends a lot of time just sitting around which doesn't help. The second time was even with a strong quality screenwash mixture in the bottle.
From the service history, the previous owner also struggled with this!
North West Surrey
Well first off welcome to the forum OP. 
It's a common problem with BMWs - as srhutch says OE BMW screenwash just doesn't seem to mix with any other brand.
I've never experienced this issue with any other make of car I have owned, so maybe it's no accident.
I've had to clean out the reservoir and the motor filters on an E46 and an E86.
After I had put everything back together I just used cheap screenwash from Tesco and never had a problem with either of them for the next 3 years I had them.
So sticking exclusively to one brand of fluid seems to prevent future problems.
It's a common problem with BMWs - as srhutch says OE BMW screenwash just doesn't seem to mix with any other brand.
I've never experienced this issue with any other make of car I have owned, so maybe it's no accident.
I've had to clean out the reservoir and the motor filters on an E46 and an E86.
After I had put everything back together I just used cheap screenwash from Tesco and never had a problem with either of them for the next 3 years I had them.
So sticking exclusively to one brand of fluid seems to prevent future problems.