headlight washer problem

[Inuit]

My washer bottle keeps emptying itself - after asking syntners to help and being told it may cost me upto £200 to look at it, i left in disgust - i have a warranty, but as the part may be plastic or rubber it would be completely at my cost. Great customer service get again from Synters :x

I am at a bit of a loss here..... someone sets up as a BMW to make money selling and servicing vehicles (and create a few jobs as well). So you go to that dealer and ask them to do some service work and when they won't do it for free you get angry - what's that all about! They have probably told you the worst case scenario for cost. Lets say they said it would cost £20 to check and then presented you with a bill for £200 then you would have something to complain about! oke:

Sorry only just caught up on this thread to clarify synters told me it would be £180 plus VAT to investigate as we now know it really means taking the bumper off, it would only then cost another £20 to fix. It costs £20 just to drive the damn thing into synters :lol: I do not mind paying a good price for a good service and certainly did not expect a freebie, but i expect a bit of help when i could potential be spending a several K with them after warranty, service,mot, tyres etc etc. I also have a warranty with them and that is not cheap, whilst the part may not be covered a little bit of help would not have gone a miss, their attitude did stink.

However, Rybrook where another story, i bought the car from these guys and they have agreed to help out on the cost, which is less than half what synters wanted to even look at it, rybrook will get my servicing - despite being miles away, so when it next goes in, they will make money off my service, and i will keep going back and they will keep making money of me.

I thought i was going mad as i just could not get the wheel arch cover off. might give it a go now thanks Frazell.

 

[dyerkes]

Although the headlight washers themselves aren't electrical powered, why wouldn't disconnected the electrical lead at the pump not solve the problem (assuming you don't desperately need the headlight washers). The pump for the headlights is located on the front right side of the reservoir as you are looking at it from the front of the car. Without power to the pump I don't believe you would have any flow to the washers.

- David

 

[Inuit]

Unfortunatly, my issue was that even without the pump working gravity was emptying the bottle (tried removing the fuse to start with), as i think a hose has blown off, to be honest it was a fairly easy fix, took the washer bottle out and bunged the hole up that feeds the headlight washers, i have no need for headlight washers, but i do need to fix them incase i plan to sell in the future. it just a real pain with the M bumper to do it yourself, will need to butter the other half up and try Frazell option.

 

[sp3ctre]

I have the same problem on the drivers side.... planning to take a look this weekend. Last time I looked I only looked through the top hatch, seems it is the lower one I should've removed. duh!

 

[Andy]

Still haven't done anything with mine :thumbsdown:

 

[frazell]

Yeh, thats the problem innuit, my bottle would empty itself in a few hours with the static head of water in the bottle pushing the water out. The only real fix other than replacing it like i did, is to block up the pipe or connection to the bottle as some here have done.

The whole thing was cost neutral for me as I brought a whole bumper with washers etc from ebay, took the washer i needed and re-ebay'd for about £10 more than i brought it for. Result! The guy who brought it from me has split the whole bumper etc so drivers side washer is on ebay right now. :wink:

The hardest part is getting that bumper off where it connects to the wing, I was almost hanging off the side of the car. I ended up taping the split line up and teasing the gap open slightly with a screwdriver before giving it a firm tug.

I would also suggest getting the replacement washer before you start as its easier to see how it comes out.

I wouldn't be put off by all this, once the bumper is off it's dead easy. Hope this helps some people.... next time we get a cold snap the front of my car is getting covered.

 

[sp3ctre]

Just revisiting this old thread as I still haven't sorted out my washer bottle emptying problem... came to work today after filling up the washer at home... was fine on the way to work but when I went back out at lunchtime my car had leaked a river across the work carpark and it had frozen.. oops, I was not popular!

Anyway, I cannot be arsed taking the bumper off (or paying for someone to do it) so I was wondering what the easiest method of "bunging up the feed" would be? Last time I looked it seemed less than obvious how to achieve it.

 

[Greeno]

I had the same problem.

Pulled the hose off, folded the hose over on itself and zip tied it.

Sorted.

when i have to take the bumper off then i'll replace it properly but the temporary fix has worked for the last year or so.