Gas/oil evaporation question

[supton]

Odd one, bear with me for a moment--

Wife gets home, complains about the car smelling and can barely see out the windshield--after using the wipers and washer. I verify that it smells like gasoline, whatever is coming out to wash the windshield. I can't tell if it's like used motor oil or just plain gasoline, after running the washer fluid. And there's specs of what feels like oil left behind on the roof. Why is the washer pump pushing an oily-gas mess onto the windshield?

?

It's as if someone poured in oil, or 2 stroke gas, into the washer fluid. If 2 stroke gas evaporates, surely it leaves behind dots of oil, right?

Thing is, it's never been back to the dealer, and only goes to a shop once a year for its yearly safety inspection. So either her or I put something into the washer fluid--and I don't touch hers as she likes to add Rain-X when it gets low. I tried to dip the tank, but it's as low as can be; best I can do is dump in a gallon of Rain-X and hope that anything in there floats to the top. Which I did, but of course I don't see anything amiss. It's like a fine mist of Rain-X and gas and oil coming out at the moment, out of the washer. It's hard to explain... other than, it smells like gas. I wouldn't think washer fluid would mix well with gas/oil, so only thing I can think of, somehow it got in, was on the top of the washer fluid, and when the level got low enough, got pumped out. But I have no idea how it would have gotten in there...

Mystery of the evening. 2021 Camry Hybrid. Tomorrow's problem. Bizarre.

 

[scoot]

Odd one, bear with me for a moment--

Wife gets home, complains about the car smelling and can barely see out the windshield--after using the wipers and washer. I verify that it smells like gasoline, whatever is coming out to wash the windshield. I can't tell if it's like used motor oil or just plain gasoline, after running the washer fluid. And there's specs of what feels like oil left behind on the roof. Why is the washer pump pushing an oily-gas mess onto the windshield?

?

It's as if someone poured in oil, or 2 stroke gas, into the washer fluid. If 2 stroke gas evaporates, surely it leaves behind dots of oil, right?

Thing is, it's never been back to the dealer, and only goes to a shop once a year for its yearly safety inspection. So either her or I put something into the washer fluid--and I don't touch hers as she likes to add Rain-X when it gets low. I tried to dip the tank, but it's as low as can be; best I can do is dump in a gallon of Rain-X and hope that anything in there floats to the top. Which I did, but of course I don't see anything amiss. It's like a fine mist of Rain-X and gas and oil coming out at the moment, out of the washer. It's hard to explain... other than, it smells like gas. I wouldn't think washer fluid would mix well with gas/oil, so only thing I can think of, somehow it got in, was on the top of the washer fluid, and when the level got low enough, got pumped out. But I have no idea how it would have gotten in there...

Mystery of the evening. 2021 Camry Hybrid. Tomorrow's problem. Bizarre.

Is that Rain-X formula dissolving the plastic of the tank ? But why would it smell like gas ? Plastic is made of oil .

 

[fantastic]

Could any of the spray be getting on the engine anywhere?

 

[KrisZ]

Someone topped off something into the wrong hole. Happens all the time. Since it’s oily but smells like gas, perhaps it was some sort of additive?

But regardless what it is, you will likely need to flush it out manually. Diluting it with rainx will not help the oily residue.

 

[supton]

Now that the sun is up, I’m looking again. I think it might just be gasoline, or it was two stroke gas, as it does not seem to leave much behind. But my hands reek of gasoline for sure.

Its a weird one. I wonder if someone tampered with a bottle of Rain X at walmart?

 

[fsdork]

Any chance someone grabbed a bottle of a different rain-x product by mistake? Their original water repellent treatment contains acetone, which isn't gas, but...? Or at some point, maybe someone had a really off day and bought a bottle of injector cleaner (or other small treatment bottle containing stinky liquid) instead of Rain-X. As you mentioned, oil would float on the surface until the washer fluid tank ran low, then up onto the windshield it goes.

 

[supton]

Not sure. I tried to vac out as much as I could; nothing floating. I think it was well mixed in.

I think, and its only that, that maybe the gas attacked whatever film Rain X leaves behind? that would explain the goey mess on the windshield. ?

I poured in a quart of water, vacuumed out, repeated. Ran dome water through. Cleaned the windshield with brake cleaner, wiped down the wipers. Put in some blue washer fluid, maybe it can flush anything left out.

Not how I wanted to spend my morning!