My kid didn't know how to use the washer fluid.

C

captainbeandip

Joined
Nov 28, 2021
Messages
231
My 18 year old daughter has been sharing our spare vehicle since she got her license a couple of years ago. It's a 2003 Ford Ranger. She drives it almost every day.

About a week ago I told her that I changed the wipers and filled up the washer fluid and asked if she noticed a difference.

She said the wipers work better, but she doesn't know how to use the washer fluid. I said Really? That's something you should probably figure out. Especially since we live in Minnesota where salt and winter slop often makes the washer fluid a very important requirement.

Today I followed up and asked if she figured it out yet. She said she tried for about 15 minutes, but couldn't figure it out, so I went out and showed her. Turn knob on stalk for wipers, push in for juice.

Then I went over how to open the hood and asked her to show me where the new fluid goes. She pointed to the oil fill cap. I yelled NOOOOOOO!!!!! She said I scared her. I said yeah, you scared me too!

So anyways, I just felt like sharing this story. Trying to teach car stuff to daughters is not for the faint of heart.
 
captainbeandip said:
...Especially since we live in Minnesota where salt and winter slop often makes the washer fluid a very important requirement.
Click to expand...
Living in the Chicago area and having to travel to Wisconsin during winter, I'm obsessive about a clean windshield, to the point where I carry extra jugs of fluid in the trunk to make sure I don't run out.

captainbeandip said:
...So anyways, I just felt like sharing this story. Trying to teach car stuff to daughters is not for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...
As long as she learns. :) (y)
 
captainbeandip said:
My 18 year old daughter has been sharing our spare vehicle since she got her license a couple of years ago. It's a 2003 Ford Ranger. She drives it almost every day.

About a week ago I told her that I changed the wipers and filled up the washer fluid and asked if she noticed a difference.

She said the wipers work better, but she doesn't know how to use the washer fluid. I said Really? That's something you should probably figure out. Especially since we live in Minnesota where salt and winter slop often makes the washer fluid a very important requirement.

Today I followed up and asked if she figured it out yet. She said she tried for about 15 minutes, but couldn't figure it out, so I went out and showed her. Turn knob on stalk for wipers, push in for juice.

Then I went over how to open the hood and asked her to show me where the new fluid goes. She pointed to the oil fill cap. I yelled NOOOOOOO!!!!! She said I scared her. I said yeah, you scared me too!

So anyways, I just felt like sharing this story. Trying to teach car stuff to daughters is not for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...
True, but you'll get better results with patience and trying to make it a fun shared activity. If you scare her or make her nervous she'll associate you and/or car maintenance with stress and unhappiness, which will demotivate her.

I don't have a daughter, but I have a sister and female friends. I've experienced what you're talking about. I find it helps to teach them to read the names and/or pictures on the various caps/lids. They're marked on most cars.

If a lid/cap is not well labeled, I put a white mailing label on it that's easy to read and understand. A paper mailing address label works well. Before applying the label, I write on it using a ball point pen that's rated waterproof (astronaut pen or a good delivery person pen) so that clearcoat doesn't make ink run. After the ink is fully dry, I apply the label. Then spray the label with gloss clearcoat laquer spraypaint. Gloss clear enamel might work too. The clearcoat makes the paper water resistant and semi-permanent.
 
Last edited:
captainbeandip said:
My 18 year old daughter has been sharing our spare vehicle since she got her license a couple of years ago. It's a 2003 Ford Ranger. She drives it almost every day.

About a week ago I told her that I changed the wipers and filled up the washer fluid and asked if she noticed a difference.

She said the wipers work better, but she doesn't know how to use the washer fluid. I said Really? That's something you should probably figure out. Especially since we live in Minnesota where salt and winter slop often makes the washer fluid a very important requirement.

Today I followed up and asked if she figured it out yet. She said she tried for about 15 minutes, but couldn't figure it out, so I went out and showed her. Turn knob on stalk for wipers, push in for juice.

Then I went over how to open the hood and asked her to show me where the new fluid goes. She pointed to the oil fill cap. I yelled NOOOOOOO!!!!! She said I scared her. I said yeah, you scared me too!

So anyways, I just felt like sharing this story. Trying to teach car stuff to daughters is not for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...
Totally get it! After near 50 years of marriage, about the only thing the wife and I get into fights about is the vehicles.
She is so very hard on them. I have told her I would buy her a surplus army tank or a car made out of nerf material if I could. :rolleyes:

You are so right about not for the faint of heart. I catch the wife in all sorts of situations like you describe. I can't help it, I scream too as she nearly destroys them. She gets so upset and tells me "how am I supposed to know, no one ever taught me!?" Which is true. I just
get so very anxious when it comes to anything automotive. Not only OCD about oil changes. OCD about trying to keep any vehicle I
own like new. Most cars or trucks I finally give up are always nearly 20 years old and in a few more years could be considered "antique or survivor" class.

One of my favorite parts of any goof ball comedy movie is when the fiancé absolutely smokes the court room with her automotive knowledge in that movie My Cousin Vinny. LoL. What a woman! "yeah, I did tune ups, rebuilt trannys, break jobs etc..." I know its fake but who wouldn't like a cute female grease monkey!?
 
Last edited:
captainbeandip said:
My 18 year old daughter has been sharing our spare vehicle since she got her license a couple of years ago. It's a 2003 Ford Ranger. She drives it almost every day.

About a week ago I told her that I changed the wipers and filled up the washer fluid and asked if she noticed a difference.

She said the wipers work better, but she doesn't know how to use the washer fluid. I said Really? That's something you should probably figure out. Especially since we live in Minnesota where salt and winter slop often makes the washer fluid a very important requirement.

Today I followed up and asked if she figured it out yet. She said she tried for about 15 minutes, but couldn't figure it out, so I went out and showed her. Turn knob on stalk for wipers, push in for juice.

Then I went over how to open the hood and asked her to show me where the new fluid goes. She pointed to the oil fill cap. I yelled NOOOOOOO!!!!! She said I scared her. I said yeah, you scared me too!

So anyways, I just felt like sharing this story. Trying to teach car stuff to daughters is not for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...
My twenty year old daughter asked me today, she has her final (hopefully) driver's test on Christmas Eve, on how to use the washer/wipers, low beams, high beams etc. We were practicing today and yesterday, she hasn't driven since August, she's been away at university. Most of her friends have cars, so she's usually the passenger princess and has probably only driven a half dozen times. Tomorrow we'll practice again, including parking.
 
SammyChevelleTypeS3 said:
One of my favorite parts of any goof ball comedy movie is when the fiancé absolutely smokes the court room with her automotive knowledge in that movie My Cousin Vinny. LoL. What a woman! "yeah, I did tune ups, rebuilt trannys, break jobs etc..." I know its fake but who wouldn't like a cute female grease monkey!?
Click to expand...
Every time it's on TV, I have to stop and watch that dang movie. My wife always ruins the moment when she walks in the room and says "You're watching this again?"
 
I think driver education isn't optional for those who intend to drive, they need to be taught and shown around car and forced to change a tire at least once :)
I think I'm doing well with my grandsons (daughter is also taking notes) where 4 year old was helping me putting lug nuts on and wanted to help with oil changes and brake jobs too :ROFLMAO: He was going around with a screwdriver poking at trees and doing "twist-twist" then announcing he fixed the tree :ROFLMAO:
 
I get so frustrated by this... somehow, with zero help from the internet ('cuz it didn't exist yet!) I managed to teach myself how to drive stick and how to adapt to various cars. Yet whenever my kids ask me a question and I respond "did you google it?" I get blank looks or "no" for an answer.

That said, we all have our faults. I don't ask my parents about the stupid stuff I did growing up: it'd get too painful, too quickly. As it is, it's getting to where I need to ask my kids about how to use social media.
 
captainbeandip said:
My 18 year old daughter has been sharing our spare vehicle since she got her license a couple of years ago. It's a 2003 Ford Ranger. She drives it almost every day.

About a week ago I told her that I changed the wipers and filled up the washer fluid and asked if she noticed a difference.

She said the wipers work better, but she doesn't know how to use the washer fluid. I said Really? That's something you should probably figure out. Especially since we live in Minnesota where salt and winter slop often makes the washer fluid a very important requirement.

Today I followed up and asked if she figured it out yet. She said she tried for about 15 minutes, but couldn't figure it out, so I went out and showed her. Turn knob on stalk for wipers, push in for juice.

Then I went over how to open the hood and asked her to show me where the new fluid goes. She pointed to the oil fill cap. I yelled NOOOOOOO!!!!! She said I scared her. I said yeah, you scared me too!

So anyways, I just felt like sharing this story. Trying to teach car stuff to daughters is not for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...
For a few months when I was 16 and 17 I owned an old decrepit '68 Vauxhall Viva. One hot afternoon I was driving in rush-hour traffic and an engine warning light came on.

I pulled over and checked the oil - the level appeared to be OK. (In retrospect I'm not sure it was an oil light - it may have been a generic temperature/oil-pressure light. Or perhaps it was an oil light, and the pressure was low enough to make the light flicker due to worn main bearings or thin oil.)

Anyway, I thought to be safe I should add some oil anyway.

I was bewildered by the various options under the hood. I knew the oil didn't go in the radiator, but wasn't sure what the other caps were for. (I think there would have been caps for WW fluid, brake fluid, oil, and coolant, so I don't know why it was so overwhelming.)

I walked across the street to a service station an bought a quart of oil. I asked the attendant where to add the oil, and he said without looking at the car he didn't know.

So, to err on the side of caution, I attempted to pour a small stream of oil into the dipstick tube. I was mostly unsuccessful; most of the oil wound up in the gutter.

The light did go out though.

All this to say, in 50ish years your daughter could well learn some car stuff and turn out to be a somewhat handy shade-tree mechanic.
 
With all due respect, if your daughter doesn't know how to use wiper fluid, and where to fill it, someone failed to teach her when she was much younger. I wonder, who could have been the one to share such knowledge with a child? Who else would have been responsible for teaching your daughter the basics of car use and maintenance. And don't say the school. They just teach the basics about driving safety, and the bare minimum to help a kid pass the written exam and road test.
 
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