Tesla wiper fluid failure fiasco...

JeffKeryk

JeffKeryk

Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
27,729
Location
Los Gatos, CA
So the wiper fluid did not squirt out of the wiper arm... Of course the fluid had to be full, so it had to be the cheapo Tesla mechanism somewhere. Maybe even the pump motor?
So I piulled off the plastic frunk cowl and frunk plastic exposing the guts. Kinda interesting... All the fluids lines were intact, attached, etc. Nothing to fix...
I opened the reservoir cap anywats, the reservoir is opaque blqck plastic, not translucent.
I grabbed the fluid jug and filled the reservoir, even though I was sure it was full. Full? Oops, not so much...

Don't ask. I'm sooooo fired. :ROFLMAO: Always remember to check the nut behind the wheel...
 
JeffKeryk said:
So the wiper fluid did not squirt out of the wiper arm... Of course the fluid had to be full, so it had to be the cheapo Tesla mechanism somewhere. Maybe even the pump motor?
So I piulled off the plastic frunk cowl and frunk plastic exposing the guts. Kinda interesting... All the fluids lines were intact, attached, etc. Nothing to fix...
I opened the reservoir cap anywats, the reservoir is opaque blqck plastic, not translucent.
I grabbed the fluid jug and filled the reservoir, even though I was sure it was full. Full? Oops, not so much...

Don't ask. I'm sooooo fired. :ROFLMAO: Always remember to check the nut behind the wheel...
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No warning light?
 
You don’t get the add washer fluid message? When mine was low it displayed each time I got in the car til I filled it.
 
1) pull plastic fenders off
2) pull plastic bumpers off
3) pull wheels and tires off
4)drench the entire assembled plastic pile of crap with gasoline
5)strike and toss match
6)maintain smoldering heap during the week and billow smoke as necessary/apologize to neighbours

7)research new real car 😁
 
Trav said:
You may be able to replace the cap with one that has a dipstick. Some older Subaru have this.
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Great idea, or just top it off every time you're under the hood. That's what I do. I always have a gallon of pre-mix on the shelf.

FWIW, I use distilled water mixed with P21S washer fluid concentrate. It cleans bug residue well but doesn't have freeze protection - but I live in California.

Scott
 
slo town said:
Great idea, or just top it off every time you're under the hood. That's what I do. I always have a gallon of pre-mix on the shelf.

FWIW, I use distilled water mixed with P21S washer fluid concentrate. It cleans bug residue well but doesn't have freeze protection - but I live in California.

Scott
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Where I am - the “blue water” went up during the pandemic and never came down. Freeze protection? - I kinda get it …
This summer - distilled water and occasional elbow movement !
 
ctechbob said:
No warning light?
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dogememe said:
You don’t get the add washer fluid message? When mine was low it displayed each time I got in the car til I filled it.
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As an afterthought, this whole thing is weird. I did not see any warning message, probably because the fluid was not that low. I added max 1/2 gallon, probably less. I think the pump motor was not working; I don't recall hearing the hum. After I replaced the frunk components and plugged in the light connection, the warsher worked as usual. Guess I'll find out...
 
JeffKeryk said:
As an afterthought, this whole thing is weird. I did not see any warning message, probably because the fluid was not that low. I added max 1/2 gallon, probably less. I think the pump motor was not working; I don't recall hearing the hum. After I replaced the frunk components and plugged in the light connection, the warsher worked as usual. Guess I'll find out...
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Be careful otherwise you’ll get a bunch of comments that EVS SUCK SEE THEY BREAK DOWN ALL THE TIME (ignoring the fact that gas cars have washer pumps too) haha 🐶
 
dogememe said:
Be careful otherwise you’ll get a bunch of comments that EVS SUCK SEE THEY BREAK DOWN ALL THE TIME (ignoring the fact that gas cars have washer pumps too) haha 🐶
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EVs are for big dummies. Rich CA granola head dummies. The family across the street are on their 2nd Model Y; it goes nicely with their AMG Mercedes-Benz V8 Biturbo. Maybe faster?

Warsher fluid fiasco part 1,097... I have the aftermarket S3XY Stalks. They are not hard-wired; they are Bluetooth and highly configurable.
When I pressed the actual Tesla steerig wheel wiper button, the fluid came immeadiately. Perhaps the stalk button had a .... ?

What's a poor boy to do? I hate Teslas!
 
dogememe said:
You don’t get the add washer fluid message? When mine was low it displayed each time I got in the car til I filled it.
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Newer cars in the past 8 or 10 years, do not use a float to determine the fluid level. They now use an electronic sensor. The sensor can get coated by the "water repellent" type washer fluids made by Rain X and pretty much all brands now. You need to seek out the cheapest brand, without the water repellent feature for newer cars. I buy the cheap stuff for my newer BMW that as the electronic fluid level sensor and use the water repellent type on all my older cars that use a float.

You may be able to clean off the sensor if you can get it out, or reach it with a swab and use some isopropyl or denatured alcohol.
 
Torrid said:
It should give a warning message. Weird it didn't. I've ran it low and got the warning twice now on mine.
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I think Jeff is on to something when he says that his Bluetooth stalk didn’t work but the button on the wheel did.

I don’t think this was a washer problem at all, I think it’s an aftermarket stalk problem.

As far as fluid, I will never use Rain-X again. It gummed up the inside of my Mercedes system, requiring a replacement of reservoir, pump, and fluid hose, but on the S class Mercedes that hose is heated and cost over $100. $350 total in parts.

I buy the cheap blue stuff, and I add a bit of this:

Nextzett Kristall Klar Washer Fluid - 250 ml https://a.co/d/03rOnnrd
 
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