Greasy washer fluid, dealership f'd up

[nick3753]

So here's my situation. My wife's ‘17 S6 was serviced to fix the GPS (again and again isn't fixed) prior to her and my son driving nearly across the country. I got a call from them telling me our wipers are streaking after trying to clean the windshield one day into their trip. I happen to be meeting them this weekend at a relatives house along their trip.

Clearly there is something oily in the washer reservoir. I called the dealership where it was serviced and they admit to topping off the fluids, plus before they left I checked everything and noticed the cap was off (didn't think much of it at the time). I am fairly certain the tech put coolant in there by mistake. It's the only thing that makes sense.

Since it's Saturday, the dealership couldn't do much to help (and likely can't/won't since we are now 400 miles away and never going back. I've googled searched some "fixes", but wanted the Bimmerpost community to chime in on any thoughts to remedy this ASAP before they continue on their journey. I am only here with them until tomorrow and they leave for their next leg of the trip Wednesday.

And this is just one reason I can't stand taking my car in for any repairs and still haven't had my airbag replaced in my M3. I try to DIY as much as I can.

Thanks for any help.
Nick

[GuidoK]

Just have the washerpump pump all of it out, fill the tank with plain water and pump it out again.
Then fill up with washer fluid.

Coolant is perfectly soluble in water.

But if they put coolant in there....what a fuck up for a garage....

[EJT86]

I would siphon it out. Fill with washer fluid, then purge The pump and lines then fluid then top it off. Reason being you’d have to search and waste time to find out if the coolant will harm the washer pump if you pump the full tank.

[The Wind Breezes]

Coolant won't harm the washer pump. Flush it out.

[CigarPundit]

I hope they didn’t put washer fluid In your coolant reservoir.

[Efthreeoh]

Just a note, if you run the washer pump for more than 2 minutes or so, it will time out for several minutes. Recycling the ignition will in some instances reset the time out..

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by CigarPundit

I hope they didn’t put washer fluid In your coolant reservoir.

Or in your oil pan.....

If they make these kinds of mistakes, I'd go over everything they did to the car....

[overcoil]

Is there a way to confirm it’s coolant like with an acid/base test strip or an hydrometer ?

Maybe they used the concentrated washer fluid at the wrong concentration.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Is there a way to confirm it’s coolant like with an acid/base test strip or an hydrometer ?

Maybe they used the concentrated washer fluid at the wrong concentration.

You can use a glycol test kit. They are used to determine gasket leaks in large systems (industrial systems). T

A hydrometer or refractometer could spot a difference with a known washer fluid but it can't determine the chemical contaminant.

But the complaint was smearing which is a known effect of glycol. No concentration of washer fluid is going to cause that.
Flush the system and its solved. 2 min work and $1 worth of washer fluid. For that no one's going to mess around with laboratory tests.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

You can use a glycol test kit. They are used to determine gasket leaks in large systems (industrial systems). T

A hydrometer or refractometer could spot a difference with a known washer fluid but it can't determine the chemical contaminant.

But the complaint was smearing which is a known effect of glycol. No concentration of washer fluid is going to cause that.
Flush the system and its solved. 2 min work and $1 worth of washer fluid. For that no one's going to mess around with laboratory tests.

Had u read that anything other then BMW style washer fluid can malfunction the washer lever sensor ?

Halfway down page in the link below.

https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show...t=Washer+fluid

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Had u read that anything other then BMW style washer fluid can malfunction the washer lever sensor ?

I'll believe it when someone can actually show this.
The gunking I mean.

Anything that can cause gunk by literally adding water and alcohol and trace amounts of a soap (thats what washer fluid basically is), is not something I'd want to have in my system.
So if BMW washer fluid can actually do this (mind you, I only believe it if someone can actually show this), its BY FAR the worst possible washerfluid that you can make and use......

[nick3753]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Or in your oil pan.....

If they make these kinds of mistakes, I'd go over everything they did to the car....

Oh god. Don't say that. But I suppose if they were incompetent enough to do this, everything else is possible as well. Thanks to all for the advice.

[aerostar]

Careful spraying it all over your windshield.

Is it safe for all the rubber gaskets around that area to be hit w/ the coolant?

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by nick3753

Oh god. Don't say that. But I suppose if they were incompetent enough to do this, everything else is possible as well. Thanks to all for the advice.

At least check your oil level and look in the oil cap for white sludge.
(and recheck everything else they did, like fitting filters etc...cabin air filter could be fitted backwards, not that thats a big deal but it is if you've paid for it)

[EJT86]

This is exactly why I suggested siphoning it out. It eliminates any debate over whether its ok for all the parts the coolant will touch. Siphon it that way there’s no debate, speculation or need for research

[nick3753]

Thanks. I contacted the Audi dealer that did the service and they swear they don't top off the coolant tank with coolant, only distilled water unless they are doing a flush or actual maintenance on the cooling system. I will wait until she gets to their final destination and drain it out. She will hopefully avoid the habit of spraying the windshield along the rest of their trip.

[ItsGary]

Originally Posted by nick3753

Thanks. I contacted the Audi dealer that did the service and they swear they don't top off the coolant tank with coolant, only distilled water unless they are doing a flush or actual maintenance on the cooling system. I will wait until she gets to their final destination and drain it out. She will hopefully avoid the habit of spraying the windshield along the rest of their trip.

Did they wash the car for you? I noticed sometimes when I went through a touchless (no brushes) wash the wax they apply on the car would cause my wipers to streak. The only fix was to use Windex and clean the windshield and wipers then the streaking stopped.

[nick3753]

Originally Posted by ItsGary

Did they wash the car for you? I noticed sometimes when I went through a touchless (no brushes) wash the wax they apply on the car would cause my wipers to streak. The only fix was to use Windex and clean the windshield and wipers then the streaking stopped.

They did wash it (generally I decline the swirl wash from the dealer but with my move I hadn't had time to do shit the last 2 months). However, the oily substance definitely was coming out of washer jets. I'll drain the system when I meet up with them in a few weeks and move on with life.