heated washer fluid?
 

hi guys,

haven't stopped in for a good long while. firewall at work gets in the way and haven't been surfing at night lately. anyhow i thought to pose this question to the most avid car buffs on the planet.

had the worst driving experience ever driving up to boston this past frigid weekend and my washer nozzles just iced up. everyone on the road had the same problem. i probably stopped a dozen times to clean it off (i dumped water from a bottle onto the windshield while the wiper was going). on the trip back, i got hit with sunglare and just had to pull over several times because of zero visibility. everyone thinks that washer fluid should not freeze but it sure does! i guess wind chill is a factor specially on the highway. anyway, i remembered seeing washer fluid heaters a long time ago and wondered what had happened to those products. i found this one:

http://www.buyhotshot.com/act.asp?ins=4

and another product up in canada

http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortments/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396669671&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443285107&ASSORT MENT%3C%3East_id=1408474396670271&bmUID=1137854179382&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true

anyone in the colder climes try these? any downsides?

cheers!

Your 300E doesn't come with one? If so, then my impresssion that this was a standard item is wrong, and I will have to hide in a closet until my sanity returns. (that could be a while, he he he)

Should the fluid start to freeze, you won't have any flow for several minutes even with heat added to the system. The hoses to the nozzles are not heated and will prevent flow until some engine heat gets to the fluid.

It's a very good idea to replace your washer fluid at the onset of winter. The stuff uses alcohol to prevent freezing. The alcohol evaporates from the tank, resulting in a dramatic increase of the freezing temperature.

Uh... not exactly true. On the W124 chassis the nozzles and washer fluid supply lines are electrically heated.

duh, i completely blew that first post. i know the w124 has it but this was on my s**b (you would think a swedish car would have one).

You need an S. Heated washer fluid, nozzels, and windsheild.:cool:

replace with deicer. i belive its yellow.

Watch out where the huskies go!

just wandering, but if you spray hot fluid on a cold window, couldnt that stress it (cracking where the chips are?)
I love it when you spray, then it freezes... Especially if the cars still cold, and the defroster doesnt work yet... Its wonderfull

What helps me is I keep the Mr. Clean blades on the car, and when it freezes I turn the wipers to full speed (heat from friction? kinda... but it works)

this is on the grand prix, not my benz (summer car only for God sakes)
~Nate

I would tend to think but the case is no. I know the new Cadillac DTS comes with heated fluid standard (around 160 degrees).

thats what I was thinking... They WOULD test this stuff, right?

Funny that theyre advertizing its a new tech, because MB has been doing it for a while (forgot what cars/years though)

~Nate

My 300TE had heater hwasher fluid. I thought is used a coolant cool.

MB has been using heated washer fluid for at least 25 years, maybe longer.

I remember last year at the NY auto show Buick had a big display and were all proud of this fact. Impressive it only took Buick two decades to catch up to the Germans.:D

The heated side view mirrors are nice, the ice melts and you can adjust them if you have to!:D

Damn heated mirrors...

I had those in my 400E. You could see it sitting at a stoplight. The steam would rise off of them as they deiced.

o yea id need heated mirrors and heated washer fluid .. and i need heated seats