Windshield Washer Fluid Light Won't Go Off

[importspeed24v]

Hey all - filled my car with rain-x 3-1 windshield washer fluid and since then, the windshield washer fluid light will not go of. Took it to audi and they drained it and filled with the "blue" to see if that was the fix... Felt like they had seen this one before. Said the fluid may gum up the sensor..

Anyone have an issue like this before? Any recommended fix?

[jnervi3]

Funny you should say that I'm dealing with the same thing from using the same washer fluid..

[RickFLS4]

I haven't had that issue and have used quite a bit of the RainX 3 in 1. Maybe it's because I am in warm weather?

I went back to using the plain old blue fluid recently because I find the RainX leaves spots on the black rubber trim around the windshield, which the blue fluid does not seem to do as much.

[Moto One]

Here in Calif, the CARB (cal air resources board) have mandated a different formula for washer fluid (Cant pollute the air) that had both our MB and Audi showing a low fluid warning even when full. It seems to screw with the sensor. After refilling with fluid bought out of state all was good. "Thanks CARB Nannies."

Mark

[importspeed24v]

Looks like I am not the only one. I refilled it with the blue and will give it a few days -- we shall see! Will report back to this group what I find.

[ptper]

Looks like I am not the only one. I refilled it with the blue and will give it a few days -- we shall see! Will report back to this group what I find.

So, what happened OP? Is it the Rain-X? I've been using it too, not sure if it's the 3-in-1 (mines orange-colored), hadn't had any problems until it was topped off by the dealership with presumably the blue stuff. Maybe it didn't like the mixing of blue and orange, making it brown, LOL.

May drain it and refill to see what happens...

[ptper]

FYI and update: Took it to the dealership and they cleaned the sensor out. Apparently, the Rain-X stuff could gunk it all up. They suggested filling with just the VW/Audi stuff:

http://parts.audiusa.com/audiparts/index.cfm?action=accessories&makeid=2&manufacturerid=1013&catalogid=2379&categoryid=0&subcat1=0&subcat2=0&subcat3=0&subcat4=0&subcat5=0&modelid=880&siteid=16&itemid=407450&jointvehid=17052&startyear=2012&startrow=1&partnumber=&description=&retval=%2Faudiparts%2Findex.cfm%3Faction%3Daccesso ries%26siteid%3D16%26catalogid%3D2379

[Joe85sti]

FYI and update: Took it to the dealership and they cleaned the sensor out. Apparently, the Rain-X stuff could gunk it all up. They suggested filling with just the VW/Audi stuff:

http://parts.audiusa.com/audiparts/index.cfm?action=accessories&makeid=2&manufacturerid=1013&catalogid=2379&categoryid=0&subcat1=0&subcat2=0&subcat3=0&subcat4=0&subcat5=0&modelid=880&siteid=16&itemid=407450&jointvehid=17052&startyear=2012&startrow=1&partnumber=&description=&retval=%2Faudiparts%2Findex.cfm%3Faction%3Daccesso ries%26siteid%3D16%26catalogid%3D2379

Interesting. Just had my sensor replaced because the light wouldn't go out. Just so happens, I had just filled it with a bottle of rain-x. Guess I won't be using it anymore.

[importspeed24v]

Light is still on, waiting to see if it goes away after a refill. No luck so far...

[Ketzer7]

Couple of weeks late, but had same problem here.

Filled mine with the Rain-X stuff a couple of weeks back and almost immediately after the washer fluid light came back on telling me it was low again already. Filled it back up (it wasn't empty to start with) and light still didn't go off.

When I took it in this past Wed. for its 5K mile service, mentioned this to the SA and he immediately goes "Did you happen to fill it up with Rain-X?" I was like WTF.. "Yes". He told me I was the 4th person that day alone with the problem in their Audi.

As he explained it to me, they think there is some waxy substance in the Rain-X fluid that coats the surface of the sensor in the tank and causes it to not be able to 'see' if there is any left, so throws the light thinking it is empty.

They fixed it for free by draining, removing the sensor and cleaning it, and replacing some grommet in the assembly (according to the work order anyways), and refilling with blue stuff. Light was out when I got it back.

As prevalent as this problem seems to be occurring, you'd think Audi, or someone, would put out an advisory or tech bulletin telling owners not to use Rain-X fluid, but oh well. Probably too minor to show up on their radar..

Hope you got it sorted out OP.

[infinkc]

Couple of weeks late, but had same problem here.

Filled mine with the Rain-X stuff a couple of weeks back and almost immediately after the washer fluid light came back on telling me it was low again already. Filled it back up (it wasn't empty to start with) and light still didn't go off.

When I took it in this past Wed. for its 5K mile service, mentioned this to the SA and he immediately goes "Did you happen to fill it up with Rain-X?" I was like WTF.. "Yes". He told me I was the 4th person that day alone with the problem in their Audi.

As he explained it to me, they think there is some waxy substance in the Rain-X fluid that coats the surface of the sensor in the tank and causes it to not be able to 'see' if there is any left, so throws the light thinking it is empty.

They fixed it for free by draining, removing the sensor and cleaning it, and replacing some grommet in the assembly (according to the work order anyways), and refilling with blue stuff. Light was out when I got it back.

As prevalent as this problem seems to be occurring, you'd think Audi, or someone, would put out an advisory or tech bulletin telling owners not to use Rain-X fluid, but oh well. Probably too minor to show up on their radar..

Hope you got it sorted out OP.

Wow good to know.

[LYKUNO]

Hmmm ... According to the Rain-X website, they don't make a 3-in-1 washer fluid (see http://www.rainx.com/products/windshield-washer-fluid/)

That said, they do carry the orange-colored "2-in-1" washer fluid. I've been using it throughout the past year with no apparent ill-effects. However, given the experiences referenced above, I'll be changing back to the blue stuff for the next refill!

Here's the MDSD Sheet for it, in case you wonder what's in it ...

http://majorbrandsoil.net/msds/WASHER%20SOLVENTS/Rain-X%202-in-1%20Windshield%20Wash%20with%20Bug%20Remover.pdf

[rostyvyg]

Quick fix for poor souls who suffered from evil Rain-X. Go to nearest pharmacy, buy two 22 oz bottles of 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. Empty your washer fluid reservoir by constantly running the pump for 2 min. Pour both bottles of rubbing alcohol into reservoir. Put a few drops of dishwasher soap in each empty bottle, fill with hot water (I used my instant hot water faucet in the kitchen) - be careful, use thick gloves. Add hot water/soap mix into the reservoir. Drive around a bit to have it mixed, spray windshield (and back window if Avant) for a few seconds until Rain-X stops coming out and your clean soapy mix starts spraying and leave your car for an hour. The light will be gone by then. Use the soapy mix as usual washer fluid (if summer) or drain it immediately (if winter) then re-fill with blue liquid, or any Prestone brand washer fluid. God luck and good speed.

Rosty.

[jlaudio]

Quick fix for poor souls who suffered from evil Rain-X. Go to nearest pharmacy, buy two 22 oz bottles of 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. Empty your washer fluid reservoir by constantly running the pump for 2 min. Pour both bottles of rubbing alcohol into reservoir. Put a few drops of dishwasher soap in each empty bottle, fill with hot water (I used my instant hot water faucet in the kitchen) - be careful, use thick gloves. Add hot water/soap mix into the reservoir. Drive around a bit to have it mixed, spray windshield (and back window if Avant) for a few seconds until Rain-X stops coming out and your clean soapy mix starts spraying and leave your car for an hour. The light will be gone by then. Use the soapy mix as usual washer fluid (if summer) or drain it immediately (if winter) then re-fill with blue liquid, or any Prestone brand washer fluid. God luck and good speed.

Rosty.

Excellent advice for people that are out of warranty like my mom and her A4 that suffers from the same problem.

[DeltaHawk60]

Quick fix for poor souls who suffered from evil Rain-X. Go to nearest pharmacy, buy two 22 oz bottles of 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol. Empty your washer fluid reservoir by constantly running the pump for 2 min. Pour both bottles of rubbing alcohol into reservoir. Put a few drops of dishwasher soap in each empty bottle, fill with hot water (I used my instant hot water faucet in the kitchen) - be careful, use thick gloves. Add hot water/soap mix into the reservoir. Drive around a bit to have it mixed, spray windshield (and back window if Avant) for a few seconds until Rain-X stops coming out and your clean soapy mix starts spraying and leave your car for an hour. The light will be gone by then. Use the soapy mix as usual washer fluid (if summer) or drain it immediately (if winter) then re-fill with blue liquid, or any Prestone brand washer fluid. God luck and good speed.

Rosty.

So... guess I was dumb for not knowing that the S4 would be whining about me using Rain-X orange washer fluid ( [rolleyes] )... Now I'm seeing the same effect - persistent Low Washer Fluid caution.

Has anyone used the above fix successfully? I wouldn't even care if there was a way to just "dismiss" the damn warning, but none of my random button pushing seems to make it go away, either.

[eurotic]

I get this in the winter only and will raise the issue with the dealer at my next service interval. It's frustrating that it doesn't go away or can't be dismissed because while it's on I can't see my oil temp.

[CDN BCN]

i tried the fix... it worked for a couple days, but now the lights been on for about a week... i'm going to try it again when i run out of blue fluid.

[mcoomer]

FYI and update: Took it to the dealership and they cleaned the sensor out. Apparently, the Rain-X stuff could gunk it all up. They suggested filling with just the VW/Audi stuff:

http://parts.audiusa.com/audiparts/index.cfm?action=accessories&makeid=2&manufacturerid=1013&catalogid=2379&categoryid=0&subcat1=0&subcat2=0&subcat3=0&subcat4=0&subcat5=0&modelid=880&siteid=16&itemid=407450&jointvehid=17052&startyear=2012&startrow=1&partnumber=&description=&retval=%2Faudiparts%2Findex.cfm%3Faction%3Daccesso ries%26siteid%3D16%26catalogid%3D2379

Rain X will definitely gunk up your sensor. This has been a problem for quite some time and is the reason I've quit using it. Haven't really missed it.

[Steve R]

I also use Rain-X and have the same sensor issue. I can live without the sensor and am considering shunting out (defeating) the sensor so I can continue to use Rain-X. Is anyone aware of any other incompatibilities between Rain-X and the S4 aside from the sensor?

[pdqgp]

Glad I read this thread. I was just going to fill up today as the 20's and muck are headed our way and I have the 3 in 1 stuff in my garage too. Use it on the wife's minivan with no issues but it looks like I'll be keeping it out of the S4 for good. I've only ever used the blue stuff in their. May use some extra low temp stuff instead but nothing with any rain x additives for sure.

I never really liked Rain X on the windshield. Every car I've used it on skips and studders. The best thing I've used is Optimum Optibond sealant. Same stuff I use on the paint. Doesn't "sheet" the rain off like rain x but the wipers are as smooth as can be and the rain beads up and wipes off with ease.

[Moto One]

Glad I read this again, I have been getting Fluid additive (Wurth Blue) but made the mistake of picking up some (CARB approved) Blue, but have not yet put it in.... Yeah. I'll run in to town and hope that the indy Audi shop has the Wurth in stock.

Mark

[chris dds]

I took my sensor out and cleaned off the metal electrodes with steel wool...which cured the problem.

Someone has a nice write-up on how to take it all apart here (http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/587098-Windshield-washer-fluid-sensor-Pump-Removal-Replace-DIY). My S4 had slightly different plastic molding in the wheel well, but it's close enough to get the idea.

[bberg22]

Anyone try running like half and half rainX and regular cheap blue stuff? I used Rainx in my previous cars (just picked up a 2013 S4 CPO last week) and I loved the effect on the windshield but don't want to damage the sensor. I do quite a bit of driving (25k+ miles per year) and the visibility is greatly reduced from what I am used to without the water beading effect. I could treat the windshield with the Rainx spray but i'm not confident in it lasting long enough to be effective.

[Brother Owl]

I have never used the Rainex and recently filled up with cheapo blue fluid. Then my low fluid light popped on for the 1st time in 2yrs?... No leaks, nothing on the floor in the garage. Thought this wasn't supposed to happen with the blue?
Guess I'll be doing the alcohol/dish soap home remedy this weekend [mad]

[DeltaHawk60]

By the way, the fix did work for me... followed with o'reilly brand -35F stuff (which was purple-ish) and didn't have the issue recur.

[Senseless]

This just happened to me and the alcohol & hot water fix worked. I used 2 squirts of Castrol Super Clean instead of dishwashing detergent, because that's all I had.

[beemerchef27]

I just fixed mine by removing the sensor and scrubbing gently with a pot-washing scrubby and dish soap. Put it back in and the low washer fluid light on the dash is gone and everything is normal now. Took all of 15-20 minutes to do and saved $400 which was the dealers cost to fix this issue.

[Brother Owl]

Dealer "fixed" this issue for free during a recent visit. Light came back on about 150miles into my road trip the next day [headbang]

[bberg22]

So I have been using rain ex now for over 5 months and have not had any issue. It is possible they fixed the formula or something. I have gone through 4 or 5 fills of the fluid reservoir with rain ex. I really prefer the beading effect on the windshield for visibility in heavy rain so I am willing to put up with having to clean the paint/trim of the residue it leaves over time. Just thought I would share my experience.