We took my wife’s 2007 nissan aLtima to the dealer for an oil change & I think they put antifreeze in the window washer fluid. We took it back & they charged us $90 to drain & refill. there is still some residual antifreeze in the system & it leaves a film on the window. How do I remove the washer fluid tank so I can clean it thoroughly?
Use denatured alcohol to clean ; jets, hoses, tank etc .
if I drain the tank & pour in some denatured alcohol & then pump the solution thru the system, will that clean the antifreeze out? I really don’t want to remove the tank from the car…
thanks!!!
I’d look for a new dealer you have to be pretty incompetent to put antifreeze in the windshield washer resevoir. If they did the deed then why did they charge you to fix it?
That was my question also. I’d kiss them goodbye.
Antifreeze dissoves 100% in water, so I’d get a garden hose, put it into the tank as far as it can go, and turn it on, let it flush the tank out, then run the washer to rinse out the lines. Then I’d do as KG says, get as much water out of the tank as possible, then put in a bottle of denatured alcohol and run the washer. Finish by topping off with good quality washer fluid (many contain the alcohol as an ingredient, you don’t need to get rid of it).
Thank you all for your comments. I will do the hose in the tank, denatured alcohol method. I just called another Nissan dealer to ask how to remove the tank… they said I have to remove the wheel well & then remove the tank. The service guy said it would be better to replace the tank ($120 just for the part) because the antifreeze residue will always remain. While I am not totally sure the 1st dealer did it, there is not alternative… I didn’t put anything other than washer fluid in the resevoir & I know my wife didn’t either. I’m not even sure she knows how to open the hood. Nissna should NEVER has designed the car with the radiator cap & washer resevoir right next to each other. I opened the owners manual just to make sure which was which.
Thanks again!
Steve
It’s not a bad design. It’s just that some people apparently can’t read.
Just get a siphon (a hose with a bulb in middle to squeeze). Siphon out the antifreeze as best you can.
Then fill it with water, and run the washer pump until it stops squirting.
Then fill with washer fluid. Done.
That should take no more than half an hour and cost almost nothing for you to do.
The service guy is full of it. Flushing it out should work just fine.
I’ll bet there are symbols on the caps to tell you which is which, or they are different colors, or something.
I’ve never seen a vehicle on which it was impossible to discern the difference between the radiator overflow tank and the windshield washer reservoir, even if they are close together.
Someone was not paying attention, simple as that.