@texases, were your sales numbers addressed to me? I don’t understand why you made the comment. I mentioned only the E550 and S550. The E-class model with the least sales is probably the E550, or possibly the E250. I suspect that almost all the E-Class sales are E350 cars. From your numbers, I would guess that the E550 sales are comparable with the S550 sales. If so,
Why isn’t the S550 on the list?
Yes, I thought you were talking E vs. S, I couldn’t find a more-detailed breakdown. You’re correct that the great majority of E sales would be E350, and that E550 and S550 might be similar. Now I get it!
I've often wondered why washer fluid reservoirs have become so large. Some CARS hold up to a gallon of washer fluid. I haven't used a gallon of washer fluid in my entire life. I suppose maybe they're designed that way so the washer fluid doesn't go low in between scheduled services so people don't have to be bothered to top that up.
Why WOULDN’T a windshield washer reservoir hold a gallon? I mean, it’s SOLD by the gallon…so the simplest solution is a gallon reservoir, so you can fit ALL of the jug you just bought in. Sizing it any smaller is akin to “12 hot dogs/pack; 8 hot dog buns/pack.”
There’s nothing as frustrating as running out of fluid on a winter day…ducking in to the gas station to buy a gallon…and having 14 D4MN ONUCES of fluid left! (It’s cheap enough that it’s not worth the PITA to carry it home, so you have to waste it. I’ve started just giving it to the guy next to me at the gas station, or simply leaving the jug atop the gas pump.)
But yeah…sizing the reservoir to accommodate all of the gallon of fluid you just bought is sweet, sweet reason.
Around here if the wipers are on it’s raining. And if it’s raining the windshield is already wet, so why do you need fluid. I have 4 cars at home, frankly I don’t even know if the washers on any of them work! Some people around here must use washer fluid, we check and top off as part of routine service and half of the time they’re low.
Wherever you live, they must not use road salt, is all I can surmise. (from this post and your post about how “today’s cars never rust.”) At any event, it seems like it’d be even more important for you to have a reservoir big enough to hold the gallon you just bought, vs. take the remaining quart home to keep until 2025 or thereabouts…
The first car I ever rode in that had a factory installed windshield washer was a 1946 DeSoto. My 1954 Buick had a glass jar that held about a quart of fluid and the pump was vacuum operated. I had the dealer and install a windshield washer and backup lights on my 1965 Rambler and the cost was,$40. The washer had a 1 quart plastic bag mounted on the fender well and was operated by a.foot pump. I installed a similar system on my 1955 Pontiac and 1961 Corvair. The Corvair had a factory installed system that didn’t work when I bought the car, so I bypassed that system with the kit as the cheap way out.
I do appreciate, the modern cars with 1 gallon reservoirs.
I've often wondered why washer fluid reservoirs have become so large. Some cars hold up to a gallon of washer fluid. I haven't used a gallon of washer fluid in my entire life.
I have 5 gallons in my garage right now. They’ll be gone by January. Between summer bugs and winter slush we go through a lot of washer fluid.
My Camry holds more than a gallon, when the level light comes on, it will take a gallon and you can’t see it in the neck. I have not been curious enough to get another jug down and fill it to the cap to see how much it would take and most of the reservoir is hidden.
Wherever you live, they must not use road salt, is all I can surmise. (from this post and your post about how “today’s cars never rust.”) At any event, it seems like it’d be even more important for you to have a reservoir big enough to hold the gallon you just bought, vs. take the remaining quart home to keep until 2025 or thereabouts…
I’m in the Seattle area, lots of rain. Can’t think of a reason to put salt on the roads. Sand maybe if it’s snowing or icy. But that never happens. Last winter we only had 2 days that it almost snowed.
A big washer fluid reservoir is just a waste for me. Last time I tried to use washer fluid to help clear some frost from the windshield it just froze. Apparently the washer fluid loses its anti-freezing properties after sitting in the reservoir for several years!
I have 5 gallons in my garage right now. They’ll be gone by January. Between summer bugs and winter slush we go through a lot of washer fluid.
I wonder if those people who have trouble checking and adding motor oil have the same trouble with washer fluid? 5 gallons of fluid in 6 months is quite a bit. Surely people must check and add that themselves.
Air Cooled Volkswagen Drivers, Do You Remember Having To Be Sure Your Spare Tire Got Re-Inflated When You Added Washer Fluid?
Powering the washers with the spare was practical, thrifty, efficient, etcetera, but a real PITA. Leave it to those Germans (Oh wait… I’m 50% German, Never mind).
Get a flat, change the tire, and Voila! No washers (but it didn’t matter that much… those lousy straight rigid backbone wipers on that flat windshield with the almost non-existent springs in the wiper arms, were terrible).
But, never mind that those crappy J-boxes and the constantly seized heater cables and J-box valves made the heater and defroster a joke. You couldn’t see out, anyhow. I literally drove my 64 bug with a scraper in one hand to continually clear the windshield, while trying not to exhale, for half the year.
Those were the good old days. Why can’t they make cars like they did then?
CSA
It isn’t quite a bit for a commuter during a bad winter in NH.
Yup, most of those of us who live here learn to either check and add fluid themselves or regularly have someone do it. Oil change places and most shops around here routinely “top off” the washer fluid when you get the oil changed… not to be interpreted as my recommending oil change places.
I never have more than a gallon on my shelf to top off my cars and I’m in Minnesota. Of course I don’t drive 4000 miles a month anymore either, but still I never had more than a gallon in stock.
They may have gotten bigger when they started mounting them under the front fender. There is more room for a larger tank there than under the hood. I never knew where it was until I hit a deer and my fender bled washer fluid all over the road. I 'spose I lost a gallon that I never recovered from insurance.
"Air Cooled Volkswagen Drivers, Do You Remember Having To Be Sure Your Spare Tire Got Re-Inflated When You Added Washer Fluid?"
I remember it well, from my brother’s '64 Beetle.
In addition to the entire concept being a poorly thought-out idea to save on assembly costs, it was further complicated by the poor quality of some of VW’s WW fluid reservoirs. My brother had the first one replaced under warranty, after it split a seam–apparently due to its inability to withstand the air pressure from the spare tire.
By the time that the replacement WW tank also split a seam, his warranty had expired, so he did without washers for the remainder of the time that he owned the car.
I wonder if those people who have trouble checking and adding motor oil have the same trouble with washer fluid? 5 gallons of fluid in 6 months is quite a bit
It’s not just ONE car. There’s 3. After a good snow storm and the roads are plowed and salted - just driving two work I probably go through a quart. You can’t drive a mile without using some fluid.
As for the oil use, I notice that many of the cars are sporty sedans designed for spirited driving. I know some engines designed for this are made with low-tension piston rings and a rough cylinder cross hatch. Think of the Honda S2000. It burned oil. I was helping a friend with a Cadillac Northstar 4.6L that was using quite a bit of oil. Part of this was they had neglected it and the rings were obviously sticky from running far too long on cheap oil. I changed the oil and took it out for a very spirited drive to free up the rings. The oil use dropped to 1/4 the rate of before but these engines are known for using oil and it isn’t a bad thing. This is a high performance engine and the oil use allows for continued upper-cylinder lubrication at high RPM. Some oil use in these engines is not a bad thing. In fact it was noted in an article that I read that the Northstars that don’t use oil tended not to last as long before requiring a rebuild.
I think an oil level monitor is a good idea but could still be ignored. Store the information that the car was driven XXXX miles after the low oil sensor tripped in a black box and when the owner makes a warranty claim for a trashed engine, bring this to light.
I used to think the idea of a low-oil shutoff or shutoff in the event of overheating was a good idea but now thing that the safety issues with this would outweigh the benefits. I have a friend who ran over something on a California freeway in heavy traffic. It knocked a several inch hole in the oil pan. He was navigating through a series of elevated freeway exchanges with no where to stop so had to keep driving even with no oil. By the time he was out of all that mess he could hear the engine knocking loudly so he just kept driving to the next exit as he knew it was done for anyway. He got a new engine installed and went on with life. This might not have been possible if the engine management killed spark or fuel in the no oil situation.
Minnesota uses much less salt than NH, and much of it has far less traffic, both major contributors to windshield crap. Salt doesn’t work well at -20F and below. And snow at subfreezing temperatures isn’t as messy, as it’s largely ice crystals. I recall often driving down the highways in ND in snowstorms and because of the low temperatures the snow just blew off the car as it struck the metal.
NH spends a great deal of its time a little above to a little below freezing, very messy conditions. In late winter/early spring we have during snowstorms just about the messiest conditions possible. Lots of salt, everything melting and wet and saturated with salt, sticky snow, and lots of traffic.
@asemaster, we get 8 to 10 inches more rain in Maryland than you do in the Seattle area on average. But 47 inches annually is fairly standard for most places east of the Mississippi. Seattle’s 36 inches annual rainfall only seems like a lot because most of the western U.S. is so dry.
Despite the high rainfLl level, I use my windshield washers a lot. I drive almost 100 miles commuting in heavy traffic and I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.
I owned a 95 Toyota Previa with a mid-engine design. It held six quarts of oil in the pan and it had a reservoir under the nose that held two quarts of extra oil. At startup the car would check the oil level and, if it was low, it would pull some oil from the reserve tank. It was a slick design that was intended to help owners avoid flipping the drivers seat and opening the access panel in the floor just to check the oil level. It burned almost no oil until the day I sold it with 220,000 miles but I never had to worry about low oil levels for the 10 years I owned it.
Seattle’s 36 inches annual rainfall only seems like a lot because most of the western U.S. is so dry.
Oh, it’s not a lot but it’s the frequency. We average something like 160 days per year with rainfall. It doesn’t rain heavily or a lot, but for months at a time it’s always drizzling. I’ve noticed people on the East Coast have things like umbrellas and raincoats. We don’t have any of those things at my house. Out here if it’s raining we just wear socks with our sandals.
I just looked today, the washer fluid in my pickup has deteriorated to a bowl of pond scum, enough so that it won’t pump anymore. The fluid in my car has a blue color to it but I honestly don’t remember adding to it in the last 6 years. The fluid in my SUV is almost full because I filled it when I bought it last fall. I haven’t checked my wife’s car yet.