Rear washer jet not working

[andymcpherson24]

Hi all, got a 56 Octavia VRS TDI and the rear washer jet isnt working.

The wiper goes across and I can hear the pump but no water comes out, cleaned the jet out and it doesnt appear to be blocked!

Is they any common problems/ areas I should look that may fix the problem? Obviously its still under warranty but thought I would have a look myself before taking it in for something that is prob a quick fix.

And yes, before anyone asks, yes I do have water in the resrvoir!!!!

Thanks

Andy

[T-1000]

Its more than likely the washer pipe has popped off its connector, hapened to me only last week, it should be covered on warrenty. My cars out of warrenty so had to do it myself and its a pain to get the cover off and back on so I would take it to the dealer.

Hi all, got a 56 Octavia VRS TDI and the rear washer jet isnt working.

The wiper goes across and I can hear the pump but no water comes out, cleaned the jet out and it doesnt appear to be blocked!

Is they any common problems/ areas I should look that may fix the problem? Obviously its still under warranty but thought I would have a look myself before taking it in for something that is prob a quick fix.

And yes, before anyone asks, yes I do have water in the resrvoir!!!!

Thanks

Andy

[Nick P]

Definitely, that trim on the inside of the hatch is a pig.

[Helston Hauler]

Before you start ripping trim parts off ,just get a sewing needle and gently poke into the hole in the jet,

this happend to my fabia and now it's working ok ,did the same on a Golf the other day, the guy was told he'd need a new pump at a cost of £150 !!!!!.

[Si66]

If it is under warranty then take it back - my local Skoda dealer told me a couple of weeks ago this was one of the common faults of the Octavia.

[andymcpherson24]

Thanks for the responses. It definatley aint the jet, I have had it off and cleaned it out and dont think its the pump because I can hear it running when I try and use it. Think I will just take it to the dealer. Dont fancy ripping trim parts off myself. Just need to find out which part of my car I have flooded because had it held down for a good couple of mnutes to see if it would kick in!!!!!

[flier]

I was told by a dealership that if Skoda washer fluid is not used the washer pipes become detatched!

Had the prob with previous Octy;there's been a notice re this issue from Skoda.

That fluid's quite pricey-what a suprise:cool:

[dieseldarren]

I was told by a dealership that if Skoda washer fluid is not used the washer pipes become detatched!

Had the prob with previous Octy;there's been a notice re this issue from Skoda.

That fluid's quite pricey-what a suprise:cool:

They detach themselves with the genuine fluid too!!!

One fiddly washer pipe junction is behind the hard plastic trim on the inside of the hatch door.

Another junction is behind the side carpet on the left wheel arch near the cd changer.

A dab of superglue seems to be the approved dealer fix.

If you're in warranty let the dealer fiddle with it, otherwise it's a 5 minute job*

(* a management 5 minute job, which in real life can take up to .... some swearing)

cheers ... Darren

[FletchV70RAWD]

Mine is doing the same. I have just got off the phone to my dealer who won`t fix it under warrenty as the car is over a year old (2 and a month). They also reckon the wrong fluid can cause it to pop off and also over winter it may have frozen.

So basically the 3yr warrenty with the car is only subject to the items they want it to cover !!!!!

[GAFF]

To be honest I think this issue is really a design flaw. I've heard it happen people when there's No Frost, so thats BULL about using the correct Washer fluid IMHO. I'm sure not even all the dealers use the correct stuff as per VW spec. What do you expect when a tube is push fitted over a cheap plastic fixing....they really should have a look at improving this for future models, and at least test it to a certain pressure which will not result in a similiar situation in the future.

[Rhoobarb]

Does it state in the manual anywhere to use VAG/Skoda/whatever approved wash fluid? Surely if it doesnt then thats a case of, 'well the manual didnt say so'.

Maybe dealers are getting fed up with doing this on warranty work.

[Stubax]

Pull the cover off the base of the wiper arm and pull the washer jet off (its a push fit), now try the washers and see if you get a vertical jet of water, if you do its the washer jet blocked. This has happened to me twice now and probing the jets (there are 2 of them) with a pin didnt clear them. It seems that if the washer is unused for a while the fluid solidifies meaning a good clear out is required. Obviously if you dont get the vertical water jet the pipe has probably become detached.

[alhendo1]

this was one of the first warranty jobs on my octavia estate. the pipe had detached itself somewhere along the way and I was already forearmed about the skoda fluid saga. this was the first question the dealer asked me! obviously I had put skoda fluid in instead of the halfords stuff to take it in but I'm not sure if there is any way they can test this or not. I don't think the fluid is in any way the cause of the problem, its just down to poor design. I,ve been using halfords stuff ever since with no problems...I believe the fabias suffer the same problem as well.....at the time the service staff told me if it was not covered under warranty it would have cost me about 90 quid so be wary......

[FletchV70RAWD]

the

Edited 27 May, 2010 by FletchV70RAWD

[figgyburn]

i had mine "fixed"twice by the dealers under warranty. both times it stopped working a few days after the so called repair.now its out of warranty i dont use it any more.my previous car did not have a rear wiper(rover75) and i was not inconvenienced by it at all.it does however seem like a design fault and it makes you wonder if they have sorted the problem with the facelift model or will it be"the more things change the more they stay the same".cheers john

[kindalen]

Pull the cover off the base of the wiper arm and pull the washer jet off (its a push fit), now try the washers and see if you get a vertical jet of water, if you do its the washer jet blocked. This has happened to me twice now and probing the jets (there are 2 of them) with a pin didnt clear them. It seems that if the washer is unused for a while the fluid solidifies meaning a good clear out is required. Obviously if you dont get the vertical water jet the pipe has probably become detached.

give yourself an A+ my friend. you just saved mepulling the boot trim off. pulled the nozzle off and got a perfect vertical spray. will give it a good poke with a pin and a soak in some warm water first.

thanks mate.

[stuu3270]

Hi guys,

I have the Mk 1 Octavia vRS and have had the usual problem of the rear washer giving up but managed to fix it myself by taking off the hatch trim. Second time involved the pipe behind the CD changer in the boot, which had detached (not sure why the pipe would be down there but hey!...)

This time the jet is not working. The pipe behind the CD changer is connected but when I take off the carpet on the left above the cd changer, water squirts out of the welded metal work. Its almost as if there is a pipe running from the roof of the car on the passenger side and in to the boot from there.

Does anybody know the route that the rear washer pipe actually takes, before I have to start removing trim from the rear seats, etc.?

Thanks

Stu.

[Bazzman]

Yay! You're a star!

Stubax, you are the Man! Thanks!

My rear washers stopped working a while back, in the snow and ice. I thought: "oh no, it's time to pull the carpets/boot lid liner/whatever out, the pipe's come off somewhere."

But I read your post, pulled off the washer jet, and got a lovely vertical stream of bright green washer fluid (running 50:50) . Spent 3 minutes cleaning the jets under hot water - full of crap - and sorted.

Thank you!

Edited 13 January, 2010 by Bazzman

[gregoir]

I have used Halfords concentrate, 5l in a blue container, for many years. Works fine and contains water softeners. I had partially blocked fan nozzles in my old VW and they were cleared out by just switching from Holts to Halfords. I use my rear washer rarely (they are OK currently) as the window stays clean but the fronts and headlight washers consume a lot of fluid in these salty , mucky conditions(when they are not frozen).

Priced the Skoda fluid at £4 plus vat for 0.5l at the weekend. The Halfords was £4.99 for 5l. So guess what I bought?

[swil00]

Mine ain't working either, so tried the jet test.. thanks for the tip, but still doesn't work, so I guess a hose if off somewhere ?

Does it make more sense to start behind the multichanger, or just go straight to the hatch cover.... if so, any tip fro removing ?

Cheers !

[cj_uk]

I've had simialr issues with my Octy, but I found its not a case of the pipe detaching its the nozzles moving when I slam the boot shut. If I set them up so they are spraying correctly, it normally takes about 3 months of using the boot to get them to move, they then jet against the plastic cover

[sean Gt]

i had to reconnect my pipes yesterday winter helped them pull apart, i dried up all the water and put the carpet back in place.

i then noticed the water spray was hardly touching my window, i tried 2 adjust the nozzels but they jus either went in the air or not anywere so i bought a new one from the skoda stealers costing £6. ill if fit it tmoro.

skoda advised me not to glue or tywrap anything as it may cause bigger problems in long run.

[GoodDoc]

Pull the cover off the base of the wiper arm and pull the washer jet off (its a push fit), now try the washers and see if you get a vertical jet of water, if you do its the washer jet blocked. This has happened to me twice now and probing the jets (there are 2 of them) with a pin didnt clear them. It seems that if the washer is unused for a while the fluid solidifies meaning a good clear out is required. Obviously if you dont get the vertical water jet the pipe has probably become detached.

Top Marks Stubax!!

I've had issue with this on my Octavia three times now. It's been to the dealer to have this fixed under warranty twice. The first time I hadn't even noticed and the dealer fixed it under warranty when I had the car serviced. The second time they charged me as I had the wrong concentration of washer fluid (annoying as they had filled it at the last service). On both occasions I was told the pipe had detached.

So when it happen again a few weeks ago I couldn't face pulling the boot panel apart to find where the pipe had popped off so I just stopped using the rear wash wipe. Having read you post last night I went out this evening and pulled the cover off and removed the washer jet. Flicked the rear wash wipe and was greeted by a vertical stream of washer fluid!

The washer jet is currently soaking in warm soapy water in an attempt to clear it, but it does seem well and truly blocked. What did you use to clear it?

To answer my own question, Viakal and a pin sorted it out a treat!

Edited 14 January, 2010 by GoodDoc

[james26]

Priced the Skoda fluid at £4 plus vat for 0.5l at the weekend. The Halfords was £4.99 for 5l. So guess what I bought?

If you go to a VW dealer you can buy a 1L for £2.80 or get some Sonax Clear View 1:100 stuff that's make 25l for £5! Sonax make the VAG one but the way.....

See:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/product_honours_2007/208746/screenwash.html

[Phil_P]

Can anyone confirm - does the rear washer jet use a similar fan style to the front?

I've only used the rear washer on my new FL Octavia once or twice, and I'm sure it gave a fairly straight squirt of water, not at all like the front fan jets, so I'm wondering if this has been changed/improved on the FL model? Or is this how it's always been.