Leaking Screenwash

[agentz]

HIya

My Octy II seems to have sprung a leak, it's currently dripping screenwash all over my driveway. Washed the car and when I went to move it I noticed the screenwash low warning was on, so filled it up. About half an hour later noticed that it's dripping down the little flap in front of the front drivers side wheel.

My car has hardly been used in the last three weeks thanks to a shiny new company van, but about three weeks ago my car was in at the dealers getting an aircon problem fixed, which turned out to be a leaky condensor, which they replaced along with a couple of aircon valve inserts. Do you reckon the screenwash leak could be an easy fix and it's something simple like a pipe has gotten disturbed when the dealer replaced the condensor or wouldn't they have been in that area at all?

Is it a case of drivers wheel off and wheel arch liner out to get to the tank? Is it possible to do a visual inspection easy enough?

[agentz]

Anybody?

It's leaked enough screenwash overnight for the warning light to be on again by about lunchtime today, but too damn cold to do anything much outside.

Going to give the dealer a call, but it's going to be complicated to get it done this week due to work commitments :(

[echo 78]

Iv got the same problem, having to refill screenwash every 3 or 4 days for last few weeks... Doing timing belt this wednesday so will inspect water leak while im at it and let you know what I find...

[agentz]

Iv got the same problem, having to refill screenwash every 3 or 4 days for last few weeks... Doing timing belt this wednesday so will inspect water leak while im at it and let you know what I find...

Cool, that'd be good

Phoned my dealer today, earliest he could fit me in was Thursday this week but I can't do Thursday due to work stuff going on, so have booked it in for next Friday instead. Gives me enough time to see if I can get a look at it myself, but the earliest will be the weekend.

Service manager started off by trying to say that it was likely to be the pump "you're probably using the wrong screenwash and what with it being frosty the last few mornings..." but he changed his tune when I said it's been dripping slowly for a few weeks and he looked at my visit history and spotted that I regularly buy multiple bottles of VAG screenwash from him!

[echo 78]

Job done... A pipe coming from pump at bottom front of screen wash bottle was leaking at joint about 6 inches from pump... Square connector with a plastic circlip, popped circlip off and pulled square connector apart, tiny rubber 'O' ring on bottle end of tube was perished and brittle... Replaced O ring and snapped plug back together, no more leak... With any luck yours will be the same easy fix, good luck.

[agentz]

Job done... A pipe coming from pump at bottom front of screen wash bottle was leaking at joint about 6 inches from pump... Square connector with a plastic circlip, popped circlip off and pulled square connector apart, tiny rubber 'O' ring on bottle end of tube was perished and brittle... Replaced O ring and snapped plug back together, no more leak... With any luck yours will be the same easy fix, good luck.

Hi echo 78

Thanks for that had hoped to get a look at mine today but am stuffed full of a. Old so didn't fancy scrabbling around on the driveway... There's always tomorrow

How did you get access to the bottom/front of the bottle?

[echo 78]

Had the front wheel and inner wheel arch liner off to do timing belt and washer bottle is exposed... U could get away with just undoing the front of liner (couple of torx screws) and folding it back... Was a bit fiddly up on 2 post ramp so layin on your back on driveway probably not ideal.

[andrew.g]

I had this problem on my Octavia VRS, the rubber pipe appears to have fallen off the nipple at the front of the screen wash bottle. First I removed the driver side headlight (easy when you notice the hook under the front) and the headlight cradle (two torx screws the same size as MTB disc brake bolts). This allowed me to see the pipe dangling down but I could not reach the nipple from above, so put the front of the car up up on axle stands, removed the driver side wheel and the front part of the wheel arch trim (10 more torx screws). This allowed me to reach up under the bumper and feel around and eventually with guidance from my assistant looking on from above, reseat the pipe on the nipple. I then put the car back together again (90 ft lb on the wheel nuts), only to find with much exasperation that it was soon leaking again, leaving an amusing trail all over the next car park I visited.

So the next weekend I did it all over again. This time I cleaned all the grease / screen wash off the nipple first, stuck on the nearest sized o-ring in the set of metric o-rings I bought from Halfords, heated up the pipe in some hot water to make it more mailable and hopefully mould better onto the nipple, re seated the pipe and then stuck on a couple of cable ties on (not easy to do unsighted but I found there was an angle I could view it from if I put my head in the right place under the bumper). 48 hours later it's not leaking so far, so hopefully this has solved it.

Not the nicest job, especially when I was met with a deluge of a mixture of screen wash / engine bay grease the first time I took the wheel arch trim off but at least it's an opportunity to clear out all the mouldy leaves I found down there as well. In any case, I'd rather have spent the time and found out a little bit more about my car then paid Cambridge labour rates to have a garage do it for me, plus I'd just spent £500 plus on full service and cam belt change so couldn't have afforded it. Does anyone think that the pipe might have come off during / because of the service?