13 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

On a different vehicle I've had screenwash gunk problems after a dealer service when the dealer topped up the screenwash with VAG branded fluid which reacted with the high street fluid I used to created a thick gel which blocked the washer jets.

How did you get rid of it?

1 hour ago, beneix said:

How did you get rid of it?

Kept clearing the washer nozzles using a haberdashers pin.

Problem I had is the Skoda equivalent of this little filter on the bottle. Had to do the same sort of thing to fix mine. Thought pipe had come off to start with. Due to some work dealer had done couple of weeks earlier. Only found it was dirty after taking it out.

 

Hopefully vinegar might fix it the Milton tabs didnt

 

Weirdly my back still worked. But front didn't and they ran off same pump though the same filter?

Edited 29 January, 20251 yr by Novascape

3 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

On a different vehicle I've had screenwash gunk problems after a dealer service when the dealer topped up the screenwash with VAG branded fluid which reacted with the high street fluid I used to created a thick gel which blocked the washer jets.

Brilliant feedback. It helps hearing other people's experiences. 

 

On my previous car that had this very same issue, in the end I cut the filter sections out of the equation. I was worried the issue would instead block the lines or the nozzles, but after further year of use I did not have one single issue.  It is my thought that whilst the creation of the 'gunk' still existed that is was simply washed through the system as it was used. So it never actually built up like it does on the bottle filter.

 

I also own a 39yr old show car that has a simple 'bottle, pump, tube, nozzle' system and I have NEVER had any issues for the 35 years I have owned it.  

 

My conclusion is that while the manufacture fits this filter with good intent, it in reality causes more problem than if it was not installed. Should people unfortunately have a blocked nozzle a quick nozzle clear with a pin is much easier than having to get these deep embedded washer bottles out.

 

Each to their own I guess.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

 

 

1 hour ago, Novascape said:

Problem I had is the Skoda equivalent of this little filter on the bottle. Had to do the same sort of thing to fix mine. Thought pipe had come off to start with. Due to some work dealer had done couple of weeks earlier. Only found it was dirty after taking it out.

 

Hopefully vinegar might fix it the Milton tabs didnt

 

Weirdly my back still worked. But front didn't and they ran off same pump though the same filter?

Brilliant video link, shows the problem perfectly. Thanks for that.

1 hour ago, Novascape said:

Hopefully vinegar might fix it the Milton tabs didnt

 

Weirdly my back still worked. But front didn't and they ran off same pump though the same filter?

Great video. I suppose what will work depends on what the cause is. If the filter is blocked by algae, you need something that dissolves algae - for example something like Puriclean, designed for cleaning caravan water systems. For some other types of blockage, the acid and alcohol in vinegar might work. Pure ethanol or isopropanol might work for other stuff. And so on...

As for only the front being affected, if you definitely only have one pump for both that would suggest it can't be the (common) filter.

I just had this exact problem fixed on my 2023 Octavia VRs.

 

The main culprit was the filter inside the bottle rather than the pump itself, it was so gunged up it was incredible considering it’s just a 1 year old car. 
 

there was crap stuck to the inside of the bottle as well so it needed flushed out. It’s now working again but the washer jets don’t go up the full windscreen, I think I may have damaged them trying to clear them out when I thought that was the issue.

@Barrymoped you can adjust the washer jets. Just pull them up and down with fingers.

 

They probably just lowered them a bit while cleaning them

Spoiler

 

As Novascape said . . .

Edited 3 February, 20251 yr by Scrapman
text error

My fronts stopped working today.  It also happened three years ago.  Annoying! Likely the filter again. 

Edited 3 February, 20251 yr by Pete

My old show car I have owned for over 35yrs is now almost 40yrs old, never been a problem.

My wife's Peugeot is 21yrs old owned since new, never been a problem.

My previous 2008 Mondeo I had for over 15yrs , never been a problem.

My 2023 Octavia VRS, under 2yrs old and ALREADY BLOCKED.

 

I have always used the same washer fluid in all our cars. So that can only leave the cause as being the finer meshed VRS internal bottle filter. 

 

Indeed, I agree the washer fluid is likely to be the root cause, but it is my belief that whatever is the cause of the Octavia VRS washer filter clogging up, MUST simply be washing/spraying through the system of older unfiltered cars, hence never a problem.

 

If it happens again, the VRS filter will have a meeting with a cutter and becoming a simple UNfiltered type system that will then most likely last for years without any problems, just like all my cars before it.

I’m the same, owned cars for 25 years, including previous Octavia’s and other VW group cars, never an issue, only on my 1 year old VRs.

 

even more annoyingly, the Skoda garage refused to fix it under warranty as they claimed it was caused by mixing screen wash. I tried explaining I only bought the car from them 4 months ago, and it stopped working before I ever topped it up, so it was whatever they put in.

 

but they didn’t believe me and flat refused to fix it, I was fizzing mad, terrible customer service.

On 04/02/2025 at 10:20, Barrymoped said:

I’m the same, owned cars for 25 years, including previous Octavia’s and other VW group cars, never an issue, only on my 1 year old VRs.

 

even more annoyingly, the Skoda garage refused to fix it under warranty as they claimed it was caused by mixing screen wash. I tried explaining I only bought the car from them 4 months ago, and it stopped working before I ever topped it up, so it was whatever they put in.

 

but they didn’t believe me and flat refused to fix it, I was fizzing mad, terrible customer service.

Wow, Déjà vu.  THAT was my first experience.  I had the car for just two months from the dealership when the screen wash began to splutter, and we had flown away for a holiday for a few weeks during that so the car was only used by me for about one month.  SKODA dealer was good during the sale, but immediatly when the car was in my hands they walked away.  

 

Oh BTW, on an unrelated subject about SKODA.  They sold me the car with incorrect V5C car  'D:3: MODEL' data (it incorrectly read OCTAVIA VRS TDI 4X4 S-A) and it took me two month talking and writing to the DVLA to have the data corrected to my front wheel drive manual gearbox petrol as  'OCTAVIA VRS TSI'.  The DVLA said a dealer cannot supply evidence of model, so I had to I insist the DVLA themselves contact SKODA direct to get confirmation they needed, and only then did they finally changed my V5C and a new one appearred ion my letter box. Yet still when I check insurers websites using my registration many return same old WRONG car data is still returned.  I guess some insurers/parts suppliers databases are download and the data kept by them on their own local server.  The world has gone mad.

On 04/02/2025 at 10:20, Barrymoped said:

I’m the same, owned cars for 25 years, including previous Octavia’s and other VW group cars, never an issue, only on my 1 year old VRs.

 

even more annoyingly, the Skoda garage refused to fix it under warranty as they claimed it was caused by mixing screen wash. I tried explaining I only bought the car from them 4 months ago, and it stopped working before I ever topped it up, so it was whatever they put in.

 

but they didn’t believe me and flat refused to fix it, I was fizzing mad, terrible customer service.

 

 

I had the same experience the first time that this happened to me shortly after receiving the car - the garage wanted to completely replace the tank and pumps claiming that I had contaminated the tank...cleaning the filters fixed the problem until it has now come back some years later. 

I'm now convinced that my issue is down to 'mixing' screenwash as I've been using the same one since I got the car but needed to top up during a drive so bought a small bottle of something different. So, now need to remove & clean filter - anyone got any guides on how to do this other than remove front/nearside wheel, remove bottom trim, remove back trim, remove bottle & clean.

I released the wheel trim without removing the wheel. Was about 9 screws and a bit of jiggery pokery to get it to drop down to get hands in

 

Didn't even have to jack up car

Just thought to share that having a pair of blocked filters yet again, both pumps also failed. I always thought that the pump for the front and rear windscreens was rather weak from new as the flow seemed poor compared to all other Skodas I have owned.

So I ordered an aftermarket pump (https://amzn.eu/d/3Wi5NR6) for the windscreens which I installed this morning. The flow has substantially improved! It’s much more powerful, especially at the rear including the camera. Much better than the OEM pump even with crystal clean but annoying filters.

Totally agree Pete. The OEM front/rear screen washer pump is very poor compared to even a cheap non-oem pump. BTW during my last visit to the Skoda dealer in Letchworth even their workshop guy told me that if they have a car in with a blocked front/rear washer pump filter . . . . they now just CUT OFF THE FILTER SECTION because the issue always returned with 12-24mths.

BTW just meant to add that 1x pump feeds the front vs rear screens dependant upon the + - electrical supply to pump out the opposite washerconnection. The other 1x pump (if fitted) is to washer the front headlight lens and operates at a much high pump pressure.

Edited 5 May, 20251 yr by Scrapman
Added information