Windshield Washer Jet frozen?

[mryakan]

Temps dipped as low as 0F here today (-16C) and driving in the morning today I had the windshield washer jets frozen shut and fluid wouldn't shoot out of them. I didn't engage them long of fear the pump may ruin due to the blockage, but after parking in the garage they did seem to melt and work only to freeze again when I went out.
Has anyone else experienced this? And if so I am wondering why they'd freeze since the washer fluid is rated for -45C. It could be ice/snow melting onto the jets then freezing, but the car was relatively dry! I believe the washers are heated, but is it safe to keep trying to engage them until the heated fluid melts them?

[jaypeeaf]

I had that happen to me when I was driving my Maxima out from sunny California to freezing Colorado. Wiper fluid cut off in the middle of a snowstorm. My buddy woke up to me driving with my head out the window because the windshield was so messed up. I switched immediately to cold weather washer fluid and never had a problem after that.

[Grumpa72]

DId you add water to your wiper system this summer? The blue stuff that I use never freezes and I usually run it full strength starting in November. You might try draining out what you have and add a known quality product full strength.

[forrestpilot]

Are you using the original fluid when you got the car? I suspect as part of the dealer prep of the car, they add the fluid and you have no idea what they put in. I only had my car a couple of months in the summer, used wiper fluid a couple of times to remove bugs, and ran out of fluid. I had to add amost a half gallon of the blue stuff to fill.

[Kernel Kurtz]

I thought the washer nozzles were heated. I could be wrong.

[mryakan]

I just filled up with a fluid rated at -45C, almost 4L. My washer fluid light was on last week, so it was almost empty (maybe not completely?!). I find it hard to believe it would be diluted to freeze at -15C! Maybe that Walmart washer fluid is no good!

[Coady]

I have had my headlightand windshield washer jets freeze up at -35C, but after driving for about 20 mins they seemed to work fine. I use the Teflon stuff from Canadian Tire....That stuff always seemed to work for me the past 8 years, it's rated for -45C.
Cheers

[ChitownIrish]

I thought the washer nozzles were heated. I could be wrong.

Nope you are right.

Exterior
16 x 7.0 Double Spoke (Styling 268) light-alloy wheels, 205/55R-16 run-flat2 all-season tires
Tire Pressure Monitor
Halogen high- and low-beam headlights
Halogen free-form front foglights
Retractable, high-intensity headlight washers
Heated dual power mirrors and heated windshield washer jets

[mryakan]

Nope you are right.

Exterior
16 x 7.0 Double Spoke (Styling 268) light-alloy wheels, 205/55R-16 run-flat2 all-season tires
Tire Pressure Monitor
Halogen high- and low-beam headlights
Halogen free-form front foglights
Retractable, high-intensity headlight washers
Heated dual power mirrors and heated windshield washer jets
Where is this quote from. Although my CA assured me all cars coming into Canada have heated mirrors (including the 323 even though the brochure says otherwise), I have yet to see proof that they are heated! I am wondering if that means the washer jets are not heated either!

[Kernel Kurtz]

The brochure I have seems to exclude heated mirrors on the '23.

http://www.bmw.ca/automobiles/brochures/en/3SeriesSedan_Brochure_2007.pdf

And I don't see any mention of the nozzles, but I recall reading about them somewhere else.

[BMW42purple]

My dealer delivered my car 328xi in January 07 filled with water in the widshield washer. The whole system was solid frozen. I did not find out until the first snow and it didnt work when i was 200 miles from home and needed it desperatly. I had to use antifreeze and took 2 or 3 hours to get it to thaw in order to make the drive home in snowy 17 degrees F weather. I called BMW and they did nothing. I asked for Contis instead of the EL42 crap that I hated (hated them on my acura tl as well) mentioned the tech bullitin sib360606 and they couldn't care less. Now the tires are even worse then last winter. It really does not handle like a xi, it skids like a rear wheel drive in yesterdays light snow. I learned my lesson, finally, I will never ever deal for a car with EL42 or bridgestones again; plus I will check everything including windshild wiper washers the engine bay the tire pressure and go over it with a through inspection like nasa would do on the space shuttle.