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NO indicator for winshield wiper fluid

49K views 212 replies 76 participants last post by  Tiger-Heli 
#1 ·
I have a 2012 Ti fully loaded

This thing has the most advanced MFT system and it parks it's self, but had no indicator for windshield fluid what gives?
 
#139 ·
Picture coming tomorrow smart [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)] (another name for donkey) When looking straight down where you fill the washer fluid you can see the reservoir clearly. Just before the thin neck rises up, you should fill it to that point. It is dark now and my camera will not show this clearly.
 
#141 ·
The point is you CAN'T see the actual fill level if it isn't already filled to the top...

And as easy as 2 torx screws are for removal of the headlight that's not something anyone has the patience to do just for checking washer fluid.

Otherwise it's pretty obvious. Once a month in summer, once a week in winter.

Not rocket science and it doesn't require moving headlights or getting your hands dirty.
 
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#140 ·
Here is the pic looking from the top to the left. The blue liquid is your wiper fluid.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76874241@N06/8119135339/

Looking straight down, you can clearly see the wiper fluid level and how much you have left. It is not easy obviously, but very visible. Today there was overcast so the picture is not a clear as I would like it to be. Doesn't matter, open the hood and see for yourself.
 
#142 ·
A couple things. Where your camera/phone was placed to take your picture, it's impossible to put your head there unless you want to eat dirt and grime. The plastic is so thick you can barely even tell that there's fluid in there, let alone the level of it. And yes, I just went and looked...again. And with a destroyed lower back it's far from easy.

The whole point of this thread is the car is supposed to have a feature that hasn't been working on a lot of cars. It's something that makes up part of the price, so it should work.

I don't understand why people come in to these threads to do nothing but cause trouble and be know-it-alls, making points that are completely wrong. If you have nothing helpful to say, stay out. How hard is that?
 
#144 ·
I agree with the nothing to say part that doesn't contribute to the post. You made it a point saying that you cannot tell the level of the washer fluid, without removing the headlight. I am only 5'7", I did not do any special yoga pose to take that picture. You don't need to stretch your back in an awkward way to see the level of the fluid either. Plus I was answering Sonics post about how I may have not opened the hood of the car. I live in Toronto Canada so the road salt and snow combination is going to affect me and I need washer fluid all the time.
 
#148 ·
Bravo, you can open your hood and take a bad picture...


The fact of the matter as stated previously... You came in here acting like a know it all on a subject where the information you brought was not asked for or needed and you have derailed a thread that had been fairly civil. You can ONLY see the filler neck from the engine bay without removing a headlight, that was all I and Beta were trying to say. There isn't a beautiful line to fill to.

With that said... A good maintenance schedule as alluded to by many would make this feature almost unneeded but it was designed into the car, we paid for the tech and the TSB is there for a reason.
 
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#150 ·
Well, I've had the car since June and haven't used all the fluid that was originally put in the car yet. At least, I've not run out, and I had no message telling me that I did run out either. Hopefully I'll be able to actually use all of it before the winter to confirm whether I'm getting a message or not.
 
#151 ·
You can just do what I did and clean your windshield really well in one go. Washer fluid is pretty cheap.
 
#153 ·
That's interesting you get the . I have the and it works, but it doesn't pop up when my level is low. You won't be able to see how much is left.
 
#154 ·
The warning that comes up scared the hell out of me a week ago. Crappy snowy and icy morning. It was dark. I was tired. The car was slipping and traction control was doing it's thing. Then out of no where a loud warning sound. I almost pooped myself. Then I yelled at the alarm for being loud.

Sent from your mom's house.
 
#155 ·
Welp my car just ran out of washer fluid with no message. Build date: Dec 2011.

Luckily I have an oil change appt scheduled for next monday, so I will ask them to perfrom this TSB on my car.
 
#156 ·
I brought this issue up with my dealer on my last visit, and according to them the car wasnt programmed to recognize the sensor. They told me they fixed it and it is working now. Of coarse they filled up the winshield washer fluid as a courtesy :S so I have to wait until I get low to confirm they fixed it....... Im gonna be positive on this one :)
 
#160 ·
Hey SaToX,

Thanks for sharing this; hopefully some folks who are having the same difficulty will read this and get their dealerships involved. Let us know how the indicator light performs!

Thanks again,
Crystal
 
#157 ·
In the winter, i top up my washer fluid every morning before my commute because I have used my used all the washer fluid in the tank in a single round trip commute. they use a lot of salt on the 400 series highways in Ontario.
 
#163 ·
My SEL is currently in the shop to have the VCM2 install to my car. I have asked the dealer to check this missing low washer fluid warning and they were able to have it working. The feature, as I understood it, was there...The car computer didnt knew about it, so they did some kind of PCM reboot (probably the procedure listed above) and now I am told the warning now activates itself when the level of fluid gets to low.

I can now chuck this one off the bug list.
 
#164 ·
my sel is currently in the shop to have the vcm2 install to my car. I have asked the dealer to check this missing low washer fluid warning and they were able to have it working. The feature, as i understood it, was there...the car computer didnt knew about it, so they did some kind of pcm reboot (probably the procedure listed above) and now i am told the warning now activates itself when the level of fluid gets to low.

I can now chuck this one off the bug list.
vcm2?
 
#169 ·
The Focus is the first car I've ever driven with a warning for low or no fluid. I live in northern Alberta now. Plenty of and and salt on the high ways. And I lived and drove in Newfoundland for 5 years before that. I think they came up with the idea of putting salt on the road in Newfoundland, if not perfected it. It's not a big deal to throw a jug of wash fluid in the trunk and if you run out pull over and top up. That's what I always did.

That being said. A new or pretty new car should work right. If it's something as simple as the indicator isn't working correctly bring it to the dealership and tell them to fix the damn thing. Simple as that.

Sent from your mom's house.
 
#170 ·
Of course. This is the first car I have ever had to have this indicator, never even heard of a car with one before. It really is no big deal, but like you said- It is a NEW car and ALL the features it has should work and work correctly. No matter how "small" or "insiginifcant" they may be.
 
#172 ·
If you have followed the thread from the beginning ...

Agreed it's a minor thing, but it should work, there is a TSB saying it sometimes doesn't work and how to fix it. That all is well and good.

The issue I have with this thread (and the other multiple issues with the car) is that we have members taking cars to the dealer for issues with a known TSB and being told either "Your particular car doesn't have that feature", or "Your car is supposed to stutter and grind and clunk like that".

It's taken 18 pages to verify that all Focuses are SUPPOSED to have this indicator and what the indication should look like when it appears.
 
#173 ·
Went to the dealer today for an oil change & tire rotation. While there they did the windshield wiper fluid TSB and updated my MFT with the new TSB related to that.

As for the windshield wiper fluid TSB, I will have to wait until I am out again to see if I get the warning message, since they refilled it for me.
 
#176 ·
I had the TSB done a few weeks ago, apparently they did not verify even though the washer bottle was empty when I took it in, the indicator still does not work.

I have a 2013 escape ti and it does not show when low either.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
#178 ·
I agree with everyone about this possible issue and it should work as advertised. However regardless of the warning light or not, you are supposed to check the fluid levels on a regular basis. I was born and raised in Toronto, the standard practice is to fill up the washer fluid either weekly or monthly, depending on use. Waiting for a warning light is not good driving IMO.
 
#179 ·
I had my dealer fix this a few months ago, I wish I knew what they had to do exactly to fix it. It does now work, albeit with not much room for error. The light comes on you got 5 or 6 more clearings of the winshield and your out. Aswell when the indicator only comes on when you start the car, not so informative when you use your remote starter, and only come out the the car once the notification is long gone. Sadly without a permanent indicator, it can still leave you in a hairy situation. Best bet is to top up before a long trip, and YES I live in Canada where there is salt on the roads 5 months of the year so I do feel your pain of it not working, I was there.
 
#181 ·
+1 to those who recognize the value of this indicator (I'm currently testing to see if mine will work). Anyone who's ever been driving along a slushy highway/freeway and had a big truck cover you in brown slop knows what a dangerous situation this can be if you're out of fluid. I've had this happen with such thick muck that my windshield visibility has gone completely dark - like someone painted your windshield brown in 1 second. This is not a "dummy" light as some suggest (probably peeps from down low who have not had the thrill of this type experience!!).

And yes - of course I top up my fluid regularly so I should never get the warning but it's nice to know that it works in case I'm empty and don't know it (it's also tough to see the level given how the reservoir is buried in the engine compartment of a 12 focus.
 
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