Rear screen washer failure.

S

Steve Orton

Standard Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2023
Messages
15
Reaction score
13
Points
4
Location
Bicester
Driving
When I try to use my rear screen washer water can be heard swishing in the top right end of the dashboard on my MG5EV. I think the pipe may have been pushed apart during a frost. Water can be seen dripping from below the dash onto the drivers side door post.
How can I gain access to that upper dashboard area to see what's going on and attempt a repair?
 
This time of the year it is important to have a good winter screen washer solution (-20deg C)
The freezing and expansion of the screen washer solution seems to push the pipes out of the joints!
Prevention is a lot better than cure
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I had the same last year, took it into dealer and they fixed it FOC in 10 minutes. They added a cable tie to where it had popped off. I now use neat windscreen washer liquid to avoid it freezing. It can also come off in the pillar on the front screen where the pipe goes over the roof to the rear, resulting in fluid running into the foot well. To be fair this isn't just an MG thing.
 
ALANB said:
I had the same last year, took it into dealer and they fixed it FOC in 10 minutes. They added a cable tie to where it had popped off. I now use neat windscreen washer liquid to avoid it freezing. It can also come off in the pillar on the front screen where the pipe goes over the roof to the rear, resulting in fluid running into the foot well. To be fair this isn't just an MG thing.
Click to expand...
When I got my car back yesterday, I removed my screen pillar to check that they had put on cable ties to prevent a repeat. They hadn't. For the sake of 5 mins to apply 2x ties, the fault could/would have happened again. To remove the trim, check the joint, fit the ties and replace the trim took me, as a knowledgeable amateur & working out how the trim came off, 7 minutes.

I don't think the strength of the was mix is particularly relevant - mine popped off when it was 4 degrees C. I had recently filled mine with neat concentrate. Most likely the exposed washer nozzle was still frozen from the previous day's frost, meaning the fluid had nowhere to go and the motor built up pressure.

The joint isn't in itself the main issue - that’s a trivial thing. The big problem is that the body control module and the immobiliser are located behind the offside kick panel. When the water leaks, it can fall onto these components and play merry Hell with the electrics. My preferred dealer said it was a known issue - refit the pipe, dry the modules and apply a sealer to them. Two hours, covered by warranty. Because my car had become unusable, it had to go to the nearest dealer. Rather than go by heuristics and get the job done, they said they had to go through the MG troubleshooting procedures step by step, replacing items along the way until they found the real source of the problem. And that took a full week, during which they had to raise an incident with MG. The outcome? Washer fluid had affected the immobiliser module.

Sigh ….

While I had my cable ties and snippers out, I put ties on each of the two washer pipe joints under the bonnet - 5 minutes. I also removed the tailgate trim panel and fitted a tie to the pipe where it fits the nozzle plus 2 ties to a nearby joint in the pipe. The tailgate job was the biggest - 19 minutes including figuring it out (helped by a post elsewhere on the forum), taking photos, etc. Altogether, start to finish, half an hour 's work but (hopefully) years of peace of mind.
 
Last edited:
I do wonder the stupidity of some garages when it comes to repairs. I know why for the last 50 years I have usually serviced and maintained my own cars.!
Mind you most garages could learn a lot from BT and Openreach when it comes to poor service and customer care and stupidity.
 
Exactly the same issue with my 72 plate MG5 So glad I stumbled across this site/thread. Just saved me at least a 2 hour journey to my local MG dealership and a warranty ’chat’…Have just had a quick look and hopefully none of the water has made it into the electrics. Added cable ties so fingers crossed its future proofed it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gah, same here. The wash fluid definitely hadn’t frozen, I suspect the joint is just poorly placed…I wonder if a single length could be pulled through so there are no joints?
 
So, it is fixed and since I quite like to see photos before I tackle something I shall present some here.

1. Disconnect the battery…you are going to be working near an airbag so it’s a good idea.
1737817900041.jpeg


2. Remove the door seal around the front half of the door.
1737817946375.jpeg


3. Remove the fuse box cover panel to check for any water hanging around. This is probably optional.
1737817983115.jpeg


4. Remove the A-pillar trim panel; the top clip just pulls apart but the part on the panel needs sliding up to remove it from the panel as it is tethered to the other half. There is one more standard clip about halfway down. Take care of the speaker wire which can be carefully disconnected.
1737818017085.jpeg


1737818273992.jpeg


5. Behold the idiotic place that a joiner has been placed. Rejoin and secure the hoses with cable ties, nice and tight to hopefully prevent it from coming adrift. Make sure to fasten the ties inside the barb.
1737818051534.jpeg

1737818108628.jpeg


6. Assuming all is well (perhaps test first) you can refit the pillar trim (don’t forget to plug the speaker back in!) and the fuse box cover. Refit the door seal, ensuring that you push it nice and tight into the corners otherwise you’ll end up with some left over.
1737818168299.jpeg


7. Rejoice in having done a good job and have a tea or coffee, bearing in mind that you definitely deserve a chocolate digestive or two.

Huzzah
 
WigglePig said:
So, it is fixed and since I quite like to see photos before I tackle something I shall present some here.

1. Disconnect the battery…you are going to be working near an airbag so it’s a good idea.
View attachment 34228

2. Remove the door seal around the front half of the door.
View attachment 34229

3. Remove the fuse box cover panel to check for any water hanging around. This is probably optional.
View attachment 34230

4. Remove the A-pillar trim panel; the top clip just pulls apart but the part on the panel needs sliding up to remove it from the panel as it is tethered to the other half. There is one more standard clip about halfway down. Take care of the speaker wire which can be carefully disconnected.
View attachment 34231

View attachment 34235

5. Behold the idiotic place that a joiner has been placed. Rejoin and secure the hoses with cable ties, nice and tight to hopefully prevent it from coming adrift. Make sure to fasten the ties inside the barb.
View attachment 34232
View attachment 34233

6. Assuming all is well (perhaps test first) you can refit the pillar trim (don’t forget to plug the speaker back in!) and the fuse box cover. Refit the door seal, ensuring that you push it nice and tight into the corners otherwise you’ll end up with some left over.
View attachment 34234

7. Rejoice in having done a good job and have a tea or coffee, bearing in mind that you definitely deserve a chocolate digestive or two.

Huzzah
Click to expand...
Well done, I wouldn't have bothered about disconnecting the battery but it saves problems
 
M44LCY said:
When the water leaks, it can fall onto these components and play merry Hell with the electrics
Click to expand...
my rear windscreen washer has failed and I could see washer fluid dripping down from the right hand side of the dash into the footwell. Interesting what you’ve said about the electrics, since the leak I’ve been getting spurious intruder alarms at 4am, waking up the whole street! Could the two be connected?
 
Well done. My daughter just had the same problem on an MG ZS where it popped apart in the engine bay, in an fairly inaccessible place. We tried for some time but couldn't get enough purchase ion it to reconnect it. I read on the forum that some have had it fixed under warranty at their dealer. Her local MG dealer said £130 + VAT to look at it, then whatever it cost to fix. She said we know what the problem is, they said we have to verify it and make sure there is nothing else. DIck Turpins.

Thankfully a friend managed to do it yesterday.

I've been trying to get the cover off the fuse box to wire in a dashcam but can't get it off. I managed on the pre FL car I had but I don't recall if there was a knack to it.

Any ideas? Is there a knack to it?
 
I am hoping to pre-empt this screen wash leak on my MG5 Trophy LR by securing the A-pillar connection before it leaks. There seem to be at least three 'mechanical' means to do this:
1) cable ties
2) 0-clip which are crimped in place
3) spring clips

I have read of a couple of occasions where cable ties have not cured the problem, has anyone any long term experience of other methods?

What do the dealers do when people take the car in for repair?
 

Similar threads

R
MG5 - rear screen washer routing
Replies
6
Views
2K
ChineseDave
C
MonsterMonster
A-Pillar Rear Wash Pipe Fix
Replies
10
Views
2K
lovejoy61
L
RedandboX
MG5 LR 10 months old rear washer not working WARNING
Replies
4
Views
2K
Gomev
Gomev
Jto
Rear washer stopped working - brake system to be stripped to repair
2 3
Replies
56
Views
13K
Jto
Jto
Les burrows
Rear screen heater on the 5LR and other MG Models
2
Replies
23
Views
3K
Lovemyev
Lovemyev
Support us by becoming a Premium Member

Latest MG EVs video

MG Hybrid+ EVs OVER-REVVING & more owner feedback
Published
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom