Re: Washer fluid pump failure

That's a new one on me.
A few questions though...

How often do you use it?

Do you run out of fluid often?

Do you often find yourself trying to use it when it is out of fluid?


The reason I ask is prolonged use without fluid in the system can damage the pump.
(Like holding the lever when your pretty much out of fluid trying to squeeze every last drop out of it.)

 

Windshield Washer No Workee

The front washer doesn't work - can't hear the pump or anything when I hit the switch. The back one works fine - isn't it the same pump? I thought it was, and if it were that would mean the fault was in the switch itself, no?

 

Re: Windshield Washer No Workee

Nope, separate pumps. And the fuse that handles it also handles the wipers. So if the wipers work, and there is no sound from the pump... the pump is probably toast. Dealer time.

 

Re: Windshield Washer Blues

Heres another thread with pics of the front cover removed.....

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18881

 

Re: Windshield washer motor kaput

Remove the front fascia, and you'll find it. If you plan to do your own maintenance, the Service Manual explains all.

 

Re: Windshield washer motor kaput

Remove the front fascia, and you'll find it. If you plan to do your own maintenance, the Service Manual explains all.

DON'T remove the facia- the bumper cover and basically entire front of the body- especially on later models where that part is painted.

The Service Manual says to remove the fender liner, but it is so flexible that is not necessary. You can get to pumps easily by removing fewer fasteners (of the same types!) from the fender liner front half and folding it out of the way. That gives you a direct (and erect) view of both pumps , connectors and their lines

 

The windshield wiper motor and the winshield washer share the same fuse 20A. if the windshield wipers work than there should be power to the windshield washer motor. it's fuse #20 under the dash.

 

Thanks

It appears that the washer motor is toast. I have ordered an exact replacement from Advance Auto for $20. If they stock this thing for a model that is only 3 years old, then I know that there is a problem nationwide with the squirty motor. Each day I become more and more dissatisfied with Honda. I am now in the market to replace two other cars in my family and honda in not even in the running. Damn shame. After the $1200 brake job at 50,000 miles, my next car will probably be a Plymouth Town & Country Van.

 

Thanks

It appears that the washer motor is toast. I have ordered an exact replacement from Advance Auto for $20. If they stock this thing for a model that is only 3 years old, then I know that there is a problem nationwide with the squirty motor. Each day I become more and more dissatisfied with Honda. I am now in the market to replace two other cars in my family and honda in not even in the running. Damn shame. After the $1200 brake job at 50,000 miles, my next car will probably be a Plymouth Town & Country Van.


Thats the best joke I've read in a week.

 

Windshield washer pump (front)

Have many owners had a problem with the front windshield washer pump failing? Ours needed to be replaced at 66,000 miles and no it did not freeze up. Cost of replacement= labor & parts - $ 134.35

 

Cost of replacement= labor & parts - $ 134.35

Truthfully? And not being a smart-ass here... but if you're going to take the vehicle to the dealer for minor repairs like this, you had better be prepared to pay the price. I can buy that pump for $30 and replace it about a half-hour, most of which is removing/installing the front right wheel-well liner.

Dealer service of any kind is expensive. Two recent first-hand experiences:

I had just replaced the clutch on our Miata. Shortly afterwards, the starter became intermittent. I had injured a hand (also afterwards), so took it (the Miata) to the Mazda dealer to investigate. They found (and fixed) nothing, yet charged me $100. Back home, 10 minutes with a mirror and flashlight found a loose nut on the main cable lug. Fixed. With one hand.

The state I used to live in required vehicle inspections. I took my Explorer to the dealer, and they found that the high-beam indicator in the dash was burned out. They offered to fix it (and pass my inspection) for $125. It was a 15-minute job to pull the dash cluster, and the bulb was 89¢.

A couple of lessons here. The primary one is that stuff fails, and little stuff like a windshield washer pump is going to be an early failure, I don't care what make of car it is. The second is that if you're not mechanically-inclined, take the minor repairs to the corner mechanic, who in this case would have charged probably $60-75.

 

THis is the best i could come up with.Basically you have to pull back the passenger side inner fender to get to the pump.

 

You know I was wondering if you had to take the bumper off. By accessing this through the wheel well it should take tyou like 20 minutes. It souns like the dealer was ripping you off!

PS...You might want to change the wiper fluid brand. Maybe something in that one is eating up something in the motor.

John

 

Just changed my front wiper motor tonight. I pulled the front nose off to do mine which only took about 10min. to pull and about 30-35 min to change motor, and 10 to put nose back on......I was taking my time too.

I didn't drain the fluid before just had a catch pan underneath so when I pulled the motor off the washer fluid wouldn't spill everywhere. It's very easy to do and took me total of an hour.....wouldn't see this taking more than 30 min. for a dealership to do.....so anything over 30-60min. of work I think they're taking advantage of you. But then again it's so easy I think everyone could do this themselves.

Before I put everthing back together I tested the motor to make sure it worked and the problem wasn't electrical. You also have to make sure to pull the rubber gasket off the old motor and put it on the new one. I will say taking off the front nose makes this a no-brainer....very easy access!

 

Yeah why pay 5-6 times the money for something you can do yourself. As long as you have a garage to put it in (if you live in the cold) you can easily do this yourself in about an hour.

Also if you go to the dealer mine as been good about matching the prices that majestic has. I usually just print out their price and take it in....they've matched everything or have come very close to it.

 

Find a place to park indoors for an hour or two. You'll find that the antifreeze fluid has evaporated and there is an ice blockage, possibily at the nozzles end. Methinks it has been very cold these last few days? Besides, that 20° fliud at WalMart is not a precision mix for .$94, and I'll wager there is much variablity.

 

Mark may be right it may just be froze up. It's been below zero here with the windchill around -25 :shock:

You don't have to be mechanically inclined to do this fix....Lord knows I'm not the most inclined myself If it is out, you can order the part from Majestichonda.com and save yourself the trip. And my 03's nose may have never been removed and I didn't break any clips at all....only chipped a couple on the bottom but they were still usable. Some of the bottom clips I didn't even remove (center ones), just folded the nose down to work on the washer motor and folded it back up.

Whatever the case may be good luck

 

If you can hear your pump working then it's probably within the tubing. Either they are plugged or not connect tight enough to create a seal.

There are two motor pumps one for the front and one for the back window.

 

has anyone got the part from rockauto it seems they have them for pretty cheap. It seems like the rear has failed as well because that is not working either. I have a full tank of fluid but still nothing. I have a grill guard and really would like to not have to pull that off and the front off as well is there any other way to get to this SOB? It seems I also have the dreaded rear differential issue as well. I have a 2004 Element with 50000. Thanks for you help!

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1425530,parttype,8840,partGroup,35

 

I looked through manual but couldn't find which fuse it is. Can anyone point me in the right direction.Thanks!

ramblerdan's site (available through his signature) is invaluable.

Info is here.
http://www.skidmore.edu/~pdwyer/e/udfrb.htm

 

a bump and a pump

My pump didn't fail but... It was snowy out and I was pulling into my street having a conversation with a passenger in my vehicle, and admittedly not paying enough attention to the road. I was going maybe 20 mph taking the corner a little too tight when I rubbed against the snowy bank on the right. When I say rubbed, I mean ever so slightly rubbed, not a thump or direct hit, a slight rub. I pulled into the driveway and got out to see the windshield washer fluid draining all over the driveway. I had initially thought I crimped the plastic reservoir causing it to crack. I later found out that it was in fact the pump. Cost of the pump $75, labor $100. Funny thing, the reservoir part cost was $120, lucky for me I guess.

The service technician told me that the pump is located about a 1/2 inch from the front bumper so it literally doesn't take much to damage it. I remarked, that's well built. The tech said, yeah, no comment on that one.

 

Front washer fluid isn't spraying anymore :-(

I thought I was out of washer fluid so I filled it last week and the washer spray still isn't working for the front wipers. The rear wiper spray works just fine. So my guess is there are two pumps. Is there a separate fuse for the front washer fluid motor? Or could the motor itself be broken?

I don't see any leaks coming from the system, nothing seems clogged I checked the hoses and they are all pliable and I didn't feel anything clogged. Any ideas on what I should be checking?

If I need to I will bring it to the dealer for them to diagnose and repair.

Thanks.

 

If I need to I will bring it to the dealer for them to diagnose and repair.

Do you hear the pump when you activate the switch? Pump failures seem fairly common. (I don't think there is a seperate fuse)

It is easy to access the tank and pump by taking the front bumper cover off. You can also go in thru the inner fender cover.

I remember reading several times that the dealer fix was expensive, but parts prices are reasonable.

Good luck.

Will

 

Larry,
My lines clogged up on me (like you they didn't appear to be) - the dealer blew out the lines with air - all is fine now
If it's the pumps, let us know costs etc.

-O

 

If the pump is running its possible to have clogged lines or sprayers. The sprayers get a little gunk built up on them and clog all the time. Unhook the hose under the hood somwhere and use a small amount of compressed air to see if the lines are clear. Dont use air in the lines backwards to the tank though. It sometimes pops the hose off at the motor and makes a mess on your floor.

 

Oops, I forgot to mention the part about not hearing the pump making any noise. That's why I was wondering if there was a fuse that could have blown. I have the shop manual but had been away all weekend and didn't have a chance to check it.

I have never had to replace a washer pump before, even on my Nissan truck that I put close to 250,000 miles on.

The cost on Majestic is only $47 and it looks like it might be fairly easy to access if that is the issue. It's Part #31 in the image below. If the line is indeed clogged I don't have access to compressed air and would have to rely on the dealer to do that for me. But I'd like to know going in that that's the issue.

 

I have never had to replace a washer pump before, even on my Nissan truck that I put close to 250,000 miles on.

The cost on Majestic is only $47 and it looks like it might be fairly easy to access if that is the issue. It's Part #31 in the image below. If the line is indeed clogged I don't have access to compressed air and would have to rely on the dealer to do that for me. But I'd like to know going in that that's the issue.

That's what everybody else that has the pump die on them says..."I've never had to replace one in 200k miles!"
I've only replaced 2 pumps in my entire life....both were on old cars and rusted up really bad.


Here's my ol' skool no tool methods for diagnosis....

If you think the line is clogged, disconect the hose at some point (closer to the tank is best) and hit the washer switch...fluid squirting out under the hood/engine compartment means the pump is ok. :wink:

Step by step version to pin point the problem:

(start at the hood and work your way down to the tank)

Disconect the washer line under the hood and blow thru it (towards windsheild). You'll hear a little noise at the wipers I bet. (Unless you're a long time smoker, you won't need compressed air to hear a bit of air coming out)

Now you can disconect the other end of the line at the tank (pull inner fender) and blow thru that....I'm guessing you'll hear air.

While you're head is stuffed up in there, make sure the tank isn't frozen. Assuming it ain't, have someone hit the switch for the pump...if it dosen't run, unless the wiring/power/switch is bad, your pump is kaput.
(And considering the number of pumps i heard about failing on the EOC...it's prolly the pump.) If you suspect the pump, you can check for sure, by checking for power at the wires that run into it w/ a simple test light/multi-meter. If there is voltage there, but it won't run, it is the pump for sure. (you can prolly figure out a way to check for power at the pump by just reaching in there, but you might as well just remove the stuff in your way)

Good luck.

Will

 

If I recall correctly, the Windshield wipers and the washer pumps are all on the same fuse. If the wipers are sweeping, the fuse is okay. What temp is it in your area and what WW fluid are you using? If you're using the blue stuff, it's probably gelled do to the cold. It's only good to about 30-32 degrees. If that's the case, when it warms up and the pump works, purge the blue and put in some Prestone or Rain-X DeIcer formula, it's good down to about -30.
NOTE:The WW Fluid may have gelled in the line, so your pump might run, but no fluid comes out the nozzle.

 

Temp wasn't an issue, it was almost 60 here yesterday and it still wasn't working.

That's what everybody else that has the pump die on them says..."I've never had to replace one in 200k miles!" I've only replaced 2 pumps in my entire life....both were on old cars and rusted up really bad.

Here's my ol' skool no tool methods for diagnosis....

Disconect the washer line under the hood and blow thru it (towards windsheild). You'll hear a little noise at the wipers I bet. (Unless you're a long time smoker you won't need compressed air to hear a bit of air coming out)

Now you can disconect the other end of the line at the tank (pull inner fender) and blow thru that....I'm guessing you'll hear air.

While you're head is in there have someone hit the switch for the pump...if it dosen't run, unless the wiring is bad your pump is kaput.

If you think the line is clogged, disconect the hose at some point (closer to the tank is best) and hit the washer switch...fluid squirting out under the hood means the pump is ok. :wink:


Will

Makes sense. I will see if I can do this after work. I'll even see how the hoses are connected and maybe tackle this during lunch today. If it doesn't require pliers or anything like that to disconnect the hose then I can check it now. If it's clear then I will order a new pump and then install it this weekend.

I will update this in about 90 minutes.

Thanks.

 

I'd watch out on a snap judgment that the unit is burned out. I couldn't hear any sound coming from mine either, for almost a week. Once the weather warmed up a few degrees, I tried it again and bingo the WW fluid was spraying again. Seems like most fluids gel or freeze because the % alcohol is too low. Specially if you use the blue stuff. If it thaws out, purge the tank and fill it with the prestone or Rain- X deicer. The "Splash" brand deicer formula is supposedly rated to -25 but I've had it freeze at 5 above.