They look blocked to me, normally from people using none BMW screen wash - exactly what I used in our E91 which subsequently blocked!!

I used an airline from a tyre inflator to clean ours out once I'd removed the jets from the car - worked a treat.

As a quick check, try disconnecting the tubes from the jets then fire the washers - if the water shoots out, you know the jets are blocked.

 

As a quick check, try disconnecting the tubes from the jets then fire the washers - if the water shoots out, you know the jets are blocked.

That's a good shout 120, will do

Best approach is to remove the reservoir and clean it out fully. This happened a lot to the 1 series in the early days. I read loads of tips including warm water and Cillit bang but they worked for some and not others. I decided to clean everything out including the tubes because the sludge had reached them as well.

Really hoping it doesn't come to this as it'll be a trip to the mechanic if I can't open it all up, it looks tricky


Many thanks to all for responses, got good suggestions here so will have a go and update.

Not many brands of screen wash mix with the BWM stuff I believe, I was told Prestone will mix & another but I can’t remember the brand. I’ve been using Prestone in my past & current BMWs and had no issues

I've previously been using RainX for my previous F20s (and indeed other cars) because I like its hydrophobic effect and cleaning performance. If I use this exclusively after cleaning out the system, am I likely to run into problems in future? I've had a look online but nothing specifically on RainX - just people saying that if you consistently use one product you're not likely to run into issues, but not sure of how true that is?

 

A few folks on here say putting white vinegar through the system dissolves any blockages.

 

I’ve heard of people using sterident tablets too to unblock the pump too, that & warm/hot water

Not many brands of screen wash mix with the BWM stuff I believe, I was told Prestone will mix & another but I can’t remember the brand. I’ve been using Prestone in my past & current BMWs and had no issues

 

Try removing a single strand from a wire brush with plyers and stick it in the jet hole,dont trap hands with wiper..

 

As above remove jets and try the washers, if the water squirts out it's the jets, if not it's the hose or other issue like split hose, washer pump, sludge in bottom of washer bottle.

Once you know you can tackle the problem👍

 

Could be just the jets but as it appears both are affected, it's highly likely the fault is blocked filters situated at the bottom of the reservoir and the pumps sit in them.

Best approach is to remove the reservoir and clean it out fully. This happened a lot to the 1 series in the early days. I read loads of tips including warm water and Cillit bang but they worked for some and not others. I decided to clean everything out including the tubes because the sludge had reached them as well.

I had used Sonax once and that caused the problem because up until then, only BMW wash was used and it was only a year or two old. The filters were blocked.

It takes a couple of hours to do but you know where you are and it won't happen again if you use genuine BMW product. I believe VW use or used the same product made by the same manufacturer.

 

The VW stuff is Quantum I believe.

 

RainX or any other brand screen wash should be fine on it’s own, the only issue is if it goes into bmw for service or warranty work & they top it up. You could get around this but filling the bottle up to the brim before it goes in

I too like the hydrophobic glass coating, I used to use rainX too but not so often now as I coat the car with bilt hamber touch on sachet 1 per month & this coats the full car not just the glass

 

RainX or any other brand screen wash should be fine on it’s own, the only issue is if it goes into bmw for service or warranty work & they top it up. You could get around this but filling the bottle up to the brim before it goes in

Think I might put tape on the cap as well. It's going in tomorrow so will need to put notes to say not to wash the car either - scratched it to bits last time

 

And back again one year later...

I replaced the 4 Series with an X3 and was finally pleased to be leaving this issue behind. One week into my ownership - and before I'd even had a chance to get some RainX in - the washer jets blocked up.

This time, rather than a botch job, I opted to get BMW to unblock, clean and flush the system. I thought this was for the best given it was both the front and rear jets that were blocked. £150 later, and all is well.

Now I just need to work out a plan for how to phase out the BMW screenwash in favour of RainX without blocking the jets again...

 

My 128ti has suffered from this twice in 7 month. BMW roadside assistance came out as my local dealer could not see me for 2 weeks, I sail it would not be legal for me to drive the sar , so it should be regarded as VOR. The technivian came out a 90 mins later the slime was removed. 2 days ago, same thing, no washer jets so contacted my new local dealer who said come along tomorrow, so I did. Quoted £202 to sort it as it wasn't a warranty issue, so, I had to suffer it. It became clear in the conversations I had that, if one doesn't use BMW fluids the slime is a common problem. Nowhere is this made clear and I will write a snotty letter to BMW GB.

 

What did the technician who did the home visit actually do? Just remove the slime from the jets, or did they clean out the system? Sounds like it wasn't cleared properly in the first place.

 

The issue appears regularly on various BMW forums, with the problem showing itself in a few ways…dependent on car model and design of reservoir, pumps, filters, lines and jets…so it can be tricky. My own experience was on my M3 where it was the headlight jets that emerge/retract on use. Despite removing (try doing that on your own!) and cleaning them I needed up replacing them.

I’m unsure if there is a single known cause, but one theme that crops up regularly is that any wash fluids with silicone additives may be an issue, so avoid that.

One point that needs to be kept in mind, is that dealer strip down can involve a fair bit of time as it may be necessary to remove a wheel, arch liner etc etc just to get at some of the components…model dependent.

I ended up ditching my stock of other products and now use genuine wash fluid only, the trick is to time buying it before they hike the prices for winter.

All that said, I suspect there’s an element of luck involved too…

 

Dead easy to clean out the system and there is a post on here somewhere explaining how to do it with photos. As said previously remove the off side wheel, arch liner and ease the resevoir from under the wing. Give everything a good clean out and Robert’s your mothers brother.

My local garage charged my sons partner for 30 minutes work when the cleaned hers out. I did mine myself and took about an hour or so.