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Windshield washer fluid in my coolant :|

11K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  Mazda3Mike 
#1 ·
My girlfriend went to fill up the windshield washer fluid and she freaking poured some into the engine cooler compartment. :(
I was pissed off… but will this harm the coolant, engin or should it dilute … should I be worried ? The car only has 1700km on it..
What should I do ?
 
#2 ·
Giver her a kiss and tell her it's OK; washer fluid is mostly water, and a little alcohol.  You should be fine since your antifreeze is at least half - you guessed it - water.  She couldn't have put that much in there.  Worst case, you could do a drain and refill of the coolant, which will take you maybe 30 minutes.

You could get a coolant tester and see to what temperature this new mix will protect the car.  That is a worthwhile investment regardless, and it will help you decide whether to do the coolant change.

Then take a moment to show her what goes where.  In your car, that is.  Anything else is your business.

BTW, Welcome to the forums!
 
#4 ·
[quote author=DaveCombs link=topic=35998.msg516520#msg516520 date=1135060745]
Then take a moment to show her what goes where. In your car, that is. Anything else is your business.
[/quote]

:lol: :lmao:

I agree with him, most likely it won't do anything. Like mamzh said though you don't want to do it the other way around.
 
#7 ·
Winshield wiper fluid will in no way harm your coolant. Let me explain.

First off, someone up top said that it's mostly water. This is true. There is a small amount of alcohol in it, but not enough to cause any real harm. Not to mention the fact that in high boost turbo cars, they use alcohol to spray on the intercooler to get additional cooling going on. In most cases they use windshield wiper fluid because it's the perfect dilution of water/alky to make it work right.

Plus what do you think many water cooled Pc's use? It isn't Preston I'll tell you that. I wouldn't worry about it, just keep the GF away from the car.
 
#10 ·
[quote author=mamzh link=topic=35998.msg516555#msg516555 date=1135067450]
I filled the coolant into windshield washer tank before. After a while, the windshield washer didn't work.
[/quote]

??? I hope you also realize that antifreeze (and brake fluid) can damage your car's painted surfaces...

For your car's sake I sure hope you didn't spray very much coolant through your car's windshield washers before they stopped working! :(

It would be far less damaging to put windshield washer fluid in the coolant reservoir than it would be to put coolant in the windshield washer reservoir.

Here's another story that shows it may not be a good idea to ask your girlfriend (or anyone who's inexperienced) to work on your car:

A few years ago before they were married my sister-in-law (Leslie) and (now) brother-in-law (Paul) were visiting my wife and I. While they were there, before heading back to school Paul asked Leslie to drain the engine oil from his Mitsubishi while he studied for an exam. After Leslie had drained the oil she (or Paul) poured 4 or 5 quarts of motor oil back into the engine. Afterwards, when Paul took the car out for a test drive as he returned I immediately noticed it was smoking heavily.

So what happened?? As it turns out Leslie had drained the oil from the transmission (instead of from the engine) so during the test drive the car had no oil in the transmission and WAY too much motor oil in the engine! Needless to say, the poor Mistubishi was not happy... 
 
#12 ·
This reminds me of the girl that was charged for having her "blinker fluid" replaced.

There was a guy on the radio playing a prank on a female car owner, and he went so far as to tell her that her tires were inside-out and needed to be flipped. She told him to just do whatever needed to be done.

Silly girls.

:rofl:

Sometimes guys are even more ignorant. Just today I was getting a ride at lunch in a coworker's Prius (I know, I feel dirty), and being naturally curious I started asking him about the hybrid system and at what RPM the petrol engine kicks in. He replied "there's a $3,000 computer in there that says I don't need to worry about it" :lmao:
 
#13 ·
[quote author=mamzh link=topic=35998.msg516555#msg516555 date=1135067450]
I filled the coolant into windshield washer tank before. After a while, the windshield washer didn't work.
[/quote]'


ditto.....i currently have coolant in my washer fluid tank on my other car.....although fortunatly the washer pump is broken, so it doesn't even work...
 
#14 ·
Dream: You have by now taken a moment to familiarize your significant other with the engine bay, haven't you? It's a win-win: Quality time with her, QT with your car, she sees that you care enough to show her what's what, and if you're a really cool guy you could do the same on her car. She's empowered to do this stuff on her own, and you don't get a desperate phone call from her saying "I put the ___ in the ___ by mistake and now my car won't go - Can you come get me?"

Be the hero. Then get the reward. :goodjob:
 
#15 ·
[quote author=NocaB link=topic=35998.msg516666#msg516666 date=1135087655]
We have way too many posts like this :lol: My girlfriend/wife/sister put something somewhere it doesnt go.
[/quote]

HAHAHA! It's true. Fortunately most women don't care about cars unless they are expensive (then they want the status), or if it's broken (they want someone to fix it ASAP). Thankfully I fit into none of the above categories. I guess I should thank my dad for giving me the car "genes."
 
#17 ·
[quote author=NocaB link=topic=35998.msg516666#msg516666 date=1135087655]
We have way too many posts like this :lol:  My girlfriend/wife/sister put something somewhere it doesnt go.
[/quote]

That can be construed in oh so many ways!

[quote author=DaveCombs link=topic=35998.msg519002#msg519002 date=1135240380]
Dream: You have by now taken a moment to familiarize your significant other with the engine bay, haven't you? It's a win-win: Quality time with her, QT with your car, she sees that you care enough to show her what's what, and if you're a really cool guy you could do the same on her car. She's empowered to do this stuff on her own, and you don't get a desperate phone call from her saying "I put the ___ in the ___ by mistake and now my car won't go - Can you come get me?"

Be the hero. Then get the reward. :goodjob:
[/quote]

Knowing is half the battle! GI JOE!
 
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