Screenwash?

[dreamcracker]

I have more than one car, so when the screenwash is empty I swap cars.

I use Bluecol which is good to -36°C when I do top up.

[rainmakerraw]

ericmcn said:

anyone who spends 20 quid on 5L of screenwash needs their head checked tbh, I usually use prestone from costco

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1812653922

Yeah but Prestone's strongest stuff costs £13 for 10L and protects to -23 (total cost £1.30/litre). Any Costco I've visited the last couple of years (which is a fair few, I'm a member too) only sells their lesser stuff now, but regardless...

BMW 5L costs £15.50 from a dealer and protects to -62. Following the directions, diluted by 1:1 it makes 10L and still protects down to -23 exactly like Prestone (total cost £1.55/litre). Not exactly a stellar difference, especially once you actually go to 2:1 for -12 which is good enough for the UK and it's down to £1.04 a litre. At that price who cares? It's as cheap as anything in the shop.

[Mr Tidy]

rainmakerraw said:

ericmcn said:

anyone who spends 20 quid on 5L of screenwash needs their head checked tbh, I usually use prestone from costco

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1812653922

Yeah but Prestone's strongest stuff costs £13 for 10L and protects to -23 (total cost £1.30/litre). Any Costco I've visited the last couple of years (which is a fair few, I'm a member too) only sells their lesser stuff now, but regardless...

BMW 5L costs £15.50 from a dealer and protects to -62. Following the directions, diluted by 1:1 it makes 10L and still protects down to -23 exactly like Prestone (total cost £1.55/litre). Not exactly a stellar difference, especially once you actually go to 2:1 for -12 which is good enough for the UK and it's down to £1.04 a litre. At that price who cares? It's as cheap as anything in the shop.

That makes total sense to me, but ericmcn won't agree unless there is some sort of Subaru benefit - like £570 a year road tax for a 230ish bhp Legacy!

[anonymous-user]

So BMW actually specify it in the manual. I thought they just say say don't mix, so you could flush it out and use anything else, but it is a big money spinner.

[Pica-Pica]

Thesprucegoose said:

So BMW actually specify it in the manual. I thought they just say say don't mix, so you could flush it out and use anything else, but it is a big money spinner.

As people have already noted, it is not that expensive, hardly a money-spinner, and together with the fan nozzles, does a good job of cleaning.

[paultownsend]

I still feel the VW stuff is the best. I have just looked at the bottle and 200ml does a near 5L and it has never frozen on me. That’s a quid per 5L fill. Happy with that as it really does work well.

The V40 gets through the stuff though. Six jets on the screen and headlight washes. I don’t know why they don’t go with a mist fan like VW.

[Mort7]

I used to use the pink Autoglym concentrate, but often found solid flakey bits in the filler mesh filter. I now use the Prestone blue concentrate from Costco. It seems to clean the screen more effectively, doesn't leave any residue, and is a quarter of the price (less when on offer). Recommended.

[pomodori]

I have a little bit left of Saab screenwash,must be 25 years old.
Not turned to mush,it's good stuff.
I doubt it's available anymore.

[bozonoz]

Shocked at the amounts people say they're spending on screenwash on here!

£2.99 B&M homestore, RAC 5L screenwash, resists freezing down to -5C
£2.00 Wilko 5L ready mix
£3.00 Wilko 2.5L extra strength, resists freezing down to -22C !!!

Or the TripleQX stuff from EuroCarParts, one of them goes down to -15C, can get it for cheap when they have a promo code on (which is always)

Whenever I get a new car I use up whatever is left from the previous owner, flush the tank out with a hose, use up the water that's been introduced and then run it on one of the above. No clogging!

Edit: btw the only issue I've had which made me pay attention to screenwash is with freezing, not jelly, I had to replace a damaged pump after I tried to use it when it only had water in and had frozen.

Edited by bozonoz on Friday 17th January 23:35

[Uncle John]

This thread encapsulates all that is wrong with the modern world.

Critiquing screenwash......

Flushing the tank FFS, it’s not the 1940’s.

Just put in some screen wash for God’s sake.

Edited by Uncle John on Friday 17th January 22:02

[Last Visit]

Screen wash sommelier....

[ninepoint2]

Aldi £1.99 for 5L

[FreeLitres]

Never heard this thing about screen wash turning to jelly! I'm surprised we don't hear more about it considering the 99% of drivers who do not always use OEM screen wash.

[Mort7]

Uncle John said:

This thread encapsulates all that is wrong with the modern world.

Critiquing screenwash......

Flushing the tank FFS, it’s not the 1940’s.

Just put in some screen wash for God’s sake.

Edited by Uncle John on Friday 17th January 22:02

Yeah but, no but....

Not all screen washes are equal. Some are little more than coloured water with alcohol added. Personal experience helps identify what's good and what's bad. Helpful to pass that on, surely?

Flushing the tank is sensible if the screenwash which is currently in there is prone to to clogging, and some screen washes may not mix well.

Of course there's always Fairy Liquid and meths.......

[bozonoz]

I have just bought a 5L screenwash from Aldi for £1.99, claims to go down to -5C.

[DoubleD]

Uncle John said:

This thread encapsulates all that is wrong with the modern world.

Critiquing screenwash......

Flushing the tank FFS, it’s not the 1940’s.

Just put in some screen wash for God’s sake.

Edited by Uncle John on Friday 17th January 22:02

Yep, i just buy from Halfords or a supermarket. Ive never flushed anything out or had any issues in any cars that I have had, that includes BMW. I just pour it in and worry about something else.

[Cyder]

Uncle John said:

This thread encapsulates all that is wrong with the modern world.

Critiquing screenwash......

Flushing the tank FFS, it’s not the 1940’s.

Just put in some screen wash for God’s sake.

Edited by Uncle John on Friday 17th January 22:02

And poster who designed the systems for an OEM for a living gives advice and gets ignored. Funny this place innit?

[E-bmw]

bozonoz said:

I have just bought a 5L screenwash from Aldi for £1.99, claims to go down to -5C.

Unfortunately -5C is no use to you with 70 mph worth of wind-chill across the nozzles lowering the temperature.

[rainmakerraw]

E-bmw said:

Unfortunately -5C is no use to you with 70 mph worth of wind-chill across the nozzles lowering the temperature.

Wind chill is something that makes a human feel colder because we're internally heated. It's a formula that works out how much colder it'll make our skin feel based on the interaction between wind and cooling of our skin. It won't be bothering your car per se, and in any case would only help bring down the temperature to the actual ambient temp quicker, it wouldn't make it lower. In other words, if it's not below -5 outside, the wind won't suddenly make it so.

[Chris32345]

E-bmw said:

Unfortunately -5C is no use to you with 70 mph worth of wind-chill across the nozzles lowering the temperature.

And with a big heat source on the other side Heating it the fluid and large parts of the lines up
Unless you have an ev ofc