windshield fluid freezes
 

I was driving my 2013 A4 in Canada at about -20C (-5F) and my windshield fluid spray wasn't working. I thought I might ran out of fluid so i topped it off with the fluid rated to -40C (-40F). It was still not spraying although i could clearly hear the pump running when i pulled the lever.
As we came back to NY and temperature outside got up to 30F it started working again. A few days later, after being parked in 14F weather, the same thing - no spray!!
Has anybody experienced the same thing? Is it a design flaw? (I hope not)

When you topped off the fluid you woud have still had some of the other fluid in there. That fluid would still freeze up if cold enough.

thanks, that is certainly a possibility, although i think the initial fluid should have been all used up by now, since I had to put 3/4 of a gallon in to top it off.

Yeah, that is a lot. Although I do not think the different fluids "mix" well when put together. Hopefully you are getting all the old fluid out of the system (either that or it warms up soon).

As others have said make sure you have the winter mix of washer fluid. It's rated for colder temps.

I had the same thing happen with my car, has the warmer temp mix of fluid in still and the temp dropped suddenly which caused all the lines to freeze up.

Leaving the vehicle in a heated garage for a day or so allowed it to thaw out and I was able to to drain the fluid and add the winter mix.

Good luck!

Jason

Had the same issue once on a Work vehicle. Previous driver put in 'cheap' stuff (non-winter), it all froze...I warmed it up with a hair dryer, sprayed it for a LONG time...put in new WINTER stuff, next day, driving down the road in 10 degrees, it froze AGAIN....I'm confident they do NOT mix at all....

You could pull the hose from the reservoir if your confident about it and let it drain completely, then spray till it's empty (assuming it's warm enough), that would probably do the trick. Which is what I do now...