Windshied Washer Fluid Disappeared??

[SP543]

In the past 2 days I drove 2,000 miles, AWD tahoe ran great the entire time through some nasty weather as well, averaged 16.2 mpg at 70-80mph most of the time. Decent for an AWD tahoe I guess. When I was refueling about 1700 miles in to the trip, I heard the sound of fluids draining. I looked under the car and there was, what I thought at the time , coolant puking from beneath the motor. About had a heart attack considering I was in the middle of nowhere. I opened up the hood and there was still coolant in the reservoir, somewhat of a relief. The fluid was sizzling on the engine block so then it dawned on me that it could not be coolant, checked the washer fluid reservoir and was completely empty. Has anyone had this issue? The fluid seems to be on the passenger side of the motor area, looked like a washer fluid hose let go somewhere near the water pump as thats where the majority of it seemed to be (and no, not coolant leaking). Where are these hose routed through the engine bay? Need to get this fixed as I am in a snowy area and highway driving is dangerous if I can't clean the road scum off my windows.

Also, it was single digit temps so fluid may have froze and ruptured a line. Will take a better look tomorrow, but would like to know how the hoses are routed to make it easier.
Thanks

 

[Wake]

I thought the fluid reservoir was on the driver side, might be wrong though. Did you look at the hose where it attaches to the wiper arm? It seems to be a mild stress point that would move/pull when you open the hood. Outside of that I'm thinking that frozen fluid ruptured a rigid plastic line somewhere. If the fluid sprayed out it might shoot the fluid far away from where the actual leak/break is.

Anyway, I've discovered recently that some of those cheap fluid deals you find at Walmart and the part stores aren't rated for freezing like they claim.

My STS has a broken reservoir from when the fluid that was rated to -20F froze into a block. I started buying the Peak brand that cost a little more and haven't had anymore fluid that froze up. I'm not looking forward to tearing the bumper cover off to replace that bottle.

Interesting item to note. I don't think the full size SUVs have any provision for heating the washer fluid. My 02 Trailblazer had the washer fluid bottle interleaved with the coolant reservoir. Nice warm fluid as soon as the truck warmed up.

 

[SLCHOE]

In the past 2 days I drove 2,000 miles, AWD tahoe ran great the entire time through some nasty weather as well, averaged 16.2 mpg at 70-80mph most of the time. Decent for an AWD tahoe I guess. When I was refueling about 1700 miles in to the trip, I heard the sound of fluids draining. I looked under the car and there was, what I thought at the time , coolant puking from beneath the motor. About had a heart attack considering I was in the middle of nowhere. I opened up the hood and there was still coolant in the reservoir, somewhat of a relief. The fluid was sizzling on the engine block so then it dawned on me that it could not be coolant, checked the washer fluid reservoir and was completely empty. Has anyone had this issue? The fluid seems to be on the passenger side of the motor area, looked like a washer fluid hose let go somewhere near the water pump as thats where the majority of it seemed to be (and no, not coolant leaking). Where are these hose routed through the engine bay? Need to get this fixed as I am in a snowy area and highway driving is dangerous if I can't clean the road scum off my windows.

Also, it was single digit temps so fluid may have froze and ruptured a line. Will take a better look tomorrow, but would like to know how the hoses are routed to make it easier.
Thanks

Get your cooling system checked asap. There ARE NO WASHER LINES NEAR THE WATER PUMP! Pressure test the cooling system.

 

[SP543]

Get your cooling system checked asap. There ARE NO WASHER LINES NEAR THE WATER PUMP! Pressure test the cooling system.

Thats what i was afraid of at first, but I went from a full windshield washer fluid reservoir to a bone dry one so I know where the fluid originated. There was a lot of fluid on the ground and in the engine bay and I had a full coolant reservoir, thankfully. Coolant levels and temp were monitored very closely for the last 3 hours of my trip and no issues, ran great. Once it warms up Im going to run some water through the washer fluid system and will hopefully find the leak. I'm guessing its a ruptured line that must have sprayed it everywhere.

 

[OHSIXX]

Your washer fluid reservoir might have cracked and while driving could have gotten things wet on that side of the engine bay.....

 

[JochenWoern]

Your washer fluid reservoir might have cracked and while driving could have gotten things wet on that side of the engine bay.....

I had a similar issue and for me the issue was a bad washer fluid pump.

At first I thought the leak was coming from the tank, but after replacing it with a brand new one, the leak was still there. Investigated further and found one of the pumps leaking, but was not able to narrow down which it was and since they were both original, decided to change both pumps as I was already working in there. (There are two pumps, one for the front, the other for the rear).
Two new pumps stopped my washer reservoir from leaking.

Washer fluid reservoir is on the drivers side underneath the battery/battery tray. You will have to remove both battery and tray in order to have good acces to the reservoir and pumps.

Hope this helps.

 

[clandr1]

I had a similar issue and for me the issue was a bad washer fluid pump.

At first I thought the leak was coming from the tank, but after replacing it with a brand new one, the leak was still there. Investigated further and found one of the pumps leaking, but was not able to narrow down which it was and since they were both original, decided to change both pumps as I was already working in there. (There are two pumps, one for the front, the other for the rear).
Two new pumps stopped my washer reservoir from leaking.

Washer fluid reservoir is on the drivers side underneath the battery/battery tray. You will have to remove both battery and tray in order to have good acces to the reservoir and pumps.

Hope this helps.

+1, this happened to me about two years ago (windshield washer pump housing cracked, letting all my washer fluid leak out). Took me about two hours and about $35 for a new pump from the dealer.

 

[SP543]

Reservoir and pump are good, a hose that runs along the base of the windshield under a plastic cover is leaking towards the passenger side and emitting fluid into the passenger side engine bay. Unfortunately the plastic piece is held on by a bunch of fragile plastic clips so I am waiting for a warm day to remove it so I don't snap them all in the cold.

 

[605Jake123]

Not sure if it's the same issue, I've had it before where the washer fluid in the lines turns into ice in the winter. The ice can't make the turns so there are usually weak points in the lines that go. The place I get my oil changed always tells me to make sure I put new washer fluid in my truck before winter. They guy says that the anti-freezing part of washer fluid is just alcohol mixed in with the solution and it can evaporate over time so using it up and filling with fresh fluid before winter should keep it from freezing. Again not sure if it's the same issue but figured I would add my experience. Good luck, hope it isn't anything too bad.