Incomprehensible instructions???

[Frank Stacey]

Had my car in for its second service recently. Typically, they refilled the windscreen washer tank and charged me for a litre of washer antifreeze concentrate. Being an honest bunch they only used half a litre so left me the rest! I got home and came to put this container away to discover that exactly the same thing had happened a year or two ago at my car's first service. I'll be ready for them on the next service!

All that is background to my problem. The washer bottle tells me its contents are concentrate. So what dilution should be used? The label has a diagram which I am totally unable to decipher. Here is a photograph:-

's it telling me please?

TIA Frank Stacey

[Geoff Pearson]

The left hand one says use neat at -70 deg. The right hand one says dilute

4 parts water to one part concentrate if sunny and warm. The other are intermediate stages. The water drop shape is one litre of water.

[MuddyMike]

Simple its telling you to use it neat at -70.two parts concentrate to one part water at -40, Equal quantities at -35, Two parts water to one concentrate at -16. Need I go on?

Mike

[Vass]

Had my car in for its second service recently. Typically, they refilled the windscreen washer tank and charged me for a litre of washer antifreeze concentrate. Being an honest bunch they only used half a litre so left me the rest! I got home and came to put this container away to discover that exactly the same thing had happened a year or two ago at my car's first service. I'll be ready for them on the next service!

Heh, my favourite "catch em out" every time

I fill the bottle to the top, then await the invoice, then ask how they managed to fit the fluid in a full bottle and request they re-print the invoice omitting this item Every time this has happened, Audi, Porsche, Land Rover, BMW, VW, Peugeot

Dodgy the lot of em!

[Bob Minchin]

Is the OP sure that he should be on the road???

Still I suppose it fits with someone who takes his car of a service without first filling the washer so that the dealer can't rip him off for a refill.

[Jules Richardson]

Drinking washer fluid on hot sunny days gives you four nosebleeds.

(the correct answer had been taken ;)

[djc]

-70C Do not dilute

-40C 2 parts washer concentrate to 1 part water (2:1)

-35C 1:1

-16C 1:2 Not freezing: 1:4

[Alan]

Or in the real world pour in a litre bottle of washer concentrate and top up with water until the washer reservoir is full.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Not very obvious is it :-?

The bottle on the left represents the quantity of concentrate. The tear drop represents the the same quantity of water. The far right one is one measure of concentrate to four measures of water. -40 is two measures of concentrate to one measure of water. Use whatever is appropriate as the actual measure, so long as the same is used for both.

[Andy Burns]

Or just follow what the garage has apparently done the last two times ... bung half a bottle in!

[ARWadsworth]

Car dealer + service = ?

[Ret.]

On one occasion when I did just that, the invoice for the service still had a charge for topping up the washer bottle. When I complained about this they stated that they didn't know whether the bottle just had water in it so they had drawn off some and refilled it with concentrate... Yeahh...

The only time I have my car serviced at a garage is when it is still under warranty. Invariably and inevitably there is something to complain about following the service.

Every single survey done into garage servicing shows abysmal standards across the board. The only way to guarantee the job is done properly is to do it yourself.

[Frank Stacey]

Thanks for the explanation. OK it's pretty obvious "when you see it".

[Mr. Benn]

I just accept that I'm going to have to pay for it regardless of whether the fluid needs topping up. If they don't charge me for that, they'll just add it onto something else.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

On what turned out to be my last visit to a BMW main dealer for an oil service - the cheapest one - they decided to change the cabin pollen filters. They were neither scheduled to be changed or needed doing. They are very easy to get at and I give them a hoover out every once in a while, but in any case had been changed according to the service schedule. Extra charge over the basic service near 100 quid. They - as part of the service costs - had picked up and returned the car from my work, so I couldn't query it at the time, as I would have done if picking up the car.

But did the next day. Got a rant from the service supervisor about people asking for things to be done on the phone then denying they'd done so. I hadn't contacted them and asked for this - why would I? The best they would offer was I return the car and they'd put the old ones back in. They carefully store old filters just in case this is needed? I think not. And I wasn't going to have any old rubbish in the air feed to the cabin. There could be anything on ones removed from a dustbin.

Wrote to their head office and BMW UK. Got nowhere. So will never use a BMW main dealer again.

[Tim Lamb]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

I blame the office computer....

My wife attempted to drive into a service road protected by a steel bollard! OK it was raining and, up until recently, you could turn in as she did.

There was significant frontal damage to our Ford Focus and the bollard lost a bit of paint. The nominated repair specialists put it back together and sent me a long itemised bill including an amount for re-charging the air con. The thing is.... although air con. was standard on that model, I had specifically excluded it when ordering the vehicle.

Computers:-)

regards

[Mark]

Mine doesn't charge me for this but does add about £20 for oil and fuel additives. I always moan about it but forget to tell them not to add these when the next service comes up.

The manufacturers really don't want you to do this. They include many computers for which you need special equipment to check. You can't repair them anyway. My car even needs a special tool to change the brake pads!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Computers can be repaired. There are specialists who offer this service. But they don't fail as often as some suppose. The sensors gathering the information to feed them are far more likely to do so. And can be diagnosed by the symptoms of the fault without any special equipment. So saying, code readers can be bought - and the price is dropping.

Most cars require a tool of some sort to reset the pistons. My first car with rear discs was a Rover built some 40 years ago. That too required a special tool. In theory. But you can usually find something else that can do it. However, given the cost of having new pads fitted,it can make sense to buy the special tool.

Basically, where there's a will there's a way.

[Mark]

Not DIY.

Very difficult to diagnose without special kit.

Indeed.

I've never before needed a special tool to do this. Pushing the pistons back in using common[1] tools was quite feasible. My Audi needs a tool that turns and compresses the pistons at the same time.

The tool costs around £90.

When there's a tool there's a way.

[1] i.e. Tools you already have.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've repaired several. Car ECUs. The most common faults are the usual soldering problems and the ignition and injector drivers. Not the actual processor which could prove difficult to replace.

Depends on your skills and knowledge. Like any diagnostics. The big snag these days is car 'mechanics' have come to rely totally on diagnostic equipment. And it doesn't always tell the full story.

20 quid from Ebay. But even at 90, you'd soon save the cost.

What tools you already have may be different from others. Some pistons could be pushed back with a screwdriver.