Recently bought a used Montana, and have found that the rear window washer seems to be just about useless. There's absolutely no spraying of water, rather, it just kinda trickles feebly down onto the glass, where it is immediately swept off by the wiper. No water ever gets a chance to get down to the lower reaches of the window, so cleaning is patchy at best. I asked the service dept. at my local dealership and was told this is pretty much par for the course with these minivans. Would like to hear from other owners if their rear washers work this badly, so I know if I should go back to the dealership and demand they do some warranty work on it. TIA
Rear washer on GM Minivans
Feb 09, 2004
13 Replies
Same poor performance here on my Montana and same poor performance on my friend Venture.
Its a poor design and as far as I know we have to live with it...we can always fill a complaint since that can be seen as a safety defect, geez we have to see through those window !!
Try blasting out the wahser hose with compressed air. There may be blockage somewhere in the line or in the washer pump. Is there any sediment in the washer bottle ? Check to see that your spray nozzle isn't damaged or cracked.
I've been behind vans in traffic that turn on the rear washer and it seemed to flood the window, tailgate & bumper pretty good.
If the washer pump is under the hood remember it has about 10 feet ( or more ) of hose to pump the washer fluid through till it hits the back window.
Good Luck.
========= Harryface =========
1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~276,459 miles_~_~_ ~_~_
Same on my wife's Pontiac Vibe (which is mostly a Toyota), and it's short compared to the vans. Maybe they're using Montana nozzles from the GM Corporate parts bin.......
No problem on my 1997 Grand Caravan. ;-)
Sorry Harry but nothing wrong with the hose. The problem is the way they designed the nozzle.You get plenty of fluid but the pattern is almost away from the wiper blade. You probably get fluid on less then half of the upper portion of the blade.
James , don't get me started ;-)))
You may have to "bite the bullet" and buy a new wiper blade arm from GM Dealer parts counter.
Rick
Could a creative person change the positioning of the spray nozzle, Tilt it ? Shim it, put a different manufacturers brand on it?
Does it spray up from the bottom or down from the top of the window?
========= Harryface =========
1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6 _~_~_~_~276,459 miles_~_~_ ~_~_
Spray from the top right . When you have a chance look at one in a P.lot
Maybe, changing the nozzle will do. That was in my plan for the spring time. The main point is I wonder how GM tested that washer when they designed the van.....
Honda, changing the blade will be no good. The blade will hit the top of the window frame
Find a nozzle from a Chevy Full size Van, the ones mounted on the wiper arm itself. That way the juice will spray right in front of the blade.
Or, just remember the first rule of italian motorsports:
What's behind you is unimportant!
Wir welle bleiwe wat mir sin (Letzebuergesch)
Hey Hey , yup its cheaper that way, and a lot more fun !
:-) Could be just a problem with flow rate, to be honest. Since the nozzle on all minivans can't be placed away from the window, all of them (that I've seen) only really hit the top 1/3 or so of the glass with the spray. But with enough flow it will run down the glass fairly quickly (between wiper passes).
Oh thats what they put the side mirrors on it for, the one inside is for mom to watch the kids fight in the back seat, and do her face. You got to understand how these vans work LOL!
Now when you get to the Mall you train the kids to throw Snow on the back hatch to keep the heavy mud from falling down on you when you open it later......its all part of the family experience..he, he..
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