Zavato

I popped the hood of my car and saw I was quite low on windshield washer fluid (all other fluids were good, including blinker fluid). I know I have some MB washer fluid concentrate somewhere but i was near the garage, and that bottle of blue washer fluid from AutoZone looked so sad and lonely. So I poured it in and topped off the reservoir with the AutoZone fluid.

I've driven the car since.The car has not imploded, the wheels did not fall off, and the windshield is clean. I fear that I may have upset the equilibrium of the universe, and any possible parallel universes as well (not that that's not occurred already-Spock with a beard??)

Please, motoring comrades, wish me luck as I drive on the wild side

beejAMG

Whats a blinker fluid?

Zavato

go to You Tube and you will see

KEY08

I only use the blue generic fluid. What's the big deal?

blegthbloo

I use Rain-X all-season bug wash... it becomes necessary, especially this time of year. And since the intermittent wipers somewhat annoy me with their erratic nature, not having to use them in the rain helps tremendously for my sanity.

edit: Although when I tell MB not to fill up my washer fluid and make them write it on the service notes, they do it anyway. Then I get high on the fumes of whatever hard liquor they put in there for me (usually smells like vodka). No officer, I have not been drinking...

beejAMG

Im trying to see the funny side of this post. Thank God you didnt post this on the C63 section or youll be burned.

aquinob

From a guy that does his own B service, including the brake bleeds, welcome to my world. These are fancy cars, but they are still cars and even normal humans can do the service on them if they are reasonably competent.

The G Man

That's all I use, the blue stuff. The dealer tells me not to use the pink or yellow stuff or else run the risk of damaging the washer reservoir's level sensor.

Egonvdv

I think the only thing you might damage is the dealer's profit...

fosterelli

We make our windshield fluid - because we sell it. RO DI water, methanol, and a couple drops of blue dye. That's the normal formula for the industry. You vary the methanol % depending on your desired temp protection. Otherwise it is primarily water. We usually make 0F even though we're in Houston (a lot of people make +20F here)...but we figure people go on road trips and vacations - and we'd hate to have them freeze their fluids.

Anyway, we use our fluid in a wide range of vehicles, including our 2016 Escalade, 2014 E350, 2014 Q5, etc...never any issues.

The G Man

Why would the dealer care if I buy the blue windshield washer fluid from my local store instead of the rainx windshield fluid from say Walmart? The dealer said they have replace quite a few washer fluid sensor due to owners using fluids with high alcohol content. supposedly, its not covered under warranty.

insame1

the dealer also told me i had life time transmission fluid.

The G Man

Mercedes recommends that you change your transmission fluid every 4 years.


There is a class action law suit against Rain-X for damage sensors, you are welcome to take a chance on your Mercedes, but personally, I will stick to the blue stuff.


http://www.girardgibbs.com/rain-x-se...investigation/

thefisch

Personally I would not write online about how I changed my own washer fluid and risk voiding my warranty if they read this. Next thing you'll be admitting it to your service advisor and just wait and see what happens then. Then you'll find yourself pulled off your plane trying to leave Brazil and remember how it all started here.

KEY08

This whole episode is probably fabricated to get as much social media attention as possible. Personally, I only use my wiper fluid when the windshield is so full of bird do and insect carcasses that you need to scrape it with a putty knife.

The G Man

Unless the perpetrator held him at gun point and force him to put the Rain-X fluid in

looney100

+1

We have two Benzes, and have never paid the dealership for service. The only time the cars go to the dealership is for warranty work.

looney100

That blinker fluid video is hilarious!

cx876

I have been using the Rain-X bug remover on ALL my vehicle, my former 06 SLK280, my 11 E350,
and also my family's old 95 Honda Accord V6, 09 Honda CR-V, 12 VW Tiguan.... and the list goes on

I don't know you have to use some special fluid on the Benz ?

Zavato

the W212's owners manual does specify an MB washer fluid- one for winter and one for summer

SafariDan

just filled up my 2010 E350 with Rain-X from Costco... I, too, like to live dangerously!

The G Man

I would stay away from silicone based washer fluids.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...d-problem.html

SafariDan

The consensus there is that there is no consensus. Someone reported using it since 2009 without issue, and the others reported issues with other brands of vehicles - so far, have not seen more than 1 or 2 reports of people with W212 having any issue whatsoever. I'll certainly update if I encounter any problems...

ghlkal

Good post

blegthbloo

I've used Rain-X on all of my cars since I started driving with no issues. I got a crack in my windshield from a rock on the highway, but no issues from the wiper fluid. My cars have also not imploded, and I've had 2 MB's so far.