Heated Washer Fluid(Dragons Den Pitch)

[MGCM]

somebody pls tell me the auto industry didnt miss this.........if so and this guy gets his patents to hold true he will be a millionair overnight.

As for the theory of the idea, what does beyond think? possible? Or likely to fail because of "blank"?

http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/m/pitches/hot-n-clean

http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/m/episodes/season-8/episode-10-season-8

[snowcat]

Didn't Canadian tire have this then pulled it because of problems?

[sr20s14zenki]

Yah, im assuming cracked windshields. Hot fluid hitting a cold ass window? hmmm...

[Mista Bob]

Some vehicles have already had heated wiper fluid before, then they removed it for warranty reasons or something rather.

[sr20s14zenki]

Originally posted by Mista Bob
Some vehicles have already had heated wiper fluid before, then they removed it for warranty reasons or something rather. Gm had it, and their control boxes were lighting on fire. Apparently the company that was doing the systems was the only one around at the time, and they went tits up, so gm removed the units.

One would think that in our climate, even room temperature fluid hitting a -30+ window would crack it, no?

[Zhariak]

I had heated windshield fluid on my 2008 Escalade.

It was the best feature ever, never caused any issues with my windshield.

Ultimately it was removed due to a recall for safety reasons. Here in Canada, most people only used it to remove Ice, etc... However I think there was a bunch of guys in the U.S. that used it to remove tree sap during the summer. Using it in extreme heat is what caused the fires I think.

After it was removed, there was an aftermarket plug and play module that you could put in it's place (but I never bothered).

People would always stare whenever I was at a red light and turned the system on, it would shoot HUGE plumes of steam out of the windshield wipers as it heat up haha.

[lilmira]

I think my GTI has it but it's probably not steaming hot.

Nvm, the nozzles are heated.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Many GM trucks had it from 2007 onwards but as stated above there were fires and there was a product safety recall to remove them.

[94boosted]

Pretty sure Mercedes has heated washer fluid but not heated electronically it's heated via a loop of pipe which runs from the engine to the radiator. It uses the same pipes as the internal heater.

It does a kick ass job of getting ice and slush off the windshield and rear window.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by sr20s14zenki
Yah, im assuming cracked windshields. Hot fluid hitting a cold ass window? hmmm...

The temperature of the water is set by a thermal sensor. Which means, it can be set to coincide with outside temps. In -30 weather, 1 degree washer fluid will not crack the windshield. The temp of the washer fluid would change accordingly.

I watched the pitch on Dragon's Den the other night. Very cool idea.

The GM version was electric, hence the fire problems.

Love that show. Much more than the US version Shark tank.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by snowcat
Didn't Canadian tire have this then pulled it because of problems?

A co-worker bought one, and it cracked the shit out of his windshield, lol. We all told him it would, but he didn't believe us.

It's a little overkill IMO. Heated nozzles, and electric heated windshield where the wipers rest is all you need.

[benyl]

Originally posted by 94boosted
Pretty sure Mercedes has heated washer fluid but not heated electronically it's heated via a loop of pipe which runs from the engine to the radiator. It uses the same pipes as the internal heater.

It does a kick ass job of getting ice and slush off the windshield and rear window.

Even the base C250 has heated windshield washer fluid.

[JustinMCS]

my 3 series has heated nozzle jets too. this guy obviously has not checked out higher end cars apart from domestics. many brands also have electrically heated winshields, jags, range rovers, mini, etc.

[Zhariak]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


A co-worker bought one, and it cracked the shit out of his windshield, lol. We all told him it would, but he didn't believe us.

It's a little overkill IMO. Heated nozzles, and electric heated windshield where the wipers rest is all you need.

I donno man.... That feature was the beez kneez for me when I had it... -35 outside, with a layer of ice, it would ALL be removed within seconds. It was EPIC! hahaha

[MGCM]

Originally posted by JustinMCS
my 3 series has heated nozzle jets too. this guy obviously has not checked out higher end cars apart from domestics. many brands also have electrically heated winshields, jags, range rovers, mini, etc.

$10 unit vs $1000 windshields and probably $500 heated washer nozzles.........I'll pay $10 me thinks

[mdeleon]

What about heated wiper blades, to melt the frozen ice off of it and prevent anything from freezing onto it while driving.

[ROBOCOP]

This guy's a joke. Like someone already said, Mercedes already had the coolant heated washer fluid in the 90's and BMWs have heated washer nozzles. My Subaru and Lexus have defroster lines just beneath the wiper blades to defrost the wipers and windshield. I'm laughing at this guy right now LOL. Also warm washer fluid on a cold windshield is not the reason why they crack and neither is putting the front defrost on in the cold. The reason why they crack is you already have a chip in the windshield and the expanding air pocket in the chip spreads a the crack. A perfectly good windshield without defects won't crack.

[roll_over]

Shut up robocop shock due to thermal expansion. Go pedal your bullshit else where

[Stewjoe]

I bought one of those Canadian tire heaters and it killed my pressure.

[killramos]

Didn't realize it but I guess my GTI has heated nozzles as well. Both windshield and headlight.

Who knew.

They have always worked pretty well though so it's not surprising.

[speedog]

Originally posted by mdeleon
What about heated wiper blades, to melt the frozen ice off of it and prevent anything from freezing onto it while driving.
Hey, you should've maybe pondered this thought a bit more before posting it up.

[bignerd]

I just use the -40 washer fluid and have no problems? It de-ices the windshield too as long as there isn't too much, if there is more I just scrape it??

[ExtraSlow]

I buy the coldest rated stuff I can find, and I often add the "booster" stuff to it as well. Melts ice like a motherfucker, and never freezes on the blades or glass.

[clem24]

Haha ya the washer fluid coming out of my C is pretty steamy on cold days.

[Waldi]

proposal has a big flaw as it will take some time for engine and cooling fluid to warm up on cold days min the winter so it will not work well from startup. that is why some of the car companies use heater nozzle approach.

[dr_jared88]

My 2008 Silverado has heated washer fluid. GM performed the factory recall but they leave the wiring harness and everything in tact. AlphaTherm offers a direct replacement that clips in to the OEM bracket and connected to the existing harness. It took literally 10 minutes to install.

It is so awesome not having to scrape my windshield however I do go through a lot more washer fluid then I used to.

[Tik-Tok]

Why are people bragging about their heated nozzles? The nozzles don’t effect the fluid temperature at all, it’s only to prevent ice from forming on them, so they can still spray, lol.

[lilmira]

Not even sure if I have ever turned them on, I think they are linked to the heated mirrors. :nut: Not that I have ever had a frozen nozzle neither on my previous car, I use the -40 fluid.

Heated windshield at the wipers is probable more useful. I hate them frozen on a cold snowy day.

[schocker]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Why are people bragging about their heated nozzles? The nozzles don’t effect the fluid temperature at all, it’s only to prevent ice from forming on them, so they can still spray, lol.
Don't forget about that instantaneous heat transfer to the fluid! :rofl:

[clem24]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Why are people bragging about their heated nozzles? The nozzles don’t effect the fluid temperature at all, it’s only to prevent ice from forming on them, so they can still spray, lol.

I put so called -40c washer fluid in my Matrix and last week the driver's side nozzle froze...

[Supa Dexta]

My gm truck still has it. They wanted to remove it and I said not to touch it. Its an 08 and has worked great since new. I just have to sign off on it now and then when it goes to the shop as they always wanna take it out.

But I talked to insurance, and they have to cover it if it was oem equipment, even with the recall. Its a great feature.

[jcox20]

Originally posted by mdeleon
What about heated wiper blades, to melt the frozen ice off of it and prevent anything from freezing onto it while driving.

My wrx has heating elements underneath the resting place of the wipers..Has worked well so far this winter...Not sure why all vehicles haven't adopted this yet, aside from an expensive windshield replacement maybe

[Maxt]

The other problem with heating the tank, is that windshield washer fluid is not azeotropic. Being an open vented tank, with heat applied, the methanol in the fluid if left long enoug, would evaporate out of the solution and the mixtures freezing point would start to rise.

[clem24]

Originally posted by jcox20


My wrx has heating elements underneath the resting place of the wipers..Has worked well so far this winter...Not sure why all vehicles haven't adopted this yet, aside from an expensive windshield replacement maybe

I had these on my Legacy but found they didn't work that well and more than anything, I was worried that it would crack the windshield. 3rd party replacement was about $400 IIRC (so less than double a normal windshield).

Instead, what I would do is very quickly and briefly hit the mist feature so the wipers would move up a tiny amount at a time, and usually just enough so that it sits where the defroster hits the windshield. Works decently in my wife's Odyssey LOL.

[roopi]

I have a heated blanket in my car. This guys on crack.