conroy

Does the 2010 G37x sedan have a washer fluid sensor? I ran out of fluid and the low fluid sensor light did not come on. I don't see a light for it when I start up the car and there's no mention of it in the manual. It's hard to see the reservoir and I would like to know when I'm running low. I certainly don't want to burn out the pump. Any tricks for gauging how much washer fluid you have left in the reservoir? Should I make some sort of dipstick?

Victory

When mine is low it pops up on the LCD display in the middle of the gauge cluster. Maybe the sensor is toast? On the bright side, at least it's stuck on off so the car isn't bugging you for washer fluid constantly.

A post like this should include some additional information to help us better diagnose and propose solutions. Please include the mileage of your vehicle, how long you have owned it, what sort of washer fluid you use and the last time the sensor worked if ever. Please also note if you refilled the fluid and if it continues to spray

conroy

Thanks Victory, I didn't check/notice anything on the LCD display when the fluid ran out. I looked into that part of the manual and you're right, there is supposed to be a message that comes up in the LCD display. The 2010 car has 85000 km. I've owned it for a couple months. I have no idea what sort of washer fluid used to be in there. I just filled it with blue Vision-X rated for -40C. Spray system works fine now. Is there some sort of washer fluid that is preferable for this car? I'll watch for the message on the LCD screen in the future. I would prefer a little light on the gauge cluster. It would be more noticeable. Thanks again for helping me figure this out Victory.

Victory

The blue stuff is fine. Some stuff like rain-x, which is supposed to leave a rain repellant coating on your windshield as it cleans, can also leave deposits on the sensors in some cars, which over time can cause them to stop working. The stuff you just put in there is probably 50% methanol, and if the issue is deposits, I can't think of anything that could clean it better than methanol. Run the blue stuff for a couple tanks and see if the warning starts coming on. If not, you'll probably need to replace the sensor.

I'd say this fix is optional, however. I wouldn't worry about burning out the pump from running dry. It's not like you're sitting there holding the lever for several minutes hoping for magic. The sprayers don't spray as hard near the end of the tank, so you'll probably be able to tell when you're getting close to empty anyway.

conroy

Good tips. Thanks for the info and reassurance Victory!

Ca428

Apparently the Rain-X washer fluid can put a coating on the sensor that detects low fluid warning and send a false positive signal light the warning, so it will say you are low when in fact you are not.

There's a couple YT videos on this (search Rain-X) one guy was able to brush it clean on a VW, but there was room for him to stick a tootbrush down there to clean it. Of course, not all washer reservoirs are created equal.

I bought my '09 coupe in the spring with 30k on it. Don't know what the previous owner used, but I've been using Rain-X washer fluid (the orange winter grade stuff) and so far no issue. I don't know if it is their overall formula or just the repellent part. They do sell an additive you can add to regular washer fluid that will add the water repellent part of Rain-X.

Of course, we can go the old fashioned way and manually apply, which is tough in the winter time.

I shot a note to Rain-X about the formula so we'll see if they reply, I'll report back in if I hear anything.