Which windshield washer fluid for below freezing?

[K20FA5]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
Originally Posted By: JRed
Never, EVER use the Rain-X brand orange fluid in the winter. When it gets on the windshield and mixes with a little moisture it seems as though most cars wipers WILL NOT wipe it off of the windshield - it'll leave an annoying haze until it dries.

ummm... been using the rain x orange stuff for yrs, on several diff. cars....
never had a haze problem. only time it even froze on the windshield , was after i went to the local valvoline oil change place, and they "topped off" my washer tank with their el-cheapo bulk tank stuff.

this year, as an experiment, i'm adding a bottle of
Prestone "booster" to the reservoir.


Yep, same here. I've been using it for years and I love it. I wouldn't use anything else. It's good stuff!

 

[Touring5]

Another Prestone fan here. Have used it year round for several years.

Several years ago I bought a bottle of "volcano juice" ice melter. It is mostly isopropyl in a spray bottle and works for melting ice off the windshield. Well, one day I was ready to leave work and realized my reservoir was pretty much empty. My solution was to pour the volcano juice in as it would be enough to get me home. It was snowing pretty good and I decided to ration my "squirts" to ensure I didn't run out. When the windshield got pretty heavy with ice/snow buildup I hit the the washers and it virtually burned the buildup off in a few seconds. Wow. I thought I had come up with a great idea, that is until a few moments later when I realized the interior of the car was filled with isopropyl vapor. Good thing I don't smoke, otherwise I might have melted more than just the winter crud on the windshield

 

[hardcore302]

Prestone De-Icer. Just keep in mind that it can be hard on the wiper's material. While it will clear the windshield of anything that hits it, such as salt, grime, and slush/ice, you will have to replace your wipers in the spring.

 

[joel96]

Ice season is supposedly almost over. It was shorts weather today. I'm not falling for it this time, Old Man Winter.
What I have historically needed is washer fluid during the drive because of dirt and brine build-up--the icing problem gets worse the longer the drive goes on. Aside from being lost in rural back roads in the middle of the wilderness, zero visibility is the single scariest thing about driving in the winter--not black ice, not fishtailing drivers, not even suddenly absent bridges.
This writer says that concentrates are legal in CA, pre-mixed de-icers aren't.
http://hanfordsentinel.com/news/opinion/...1871e3ce6c.html
It sounds like what I need is a pre-treatment and a washer fluid with methanol. I don't think a de-icer spray is necessary; I'm going to buy a car cover or a tarp instead--ice in the afternoon is rarely a problem. My usual de-icing technique is to take a gallon-sized travel jug of tap water as hot as it gets; then I pour it on enough to thaw the wipers or with the wipers already on if the wipers are free. It doesn't work well with side windows. My '03 Accent has a leak somewhere in the frame on the driver's side (hence the need for a temporary cover of some sort)--I found the carpet sopping wet after a big rainstorm one afternoon. I'm saying this because it means the end of the water jug de-ice method and maybe the start of a de-icer spray routine. HEET (all caps) is one spray that hasn't received multiple negative reviews.
Amazon reviews have no consensus on driving washer fluids for below freezing temperatures. Almost every additive (aka concentrate) and pre-mixed fluids have reviews that decry their performance at below freezing temperatures or cause washer fluid level sensor failure. Wurth is the exception (it's $11 on Amazon).
http://www.autogeek.net/w892332836.html
http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/quest...ow-temperatures
I'm with Bob Cross about being skeptical about home-mixed fluids. I can understand the evaporation point resulting in an extremely short reservoir life; with any methanol or alcohol additive I'm going to need to know how often to refill it. Let's assume I go with buying a bottle of methanol. Here's one:
http://www.amazon.com/Methanol-Biodiesel...ywords=methanol
I'm looking for -23 C performance--that's the coldest it has ever gotten in this area.
http://madscientistmatt.blogspot.com/2006/02/homemade-windshield-washer-fluid.html
There's no consensus on Matt's page on the chemical formula that works best in below freezing environments. 40% methanol at most, 60% other chemicals. Someone suggested summer fluid with methanol, but who knows what kind of reactions that would cause.
The reservoir in my Accent is empty--the last of it was used up in the latest blizzard a few weeks ago. I need to buy some washer fluid soon. Probably going to get Prestone Bug Wash until I get some feedback.

 

[joel96]

I'm going with Aquapel as a pre-treatment over Rain-X. It lasts longer compared to Rain-X, according to some guy who used it on his Mini.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NFU...=A23ADOZFIJNPFB
The windshield has one chip in it. Magic Q has a repair kit that seems to be the best rated one on Amazon, but it only has 8 reviews. It's followed by Permatex 81730 in ratings, but the kit version of the product has a huge number of bad reviews. Kits by Rain-X and Blue-Star have a huge number of one star reviews. One of Magic Q's other products is a repackaged version of one of Rain-X's kits; that means that the Magic Q kit might be as useless as the Rain-X's more widely reviewed kit. This leaves me with no contenders for fixing a dime-size chip.
http://www.amazon.com/Fix-Windshield-You...ix+a+windshield
I don't think I'll need a washer additive with Aquapel; it's a flourinated compound treatment (it lasted six months at least with the one guy's windshield); I don't think silicone would mess with the chemistry, but it's not necessary. I am going to switch to silicone wiper blades (I'm going to postpone that research). Walmart has been out of stock of Prestone. There's a new Walmart opening a few miles away (of course) in two days; they might stock it. I'm going to go with Kristall Klar. 303's tablets are well-reviewed, but the Kristall Klar reviewers seem a like they know what they're doing as opposed to the budget shoppers of 303 tablets. I can mix the Kristall Klar with 40% methanol in the winter. Aside from the wiper blades (and getting the blades aligned) and getting the shield cracks fixed, I think the pre-treatment and concentrate listed above should work.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001NZFCRW
I'm probably going with PIAA silicone blades based on what I've initially seen on Amazon's reviews.