Can I use any screen/headlight wash or strictly V.W. only ?

[Jakesangel]

Hi guys, i'm sure this question has been raised before, but unfortunately I dont know how to do a search on the forum so please dont shoot me down in flames    I need to top up the screen/headlamp wash  and wanted to check if I should only used the V.W. approved screenwash or will any other type do ? Obviously V.W. recommend I only use their product but is that just sales talk or can other types of screenwash actually damage the car somehow ? thanks for any help you may be able to offer me. Cheers

[MC71]

Use anything TBH, from any forecourt or supermarket but VW's wash is cheap enough so you may as well go and buy a load of it and it will last you ages. Smells ok too.

IIRC Halfords won "best Screenwash" in a test in a car mag last year. No idea if that's just marketing though!!

 

[Jakesangel]

Cheers mate thanks for that i'll pop down to V.W. then tonight. I wasnt too sure if they charged a small fortune for their stuff and I didnt want to get ripped off if any brand would do. Thanks again

[john a]

VW's stuff is apparently the only stuff they recommend for fan washer jets and say that the cheaper Quantum stuff isn't suitable.

I mainly use the proper VW stuff, it's about 3 quid for a litre bottle and in summer concentration can be mixed 1:5 so one bottle will fill a 5L reservoir.

[Tortaruga]

The VW stuff is very cheap from the dealer. It's good enough I find.

Allegedly there is a possibility that another type could block the spray nozzles, but I'd be sceptical of that.

At least if you stick to the VW stuff and it blocks up your system, VW will provide you with a new car .

[homesqueeze]

I've always just used basic halfords screen wash in the 8 years I've had my car and had no problems with it. Six quid for 5 litres which you then dilute, so it lasts well. Also as said above, it did win a car magazine group test a short while ago 

[xjay1337]

Why go to VW and pay their prices?

I have 20L of screenwash here that I bought in 4x5L bottles for £8.99 delivered to my door. It dilutes 1:5 as it is..
Of course VW will say to only use their products. There's no harm at all in using anything else and you will save money.. I never buy OEM screen wash fluid, it's a rip.

[skard]

I've had mk5's for five years and never once had OEM screenwash in knowingly (ok maybe the dealer put some in early 2009 as a courtesy when they smashed my windscreen and lost my tax disc on their forecourt).

Still using the 5L bottles of concentrate I got a couple of winters back from ECP.

[stealthwolf]

Not sure what happened to my post here.

Anyway, if car is under warranty, using anything other than VW screenwash will invalidate it. Having said that, there have been known problems with washer jets jamming due to crappy washer fluid.

I've used halfrauds - both ready mix and concentrate. I've had the same issue with both - namely smearing. One would smear when using the washer/wipers (despite new blades) and the other would form a smeared haze when the water started to dry off the screen.

Have had no issues with the VW stuff so happy to continue using.

[xjay1337]

Not sure what happened to my post here.

Anyway, if car is under warranty, using anything other than VW screenwash will invalidate it. Having said that, there have been known problems with washer jets jamming due to crappy washer fluid.

I've used halfrauds - both ready mix and concentrate. I've had the same issue with both - namely smearing. One would smear when using the washer/wipers (despite new blades) and the other would form a smeared haze when the water started to dry off the screen.

Have had no issues with the VW stuff so happy to continue using.

Really?

 

So say my turbo blows up
I have used say... Autoglym screenwash.
I'd get told to go bye bye?
 

[stealthwolf]

No but if your washer jets or wipers bugger up, it will invalidate it.

[OSB]

I have used Halfords screenwash (not the ready diluted stuff) for more years than I can remember. I always though it was ok.
Then I was given a bottle of Autoglym - what a difference. Cleans more effectively at lower dilutions and no hint of smearing at all. Smells a bit nicer too!
I have not tried the VW stuff but might just do that now.
I did use some cheapo stuff in my SAAB a few years ago. Blocked jets. Gummed up pipes. Took me an age to clear it all out and get the system working properly again.

[sootpig]

 Halfords apple scented stuff smells nice and did the job well until eurocarparts sold me 20 litres  for £12ish  
  A nice reminder of how sad and gullible I am every time I go in the shed

[Eddie-NL]

VW screenwash isn't going to break the bank.

I find it does a good job and has a nice fragrance

I always find it funny, when I read a posts where someone has spent £25k on a car and then wants to save a few quid on screenwash

[Jakesangel]

Hi EDDIE-NL, it wasnt so much an exercise in cutting costs it was more a case of making sure I didnt use the wrong type of product and damage the vehicle in any way. Well, that and the fact that the V.W. dealers is always closed before I get home at night.