Rear Window Washer

[Devilman]

Hi
I am new here so forgive me if this has already been covered. I have just bought a 2013 E220 SE CDI Estate. Unfortunately the rear washer doesn't work. The front washers work OK
Is there a separate washer tank for the rear.? What is the best way to find out what the problem is and repair it. I didn't buy it from a garage otherwise I would have taken it back for them
to fix it. Any help with this will be much appreciated.
John

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Hi and welcome. Certainly on my 2011 E estate there is only one reservoir and pump. So if the fronts are working it could be a blocked washer jet? Have you tried running the rear washer a number of times? The only other things I can think of would be a broken connection in the tube or an airlock.

 

[Devilman]

Hi
thanks for the info. Yes I have tried running it a number of times with no luck but, I do appreciate you taking the time to answer me.
John

 

[wrdcc01]

If ever there was a pipe just asking to kink or block, this is it!

 

[ChrisHGTV]

If ever there was a pipe just asking to kink or block, this is it!
View attachment 122926

Wow!
John, if it’s not a blocked jet (you could try gently clearing with a pin), the next most likely place to check might be where the hatchback hinges, if that has caused a kink. I’ll have a look at mine in daylight but fear that might require some dismantling. There’s no obvious leak at the reservoir end? That would be my next place to look, if the hose to the rear is loose at the connection with the reservoir at the front.

 

[Harrythedog]

Check the floor area near the rear seats for damp, the pipe may have disconnected. That happened on a previous S211 I had

 

[Devilman]

My Mercedes E220 is an estate. I have just taken it to my local garage and he showed me where the roof lining was wet. He traced it so far but, He said the roof lining would have to come off or part of it
and he said that would not be able to do it and it would need to go to a Mercedes garage. Not good news is it.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Do NOT take it to Mercedes Benz unless you want to pay a fortune, I can understand that your local mechanic might not want to get involved with removing the headliner but a decent body shop nearby might be willing to do it.

Is the car due an MOT any time soon ? rear wash wipe not working might be a failure, not sure.

From the picture in post #4 there is one connection below the boot space and one into the actual nozzle on the tailgate (obviously the main suspect) so you might get away with a partial pull down of the roof liner.

Best of luck and keep us informed .

 

[BTB 500]

Is the car due an MOT any time soon ? rear wash wipe not working might be a failure, not sure.

Rear wipe not working definitely wasn't a fail a few years back when the wiper motor seized on my W639. Lots of vans etc. have solid tailgates with no rear view anyway.

As an aside on the rear washer, with a single reservoir it's quite common for the outlet for the rear wash to be higher up than the one for the front. This ensures that you can't empty it by using the rear washer.

 

[Devilman]

Thanks for all the answers. With regard to the MOT you can take the rear wiper off your vehicle and it will still pass it is notpart of the MOT test. That's direct from my local garage
not me.

 

[wrdcc01]

This is not the worst headliner to remove but just making some inspection space at the back should only be a few screws away if you're feeling adventurous.
Have a look at this.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Devilman]

I'm afraid that looks alot more complicated to me plus that's not my vehicle type mine is the E220 SE CDI estate. I have only just bought it and I am in dispute with the seller over it.

 

[Petrol Pete]

If you are in dispute with the seller best not to have a go at fixing anything.

 

[Devilman]

Thanks I agree. My Local garage wont touch it.

 

[wrdcc01]

If you have a dispute then don't touch it but.... you just have the facelifted version of the car in the video but it's the same thing, an S212. I wasn't suggesting pulling the entire headliner out just releasing the rear bit to maybe just reattach the pipe if it was off.

 

[Devilman]

Thanks everyone for all your help the seller as now agreed to pick the car up and repair it like he should have done in the first place. My local garage never suggested that a pipe may have come off. He said that the pipe maybe slit and that the whole pipe would have to be replaced. From what you are saying sheds a different light on it. He traced the pipe back from the nozzle but the fault was not there. He showed me where the roof lining was wet. Is there a junction pipe near the rear? If not then it must be a split and all of it must be replaced.

 

[BTB 500]

Thanks everyone for all your help the seller as now agreed to pick the car up and repair it like he should have done in the first place. My local garage never suggested that a pipe may have come off. He said that the pipe maybe slit and that the whole pipe would have to be replaced. From what you are saying sheds a different light on it. He traced the pipe back from the nozzle but the fault was not there. He showed me where the roof lining was wet. Is there a junction pipe near the rear? If not then it must be a split and all of it must be replaced.

Could possibly be a connector in the pipework that got pushed apart if the wash fluid froze (cold weather and not a high enough concentration). I've seen that happen in the past.

 

[Devilman]

Problem solved it was a split pipe and the cost to repair it was £230 which I didn't have to pay thank god. The person who sold it me paid for it. Thanks everyone for all your help.