Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Non Cold weather package people in cold climates.. any tricks to prevent wiper ice?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
My biggest frustration about the car is how the poor the wipers are in cold weather. The defroster is great and clears the window but when I need the wipers the water they move will instantly freeze to them when they're below the hood where there is no heat on them.

What do we do??

I have a windshield crack, it is insignificantly more money to have them put in the cold weather windshield.. Anyone have any idea how I could hook it up?
 
This brings up an interesting point. I'm now almost through my 2nd winter and I have yet to get a low washer fluid warning. I could look and see how much I have left but I feel like I've had to refill more frequently in other cars. 30k miles and I'm still on the tank that came with the car.
 
This brings up an interesting point. I'm now almost through my 2nd winter and I have yet to get a low washer fluid warning. I could look and see how much I have left but I feel like I've had to refill more frequently in other cars. 30k miles and I'm still on the tank that came with the car.

After 10 months of ownership, I put in my first gallon of windshield washer fluid. The container actually took the full gallon. I added it before the windshield washer light came on.
-I am sure that whenever you take it to service, they top up the windshield washer fluid.
-Like the other comments here, get one that is good to the coldest temperature possible, and apply it liberally when using it.
 
This brings up an interesting point. I'm now almost through my 2nd winter and I have yet to get a low washer fluid warning. I could look and see how much I have left but I feel like I've had to refill more frequently in other cars. 30k miles and I'm still on the tank that came with the car.

I don't know how many top-ups the SC has performed, but I've never ran out. Of course, if I took a trip up north in the winter, I'd have to empty the fluid and replace it with good stuff. I'm sure what they use here freezes at +5 C.
 
Ha! Didn't even think about the service center visits. That is great and not so great at the same time. Great service, not so great fluid has caused me problems in the couple of bad snow storms I've driven through as icing around the edges can get pretty bad with the stock fluid unless you keep the defroster on full blast red.
 
Pro life tip is to have a gallon of it in your garage at all times - on a snowy day throw some in there whether you think you need it or not. I ran out (Nissan Leaf's tank must be minuscule, I've run out at least 3 times in 2 years) during a freezing night last month and it was terrible. 7-11 was out, too.
 
Go to the drug store and pick up a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol 91% and put about 4 ounces in your windshield washer fluid reservoir -- works great!!!
BTW buy the cheapest wiper fluid and just add this to it... your windows will clear instantly! I do with on all our vehicles - side benefit is your reservoir won't freeze either and it smells clean!!!!
 
Go to the drug store and pick up a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol 91% and put about 4 ounces in your windshield washer fluid reservoir -- works great!!!
BTW buy the cheapest wiper fluid and just add this to it... your windows will clear instantly! I do with on all our vehicles - side benefit is your reservoir won't freeze either and it smells clean!!!!
Alcohol can break down rubber tubing and seals and stuff like that, so the car has to be okay with it. I'm guessing 4 oz in a gallon reservoir is probably fine, but I can imagine the repair costs might be high if it does create a leak. YMMV.

Let me also say that you're better off adding it to the washer fluid first - that way it's blended AND you won't accidentally spill pure alcohol on your paint :)
 
+1 on alcohol and rubber not getting along well.

Find windshield washer fluid concentrate instead. Pour some into the fluid already in your reservoir. That will increase the % of wiper fluid chemicals in the mixture which will make what's in the reservoir more resistant to freezing.
 
Last edited:
This brings up an interesting point. I'm now almost through my 2nd winter and I have yet to get a low washer fluid warning. I could look and see how much I have left but I feel like I've had to refill more frequently in other cars. 30k miles and I'm still on the tank that came with the car.

Wow. Due to the heavy use of salt and my long freeway commute, I will use a 4 liter/ 1 gallon jug about every two weeks. I usually buy a case or two of washer fluid per winter season. I have found (the hard way) that when the low fluid message comes on, I have about 1 or 2 squirts left. I've had to pull off and re-fill on my way to work. Previous cars would give me a bit more warning than that.
 
Yup. Use almost no fluid until winter. When winter comes around, I go through a couple of bottles. The salt and grime is just unbearable. In the warmer months, the coating I put on the window helps quite a bit, and with frequent car washing, I almost never use the wiper fluid.

I find that the indicator is delayed as well.