Got in the car, looked in the mirror and noticed a streak of birdcrap on the back window.

Pressed the wash/wipe and heard the motor and a liquidy noise, though nothing was hitting the rear window.

Got out checked the back window, no water, opened the boot, no water on the inside of the hatch, and just assumed it wasnt working.

Got back in the car a little later on and it had a vinegar like smell, which I suspect is washer fluid.

Where has it leaked, I cant find any evidence of it, though really suspect its leaking somewhere?

Any known problems with this on a 2000 mk4?

 

Cheers, Dan

turbodan wrote:

Got in the car, looked in the mirror and noticed a streak of birdcrap on the back window. Pressed the wash/wipe and heard the motor and a liquidy noise, though nothing was hitting the rear window. Got out checked the back window, no water, opened the boot, no water on the inside of the hatch, and just assumed it wasnt working. Got back in the car a little later on and it had a vinegar like smell, which I suspect is washer fluid. Where has it leaked, I cant find any evidence of it, though really suspect its leaking somewhere? Any known problems with this on a 2000 mk4?   Cheers, Dan

 

Sorry mate all i know are that these are well know for leaking

Sure someone will come along soon who has had this problem!

Two places it can leak.


One, inside the tailgate (bootlid)
two, inside the rear c-pillar, passenger side.


If it's leaking inside the bootlid, you will see water dripping out when u lift up the bootlid,  or atleast u will see water around the bootlock and rubber seals.

If it's leaking inside the C-Pillar, then you'll see the roof lining wet or possibly stained with washer water.

Just went out to the car with a torch and found that around the c pillar on the passenger side there is blue staining on the roof lining, bollox!!!!

Thanks for your help, I'll get it sorted, and then try and clean up the roof lining.

Grrrrrr

Sorry to hear that bud.  But hey atleast you found out earlyish :)

Is washer fluid corrosive? Im thinking I may need to remove the roof lining soon and get the metal underneath cleaned up pretty damn quickly.

Na it's not corrosive, but it wouldnt hurt to wipe it away when you're fixing it.   I wouldnt rush out at midnight just to clean it off, its not like brake fluid ;)

Me and b6x fixed it at the weekend.

We had to remove a fair bit of trim to get to it (I say we, b6x did most of it) and found that two parts of the pipe that click together were disconnected (pics to follow). Reattached them, added some insulation tape and all is working again. Also managed to clean up the trim a fair bit (again I was mainly supervising )

Also replaced the tailgate handle as it had lost some paint, went fairly smoothly except for me managing to snap some of the trim clips, nothing that a bit of superglue didn't fix though.

Job's a good-un and my ripoff dealer didn't get a penny.

turbodan,

That wasn't insulation tape we used,  that was Approved motor-trade specification "plastic pipe coupling tape".  
Actually,  come to think of it,  it was insulation tape. 

Would definately recommend to anyone to spend 10 minutes pulling off the trim to check their washer pipe.  It seems a pretty poor design for something hidden away. And it makes a bit of a mess of the headlining if it goes... not to mention pouring onto the top of any boot mounted CD autochanger.

b6x

This waa a regular occurence on my Ibiza I had a few years ago, which had the same type of rear wash-wipe as the Golf (with the washer jet in the spindle). The dealers used to fix it with cable ties, whuch worked some of the time. I gave up and superglued the joins.

My golf's rear wash doesn't work either even though I hear the motor whirring. At the same time the alarm takes 3 button presses to arm it,does this mean it is most likely to be leaking in the boot trim as the water is stopping the alarm workign correctly?

i would say yes as when mine leaked in the boot i had problems with the alarm

im also having a problem with the rear wash/wipe, the motors are churning and the water is coming out but its only trickling out any suggestions?

pics of where to look for in the boot and roof lining stains would be helpful if anyone has any!

Do a search on this web site as there has been loads of info on the leaking tailgate washers, together with fll instructions of how to fix it with picures etc.

I've searched the site and can't find any pictures of how to repair it. I have a dilema however,my c pillar is damp so I know it leaks there,but my alarm is also dodgy as it takes 3 presses of the key to arm it. Could anyone post some more pictures of how to solve the leak please?!

Hi Vaudaz,

We did take a picture or two, but only once the trim etc was off.  From memory it was pretty simple.

Remove parcel shelf
Remove left hand plastic trim (that parcel shelf rests on) by removing screw by boot opening, behind the carpet, and unclipping, upwards, the three plastic clips that connect it to the c-pillar trim.
Remove the two nuts at the bottom of the c-pillar trim.
Remove the long trim that goes from c-pillar to c-pillar (by pulling downwards)
Remove c-pillar trim by pulling outwards/downwards  -  held on with plastic clips so go a bit careful.

I'll see if I still have the pictures of what you are looking for one all of the trim is off.

Thanks,
b6x

Just thought I ought to say a big cheers to you b6x,20 mins of trim pulling and fiddling got it sorted,now all I need is a passenger door lock motor as that is what's causing the alarm difficulty,not the washer!

No worries at all.  Glad to be some help.  Was your washer pipe actually disconnected and leaking then?

Cheers,
b6x

Pictures as promised - in case it helps anyone else.  Thanks to turbodan for donor vehicle.  Apologies they are a bit blurred and only a few of them:-

{with all required trim removed}

{the offending pipe}

{the offending pipe fixed!}

It was just as your pictures show,I knew that the washer wasn't working,so sprayed a little to see if a damp patch would appear,and sure enough the roof lining and the c-pillar trim became damp quickly.It now works like a dream and with a little help from a lot of extra strength water proof tape!

Grrrr.  Mines just done exactly this.  Car is in bits at the moment as i'm waiting for the bits to dry out b4 i put em back in.  Thing is, my 3rd brake light is playing up, it just lights up at the ends, not in the middle.  Are the 3 connectors anything to do with the 3rd brake light, as it seems screenwash has got into them

Can you buy that section of pipe that goes between the motor and the c-piller join?

I'd like to replace my pipe rather than attempt to repair it!

Wonder how much it is...

Mines got to the stage where it's leaked so much that the boot open indicator light on the dashboard constantly glows, can't seem to make it go off

That's annoying

<BLOCKQUOTE><table width="85%"><tr><td class="txt4"><img src="/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif">&nbsp;<strong>Stanhope wrote:</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="quoteTable"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4">Mines got to the stage where it's leaked so much that the boot open indicator light on the dashboard constantly glows, can't seem to make it go off<br><br>That's annoying<br></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Probably needs a new boot lock ,they have a little switch in which gets wet when the pipes leak causing faults with the alarm and stuff.

I think every mk4 must have had one of these by now.

Oh what the hell!!
All this time ive been thinking that mk4 Golfs dont even have a rear washer jet!!

First thing in the morning im finding out where all that fluids been leaking too

HardeepG wrote:

Grrrr.  Mines just done exactly this.  Car is in bits at the moment as i'm waiting for the bits to dry out b4 i put em back in.  Thing is, my 3rd brake light is playing up, it just lights up at the ends, not in the middle.  Are the 3 connectors anything to do with the 3rd brake light, as it seems screenwash has got into them

Anyone know anything about the 3rd brake light.  Mines just lighting up dimly at the ends, but the brake lights are fine.  Anyone??

That sounds like an earthing problem,or the connection is not tight enough. But I have no idea about the connectors etc I'm afraid.

i read this last night and thought to my self "i hope that doesnt happen with this car" as the last car i had went in five times, yes five times to have seals replaced thanks to water being where it shouldnt, one time the footwell was so deep after a night of rain it covered your feet!

so anyway, open the boot tonight after a dirty drive and using the wash wipe loads and what do i find? its leaking only had it two months (its a 51 plate from VW willenhall) problem is though iv changed the rear lights to some rccr's and am worried when i take the car in tommorow to make a fuss they will blame the lights? whats people think?

its comingh though the bootlid by the way, not by the c pillar, iv checked, and am 99% sure its the bootlid

For some reason I really struggled to get the rear trim off. I found the guide at <http://www.golfmk4.co.uk/rear_screen_washer_repair.htm> lacking so I post below a pic so everyone knows where the lugs on the back of the trim are located.

ideal as ive been having just this problem and just havent been arsed to look at it yet............now i know ill sort it the weekend...cheers for such details and pics .makes it loads easier

naderby:

For some reason I really struggled to get the rear trim off. I found the guide at lacking so I post below a pic so everyone knows where the lugs on the back of the trim are located.

 

More importantly don't forget the two screws, one in each handle recess!!!!

I had the problem of a washer leak but mine was the more common problem of the hose coming off at the wiper motor.

I found the panel a real pain to get off too and broke 1 or maybe 2 clips in the process.

Got some new clips from a scrappy and decided that whilst the panel was off, rather than just fix the hose, I removed the rear wiper altogether!

Sorts out the leak and now looks smoooth!

But can be a nightmare to see this time of yr with all the grit on the road (and car)

golfzzin:

its comingh though the bootlid by the way, not by the c pillar, iv checked, and am 99% sure its the bootlid

Its likely to be the hose connection on the wiper motor then matey.

Just remove that back panel and fix the hose back onto the connector.

Dont bother with the stealers

took me about 20mins in total to do my wiper (and that was removing the whole thing)

Hmm, my rear wash aint working (pump goes though) with no marks on the roof, but I do get a little dampness on both of the front seat belts.  

 Just managed to fix this problem myself, I couldn't understand where all that liquid came from, first of all I thought my roof has something to do with it .Then I found this post which is very helpful. Now just need to sort out this problem