[Fazil]

Hi, is this the genuine washer fluid for a bmw 340i:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F254317114859

Anybody know of anywhere cheaper for the genuine one.
Got the warning in the car today but want the official one.
Many thanks.

[Kam05]

Yep, that’s the correct one. Try your local BMW parts department as they can be sometimes cheaper than eBay.

[Hooded]

Yep that's the one, and it's about a pound cheaper than I paid for mine.

[RobUK]

Local dealer charged me £18.46 for 5 litres a few months ago.

[999rigger]

Amazon charges £18.46 and free delivery

[doncarlyon]

Madness

[454697819]

Dealer charges me £16 ish inc vat generally - more recently I have started to use the tablet version - mix 20 litres of water with the 6 tablets and dump 5 litres of denatured alcohol in it as I can’t get ethanol in its pure form without a licence.

25 litres for £21

In the winter I top it off with more alcohol and works wonders.
I get through shed loads, hence the budget version being explored after blowing £80 on screen wash in 6 months 😂

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by Fazil

Hi, is this the genuine washer fluid for a bmw 340i:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F254317114859

Anybody know of anywhere cheaper for the genuine one.
Got the warning in the car today but want the official one.
Many thanks.

Why?
I used aftermarket screen wash in my last F30 for 80K miles and never a problem, no clogged washer jet or tank and its around £5 litre and will protect down to -20deg.

Seems an expensive option to me.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by 999rigger

Amazon charges £18.46 and free delivery

Yes, that's what I paid

I put in a 50/50 mix of the screenwash and water so its 10 Litres

[Jeff123]

I dilute mine 1/3 and it’s fine. Great quality and lasts ages.

[SuperHamz]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Why?
I used aftermarket screen wash in my last F30 for 80K miles and never a problem, no clogged washer jet or tank and its around £5 litre and will protect down to -20deg.

Seems an expensive option to me.

This was my exact reaction to this thread - surely screenwash is screenwash, why pay BMW the premium unless it's a warranty issue (surely not!)?

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by Jeff123

I dilute mine 1/3 and it’s fine. Great quality and lasts ages.

Yeah that's probably a strong enough mix, but I get a little paranoid about it freezing up in the cold weather since it did last winter causing the filter to then be blocked. I play it safe with a 50/50 mix now.

[ukbeemerboy]

Originally Posted by SuperHamz

This was my exact reaction to this thread - surely screenwash is screenwash, why pay BMW the premium unless it's a warranty issue (surely not!)?

Do a search on it and then you’ll realise how important it is not to mix the screen washes and then it becoming a warranty issue

[TaranF32]

I remember seeing a lot of threads saying that the use of non-genuine BMW screenwash causes the infamous blocked washer jets. One of the members who religiously used BMW screenwash still got the blocked jets. So it's not going to make a huge amount of difference. I personally use the 5l bottle (blue) from Halfords and have never had an issue.
It is very well documented not to use Rain-X screen wash as this interferes with the washer fluid sensor and can damage it.
Otherwise I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference. If the jet's are going to block then they'll block regardless of which screenwash brand you use. If I remember correctly someone said it was due to the screenwash bottle forming algae which blocks the filter at the bottom of the bottle. My car is a late 2015 and has never had the issue. My friends early 2015 1 series has the blocked jets and he uses the genuine BMW fluid!

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by TaranF32

I remember seeing a lot of threads saying that the use of non-genuine BMW screenwash causes the infamous blocked washer jets. One of the members who religiously used BMW screenwash still got the blocked jets. So it's not going to make a huge amount of difference. I personally use the 5l bottle (blue) from Halfords and have never had an issue.
It is very well documented not to use Rain-X screen wash as this interferes with the washer fluid sensor and can damage it.
Otherwise I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference. If the jet's are going to block then they'll block regardless of which screenwash brand you use. If I remember correctly someone said it was due to the screenwash bottle forming algae which blocks the filter at the bottom of the bottle. My car is a late 2015 and has never had the issue. My friends early 2015 1 series has the blocked jets and he uses the genuine BMW fluid!

I'm wondering if the algae forming is connected with how long the screen wash is in the washer bottle. Like if you get through it quite quickly and have to re-fill regularly there's less chance of it blocking up as opposed to it sitting in the bottle a long time and you only top up once every 6-9 months causing the problem.

Since having the bottle/filter cleaned out on mine I now only put 2 litres of screen wash in at a time when the low warning comes on.

[999rigger]

Originally Posted by Hooded

Yes, that's what I paid

I put in a 50/50 mix of the screenwash and water so its 10 Litres

Yes me too. no problems in winter at that mix either.

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by ukbeemerboy

Do a search on it and then you’ll realise how important it is not to mix the screen washes and then it becoming a warranty issue

Think the key here is as said not to mix screenwash and use it regularly perhaps, I've used the same one for 4 years and never an issue.

Although saying that the missus doesn't get through much screenwash at all and she has never had an issue in the Z4

[doncarlyon]

You could buy the same screenwash for 10 years and the formula could be changed 5 times a year... how will you ever know its the same?

Just put it in and live the rest of your life haha

[ukbeemerboy]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Think the key here is as said not to mix screenwash and use it regularly perhaps, I've used the same one for 4 years and never an issue.

Although saying that the missus doesn't get through much screenwash at all and she has never had an issue in the Z4

I’ve never had an issue either, but I know people who have as mixing with some products seems to form a gel like substance and blocks everything up. Not cheap to sort out either.

[PX3]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Why?
I used aftermarket screen wash in my last F30 for 80K miles and never a problem, no clogged washer jet or tank and its around £5 litre and will protect down to -20deg.

Seems an expensive option to me.

It's obvious, the BMW screen wash smells nice!

[PX3]

Originally Posted by ukbeemerboy

I’ve never had an issue either, but I know people who have as mixing with some products seems to form a gel like substance and blocks everything up. Not cheap to sort out either.

I had this exact issue with our X3 (I was able to flush water through the system and clear it all), so went back to the official BMW screen wash.

[speary8]

I have used the Halfords concentrate for years. It’s about £5 for 5 litres, smells nice and has never caused an issue