GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

The Vibe has developed an interesting problem over the last couple of weeks... In either position that activates the rear washer, you have to hold the switch for right at 5 seconds before any fluid comes out. If you let off it and hit it again, it works fine. But wait a few minutes, and once again takes 5 seconds to begin squirting out the fluid. I haven't noticed any change in the volume of fluid, or the rate that it comes out. It just takes longer to get there.Any ideas on that one? Plenty of juice in the reservior, and the front washers work fine. I can see how it would take some time to get the fluid from the front to the rear, but not five seconds... Never had any problems with it until now.

Must be an air leak somewhere in the fluid line going to the nozzle.

You know, I never thought about air being in the line... That does sound like a good possibility.Yet another trip back to the dealer. Been there four times in the last month and have to go back again in two weeks. I'll see if they can look at it when they replace my A/C switch.

Mine always does this.May be not 5 secs but it takes a moment before the fluid comes out.I always associated this to the fact that the fluid in the line goes back to the tank.

that's what i'd say...it sounds like your line is emptying either back to the tank or a small leak in the line...a leak small enough to not re-route the stuff when you actually get the pump going, but large enough to empty much of the line in a few minutes. My old VW had a similar problem and it turned out to be a hairline crack in the distributor right at the pump (separates flow from front to back). There was a slight leak which caused the above to happen. it would take a bit longer than 4-5 seconds but eventually i got the back washer going.

The dealer confirmed the problem today, and they have ordered a new rear washer pump....

Figured I'd post an update on this...I still had the problem, despite the new pump. Still took about 5 seconds of holding down the switch before any fluid came out...Now, with my new nozzle installed the fluid hits the window a brief moment after activating the switch. Even after sitting all night, in the morning it doesn't take much time at all to start working again.Not sure if the old nozzle had an obstruction, or if I just somehow got air out of the system when replacing the nozzle. (I would think by taking off the hose, I would get more air into there...)Whatever it was, the new nozzle seems to have fixed it.

Since I've had my Vibe, (6 months) I couldn't get the rear wiper sysytem to squirt water. After reading several posts, I held the switch for about 10-13 seconds and it worked! The five-second-rule didn't work for me at all. At my last oil change, I asked the advisor about it, and he told me it takes that long because the water is coming from the front of the car. Seems to make sense, but if mine worked in five seconds I'd be happy. Thanks to all for the helpful info.

It might be something with the nozzle. The new one might hold vaccum, so the fluid doesn't go back down the line..

Yes, the delay theory does make sense, to a point... But, I'd say that 13 seconds would be a bit excessive though. Should't really take *that* long to start working.Perhaps you could have the dealer compare your car to one on the lot... It certainly sounds like something is going on with your car, although I don't really know what the cause could be.I suppose you could try a new nozzle - I'm not sure why that fixed mine, but it still squirts fluid out almost instantly after hitting the switch. I upgraded to the dual-jet 2005 style, was a cheap and easy install (details over in the do it yourself forum where a couple of us swapped the nozzles out.) I have several pics of the install here.Good luck getting this sorted out!

Does It look like 2 people pissing down your rear window now?

Uh... Yeah, pretty much.

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I suppose you could try a new nozzle - I'm not sure why that fixed mine, but it still squirts fluid out almost instantly after hitting the switch. I upgraded to the dual-jet 2005 style, was a cheap and easy install (details over in the do it yourself forum where a couple of us swapped the nozzles out.) I have several pics of the install here.How did you manage to remove the old nozzle? I had a heck of a time pulling mine out. Trying to find room to push those tabs gave me a sore finger.In anycase the results of the dual nozzles seems to look better.

Quote, originally posted by Herb »How did you manage to remove the old nozzle? I had a heck of a time pulling mine out. Trying to find room to push those tabs gave me a sore finger.I know! I went through the same thing when I was trying to figure it out... In the end, all I needed to do was slide a credit card under the gasket on the right side and pushed inward... Popped loose pretty easy.MiVibe-ToolGuy wrote a little howto over here: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=12385Part number is there as well, if you're interested. Works well, and once you figure out how to remove the old nozzle, it's a piece of cake to install.

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I know! I went through the same thing when I was trying to figure it out... In the end, all I needed to do was slide a credit card under the gasket on the right side and pushed inward... Popped loose pretty easy.Serves me right not to research this matter here earlier. I managed to to it anyways though I wish I knew about the card trick sooner.Oh well, I've been squirting away just for the fun of it today. Earlier today I cut in front of a Matrix just so I could show off my dual jet squirter.

Quote, originally posted by Herb »Oh well, I've been squirting away just for the fun of it today. Earlier today I cut in front of a Matrix just so I could show off my dual jet squirter. LOL! I've been guilty of the same... The other Matrix owners probably didn't even notice, but hey...

Quote, originally posted by Herb »Earlier today I cut in front of a Matrix just so I could show off my dual jet squirter. Ha, Ha I like that!

I'm now experiencing this same problem myself......with the warranty long gone, I guess I'll learn to live with it!

That sucks... How much time passes between when you hit the switch and when you finally get fluid back there?

5-6 seconds easily...