gota911

You're right. I know... I KNOW!

kurtp

Does anyone know if the chrome caps could be purchased separately? Mine flew off when I accidentally activated the washer while the car was driving. Oops.

I agree with Simon that these are useless design features. Actually, they are worse than useless if the caps fly off every now and then, as they are $47 each from the dealer near me.

I tried Suncoast but didn't see them on their site. You would think that someone might be selling the caps separately. Let me know if you know.

Thanks.

Steven B

Call Suncoast--$30 but no one sells the caps without the nozzle. Once you get it, you can snap off the cap and put it on your old nozzle if the nipples are still in good shape. (Hmmmm........nipples?........good shape?............Is this a legal post?)

JBRipps

kurt....i just did this job. FYI...the caps DO NOT snap off the tops...do not attempt to do this, they will break. This metal disk is actually plastic. follow my instructions above...it's a cinch....just take your time. If suncoast has the nozzle for 30 bucks...grab it.

best of luck,
j

jasper

yup - this happened to me. Bilateral. Expensive but easy fix.


Miserable design...The headlight washers are easy to accidentally engage, and the discs fly off at even moderate speeds. Who the frick needs headlights washers anyway....just how dirty do your headlights get? I considered disabling the system, but never got around to figuring out the best way to do so.

I am assuming there's a high pressure pump, and that the high pressure also extends the nozzles. Probably just unplugging the pump would do it. Anybody know where this pump might be located?

desidon

Jasper...can you just disconnect the wires in the headlight connector that feed power to the nozzle?

kurtp

I went to see how this washer system worked and to see the nozzle pop up so I could grab it, but when I did nothing sprayed out and lots of soapy water leaked out of the bottom, front of the car. The pump did its thing, but it appears that a line must have broken free and sprayed soapy water under my lights somewhere. The car was too low for me to look at what was happening. Has anyone else had any experiences like this that I could learn from?

When I picked up the headlight washer cover assemply from the dealer I was hoping that they would have offered to quickly install it for me, but the service guy seemed more interested in chatting during lunch with another worker and said I just needed to grab the installed assembly with some sort of hook, possibly a coat-hanger, and pull it up, hold it with pliers while I installed the new one. I was thinking of trying the method JBRipp mentioned, but ran into the leak issue described above. JB's method also required two people and I am one today.

The mechanic at Porsche said that they do it with one person and it only takes a minute or two.

Thanks for your help.

Kurt

Steven B

I did this one month ago. The cap did snap off with a little juditious effort and fit on my old nozzle. I did this inside where it was warm -- maybe I was lucky or just my years of working on old boats!!

Anyway, good luck either way!!

kurtp

Got the assemly on very easily using pliers to grab it, pull it out, hold it in place, take off the old assembly and install the new one.

I will look at the leak tomorrow after getting the car up on ramps. Interestingly, the leak is very severe when the headlight washers are on, and it dumps lots of soapy water under the driver side headlight. I suspect that a line disconnected from this side, as the passenger side I just replaced rises perfectly now, but emits no water. My guess is that the reduced pressure from the leak keep water from shooting out the nozzle. The driver side washer doesn't even lift. Path of least resistance.....

Grabeard

Has anyone had this cap replaced by the dealer under CPO?

AUPorsche

you gotta love rennlist!! I had this happen two days ago to the chrome cover on the right side headlight when I too hit the headlight washer rather than cruise control at speed. and when I logged on this am to post and ask for information on cost and ease of repair, here is the info waiting on me!!

I'm having new tread all the way around put on next week and the car track prepped so will lump this in with everything else the shop is going to do for me.

jasper

Definitely not covered. The CPO system is typically German. The number for the part being replaced is either on the CPO list, or it's not. The chrome discs are not.

My AC is noisy, so I thought hey it's covered. Well it isn't maybe). My compressor, which is a CPO covered part, is fine. The problem is actually with cooling fan logic. Dealer says he'll troubleshoot for me, but if the part which has failed isn't on the list, then I pay for the troubleshoot.

That's another thread though....

Grabeard

Thanks Jasper. Seems like it happens to many of us in the same way -- accidentally hitting the washer lever while driving down the highway trying to hit the cruise control. Does anyone know why this happens? [broken/worn part? highway wind is so strong it breaks it off? Any theories?]

jasper

Definitly not a wear issue. This part gets used maybe a dozen times in the life of the car and ten of those are probably accidental. Let's face it, 80% of Porsche drivers don't drive in the rain much less in conditions where they would *need* to wash their headlights.

It's simply a rubbish design. Take a close look at the part if and when you buy a replacement. It's designed to fail at moderate to high speeds.

jimq

Dumb question but how do you even turn the washers on? I have owned my car for 1 1/2 years and didnt even know that was what they were