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Mushrooms in washer bottle

Old Aug 25, 2025 | 11:47 PM
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Default Mushrooms in washer bottle

How many change the washerfluid instead just top it up if need be?
I just serviced a Mazda CX3 5 years old and to my surprise found it hard to remove the washer bottle dip stick.
A larges growth of white and black rubbery fungas had totally blocked the filler tube. It took some probing and flushing to clear the blockage.
My suggestion is use your washers regularly and flush out the old fluid at least once a year or maybe more often.


 
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Old Aug 26, 2025 | 12:04 AM
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That’s a first for me to see something like that. Wow! Servicing the washer fluid bottle is not a bad idea. I find that the blue die they use to ID it from other fluids tends to stain and support early failure of the water fluid pump.
Still it’s a service I may start to suggest in the future for DIY . If I suggested it to my customer they would think I was trying to be a service writer for a dealership? Lol

I would add that generally the pump is the lowest in the water bottle and care should be taken when removing it to drain and flush the bottle. Which in most all Mazdas is easier then removing the bottle and cleaning it. The rubber seal that secures the water pump in the bottle make be degraded and looses its sealing capacity from long time use and never serving the bottle. So at least be prepared to have access to a new one if it is damaged doing the service

Nice service thread Charles
 
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Old Aug 26, 2025 | 02:28 AM
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Yes I have replaced the pump and seal on older Mazda's but this growth is a whole new ball game. My simple suggestion is a hose in the neck and turned on for a few minutes then add additive should suffice if done with the anual service. It certainly alarmed me as I pulled out this ugly growth. I should have put something beside it to get the size into perspective.
 
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Old Aug 26, 2025 | 10:08 AM
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Originally Posted by Charlescrown
Yes I have replaced the pump and seal on older Mazda's but this growth is a whole new ball game. My simple suggestion is a hose in the neck and turned on for a few minutes then add additive should suffice if done with the annual service. It certainly alarmed me as I pulled out this ugly growth. I should have put something beside it to get the size into perspective.
But the problem is unless you remove the pump/motor you are not flushing the water reservoir on many newer Mazda's?





The R&R standard labor 1.25 hours for a shop to bill a customer.
 
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Old Aug 26, 2025 | 06:11 PM
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Yes I agree abt the difficulty. Perhaps a suction device to draw out the contents may work. I have one for oil removal I use on overfilled engines and without looking at it may be a suitable tool for a servicing workshop. It's 2 1/2 hours away and won't be able to get a pic till tomorrow.
 
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Old Aug 26, 2025 | 11:30 PM
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But the configuration on many Mazda reservoirs I think would make flushing an interesting act in futility don’t you think. Maybe installing an inexpensive valve or even less money a marine twist drain plug .

Hey what an idea?About 30 minutes to remove the passenger wheel, remove the wheel well fasteners to gain access to the tank. Drill the small 1 inch hole and now you have a nice way the drain and flush the reservoir.



 
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Old Aug 27, 2025 | 02:04 AM
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Not being familiar with most Mazda's the one I did was easy just a clip and then pull the filler neck from the bottle. The hole was big enough to get a hose in and flush the bottle. Water/alcohol injection is something I have thought of putting on my Mitsubishi EVO. I did suffer the consequences of detionation so I did a rebuild and it was running slightly less than factory timing under boost and approx 106 Octane fuel and still failed. Looking at the log it wasn't much detonation so maybe the damage was done before I bought the car ex Japan boy racer. That's an area where I would like a bit of guidence setting it up but I believe it's pretty simple.
 
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Old Aug 27, 2025 | 04:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Charlescrown
How many change the washerfluid instead just top it up if need be?
I just serviced a Mazda CX3 5 years old and to my surprise found it hard to remove the washer bottle dip stick.
A larges growth of white and black rubbery fungas had totally blocked the filler tube. It took some probing and flushing to clear the blockage.
My suggestion is use your washers regularly and flush out the old fluid at least once a year or maybe more often.
I’ve been driving Mazdas for decades and never once bothered to flush or clean the windshield washer reservoir, not even in a car I had for 15 years.
As long as you top it up with proper washer fluid (not just plain water), there’s really no need. The fluid already has additives that stop bacteria and fungus from growing. In fact, messing with the reservoir can actually do more harm than good. Doing “preventive maintenance” on it is more likely to cost you extra than save you any trouble.
 
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Old Aug 28, 2025 | 07:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Callisto
This response is wrong is so many ways and should be disregarded. The person posting it is not qualified in the service automotive field and has little understanding of basic services.
Callisto apparently knows all, sees all, and tells all.

No need for anyone else on this forum to answer questions, or to even attempt to answer. Just wait till Callisto comes along and he'll answer better, bigger, brighter, and more accurately than anyone else can possibly answer, did I mention his efficiency?

Don't even bother, just wait for the one true answer to be typed out for all of us peasants to read and marvel over.

Thank goodness that we have Callisto here on this forum!
 
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Old Aug 28, 2025 | 10:02 AM
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Originally Posted by AFANKonrad 16.5
Callisto apparently knows all
. Just wait till Callisto comes along and he'll answer more accurately, did I mention his efficiency?
Thank you Callisto
....
 
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