I ran out of washer fluid yesterday and there is no warning light. Fortunately the snow starts today and I got it in time. Am I missing something?

 

? are we missing something? lol
your question seems incomplete.

 

I was upset to find out the exact same thing on my road trip last weekend. Even my lowly 2002 Chevy truck has a low fluid warning. Thought I might have been missing something as well.

 

oh, now i understand.

 

Do you have Tech or non-Tech?

 

Couldn't tell you if it has a low fluid indicator or not. It's best to be proactive and have a look under the hood once in a while, maybe check the oil level too. Not a good idea to wait for that indicator to come on.

 

Page 286 in the Owner's Manual says:

"Models with washer level sensor: If the washer fluid is low, a message appears on the multi-information display"

This might be an indication that the base model doesn't have that feature!?!?

 

I have the base. I definately checked fluids before I left. The roads were soaked with melting snow in PA, and I used over a gallon of fluid getting through. Was shocked when there was no warning for low fluid.

Anyone with the tech package have any experience with this?

 

Nice...I guess you do a full inspection every trip. I'm sure you've disabled all your gauges and warning lights so they don't offend you.

 

How did you know!

 

It is the base model. My altima gives a warning long before empty so it give me ample time to top up. Hard to believe they will leave out such a basic feature.

 

I agree. It should be a standard feature on a luxury car.

 

I have on my 2014 Canadian Tech. I've filled up fluid three large bottles now but then the weather here is snowy/slushy/dirty. Sensor absolutely works.

 

Well speak of the devil. My washer fluid ran out today and without warning. I have a 2013 RDX Tech. My old 2007 RDX Tech warned me all the time. I'm going to ask the dealer about this because something doesnt make sense. I know they cut a lot of corners on the new model, but I swear if Acura left this out I am never buying a car from them again. This is total BS.

 

Only the Canadian Acuras have this feature.

 

Acura thinks its not needed. There is nothing worse running out of washer fluid with road salt film on windshield. Canada cars are required by law to have feature. US customers call Acura customer care and complain you never know they might listen.

 

I Tweeted, Facebooked, and Emailed them. I got a stardard reply asking for my address and VIN #. I dont believe they will do anything though. Its a waste of time and effort. Im tired of dealing with this dressed up CRV. Buying this car was one of the worst decisions I ever made. I wish I had a time machine to go back and stop myself.

 

^^ While I can understand your frustration about the low level fluid, I don't think its worth going back in time and cancelling your RDX. Sure its not perfect but very few car companies are so I am sure other brands are as guilty of cutting corners, and if not, the price will reflect this reality.

At some point, we as a society, are partly to blame for the demise in quality in vehicles and many other goods. We want to pay as little as possible and force the manufacturing to outsource to cheaper parts and/or remove features. Its a very tough and competitive world out there....we all want more and pay less. At some point, something has to give.

A friend of mine bought a GM truck back in 2000.....he kept the sticker from the window showing the MSRP. Another friend of ours bout a Ford truck about 6 months ago and the MSRP, for a comparable "trim" truck had a the same MSRP yet the car has more technology and improvements....so that you say something

 

Okay, so is it just Canadian models that have this of Canadian Tech Models. Mine certainly has this because I have seen this on my dash many times this year as the roads have been so bad here this winter. That said, it should be a standard feature on the RDX. If the USA vehicles don't have it why not? There are many states that have worse weather than we do in the Greater Toronto Area.

 

I wonder if all models are wired for the the indicator but not all models have the sensor.

BLEXV6, mind taking a picture of your washer reservoir and wiring that leave the bottle?

 

The sensor is probably #13 in this diagram. Problem is, all of the part search sites I can find are US-based and don't list the part number for that or #2. This is assuming the reservoir is the same between US and Canadian models and the US one is just plugged somehow as well. Any of our Canadian friends have a part site they can recommend or talk to a dealer?

There's a chance the wiring could be there, but with all these little differences that keep popping up between US/Canadian models (power folding mirrors come to mind) it wouldn't surprise me if they use different wiring harnesses depending on delivery country. Should be pretty easy to find an unplugged connector in that area though if somebody wants to stick their head in there.

 

I'll go further; it should be a standard feature on every car. Your basic Nissan Versa has it standard. http://www.cars.com/nissan/versa-not...specifications

 

[QUOTE[/QUOTE]

If anyone gives this a try, keep up posted.

 

I don't think it will be as easy as slapping the sensor on and calling it a day.
If I unplugged the sensor in the Audi it would show as low fluid so I just don't think the plug might be there.

 

Yea, I don't think we have the sensor here in the states. I just ran out of washer fluid a few days ago in the garage and there was never an indicator light.

 

Sometimes I wonder how people survived before vehicles had millions of idiot lights.

 

It's an inconvenience that a +$35k RDX has that cheaper cars seem to not have.

Beside how far back do you want to go?
How did people ever survive before tire pressure gauges, or 3rd brake lights, or heated side mirrors, or auto dimming mirrors, or power seats, or leather seats. Again something as cheap as a sensor that is available in econo cars is missing in just the US version of a entry level luxury car. Minor inconvenience at worse I think, but it should have been included given the market segment they are targeting.

 

That's not what this is about. It's about the fact that an econobox car like the versa comes standard with something so simple. Why does a 35k Hyundai Sonata out-tech a RDX. Seriously, if I the logo on the steering wheel was a Honda, I wouldn't be so dejected. I really do enjoy the styling and stance of the RDX, but I just don't know why a Honda Accord has so much more tech and gadgetry than the RDX when they came out in the same year. Part of me can't wait to see the upcoming Honda Pilot.

 

I'll agree there are a few things missing on the RDX; but one has to hope the Honda/Acura tradition of high build quality offsets some of the 'bells and whistles' that might have been left off.

Specific to this discussion, I might have used my windshield washers twice in 18 months. As such, there is plenty of time for checks and top-offs at regular service intervals...long before I might run low/out of fluid. It's not at the top of my list for things I wish they had included(or I would expect on this level vehicle). Perhaps there are so many others like me that the Acura folks decided it was one(more) item to leave off. Our Volvo C70 DOES have the low fluid light and it alerted me to a cracked reservoir...a once-in-a-lifetime condition, I reckon.

 

I agree with Douflag & CoachRick.

This is a 35-40k car. Not having a "basic" feature like low fluid indicator seems kind of cheesey. I could accept that it doesn't have this feature had it not been on ANY model. But I'm wondering the reasoning behind not having it only in US models?

For those of you who say, check your fluids and such, one would ONLY have to do that if our automated world did not provide this very convenient feature on just about every car made in the past 5-10 years!

Why not leave out A/C and you can crank up your own brand of 4/50 air conditioning (4 windows down/ 50 miles an hour). So, don't be so flip in saying 'get over it.' If I'm paying close to 40k for a car, I expect these conveniences.

Back to the issue. Has anyone found a way to manually 'upgrade' so this can be added?

 

Of course, you guys get all the extra stuff that ever luxury car should have anyway.
And of course, checking all the fluid levels once every thousand miles or so is a good habit.

 

Maybe it's time to start a "Things the Dealer Won't Tell You" thread. Power folding mirrors unavailable, heated steering wheel unavailable, no washer warning, etc.

 

I can't believe you forgot hidden documentation fees. Might as well be fake butter.

 

Some states require that doc fees be posted prominently. In Colorado, for example, signs disclosing doc fees are posted everywhere. Other states have no such requirement and the fees are, essentially, sprung on the customer in the business office ("Oh that, that's just the document fee") as though they are completely normal and legitimate. If you want to learn more there is no need to read what I write. The practice is covered extensively on many of the "things to watch out for" type car buying sites. A question for Yeo: What did you get in return for the doc fee you paid?

 

I was going to say, mine has this feature.

 

I always laugh about "it doesn't have " posts. If a feature is that important to you why didn't you check it out before you bought the vehicle? Don't assume anything then complain after the fact.

 

I truly had to laugh when reading these posts. No windshield washer fluid warning? I didn't know they even made ANY car without that feature. Back in the early 90s worked with a guy who owned a YUGO - yes a YUGO (basically a front wheel drive fiat) - and it had a windshield washer fluid warning. You shouldn't have to "check for it before buying". This feature should be a "given" in any car sold.

 

Luxury cars don't need washer fluid warnings.

 

It could attract chicks

 

Acura feels it does not snow in states that's why there's no low washer indicator and size of tank is half of Canadian model. Try running out after it snowed two inches over night and sun is out and you run out and cannot see out windshield . Acura in US has no clue .