The 2009 Chevy Equinox has a rear window wiper with washer fluid dispenser. The fluid line for this feature happens to run with the electrical wiring through the middle of the vehicle - inside the interior, but under the seats/consoles/etc.
The fluid line broke under the middle console, between the two front seats. Most of the cost of the repair was for 3 days of labor (well, I think 5 hours broken up) to find the break and then clean up the liquid that was building under the front seat floor map / front seat. The repair shop had to remove the driver's seat and middle console to get to the wiring.
My main concern is - how did it break? (theory was frozen line, as it happened in winter) - and why was the weak spot in such a difficult to reach place? (could they put in an engineered weak spot in the line some place that is easy to fault/find/fix ?)
My second concern is - this is running with the electrical wires - if the windshield washer fluid was corrosive enough (or if there happened to be other damage to the wires) - then an electrical short could have occurred in the middle of the vehicle. Roasted children anyone - or maybe just a little shock therapy?
Also - this vehicle is only 6 (maybe 7) years old - if there is an engineering flaw, I suspect others may find themselves with a wet floor and non-working windshield washer dispensers.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The 2009 Chevy Equinox has a rear window wiper with washer fluid dispenser. The fluid line for this feature happens to run with the electrical wiring through the middle of the vehicle - inside the interior, but under the seats/consoles/etc.
The fluid line broke under the middle console, between the two front seats. Most of the cost of the repair was for 3 days of labor (well, I think 5 hours broken up) to find the break and then clean up the liquid that was building under the front seat floor map / front seat. The repair shop had to remove the driver's seat and middle console to get to the wiring.
My main concern is - how did it break? (theory was frozen line, as it happened in winter) - and why was the weak spot in such a difficult to reach place? (could they put in an engineered weak spot in the line some place that is easy to fault/find/fix ?)
My second concern is - this is running with the electrical wires - if the windshield washer fluid was corrosive enough (or if there happened to be other damage to the wires) - then an electrical short could have occurred in the middle of the vehicle. Roasted children anyone - or maybe just a little shock therapy?
Also - this vehicle is only 6 (maybe 7) years old - if there is an engineering flaw, I suspect others may find themselves with a wet floor and non-working windshield washer dispensers.
- mindalot, Germantown, MD, US