Headlight Washer does not retract - Includes TB 92-05-01

[Jim_CT]

Today the left headlight washer did not retract, and it does not spray washer fluid either. The right headlight washer works fine. I'll take it in to the service technician tomorrow.

The FAQs did not have any info. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

[henna gaijin]

Quote, originally posted by Jim_CT »

Today the left headlight washer did not retract, and it does not spray washer fluid either. The right headlight washer works fine. I'll take it in to the service technician tomorrow. The FAQs did not have any info. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

I experenced this problem on my Touareg (similar system?) and the problem was air in the line extending from the right washer to the left.

Cycling the washers a few times solved the problem.

To avoid the problem in the future, and as I don't use the headlamp washers very much, I cycle them every time I wash the vehicle. Problem has not reoccured.

HTH

[PhaetonChix]

The headlamp washer arms need to be lubricated when the vehicle is in for periodic service. Chances are its got gunk on the arm and nozzle openings are clogged.

PC

[Jim_CT]

Thanks for the feedback, Henna and PC. I tried cycling it several times and it was still stuck. I suspect the nozzle is gunked up as I almost never use the headlight washers.

The car is having its 20K maintenance on Wednesday, so I'm sure they will fix it.

I'll report back on Friday.

[PanEuropean]

Quote, originally posted by Jim_CT »

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Hi Jim:

The problem has been reported in Europe. It seems that there is a problem with a retaining pin coming loose on a very small number of the headlight washer nozzles. I have attached a German language technical bulletin that explains and illustrates the problem.

It should be fairly easy for your VW dealer to replace the nozzle - replacing the nozzle is simple, however, removing the front bumper cover can be difficult if the technician is not familair with the process. You might want to have a look at the post entitled "Retrofitting Dual Xenon Headlamps" - that contains complete, illustrated instructions concerning removal and replacement of the front bumper cover. Note that the photo hosting service that I use (hostdub) has been having a few problems this week, if pictures don't appear, try again a few hours later.

When you pick up the car after the work has been done, please make a function-check of the two front foglights and of the front park distance control system - both of these systems need to be unplugged to get the bumper cover off. I have re-installed the bumper cover myself in the past, and then discovered that I forgot to plug in one fog light...

I have attached the German language TB that explains the washer problem. It's quite understandable that VW of America has not bothered to issue this one - only a very small number of cars are affected, and all the NAR vehicles are still under warranty.

Michael

[Jim_CT]

Thanks Michael. I have printed out both your post and the German technical bulletin, and will give it to the technician.

[W126C]

Quote, originally posted by Jim_CT »

Thanks Michael. I have printed out both your post and the German technical bulletin, and will give it to the technician.

Hope the tech reads German.
Regards,
Brent

[PanEuropean]

Don't they all? It's a prerequisite for employment at my VW dealer.

[PanEuropean]

Jim:

What would be most valuable for your Phaeton tech would be the instructions at the "Retrofitting Dual Xenon Headlamps" post that explain how to remove and replace the bumper cover. Removing and replacing the squirter is child's play, it is the bumper cover that is full of surprises.

Michael

[Jim_CT]

Thanks again Michael.

Will bring that post as well.

Jim

[12dunlin]

I had the smae problem. I could pull hte washer cover mechnism out with my finger. Alas, it was only the small plastic cover that was loose, due to a missing spring retainer.

Even my (poor) dealer fixed it without too much bother..

[Jim_CT]

The left headlight washer nozzle was broken and leaked washer fluid. The service techs replaced the nozzle. I did not inquire as to the retaining ring issue reported by others. Removing the bumper was part of the procedure. Everything seems to work just fine.

All work and parts provided under warranty; no charge to us. Very satisfied with treatment and service techs at Danbury VW.

If I had thought about it, it would have been a good time to secure dual xenon headlights and have the upgrade done while the bumper was off.

Jim

[PanEuropean]

Quite a few people here have had good words to say about Danbury VW. Has someone added them to our ""NAR Phaeton dealers that we (Phaeton owners) recommend" thread?

Michael

[Jim_CT]

Micheal - I added Danbury VW sometime ago to the "NAR Phaeton dealers that we (Phaeton owners) recommend" (http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1769047) thread.

Jim

[PanEuropean]

OK, thanks Jim.

Apropos of the German language TB that I posted earlier in this thread, here is an English language TB that tells technicians what to do if fluid does not come out of the washer jet in the correct pattern.

The German language TB above is specific to the Phaeton and addresses a fairly rare failure of the headlight washer squirter - this one is generic in nature, applies to all VW products, and does not address a failure, it just explains how to clean washer jets that might have become plugged up with dirt or scuzz. It is TB 92-05-01 and is entitled "Washer Jets (Front or Rear ), Restricted".

Michael

[Paldi]

Both of them won't retract - I have to push them in. It seems the hot weather this summer popped the rubberbands or something. What's the easy fix?

[NMellor]

I'm having the same trouble with one. I've been told it's a spring but I don't have a part # and haven't been able to find a diagram/picture. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[611]

Until I find a permanent solution (only owned my Phaeton for 3 days) I have folded a tiny piece of blue painters tape and wedged it between the bottom of the flap and the bumper. At least it doesn't fall open at red lights. I look forward to finding a real workable solution to the problem.

[PanEuropean]

I merged the post that Jim refers to (directly above) together with this thread, so, the link that Jim provided will not work anymore (it just points right back to here).

The little door that covers up the headlight washer arm is held closed by an overcentering spring. If the door is "hyper-extended" (in other words, if you open the door - pull it forward - further than it normally opens simply to let the washer jet extend), then the door will remain in the open position. The fix for this is simple, just ensure that the headlight washer jet is not extended (make sure that the maintenance position is not selected using the controls on the big central display), then, gently push the door aft to close it. Once it passes over the top of the overcentering cam, it will close and then operate normally after that.

The picture below shows an inside view of the door, when the bumper cover has been removed.

Michael

[Paldi]

Mine just roll open at stop lights and close under wind pressure. Sometimes. It depends on the severity of the stop and the briskness of the wind.

If there's springs over extended or otherwise, they are long gone or they've lost their springy-ness.

[NMellor]

Mine just roll open at stop lights and close under wind pressure. Sometimes. It depends on the severity of the stop and the briskness of the wind.

If there's springs over extended or otherwise, they are long gone or they've lost their springy-ness.

Paldi - This is the same as mine. Often when I park (or stop) the car, I'll notice that it is open. When I close it by hand there doesn't seem to be any resistance at all. If there had been a spring or some other mechanism, it seems to be long gone.

Also... I am one of the newbies on this forum and I cannot express how thankful I am for this forum and the incredible dedication of the Phaeton owners/fans who have invested so much time in creating this resource. Thank you!

[PanEuropean]

If there's springs over extended or otherwise, they are long gone or they've lost their springy-ness.

Hi Fred:

I'm quite perplexed why this would be happening. There are no 'springs' in the sense of a conventional coil spring, instead, the "springy-ness" is provided by a small flat piece of metal. I wish I had a better close-up photo than the one above (I'll do a bit more searching).

In any case, if you want to fix the problem, you will need to remove the bumper cover, which is not a particularly difficult task, provided you have one extremely long Torx screwdriver and a helper around to assist you in lifting the cover on and off the car. There is a full description (with pictures) about how to get the bumper cover off at the post "Retrofitting Dual Xenon Headlamps".

Michael

[PanEuropean]

Fred:

Here's the best picture I can find that shows the nature of the little door for the headlight washers.

This photo is taken from behind the bumper cover, after the bumper cover was removed from the vehicle. The red arrow is pointing at a U-shaped part that is what provides the "springy-ness" to close the door. You can see that this U-shaped part appears to be held in place by three fasteners, two of which are at the top (and use speed nuts), the other is at the bottom and appears to be a larger, more conventional fastener.

My guess is that one or more of these fasteners has come loose, and this is why the washer cover doors are not properly functioning on your vehicle. Another possibility is that a technician removed and replaced the bumper cover, but did not correctly set up the washer arms when the bumper cover was replaced.

I've checked both the repair manual and the parts catalog in hopes of finding a better illustration, but could not find anything that provides additional detail.

Michael

[R4DEK1]

is this nozzle very expensive?

[TX170754]

Folks,
I have recently replaced both headlights washers covers by removing the bumper, one quit working but I took the chance and bought both left and right sides. After removing the bumper I've found out that also the"good" one was almost gone,it is the spring and a plastic part that supports it that usually breaks. If you are going to do what I have done buy both ( they're around $80 each!) and you also have to remove and replace the black outside covers which is very easy. The tricky part is that you also need to remove both silver ornaments ( bellow the headlight washers) be very careful otherwise you will break some of the retaining clips,which I did, good news is that there are plenty of them. If you need more info drop me a note and I will be more that happy to provide more info.
Dan

[jjwill]

Hey all,

I am missing a headlight washer nozzle. I do not want to replace the whole headlight washer assembly and take off the bumper if possible. For those of you that have already replaced your headlight washer assemblies, any chance you have a spare nozzle (just the very tip) off your broken assemblies??

Thanks for any consideration or information,
Jeff

[Kcmover]

Hi,

Hopefully Michael or somebody else might have a diagram of what the spring action of the Headlight squirter door might look like. The spring must be missing as it is constantly staying open just from road vibration. Is this a difficult repair to make?

Below is a picture of it.

[dovetaildoc]

I had an unfortunate meeting with a stop sign in an ice storm last winter. Hit the passenger side front bumper, and pierced the aux radiator. New bumper and radiator cost 8500.00. After I got it back, the drivers headlight washer door kept popping open during driving. Took it in for routine maintenance to the dealer, and asked them to re-hook up the retraction spring that was missing from the bodywork.... They quoted me 280.00-380.00 to fix. I swalked, and they agreed to fix on the original claim, but it'll take a week to get around to it. Argh!
Overall I have been happy with the mechanical service ( at Westside VW), but the body shop is on a molasses in winter schedule.

Mike

[PanEuropean]

Hi Larry:

I don't think that there is a 'spring' in the conventional sense (a coil spring) involved. I believe that the spring action is provided by a metal clip or similar.

It has been a long time since I took the front bumper cover off my car, and I can't quite remember what everything looks like in there. I do have one photo of the back side of the headlight washer door assembly (below).

You will need to take the front bumper cover off to get at it. This is not a difficult job, but it is very labour-intensive, rather detail-oriented, and requires some special tools. This explains why Mike was quoted about $300 to re and re the bumper cover (second post, above). That's about 3 hours labour, and to be honest, it will take a careful worker about 3 hours to re and re the bumper cover if that person has not done the job before.

I have attached the instructions for removal and installation of the bumper cover in PDF form. If you go to the post Retrofitting Dual Xenon Headlamps, you will find illustrated step-by-step instructions there that take you through the bumper cover removal process.

Some suggestions for you, based on my recollection of doing this job before:

1) It is a heck of a lot easier to re and re the bumper cover if you can lift the car about 3 feet off the ground. This puts all the fasteners at a convenient level to work at. I used the alignment rack at my VW dealer. A hoist would be equally effective.

2) Be sure that you have the special tools needed. In particular, this means some kind of extension that will allow you to get 18 inches of reach to one Torx T25 fastener on the inside of the bumper cover (see the explanation and photo of this in the Retrofitting Dual Xenon Headlamps post).

3) You will need a helper (second person) for about 5 minutes to remove the cover, and also for another 5 minutes when you are re-installing the cover. Don't try to do it yourself, you risk breaking the bumper cover if it is not properly supported during the re and re process.

4) Wash the front end of the car really well before starting work, in particular, wash the inside of the two front wheel wells.

5) If the lower valence on your front bumper is scuffed up from hitting ramps, etc., consider ahead of time if you would like to replace it while you have the front bumper cover off. It is very easy to replace this part when the bumper cover is off.

6) You MUST RESPECT AND FOLLOW EXACTLY the sequence for tightening fasteners set out in the 'installation' instructions. This cannot be over-emphasized. If you do not tighten the fasteners in the order specified, the bumper cover will eventually break due to unwanted stresses. This problem has been discussed in another thread here in the forum, so, learn from the misfortunes of others...

Best regards,

Michael

Inside view of headlight washer door

[Kcmover]

Michael. I always know that your the Phaeton expert. Thanks for the information and the pdf's. hope all is well with you.

If VW ever wants to re-enter the USA / Canada Market with the Phaeton they should hire you as you know more about their product then the do......

Best regards,

Larry

[PanEuropean]

Hi Larry:

Just one further tip - you might want to get your VW dealer to order you a half a dozen of the pan-head fasteners that are used to secure the front wheel well liners to the bumper cover. I believe that these are part number N 103 546 02 (item 40 on illustration 807-00 in the parts catalog), but I am not 100% certain of this). You might also want to order a couple of N 907 750 01, which are the fasteners that require the 18" screwdriver extension (item 39 on the same illustration).

The fasteners are inexpensive, and my experience has been that the fasteners around the perimeter of the wheel well liner tend to get 'sandblasted' by road sand and it is difficult to re-use them because the heads are worn down. As for the two fasteners that need the long extension - well, if you order a couple of spares, then you won't have to take the bumper cover off a second time when you drop one and lose it trying to fit it into the hole...

Michael

[rushcoil]

Both sides of mine do the same thing. One will just randomly be sticking out and neither goes back in. One of these days I will get brave and do the fix =)

[NDJoe]

If anyone is still having the problem of the washer doors staying open, I have a quick and CHEAP fix....and it works!!!

Just let me know.

Joe

[Paldi]

OK, if it's cheaper than a bit of black electrical tape, I'm game. Maybe a coule of well placed magnets? Both of mine are floppy.

[PanEuropean]

Photos re-hosted.

Michael