Screen Wash Reservoir

Poulgorm

A really trivial query: the screen wash reservoir in my car is located quite low down in the engine compartment. It has quite a long "neck" up to the cover. The cover has a thin strip of plastic attached to it - a foot long at least - which goes down into the neck.

What is the possible function of that plastic strip?

I'm just curious - it's not keeping me awake at night or anything like that!

SVI40

It may be to check the level of the fluid. One of my cars have a tube, and you placed your finger over the top of it, then removed it and it gave the level of the fluid.

Marlay

Or it stops you losing the cover maybe.

Buffman

It's to help prevent you loosing it, the lids will either be tethered to the car somehow like all those new bottle caps or be untethered and loose with the long strip of plastic.

Or in my case anyway it seems to be there to make refilling as awkward as possible as if you don't fully remove it, it can catch the water on the way down and pull the lid back closed mid fill! 😂🤣

Poulgorm

It's not a tube (just a strip), so not useful for indicating the amount of screen wash in the reservoir.

When I top up, I remove the cap, together with the tethered strip, so I don't think it prevents the cap being lost / misplaced.

It's one of the great mysteries of our time. 🙄

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122520912#Comment_122520912

I imagine it's exactly like an oil dipstick, you pull it out, wipe it, dip it back in and then it gives you the level of screenwash remaining.

Sounds like a lot of faff though, my car just tells me when it's low 🙂