speedemn

I have always purchased the regular -45 celsius washer fluid that the auto parts store sell (Canadian Tire in Canada) to refill in my wife's RX400h. However we are now out of all the jugs that I had and she picked up a different brand from Costco that also says that it is a de-icer and removes ice/frost. There is also a caption that says "enhanced formula with IPA (Isopropyl alcohol)". The manufacturer appears to be Laurentide Automotive Products.

My question is whether it is safe to use this in the Lexus washer fluid system.

The reason I ask is because I know in the past I was told to stay away from Rain-X windshield washer products on my BMW as once that chemical gets in to the system there is no way to flip out of it and in to any other product so you are stuck with Rain-X for life. I never dug in to the reasons why but I did not want to have that limitation even if the probability of it is remote so I stuck with BMW washer fluid from the dealer.

I am not sure if this washer fluid has similar properties perhaps to Rain-X washer fluid that would either harm the Lexus washer fluid system or lock me in to using only this product from now on.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me please?

Thank you.

RX330inFL

Isopropyl alcohol is not an ingredient you need to be worried about. That is just your standard alcohol product. It is the other stuff you need to worry about. Rain-X has silicone added to it which would gum up the works.

Windshield washer fluid much like coolant is primarily water and alcohol. In this application there is no need for rust inhibitors, etc. so the more pure the product of water (distilled is better) and alcohol the better. You can use methanol or isopropyl alcohols, either is fine as long as the concentration is sufficient of that type to prevent freezing at those temperatures. Isopropyl is also less toxic than methanol so that is probably why you see it used in a Costco product. Is this the green version at Costco? Their blue version is supposedly somewhere around 50% methanol which is high compared to a number of brands and therefore good. Would assume the green IPA edition to be just as high in quality.

Products to avoid for the most part are those claiming to be 2-in-1, bug wash/cleaner/remover, additives, etc. unless you get a peak at the ingredients list. If you can find the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the product(s) in question they will tell you what is contained in the bottle.

Am going to guess you are OK to use this stuff without worry.

atdever

I tried rain-x twice and both times it was worthless. That includes the windsheild wipers and the liquid. It was a waste of money in my uses.

kiwi

AQUAPEL

Please do yourself a favour, and buy this stuff. if you are not handy some car dealerships will apply it for about 50 bucks.

if you are handy, i just bought a 4 pack online (in canada) for 30 bucks shipped. from aquapel.ca

you can apply it in about 15 minutes. you need to clean the glass very well, apply, wait a few minutes, then buff dry. thats it.

it is just like rain x, but 100 times better and will last about a year.

when its raining out, i barely use my wipers.

i am sure there are youtube videos on the stuff, it is fantastic.

it is made by PPG, which is the same company who makes all our windshields, so its safe.

diverchris

+1 for Aquapel

speedemn

Thank you for all the feedback. For the washer fluid I stuck with what my wife picked up.

I am familiar with Aquapel - thanks for the reminder to re-apply! :-)