It has been at least 4 times my fluid has ran dry and i have not had a single warning that my fluid was out. Does the accord even have this simple sensor?

It isnt that big of a deal because i know when its out when it starts spraying like an 90 year old man, but still, i dont think its that hard to put a sensor in

Aren't we a little too trigger happy with the sprayer. But I have no idea if there's a sensor.

"Wiper blade fluid"? Never heard of that! :D

Canadian model (at least the 7th Gen) have the low "windshield washer fluid" level sensor along with a higher capacity tank, U.S. model don't.

Likely the same case with the 8th Gen.

But seriously, you ran it dry 4 times? How often do you check the other fluid levels under the hood? :dunno:

I ran dry this past time. First time it's happened but I like keeping my windshield clean. When its humid outside, in the mornings there is usually a layer of condensation on it which accumulates dirt etc so I give it a little spray.

i wish it had the sensor, it would have been nice to know i ran out when i tried to de-ice my windshield over the winter.

Wiper blade fluid??? That's a new one to me. I have a hard enough time keeping the blinker fluid topped off! :lmao:

8th gen doesn't have it either.

Acuras might have it. I think the Ody Touring might. Maybe the top line Pilot, too.

My Mazda does . . . along with the high capacity reservoir. :D Put in 1 & 1/2 bottles when the light came on . . . didn't even top it off. o_O

Wiper blade fluid??? That's a new one to me. I have a hard enough time keeping the blinker fluid topped off! :lmao:
You know exactly what i meant, same shit, just different wording, do not try to act smart.


my 05 altima had it, and it was the base model with nothing fancy to it. strange i just thought my car was malfunctioning

Just know how often you are using it. If you are running out every 4 weeks, top it every 3 weeks. I think the only time I have ever run out of fluid was after snowfalls when the salt piles up and at every other stop light you need to clean it off.

My first thought was surprise at someone expecting a car to have it. I've never had a car with such a sensor but now that I think about it, it'd be nice to have.
This car goes a lot further between oil changes and I'm far more likely to run out of windshield wiper fluid.

I'd wonder if they make a third party one but something tells me they probably don't. :(

Could we purchase the larger resivoir and sensor from Canada to fit on our USA spec Accords?

In the winter, I go through washer fluid like crazy - I usually buy it in bulk when it's on sale, as in 8-10 bottles at a time. I HATE salt, slush, and streaks on my window.

So, if we could simply plug the sensor in and get the reminder light on the dash I would spring for it. If it a complicated thing to get the light that goes beyond just pluging a sensor in, forget it.

i try not to use the wiper that often unless it's raining, just because all the dirt will scratch your windshield even you spray washer fluid...you'll see in a long run

I guess we are lucky in Canada, because we have that sensor. Cause a light shows in the dashboard. When the light pops up, there's still like 1L left. When there's no more juice, you can put nearly 6L in the Canadian Accord.

I'm pretty sure it's only a little gizmo that could be fit in the US model. I'm pretty sure they don't make complete cluster only for Canada.

i dont think its that hard to put a sensor in
Nope, but it costs money:D. And manufacturers start cutting costs where owners are less likely to notice during the evaluation process.

Nope, but it costs money:D. And manufacturers start cutting costs where owners are less likely to notice during the evaluation process.
I bet, its just strange my 05 Altima S which is base had that sensor, when i found my accord not showing the warning i was like this car cant possibly not have one. but its no biggie

I just moved my car to the right angle of sunlight to shine on the instrument cluster and show the outlines of all the reminder lamps, and sure enough our American gauge cluster has a low washer fluid reminder lamp (shape of a curved windshield with dotted lines through it representing the fluid spray). It is located just to the very left of the right turn signal.

Now for the ultimate question: is the activation of the lamp as simple as replacing the resivoir with the one with a level switch in it, or is there a computer program that you have to do to make the lamp actually sense the sensor?

Now is the time for in depth research :yes:

im assuming its plug and play, like the temperature sensor. all you have to do is plug it in to activate it.

A few things you will have to determine:

1. Is there a bulb there already for the warning light?

2. Is the mating connector/cable located at the reservoir area already?

3. Is the display control software programmed the same between the US cars and Canadian cars? Remember MPH vs. KPH differences, the units cannot even be set to metric in American cars or Imperial in Canadian cars. The light needs to be turned on by the control module after the input from the low fluid level sensor is sensed by the control module, it's not as simple as the sensor driving the warning light directly.

Hopefully it's as easy as dropping in a Canadian reservoir and plug in the connector, but somehow I'm not so sure it's that straightforward........

A few things you will have to determine:

1. Is there a bulb there already for the warning light?

2. Is the mating connector/cable located at the reservoir area already?

3. Is the display control software programmed the same between the US cars and Canadian cars? Remember MPH vs. KPH differences, the units cannot even be set to metric in American cars or Imperial in Canadian cars. The light needs to be turned on by the control module after the input from the low fluid level sensor is sensed by the control module, it's not as simple as the sensor driving the warning light directly.

Hopefully it's as easy as dropping in a Canadian reservoir and plug in the connector, but somehow I'm not so sure it's that straightforward........

That's exactly what I was thinking. Now, I do have the service manual for 2008-2009 Accords, all North American models, and I just found the washer section (it's about half way through 4000 pages). According to this, ALL Canadian models have the 4.5L resivoir, AS WELL AS American 2 door models. USA 4 door models have 2.8L resivoirs.

Also, the level switch appears to plug into the same harness that the washer pump plugs into, and the manual does in fact discern that the level switch is only on Canadian models.

I went back to the BCM section where all the reminder lamps run through the body control module, and the only thing it discerns a difference in is the existance of the level switch on Canadian models - the BCM module on both American and Canadian cars is the same.

One more thing, as far as KM/H and MPH...... the actual calibration of the speedometer needle and speed sending units would be the same reguardless. Think about it: on American speedometers, the KM/H is in small font, but the calibration of the needle is not affected, and vice versa for Canadian speedometers..... only thing different is the Canadian instrument cluster and American instrument cluster have the MPH and KM/H print font reversed. On American cars, When it's pointing at 60 MPH in big font, it's also pointing at 100 KM/H in small font, and on Canadian cars, when it's pointing at 100 KM/H in big font it's also pointing at 60 MPH in small font - the needle, all electronics, software, sensors, and calibrations stay the same :thmsup:

One more thing, as far as KMH and MPH...... the actual calibration of the speedometer needle and speed sending units would be the same reguardless. Think about it: on American speedometers, the KMH is in small font, but the calibration of the needle is not affected, and vice versa for Canadian speedometers..... only thing different is the Canadian instrument cluster and American instrument cluster have the MPH and KPH print font reversed :thmsup:

I don't disagree the neddle position is the same, I was talking about the other metric and imperial units such as temperature and oddometer display, they are in fact different, there is no way to force them to change between F/C or km/miles in the 7th Gen, so unless the 8th Gen is different, it means there ARE different firmware versions in the control module.

I don't disagree the neddle position is the same, I was talking about the other metric and imperial units such as temperature and oddometer display, they are in fact different, there is no way to force them to change between F/C or km/miles in the 7th Gen, so unless the 8th Gen is different, it means there ARE different firmware versions in the control module.

There is a setup mode in diagnostics in the service manual - I am reading through all the different modes for setup. There is a way to change the auto climate control temp to celcius, so I am wondering if that changes outside temp display as well.

But you are correct in that there is no way to change odometer readings, and I didn't think about that, so yes, there would be different BCM software.

There is a setup mode in diagnostics in the service manual - I am reading through all the different modes for setup. There is a way to change the auto climate control temp to celcius, so I am wondering if that changes outside temp display as well.

But you are correct in that there is no way to change odometer readings, and I didn't think about that, so yes, there would be different BCM software.

I was referring to the outside temperature reading when I mentioned temperature earlier.

Hopefully someone would be brave/advanturous enough to try this out. :yes:

I was referring to the outside temperature reading when I mentioned temperature earlier.

Hopefully someone would be brave/advanturous enough to try this out. :yes:

You got the outside air temp to work by just plug and play? HOW HOW HOW! on the 8th Gen? i know you can do it on the 7th Gen but i've been dying to get that damn feature on my 8th EX... can't believe they wouldn't include that...

sorry for the hijack... :S

humm i wonder if i take my US accord to a Canadian Dealer and say... "the light isn't working" if they'd "fix" it under warranty :-D

The link below has some windshield washer tablets that you mix with water. Honda sells the exact same tablets. They also sell wipes for your wipers to clean and condition them. For $6 you can get a sampler pack which includes shipping.

http://www.303products.com/shop303/index.cfm/category/73/303-instant-windshield-washer-tablets.cfm

I try to make it a habbit to check all my fluids when filling up the car with gas. Got the wife to do it also. Never run ours dry, and we can keep track of the levels of the oil, tranny fluid (color too), etc.

I try to make it a habbit to check all my fluids when filling up the car with gas. Got the wife to do it also. Never run ours dry, and we can keep track of the levels of the oil, tranny fluid (color too), etc.


I try to do that too.... in the winter, though, I've had nasty, slushy, salty days on the freeway where I go through the entire reservior in 2 days!

There is a thread in this forum that showed a code to put in the radio that allowed it to display vehicle speed in kilometers.

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=34899&highlight=radio+code

I also read in another thread that the windshield washer fluid sensor is probably part of the fluid pump on the reservoir tank, just in case anyone is still wondering about this sensor.

The link below has some windshield washer tablets that you mix with water. Honda sells the exact same tablets. They also sell wipes for your wipers to clean and condition them. For $6 you can get a sampler pack which includes shipping.

http://www.303products.com/shop303/index.cfm/category/73/303-instant-windshield-washer-tablets.cfm

I'd be interested to know if those wiper cleaning pads actually work. My passenger wiper works perfect but my driver one leave annoying lines of water and a small unwiped spot right in my view...

I'd be interested to know if those wiper cleaning pads actually work. My passenger wiper works perfect but my driver one leave annoying lines of water and a small unwiped spot right in my view...

Another option is to use isopropyl(sp?) alcohol on them to clean and soften the rubber. Then use some 303 protectant(or similiar) on them to condition the rubber and prevent the rubber from drying out.

if i just clean with alcohol will it dry out?

Thats what I used to do and was fine. It will make the rubber more pliable and soft. You will be amazed at all the dirt that comes off.

The 2nd step is added protection. Optional but not a bad idea at all.

ok, im going to do that when i get my car back tomorrow and report back with results after it rains again

A One 2 punch is to also apply some Rain X on the windshield. Another similiar product is Aquapel(sp?). With the Rain X follow the dircetions to a tee. Most importantly is to use a damp cloth to remove the product after application. After you see how nice this works you will want it to rain. :D

I actually have the RainX blades that came with rainx windshield treatment. I use the spray now so I don't have to use my wipers because of the annoying streak =[

My 2003 Accord has this sensor, but the damn sensor is toast! Even when it's full it still says I'm low. I'm trying to figure out how to pull it out so I can fix/replace it.

"Wiper blade fluid"? Never heard of that! :D

Canadian model (at least the 7th Gen) have the low "windshield washer fluid" level sensor along with a higher capacity tank, U.S. model don't.

Likely the same case with the 8th Gen.

But seriously, you ran it dry 4 times? How often do you check the other fluid levels under the hood? :dunno:Wow, I'm finding myself jealous of Canadians. I've had that sensor on past cars I've owned, and it is a nice thing to have. I don't understand why the Canadians are special that way, this one seems like a basic thing that if they're going to put it on any Accords, they should put it on all of them.

At least we do get a little warning, since it doesn't spray as hard when it starts to get low. I've learned to watch for that.

hahaaha not lucky.... we get the intense winters which require much wiping.

hahaaha not lucky.... we get the intense winters which require much wiping.That explains the bigger resevoir, although folks up in northern states like Minnesota and Montana could probably use that as well. But anybody could use the sensor, even in Miami.

And wouldn't it make it cheaper to just go ahead and put it on everybody's car?