UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Got a frustrating problem with the wife 2008 Polo - the rear wash wipe isn't working. When you try to do a wash, the pump runs and the wiper moves but no water comes out. Except you can see the water dribbling out from under the car - roughly underneath the passenger side seat.

Thing is, I've had a really good look under the car and I cannot for the life of me see where the washer feed tube goes, I can only find brake pipes and handbrake cables! I've had the big black plastic sheet off the bottom of the car but that only revealed brake lines.

Does anyone know how the water pipe to the rear wash wipe is routed to the rear? It must have split or separated somehow along the way!

Follow the pipework back to the area under the ABS valve block/pump -on the passenger side near the bulkhead. I think that there is a "push together" pipe joint there.

Is that only accessible from underneath the car? I've had a good look and I can only find the pipes that lead to the front windscreen jets.

Its well hidden- but where the water is leaking from suggests its around the area you've mentioned!

Well I managed to sort this out - fiddly but its working now.

If anyone else has the same problems:-

1) Remove the air filter box entirely
2) Underneath the abs unit is where the joint comes apart - I found it impossible to 'rejoin' it in the same place so I pulled the two ends around the front of the abs unit and joined them there. They're not in the way and can be tucked away - and its easier to find if it breaks again!
3) Refit the air filter box.

Of course I did all this, and it still didn't work, but now I had a puddle underneath the rear bumper - but it was much quicker to find this problem. The joint in the boot behind the liner (passenger side) had also come apart and pushing that back together was easy. Rear washer now working!

What a ropey bit of design though, two joints coming apart in a 4 year old car? And I notice the pipe hangs down a bit in the passenger footwell which is asking for trouble( I've now tucked it away)

Happened to me. I still haven't got round to fixing it as my water leak seems to be coming from the centre of the car :( and I can't see under it.

Check the joint under the ABS module -you might find (like on mine) that the joint had come apart and the water was squirting right up the bodywork, making it look like it was leaking out of the bodywork underneath the passenger seat itself!

Thanks! Is the air filter easy to pull out?