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My Q5 doesn't have them... but I'm a little curious about how functional they really are. My dealer reports that I merely have a blanking plate at the location below the lens.
I can't comment on the Audi version, but my last BMW had them, and I didn't like it.
The days you need it is when snow is melting, and the roads are covered in the brown sludge. The issue is that stuff tends to dry on the headlight, and the washer isn't effective. On my car they were coupled to the washer stalk (every 4th pull I believe). If you washed your vehicle, and hit that lottery of the 4th pull to rinse off dust on the windshield, it would also drench the car. I ended up coding them off.
Seems better in theory than practice, and obviously no good for my climate. The rear camera washer works well though.
My Q5 doesn't have them... but I'm a little curious about how functional they really are. My dealer reports that I merely have a blanking plate at the location below the lens.
your dealer is absolutely correct. Audi has decided not to include the headlight washer on the Q5 in the US and Canada. I also realized too late and validated with my dealer that it was true.
Interestingly, though, he did look up my particular car and noted that it wasn't equipped... sort of implying that it could have been (or that some are).
I've had the washer systems on my Volvos of the past...extremely effective in cleaning the lights and greatly improved visibility at night in harsh winter conditions. They are required in many parts of the world, and it's a shame Audi has chosen to save money and not offer them here. Yes they can spray and make a mess sometimes, but driving through a raging blizzard or slushy sleet storm they make a strong case for wanting (especially when the washer solution is heated by design of radiating engine heat). If you can't see out your obstructed windshield, your lights can't see very well down the road either. I hope customer feedback will bring them to America in the future (or offered in a optional winter package of sorts with headed windshield glass, heated steering wheel, etc). For those that hate the mess they make a little improvising to "cap off" the fluid lines so they don't function in the summer takes 5 minutes, or even less time to pull the fuse on some models. It's a shame Europe requires them buy law but we can't get this great safety feature here.
Last edited by farmerjones; 03-15-2018 at 09:38 PM.
Interestingly, though, he did look up my particular car and noted that it wasn't equipped... sort of implying that it could have been (or that some are).
Headlight washers are not included in any North American MK 2 Q5s or SQ5s.
I had them on B6 A4 a long time ago. They were useless in my opinion, when I did need them in the winter they were always frozen and would not pop out.
So it is not just the North American market which misses out on head light washers. The washers, for some strange Audi reason, are only for the Matrix LED lights for all regions.
Maybe it's coupled with LED vs non-LED headlights? I do notice a lot more snow accumulation on headlight/taillights due to them running cooler than the incandescent/HID ones.
My '16 S5 has the headlamp washers and I kind of feel that they are annoying at times. As one poster above mentioned, just as you have cleaned your car and you happen to hit the windshield washer 3 or 4 times just to clean of some dirt, it comes up and sprays a whole lot of washer fluid and ruins your clean car in the process. But, as another poster mentioned, it can be very useful at certain times when the road is muddy/slushy or just muddy.
03-15-2018, 10:32 AM
Headlight Washers
