Accord coupe - washer fluid container

Yes, but taking your argument you should use abacus
instead of your computer to do all the calculations ;-)

I generally agree with you that fancy electronics add
components to the system, and in consequence we have
more components, and bigger probability for a system
failure due to the single component failure...

But in the case of the low fluid warning lamps it is no
issue, because if the warning system fails you will not
have anything worse than a system without warning system.
So if you have to choose a system with no warning light
and a system with a warning light which might get wrong
some day I would take the "risk" of having this convenience.

To be honest I am going to find this sender unit on some
Canadian autoparts site and outfit it in my USA version
I hope necessary harness is there to give the signal to
the light on the dashboard... If successful I promisse
to come back here and describe this mod for anybody
wanting to do the same.

 

That's a really, really bad idea to let the fluid nearly run out
before refilling. I never let mine get more than a couple of inches
low. If you are ever driving on a dark road late at night in the
middle of nowhere, with 18-wheelers spraying you with dirty water, you
will understand why. If you never leave the city perhaps you can get
away with it.

Normally, with 3,000 mile service, Honda refills mine and I seldom
have to worry about it unless we have a lot of snow and/or rain.
Worrying about how much the washer fluid container held would be about
number 689 on my list of things to be concerned about.

 

The store where I get my ww fluid is now selling it in a "Super Value"
160 oz size which is 5 quarts. My wifes van holds a whole gallon but
now she has a quart leftover so I jump up and down and yell "In your
face Be-otch"! That leftover quart hurts like hell after it's been
hurled across the garage.

 

Yeah, this is my first experience with heated mirrors, and they're a lot
more useful than I first thought... even without ice or snow they clear off
condensation nicely

 

No thanks. I can tell a non-engineer, non-technician when I
see him.

 

Suit yourself, but you're greatly overreacting here IMHO.

 

The Owner's Manual for my 2003 Accord Sedan lists the windshield washer
reservoir's capacity as 2.5l for the US model and 4.5l for the Canadian
model. Does anyone know if the Canadian reservoir would fit a US model?

 

Absolutely not - you're making a mountain out of a molehill here. Just
because the windshield washer reservoir doesn't hold a full gallon
doesn't make it a design flaw or reflect that Honda doesn't care about
details.

Give it a rest, please, OK?

 

Yes. So much better to depend on a possibly malfunctioning warning lamp
when checking it manually would be such a bother.

Now, once you've made the modification, you will assume it has ample fluid.
Then, just when you need it most (windshield covered with crud from a truck)
you will go to use the washer fluid and then discover it is empty because no
one bothered to lift the hood and look.

Yes, "a system with a warning light which might get wrong some day" is
definitely an improvement!

 

I like to play with stuff like this - I am an engineer

 

That is funny, because I could fit much more than 2.5L to my 2004 coupe (US).
My user manual also lists 2.6 US quarts / 2.5 liter. What is going on ?

 

Any problems at work or at home?
Can we help you somehow to improve your self esteem??

 

.... in your humble opinion.
I my - also humble opinion - it does make it a design flaw.

I am sure your newsreader has 'ignore thread' feature.
Use it when not interested instead telling me what to do.

 

And you probably think everybody is the same as you?

 

Dude...I have read every response up to today, so I am going back and
responding to your original post:

The 2004 Accord should have about a 2.5L reservoir, or 2.6 US quarts. The
Japanese do things using the metric system. The conversions result in weird
numbers here in the US, as you see.

So a 2.5L reservoir comes out to .65 gallons, so thats why there's .35
gallons left over fluid using a 1 gallon jug.

Canada DOES use the metric system, and they also use a 4.5L reservoir WITH a
low level indicator on the dash panel.

And if you took an American 1 gallon jug to Canada and tried to put it in
their Accord, it would readily fit ALL of the jug...since 1 gallon is about
3.8L.

Now...your question is about "bad design".

Hmmm..interesting question the more I think about it.

I think it would be nice as hell to have a larger reservoir, but we don't.
As far as I can see, the wiper fluid reservoir is the only thing that is
larger in the Accord capacity wise in Canadian models..all other fluid
capacities seem to be the same.

So something has made the Canadian models have a larger windshield fluid
reservoir...like getting towards twice as large.

The real question then becomes WHY?

Canadians sell 4L jugs of windshield wiper fluid...so that will obviously
fit completely in a 4.5L reservoir.

A 1 gallon US jug of wiper fluid also fit completely in a 4.5L reservoir.

A 4L Canadian jug will not fit a USA capacity, obviously.

So a Canadian Accord WILL take both a 1 gallon USA and a Canadian 4L jug.

An American Accord can't gulp the whole bottle down of with USA or Canadian
commercially available windshield wiper fluids.

Ain't that a bitch?!

So...well....yeah..I guess you could look at it as a design flaw....or an
optional windshield wiper reservoir oversite...

Now I want to know WHY the US model is so much smaller...maybe because we
don't use it as much as in Canada where the roads are terrible and the
windshields of Canadian cars on the highways can get so dirty and dangerous
that there needs to be more because Canadians use the stuff all the time?

Is it smaller in USA models because of something in the engine compartment
that US models have that restricts the 4.5L reservoir?

Is it because in USA we can check more often our fluids when we fill up the
gas, as our manuals suggest?

Do Americans like being psyched out to thing they are getting their money's
worth in a 1 gallon jug because we have more left over even when we fill our
reservoir to max?

That should get some people talking....

Peace,
Polfus

 

Yes..Canadian models have a larger reservoir than US models...4.5L whereas
we have a 2.5L here in USA.

A 1 gallon jug equates to 3.8L or so, so a 1 gallon jug will readily go into
your Accord.

In USA, a 2.5L reservoir comes out to .65 gallons, so thats why the thread
we now participate in....there's .35 gallons left over fluid using a 1
gallon jug here in USA on a car designed using metric system in Japan and
that upset the original poster who thinks its a design flaw, even though it
may be just the way it works out here in USA since we STILL have not gotten
a grip on the metric system, or Americans just refuse to...but thats a whole
other thread.

Peace,
Polfus

 

Did you know that you can also get the little concentrated dry tablets and
add water to those?

Just saying that you won't have to store any fluid afterwards if you don't
want to...just keep a 1 gallon jug somewhere to use again.

Or...just use the left-over from the 1 gallon jug to top off your fluid
levels *instead* of having to go back out and buy a whole other gallon jug
just to top off your levels.

And another thing..dude...don't wait until your fluid is starting to run out
before you fill it up...you obviously aren't checking it enough if this
happens!

Peace,
Polfus

 

But will it fit?

WHY did Honda use a smaller reservoir in USA models...there MUST be a
reason.

Peace,
Polfus

 

The correct amount is actually 35% left over.

1 gallon is 3.8L or so.

A 2.5L reservoir can handle .65 gallons....or 65% of a 1 gallon jug.

Therefore, 35% remains.

Peace,
Polfus

 

NOTHING will be more reliable than checking the reservoir with your own eyes
regularly.

Its free, fool-proof, and void of any chance of electrical malfunction.

Peace,
Polfus