How to fix Tahoe 2022 rear washer fluid not spraying. FIXED

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

DIY-Mech

TYF Newbie
Joined
Mar 29, 2024
Posts
2
Reaction score
9
My 2022 Tahoe Z71 rear windshield sprayer stopped spraying. I took it to the dealership and they told me the pump was out and that it was going to cost $341.00. LOL. I have had a pretty good working relationship with them but all previous work other than oil changes has been minor warranty stuff. After I got the quote from the dealer I decided to make time to try and fix it myself. Keep in mind at this point I’m trusting the dealer and believing them that the pump was out. The front sprayer was working so I thought perhaps my model had 2 pumps one for the front and one for the rear. I started researching the 2022 year model and found nothing that really helped my specific situation. I found some old youtube videos that a couple of much older models did have 2 separate pumps however the current model and last several from what I have found is that it just has one pump. I enlisted the help of my wife to run the back sprayer while I listened from the front, while it was quieter, you could still hear the “whine” of the washer fluid motor running and watching the fluid level not decrease told me 2 things:
1 – The washer pump works.
2 – If the water fluid level wasn’t going down like the front sprayer made it do, then it was clogged somewhere.
Picture 1.jpgAt this point I’m pretty angry that the dealer just straight up lied to my face about the pump not working. Their “Certified Corvette mechanic that is supposedly really great” is the one I was told looked at it and determined the pump was out. I thought these were pretty cool people.

Continuing on, I located the hose on the passenger side connecting from the washer to the hose that runs towards the back of the Tahoe for the rear sprayer. (Picture 1) I removed the elbow fitting from both hose connections circled in yellow and red. I checked the rear sprayer and fluid came out of the hose that is circled red in the picture.


I held it pointing it up out of the hood area and had my wife run the rear sprayer, and wouldn’t you know it old faithful started spraying. I then had my wife lightly spray compressed air from the hose that is circled in yellow while I got inside the Tahoe with the doors closed to better hear. I could hear air blowing towards the back so I knew a hose had come apart. Once I heard air I thought my initial assumption about it being clogged was probably wrong, since the fluid level should have still decreased and just started pumping the fluid at the site where the tubes came apart I was confused about this, until someone mentioned that and air bubble could be "clogging the line" I don't know if that was the case.

I don’t have it pictured here but in the yellow circle of picture 2 there is a black plastic cover you have to pry off starting from the bottom and it pops off. It is delicate so it may break but you will have to take it off to get to the T40 bolt underneath.

Picture 2.jpg


Just above that you will see another tie down loop in Picture 3.
Picture 3.jpg
When you unscrew it, you might unscrew the plastic with the bolt or it may unscrew from the bolt itself. I guess this is designed to make it easy to replace the plastic if it were to break? In either case once this bolt and the T40 below it are out you should have enough wiggle room because you shouldn’t have to remove the entire panel.
Picture 4.jpg
Lift up the floor compartment door and unscrew the 2 giant plastic bolts by hand pictured in the green box, it has a really large torx shape but its plastic and it didn’t seem very strong to withstand a power bit, it is easy to turn by hand. Once you have removed both of these nuts the hold drawer/container and be lifted up and out of the Tahoe.

I used a panel pop tool but a flathead screw driver would work too, remove the plastic piece so it doesn’t get snapped in half when you yank up the back rear floor panel. Just start from either the right or the left like where my hand is in Picture 4 and give a nice firm pull and then work your way across until you get the whole thing popped off.

Picture 5.jpg

I bought a cheap borescope off amazon and In Picture 5 you’ll see the tip of the camera is pointed at the passenger rear corner, and if you look at the screen view on the borescope “in” Picture 5 you will see a set of hoses with an elbow connector. This is where my problem was these were disconnected.



At the bottom left side of Picture 5 grab the base of the sidewall panel where my hand is and give a firm pull. I had enough room as shown on the right hand side to feel around for the loose hoses and plug them back together. Mind you if your hoses come loose like mine did you may have to run the pump a few times to charge the line before liquid comes out. So don’t be dismayed when nothing comes out after your run the sprayer once. Make sure you at least run it 3 times. If nothing comes out then you likely have a clogged nozzle or it may be disconnected closer to the rear spray nozzle than mine was. I hope this helps someone else.
 
Last edited:

Big Mama

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2015
Posts
3,358
Reaction score
2,025
Location
Virginia
Nice write up. Most dealers like to change parts vs diagnosing the problem. It’s faster and more lucrative.
 

Joseph Garcia

Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2018
Posts
7,299
Reaction score
9,843
Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

EXCELLENT Write-up. Unfortunately, washer hose connectors do come apart on these trucks, but that is the first time that I've seen one come apart in that part of the truck. Mine came apart in the engine bay on the driver's side, behind the auxiliary battery.

Thank you for posting your solution to your issue. Our collective knowledge base has been increased.

Please add the word "FIXED" to your thread's title, to let others who are experiencing a similar issue know that this thread has an identified solution.
 

-dW_CNY

TYF Newbie
Joined
Feb 26, 2023
Posts
1
Reaction score
1
Nice write up. Most dealers like to change parts vs diagnosing the problem. It’s faster and more lucrative.
Dealership mechanics get paid book.. they HAVE to do it the fastest way if they like eating and living indoors
 

GMCnewbee

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2022
Posts
322
Reaction score
543
Nice work! Thanks very much for getting this info out to the Forum.
 

pearssl

TYF Newbie
Joined
Aug 25, 2024
Posts
1
Reaction score
0
My 2022 Tahoe Z71 rear windshield sprayer stopped spraying. I took it to the dealership and they told me the pump was out and that it was going to cost $341.00. LOL. I have had a pretty good working relationship with them but all previous work other than oil changes has been minor warranty stuff. After I got the quote from the dealer I decided to make time to try and fix it myself. Keep in mind at this point I’m trusting the dealer and believing them that the pump was out. The front sprayer was working so I thought perhaps my model had 2 pumps one for the front and one for the rear. I started researching the 2022 year model and found nothing that really helped my specific situation. I found some old youtube videos that a couple of much older models did have 2 separate pumps however the current model and last several from what I have found is that it just has one pump. I enlisted the help of my wife to run the back sprayer while I listened from the front, while it was quieter, you could still hear the “whine” of the washer fluid motor running and watching the fluid level not decrease told me 2 things:
1 – The washer pump works.
2 – If the water fluid level wasn’t going down like the front sprayer made it do, then it was clogged somewhere.
View attachment 425852At this point I’m pretty angry that the dealer just straight up lied to my face about the pump not working. Their “Certified Corvette mechanic that is supposedly really great” is the one I was told looked at it and determined the pump was out. I thought these were pretty cool people.

Continuing on, I located the hose on the passenger side connecting from the washer to the hose that runs towards the back of the Tahoe for the rear sprayer. (Picture 1) I removed the elbow fitting from both hose connections circled in yellow and red. I checked the rear sprayer and fluid came out of the hose that is circled red in the picture.


I held it pointing it up out of the hood area and had my wife run the rear sprayer, and wouldn’t you know it old faithful started spraying. I then had my wife lightly spray compressed air from the hose that is circled in yellow while I got inside the Tahoe with the doors closed to better hear. I could hear air blowing towards the back so I knew a hose had come apart. Once I heard air I thought my initial assumption about it being clogged was probably wrong, since the fluid level should have still decreased and just started pumping the fluid at the site where the tubes came apart I was confused about this, until someone mentioned that and air bubble could be "clogging the line" I don't know if that was the case.

I don’t have it pictured here but in the yellow circle of picture 2 there is a black plastic cover you have to pry off starting from the bottom and it pops off. It is delicate so it may break but you will have to take it off to get to the T40 bolt underneath.

View attachment 425858


Just above that you will see another tie down loop in Picture 3.
View attachment 425862
When you unscrew it, you might unscrew the plastic with the bolt or it may unscrew from the bolt itself. I guess this is designed to make it easy to replace the plastic if it were to break? In either case once this bolt and the T40 below it are out you should have enough wiggle room because you shouldn’t have to remove the entire panel.
View attachment 425863
Lift up the floor compartment door and unscrew the 2 giant plastic bolts by hand pictured in the green box, it has a really large torx shape but its plastic and it didn’t seem very strong to withstand a power bit, it is easy to turn by hand. Once you have removed both of these nuts the hold drawer/container and be lifted up and out of the Tahoe.

I used a panel pop tool but a flathead screw driver would work too, remove the plastic piece so it doesn’t get snapped in half when you yank up the back rear floor panel. Just start from either the right or the left like where my hand is in Picture 4 and give a nice firm pull and then work your way across until you get the whole thing popped off.

View attachment 425864

I bought a cheap borescope off amazon and In Picture 5 you’ll see the tip of the camera is pointed at the passenger rear corner, and if you look at the screen view on the borescope “in” Picture 5 you will see a set of hoses with an elbow connector. This is where my problem was these were disconnected.



At the bottom left side of Picture 5 grab the base of the sidewall panel where my hand is and give a firm pull. I had enough room as shown on the right hand side to feel around for the loose hoses and plug them back together. Mind you if your hoses come loose like mine did you may have to run the pump a few times to charge the line before liquid comes out. So don’t be dismayed when nothing comes out after your run the sprayer once. Make sure you at least run it 3 times. If nothing comes out then you likely have a clogged nozzle or it may be disconnected closer to the rear spray nozzle than mine was. I hope this helps someone else.
Thank you so much! With your detailed procedure, I found and fixed this issue easily!!!
 

Jetmek867

TYF Newbie
Joined
Oct 27, 2024
Posts
1
Reaction score
0
You my friend are my new hero. After a few weeks and a pump change you helped me find my issue. Mine was disconnected at the same spot as yours. Reconnected and works as it should. Momma is happy and that is all that matters. Many Thanks.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
132,113
Posts
1,862,499
Members
96,599
Latest member
20DENALI07

Latest posts

Top