Vectra Headlight Washer Woes: Common Fixes & Repair Costs

Hey there! I had a similar issue with my 2002 Vauxhall Astra (used to own an Omega too). As someone with some experience working on cars, I faced this exact problem last year. Turned out to be a broken cable that controlled the washer system. Took it to my local workshop and they sorted it out in about an hour. Cost me around 155€ for the repair, including parts and labor. Pretty straightforward fix once they identified the issue. What's the behavior when you try to activate the washers? Do you hear the pump running at all? Could help pinpoint if you're dealing with the same problem I had. Let me know these details and I can share more specific info about my repair experience!

Hey Mike, Thanks for sharing your experience! My Vectra has 46838 KM on the clock, and when I try to activate the washers, there's absolutely no sound from the pump, dead silence. I checked the fuse, and it seems fine. Mine was recently serviced last month, and everything else works perfectly, so I'm a bit puzzled by this sudden issue. Your repair cost sounds reasonable. Did your pump make any noise before it completely failed? I'm hoping it's just a cable like in your case and not the entire pump assembly that needs replacing. Cheers!

Hey again! Yeah, I remember our chat about the washer system! That's interesting about the complete silence, it actually reminds me exactly of how my Astra behaved before I got it fixed. When my cable was broken, I had zero pump noise too, just like you're experiencing. The weird thing was that my Astra had similar mileage (around 50K KM) when this happened. Listen, since you mentioned your car was just serviced, maybe check if something got disconnected during the service? I learned this the hard way, sometimes mechanics can accidentally knock things loose while working on other parts. In my case, it turned out the cable was actually damaged during a routine service a few weeks before it completely stopped working. I can tell you that before my cable completely failed, there was a period of about two weeks where the pump would make a sort of weak humming noise, then nothing at all. But since you're not hearing anything at all, it does sound eerily similar to what I experienced with the broken cable. Quick tip: before you take it to the shop, check the connector near the pump, it's a common weak point on these Vauxhalls. Mine was actually a bit corroded when they found it. Let me know what you find out! Mike

Thanks so much for all this detailed information! I'll definitely check those connectors you mentioned, that's a really helpful tip about the corrosion. Come to think of it, they did work on something near that area during the service, so you might be onto something about things getting knocked loose. I actually just went out to the car and had another look. Found some slight corrosion on one of the connectors, just like you mentioned! I'm feeling a bit more optimistic now that it might just be a simple fix. Going to book it in at my local garage tomorrow and specifically mention the cable and connector issues you experienced. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience, it's given me a much better idea of what to look out for and what to tell the mechanic. Will let you know how it goes! Cheers!