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I have a 2005 Subaru Outback new NZ. The rear window wash works fine but the front will not. It makes no apparent noise and the wipers wipers operate. Any ideas? thanks Jono.

The front and rear windscreen washers can have separate pumps and in some cases one pump that's bi-directional is used for both the front and rear screens. It could be a few things causing this problem namely a faulty washer pump, electrical problem with switch or wiring, or even a blocked pipe.

A mechanic can swop the pipes around at the pump end to check whether the front hose is blocked, then test to see if there is a good 12v and earth signal sent to the washer motor when operating the front washer switch. If all these things are ok it would indicate that the pump is possibly at fault.