The Truth About Blinker Fluid – Is It a Real Thing?

The blinker fluid prank is a trend that has been spreading like wildfire for many years and has even made it’s way into social media. In case you’re not familiar with it, here’s a quick rundown.

The prank involves convincing someone to go to the store and buy “blinker fluid” for their car. This is not a real thing – your car’s blinker operates on electricity, which does not involve any kind of fluids.

If someone ever tries to prank you with this, don’t fall for it! And if you know anyone who has already fallen victim to this prank, be sure to share this article with them so they can laugh about it and move on.

Here is everything you need to know about the blinker fluid prank and how to perform the trick or how to not fall victim to it.

Blinker fluid is a gag item used to pull a prank on a teenager, spouse, or new employee. This practical joke is referred to as a fool’s errand. The whole premise of the gag is that you go to an auto parts shop and tell your kid to run in and ask for a bottle of blinker fluid, making them look dumb.

The following information is a more in-depth explanation of what blinker fluid is, the history of blinker fluid, as well as some blinker fluid jokes and videos. Be sure to get all the details to avoid getting pranked by this.

Table of Contents

Is Blinker Fluid a Thing

This isn’t a genuine product, and it’s something that both parents and car enthusiasts alike use to prank their children and significant others by telling them to go into a gas station or auto parts store and ask for some blinker fluid. However, some places do actually stock “blinker fluid” as a gag item.

Most of the time, it’s an empty bottle with a reasonably legitimate-looking label on it stating that it is blinker fluid. These labels will sometimes say that you won’t need to refill for another 6000 blinks after filling the indicators.

The Origin of the Blinker Fluid Prank

Blinker fluid is the base of a practical joke known as a fool’s errand. No one really knows when this joke started; however, it has been used to prank interns, teenagers, and spouses for many years. According to google trends, this joke first began to surface as far back as January 2004.

Twelve years later, the blinker fluid joke started taking off after the YouTube video ‘how to replace blinker fluid’ was posted back in April of 2016 by the YouTuber Chrisfix’.

After 6,386,261 views, the blinker fluid joke grew in popularity, with people creating hundreds of memes and TikTok videos.

This joke hit the peak of its popularity in December of 2020. After hitting its peak, the popularity of the blinker fluid joke started dropping drastically from the end of December 2020 to April 2021, with a slight spike in popularity again in October of 2021.

Blinker Fluid Jokes, Memes and Videos

Below is a list of some classic blinker fluid jokes, memes and videos for your enjoyment, take your time to check them out and share with your friends for a laugh:

Fluids That a Car Actually Needs

There are certainly a large number of people who this prank has caught off guard, so to help prevent you from becoming one of them, here is a list of fluids that your car actually does need to function correctly.

Coolant
Brake fluid
Power steering fluid
Transmission oil
Motor oil
Washer fluid

All of these fluids are used in both manual and automatic cars. Electric cars also utilize fluids such as coolant, washer fluid, and brake fluid.

Prevent Fluids from Building Up in Your Turn Signals

The joke is a great prank and almost always seems to get a laugh out of all parties. However, it’s still merely a joke and should be treated as so.

You should never put any kind of liquid in your blinkers as it can break the light bulbs causing them to stop working entirely, and if it doesn’t stop working, the fluid will distort the beams of light, making the turn signal and high beams ineffective.

How To Prevent Fluid Build-up in Your Lights

The best way to prevent fluids from building up in your headlights is by making sure that there are no gaps or fractures in the plastic light casing or gaps between the plastic part of the casing and the rest of the case.

If there are any gaps or cracks in the casing, you will have to repair them. These are the materials you will need to repair the headlights:

Box tape
Vinyl adhesive caulk
A Blow-dryer or a heat gun
Something to create pressure (this can be your mouth or a pump)
Running water
A hosepipe
Dish soap
Paper towel
Cardboard box
A piece of cardboard that can fit diagonally in the box
Degreaser or 75% isopropyl alcohol

Step one: Remove the light casing from the car by removing the clamps from the back of the headlight. If you have removed the clamps correctly, you should be able to pop the headlight out easily.

Step two: Disconnect the light from the car’s wiring.

Step three: Remove the light bulb from the casing. Be certain not to let your fingers touch the bulb’s glass because the oils on your skin will cause the bulb to expire prematurely. Place the bulb somewhere where it is not at risk of rolling off or falling.

Step four: Now that there is no longer a bulb in the casing, you can test for any gaps or cracks by flipping the light casing upside down and filling it up with water using a hosepipe.

Step five: Take some dish soap on your finger and put it on the seam connecting the two pieces together.

Step six: Use your mouth to create pressure inside the casing. If you are not comfortable with using your mouth, you can use a pump to create pressure. If your headlight has a vent cap, you will need to check if your vent cap is loose. If it is loose, you will have to block the vent with your hand or one of your fingers.

Step seven: Start looking around the seam of the two pieces to see if there are any bubbles.

Step eight: Drain all of the water out of the headlight and wipe down the outside of the light casing with a paper towel to get rid of the dish soap.

Step nine: Now that the outside of the casing is dry, locate where the gape was and make a marking on either side of the gape.

Step ten: Dry the inside of the casing by putting it into a cardboard box with a hole cut in the side.

Step eleven: Put the blow drier or heat gun into the hole and then insert the piece of cardboard between the casing and the heat gun. Make sure the heat gun is on the low setting so as not to damage the plastic case. Close the box loosely with the boxing tape and leave it for about 15 minutes.

Step twelve: Take the casing out of the box, apply the vinyl adhesive caulk over the gape, and leave it for 15 minutes until it is no longer tacky.

Step thirteen: Put the lightbulb back into the casing and re-install the headlight unit into the car.

Blinker Fluid Isn’t a Thing

At the end of it, when all is said and done, we have gone over if blinker fluid is a thing, how to prevent fluids from building up in your headlights, and the origin of how the blinker fluid prank came to be.

We have also learned which fluids a car actually needs to run as well as some blinker fluid memes, jokes, and videos. Now you have all the knowledge you need to avoid being pranked by the classic blinker fluid fool’s errand.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of frequently asked questions about blinker fluid and our answers:

What cars use blinker fluid?

This is a trick question, there’s currently no cars on the market, nor has there ever been a car on the market that utilizes blinker fluid. Blinker Fluid is the base of a practical joke known as a fool’s errand, in which someone will get you to go and buy blinker fluid which isn’t a real thing. Although, some stores do stock blinker fluid as a gag item.

What is blinker fluid prank?

The blinker fluid prank is essentially used to pull a prank on someone, commonly a new employee or a friend/family member. This practical joke is referred to as a fool’s errand. The whole purpose of this joke is to tell someone to go to an auto parts store and get them to ask for a bottle of blinker fluid, making the person look silly.

How to check blinker fluid?

There is absolutely no need to ever check your blinker fluid as it simply does not exist. This is actually a common prank that many people have been using for decades on unsuspecting people who don’t know much about cars. Just be aware if someone sends you to the store to buy blinker fluid as they’re just trying to make a fool out of you.

Is blinker fluid real?

Blinker fluid is not real at all, it is actually just a prank that is commonly pulled on people who are not the most knowledgeable about cars and the real fluids they need. Blinkers purely operate using light bulbs and electricity, hence no need for fluids.

Is blinker fluid a thing?

In short, blinker fluid is not a thing, this is because it is a gag that is made to make you look like a fool. The type of joke it is, is categorized as a fools errand as the aim is to make you go to a store and ask for it and look stupid in-front of the people at the store, which can be quite embarrassing since it is a widely known joke.

Alfio Capicollo