I got a model y 6 days ago. My sister also got a model 3 in DEC 2018. She and her husband were saying only use touchless car wash. The beaterrs scratch the paint and mess with the cameras. I'm in Chicago Suburbs. Not sure which are touchless. I stopped by waterway and he said we get lots of teslas every week and the beaters do no harm. And if you add wax it counters the scratches. My mom said that is bs. There is a car wash mode but that messed up the GPS and cameras somebody in another thread here said so. I hope that never happens to me. Are there any touchless near me? And anybody else use aaterway? Are the brushes bad for the paint and cameras? Or he was right and wax fills in the scratches?
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Car wash?
- Thread starter KJSS4
- Start date
AS9.9.
Member
I personally only use automatic touchless carwashes (or just wash it by hand myself).
I have many people in my family that do not care and just use the normal car wash with the spinning brushes, they have a plethora of fine scratches on their cars, but these can be buffed out most of the time from what I have seen (and personally done).
Waxing the car after it has been washed may fill some of the scratches with wax, but the scratches are obviously still there. Adding wax during the wash (when it just sprays it on the car) will likely not prevent scratches because it is sprayed on after the car has been through the brushes, but still may improve the appearance of scratches.
I am unsure where you heard that car wash mode messes up the GPS and cameras. I use it on both my Model Y and my Model 3 every time I go through a automatic wash. I wouldn't worry about.
Google automatic touchless washes near you and see what you can find.
I have many people in my family that do not care and just use the normal car wash with the spinning brushes, they have a plethora of fine scratches on their cars, but these can be buffed out most of the time from what I have seen (and personally done).
Waxing the car after it has been washed may fill some of the scratches with wax, but the scratches are obviously still there. Adding wax during the wash (when it just sprays it on the car) will likely not prevent scratches because it is sprayed on after the car has been through the brushes, but still may improve the appearance of scratches.
I am unsure where you heard that car wash mode messes up the GPS and cameras. I use it on both my Model Y and my Model 3 every time I go through a automatic wash. I wouldn't worry about.
Google automatic touchless washes near you and see what you can find.
This thread. Read it. Car wash mode messed him up. He needed 2 computer replacements.
Car Wash Mode causing GPS and cameras to be disabled
Haven't found any threads with this exact issue, so wanted to share. Purchased a new MYP earlier this year. Through the summer, went through local automatic car washes with no issues by just putting the vehicle into neutral. By accident, I recently discovered there is a "Car Wash Mode", so...
teslamotorsclub.com
This thread. Read it. Car wash mode messed him up. He needed 2 computer replacements.
Car Wash Mode causing GPS and cameras to be disabled
Haven't found any threads with this exact issue, so wanted to share. Purchased a new MYP earlier this year. Through the summer, went through local automatic car washes with no issues by just putting the vehicle into neutral. By accident, I recently discovered there is a "Car Wash Mode", so...
I did read that thread, and dont see anything in there at all that points to car wash mode messing up anything. Car wash mode would not have introduced any corrosion around the computer, and the poster you are quoting even said "happened again without using car wash mode" a couple times.
This is how "Telephone game" type rumors start.
I'm in a south suburb around an hour from Chicago. We have three touchless car wash places in a five mile radius from where I live (2 BP stations and 1 Circle K). I've only used touch less for my cars (in winter; in the summer, I wash it myself carefully (which can still cause swirls) and do paint correction and then ceramic coat which has lasted years for me).
I've used car wash mode once at the touchless wash (because it locks the charging port and I was worried it would open) and had no issues. If I did, I'd ask Tesla to fix it, especially since I have warranty.
You can use regular car washes but it 100% will cause swirls. If that doesn't bother you, you can go ahead.
This is soft cloth. But beaters on the sides. The arlington heights one is closest to me. Not sure if the beaters are high enough to get to the camera area.
www.racewaywash.com
and this is the only truly touchless I can find near me.
www.yelp.com
Raceway Car Wash - Arlington Heights - Illinois
Dirty Cars... Start your engines! Located at 211 W Rand Road in Arlington Heights, IL. We are open everyday from 8AM – 6PM.
www.racewaywash.com
and this is the only truly touchless I can find near me.
Splish Splash Car Wash - Prospect Heights, IL
Specialties: Welcome Splish Splash Auto ( touchless ) & Self Service car wash 24/7 - We do offer high clearance bays up to 13 Feets high + Plenty of Vacuums. - We accommodated Varity of truk and box vans . - We do accept Card and Cash -Under New Management -We do offer Detailing ( Wash - Wax...
www.yelp.com
Yup. I have two BPs near me and both have touchless bays (one has two bays, the other has one). Some Circle Ks also have touchless wash. One near me has one bay. The other is regular "safe touch".
You will find that with the right process and the right products, you can keep the car in better than new condition - it will actually look better than the day it was delivered.
My car before the current MYLR was built in Stuttgart 20 years ago and has a gorgeous show-car finish. I still get compliments on this 2004 beauty.
First thing I did was ask Ms. Google how to create and care for a show car finish. There are hundreds of sites and more than that in show-car care products. The people who show cars on Pebble Beach Concours or sell them at Barrett-Jackson do not use products that are household names. The products are not even that much more expensive nor that hard to find, they're just sold through super-professional outlets that you may not have ever heard of.
My car never went through an automatic car wash. Then again, it was never valet parked. It was buffed once in 20 years. Every time you buff a car, you remove a bit of paint. Too many buffs gets you down to the primer/metal - or just super-thin paint.
Anything you can find in a auto parts store is consumer grade. The professional stuff is does not always show up on Ms. Google. Start with Griot's Garage. Their Best Of Show Detailer is good to keep in your car for wiping off crud.
I used a protectant that took all day to apply (6 coats) but was easy to put on and take off. It beaded water and looked show-car ready for 18 months, then slowly degraded. Can't remember the name now but when I get home I'll find it and let you know.
I had a parrot and so discovered Poop-Off bird poop remover. Cuts bird poop like you wouldn't believe and is so harmless you can drink it. It has a yellow label and you can buy it on Amazon. You can also get it at most any pet store.
Whenever you wipe after any product, you must use clean microfiber cloths. For the first few years, I only did a hand wash. I mean hand wash - I used bare hands and no cloth whatsoever. This gets the dirt off without micro-scratching. Using only a few cloths when washing will micro-scratch. You should be going through a lot of cloths when you wash your car. Buy bundles at Costco although there's better quality out there.
I would start the drying process with a California water blade (a giant, silicone squeegee - don't know if they still make quality ones but mine looks like the One Pass Classic Waterblade with the purple handle on Amazon - part number WBL-OP2012CTY. It's the most expensive one but mine has lasted decades).
Then I used a hand-held high pressure car dryer to finish. It makes lots of noise but forces leftover water off the car and out of crevices.
There's a ton of info regarding making and keeping a show-car finish. Just ask Ms. Google. Don't waste your time on the standard big-name car sites, they're in it for the quick $$ so they don't supply the really good details. Seek out show-car sites with discussion boards. I would go to weekend show-car meetings in my county and you will get a ton of help if you ask. They even have detail weekends where the owners get together and detail their cars in a group. After that, it's just a matter of deciding how lazy you want to be.
My car before the current MYLR was built in Stuttgart 20 years ago and has a gorgeous show-car finish. I still get compliments on this 2004 beauty.
First thing I did was ask Ms. Google how to create and care for a show car finish. There are hundreds of sites and more than that in show-car care products. The people who show cars on Pebble Beach Concours or sell them at Barrett-Jackson do not use products that are household names. The products are not even that much more expensive nor that hard to find, they're just sold through super-professional outlets that you may not have ever heard of.
My car never went through an automatic car wash. Then again, it was never valet parked. It was buffed once in 20 years. Every time you buff a car, you remove a bit of paint. Too many buffs gets you down to the primer/metal - or just super-thin paint.
Anything you can find in a auto parts store is consumer grade. The professional stuff is does not always show up on Ms. Google. Start with Griot's Garage. Their Best Of Show Detailer is good to keep in your car for wiping off crud.
I used a protectant that took all day to apply (6 coats) but was easy to put on and take off. It beaded water and looked show-car ready for 18 months, then slowly degraded. Can't remember the name now but when I get home I'll find it and let you know.
I had a parrot and so discovered Poop-Off bird poop remover. Cuts bird poop like you wouldn't believe and is so harmless you can drink it. It has a yellow label and you can buy it on Amazon. You can also get it at most any pet store.
Whenever you wipe after any product, you must use clean microfiber cloths. For the first few years, I only did a hand wash. I mean hand wash - I used bare hands and no cloth whatsoever. This gets the dirt off without micro-scratching. Using only a few cloths when washing will micro-scratch. You should be going through a lot of cloths when you wash your car. Buy bundles at Costco although there's better quality out there.
I would start the drying process with a California water blade (a giant, silicone squeegee - don't know if they still make quality ones but mine looks like the One Pass Classic Waterblade with the purple handle on Amazon - part number WBL-OP2012CTY. It's the most expensive one but mine has lasted decades).
Then I used a hand-held high pressure car dryer to finish. It makes lots of noise but forces leftover water off the car and out of crevices.
There's a ton of info regarding making and keeping a show-car finish. Just ask Ms. Google. Don't waste your time on the standard big-name car sites, they're in it for the quick $$ so they don't supply the really good details. Seek out show-car sites with discussion boards. I would go to weekend show-car meetings in my county and you will get a ton of help if you ask. They even have detail weekends where the owners get together and detail their cars in a group. After that, it's just a matter of deciding how lazy you want to be.
My car wash mode has worked fine and so has the brushless car wash. I interviewed a Tesla owner before her car went through before I gave them my new Y. No problems so far after a half dozen washes. Not cheap though, $30 a pop.
It's better to put it in car wash mode. It locks the charge port and closes air vents. I use a pressure washer at home too and got the charge port to open by mistake when I hit it directly with the washer. Nothing will happen if water enters it a few times I guess but still, better to be safe than sorry.
joebruin77
Active Member
There are two problems with touchless car washes. 1) If you try to clean a car without making any contact with the paint, you may avoid inducing scratches but you will also not clean the car nearly as well. To truly clean a car, you really need to make contact with the paint using a clean, soft microfiber sponge or wash mitt. 2) Because touchless car washes do not clean as well as contact washes, they often try to compensate by using extra strong soaps and chemicals. Soaps that have stronger cleaning abilities usually have a higher pH level. They are NOT pH neutral and may have a pH in the 10-12 range.
The reason this is a problem is that soaps with higher pH levels are usually used to strip car waxes and sealants, often referred to as strip washes. This is commonly done if you are cleaning and preparing your paint to say apply a ceramic coating. But most people going to their local touchless car wash just want a routine car wash. If they went into the wash with a car wax or sealant on their paint, the car may come out of the touchless car wash looking clean but the wax or sealant may have been degraded or even completely stripped.
If you want to truly clean your car and also avoid inducing scratches and swirls, my recommendation is to wash the car yourself. Invest in some good quality car cleaning products and learn proper washing and drying techniques. You can wash your car on a weekly basis AND keep scratches and swirls to a minimum.
Car detailing is a hobby of mine. I am really into rinseless washes. If anyone has any questions or needs any car cleaning product recommendations, feel free to post a question here or send me a PM.
Joe
The reason this is a problem is that soaps with higher pH levels are usually used to strip car waxes and sealants, often referred to as strip washes. This is commonly done if you are cleaning and preparing your paint to say apply a ceramic coating. But most people going to their local touchless car wash just want a routine car wash. If they went into the wash with a car wax or sealant on their paint, the car may come out of the touchless car wash looking clean but the wax or sealant may have been degraded or even completely stripped.
If you want to truly clean your car and also avoid inducing scratches and swirls, my recommendation is to wash the car yourself. Invest in some good quality car cleaning products and learn proper washing and drying techniques. You can wash your car on a weekly basis AND keep scratches and swirls to a minimum.
Car detailing is a hobby of mine. I am really into rinseless washes. If anyone has any questions or needs any car cleaning product recommendations, feel free to post a question here or send me a PM.
Joe
From the manual: Car Wash Mode closes all windows, locks the charge port, and disables windshield wipers, Sentry Mode, walk-away door locking, and parking sensor chimes
You can read more cautions for Exterior Cleaning in the manual here: https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_jo/GUID-65384C1F-86F2-44E8-A8BC-8A12E7E00A40.html
