At car wash, how do you avoid charge port opening?

[Arizona Willie]

Will charge port open when phone is in car with me and the port is touched by brushes when the M3 is in neutral?

Somewhere I saw a warning not to use pressure washes because the charge port is NOT waterproof. Presumably, you can get water down in the charge port which is ungood.

I wonder if there is an aftermarket plug for the charge port. I see people using power washers on their Teslas and wonder if it causes them any trouble. I plan to take mine to a local carwash where you do it yourself and they have foam sprayers and you select water or foam whichever you want. I'm leery though because of the warning I saw about pressure washers. Too damn lazy to wash it with buckets etc.

 

[JPP]

So, I have been going to the same detailing/car wash outfit since 2013 with my prior S85, and with my P3D+ and my wife's S70D. No tunnel, no brushes. Car gets rinsed with a pressure hose (by hand), then hand washed with fake lambswool mitts, then rinsed again (same pressure washer gun), then dried with compressed air and hand dried. Up to today, no issues. Great team, and works fine since all of our cars have undergone paint correction and cQuartz application.

Today, brought my wife's S70D in for a wash. The guy pressure rinsing the car got the nozzle too close to the charge port. Car was unlocked (to keep the side mirrors unfolded). Charge port door opened. Pressure from water sheared off the rubber charge port gasket from the charge port door (just held on by 2 small plastic push pins). I retrieved the gasket, air dried the charge port, cleaned off the charge port door and the back of the gasket, and used some super glue to reattach. So far, so good---but will likely get the charge port door/gasket assembly replaced.

Note that the Model 3 charge port/door does not share the same design/gasket, but presumably the charge port door can still be opened with pressure from a pressure washer gun if the car is unlocked.

YMMV.

 

[Stu Redman]

Am I doing something wrong? After the car is in park in the car wash, I go to the screen safety/security menu and select power off. Press the brake when wash is over and drive out.

 

[Wampa]

I'd recommend washing it like normal, but taking extra care when around the charging port, especially with a pressure washer. A low pressure hose won't hurt it. I have a home in Seattle and I see these cars all over the place, plenty of exposure to water.

 

[SVMike]

Tesla UI designers take note. This fix is easy.
Add a "Car Wash Mode"
We don't want Tesla's driving around dirty. And we already have a dog mode.

During car wash mode:
- charging port cannot be opened
- wipers stay off
- audio system stays on
- car stays unlocked

Car wash mode is automatically exited if you put the car in drive, lock via keycard or phone app, or some timeout period.

 

[Thp3]

Tesla UI designers take note. This fix is easy.
Add a "Car Wash Mode"
We don't want Tesla's driving around dirty. And we already have a dog mode

Car wash mode is automatically exited if you put the car in drive, lock via keycard or phone app, or some timeout period.

Yes, there are
1) Autopilot mode - car cruises highway while driver lays with music selections
2) Track mode - car drives over competition at race tracks
3) Romance mode - nuff said
4) Sentry mode - car guards itself by playing loud music
5) Dog mode - car keeps pooches cool and happy

Yet to implement
A) Car wash mode - as described
B) Escape mode - insane acceleration and route to hidden underground lot when police detected
C) Passive mode - detects incapacitated driver and drives home
D) ???

There have to be more Tesla modes coming....

 

[M3Denver]

They say no pressure washing because people do not really know how, used to own a pressure washing business, I could wash a newborn baby or put a hole thru a 2x4 , you have to know how to use it for sure. distance and pressure are the variables to watch out for

 

[joesgarage]

Am I doing something wrong? After the car is in park in the car wash, I go to the screen safety/security menu and select power off. Press the brake when wash is over and drive out.

I tried this with my European Model 3 (not in a carwash) but then the charge door can still be opened by pressing it.

I noticed the following however:

When I first push the lock icon on the main screen to lock everything and then select power off in the safety/security menu, then the charge door can no longer be opened by pressing it (my son tested this while I remained seated in the car).

I also notice this:
If I then open the driver's door to get out, power off mode gets canceled and the lock icon on the main screen switches to unlock and (and so the charge door also becomes unlocked). If (with the driver's door open) I subsequently press the lock icon again however, the charge door remains locked. And when I then close the driver's door the charge door still remains locked.

In both scenarios the side mirrors remain unfolded.

 

[timk225]

I carry a roll of duct tape in the car and tape the charge port shut.

 

[Dre78]

Then if I want to, I use one bucket to wash the car in about 20 minutes in the garage with about 20 Costco microfiber towels and Amazon-shipped Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine (ONR if you want to google it). I use just one bucket of warm water with ONR, quarter the towels wet to wipe the dirty panel, throw the dirty towel into a empty bucket, use a dry towel to wipe the washed panel dry, and repeat on a new dirty panel. My hand stays warm from the warm water and I get compliments on how nice the car looks all winter.

And Invisible Glass for the copious Windows.

AKA The TMC method!? This. This x 1000. I read this method in an earlier post and it changed my life.

 

[ScoopT]

Watch out for a screen reboot! The wipers will go on! After 1 minute the screen is back on and the wipers turn to off.

I'm very lucky; no damage. A few second before the brushes appear, the screen turned back on and the wipers turned off!