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Automatic Car Washes
- Thread starter aspec818
- Start date
JasontheBeaver
Jason Barker
We do it twice a week. Through a touch car wash. Once a year we have it powerbuffed professionally and detailed. Looks better than new.
ElectricGhost
Member
I bought new wash gear and washed them in a washer machine (I think without detergent) right after getting mine back from a double compounding (has water spot etched on delivery). Was scratchless but a coupe weeks later when Wand power washed by hand, and used the two bucket with new wash kits and towels, clear coat scratches starting to show. Since then I’m going sprayless wash for 6 math to a year, then will consider a ceramic coating. Tesla paint is weaker than mircofiber towels... only thing I can think of better it to dry with a leaf blower or pat down for an hr until it’s dry via microfiber towels.
JasontheBeaver
Jason Barker
golfpilot
Member
I have done nothing extra to my car. After 9 months and 25k miles it looks really good. People comment on it and the interior still has some new smell.
This car is a tool for me. It is not a babied toy saved for car shows.
I use the car for mountain biking trips, golf trips, and all kinds of other car destroying activities. And A blonde dog that sheds like crazy.
There are a few rock chips on the front but after about 5 minutes of valley driving they blend right in with the protein.
About once a week I clean my car. This is how I do it.
1. I pull out the pressure washer(on a mild setting) and rinse the car down. I do this because the carwash doesn't do a great job rinse the car and it does a bad job of getting the tough to get bugs.
2. I then drive it wet over to the car wash and drive through, then go home.
When I get home I dry off the car with microfiber towels. Starting on the outside then to the inside of the doors, lastly I get the area under the doors and other crevices.
3. I take all loose items out and shop vac the interior. This includes all headliners.
4. I take a fragrance free, alcohol free, baby wipe to every wipable surface inside the car.
5. Lastly I clean all the glass.
This whole process takes about 20-30 minutes of my week.
At the 1 year mark I will likely have the car professionally detailed. I haven't decided yet if I am going to have the rock chips filled at that time or not. I may not need the interior detailed as it still looks new. I'm not really sure what the detailer would even do.
This car is a tool for me. It is not a babied toy saved for car shows.
I use the car for mountain biking trips, golf trips, and all kinds of other car destroying activities. And A blonde dog that sheds like crazy.
There are a few rock chips on the front but after about 5 minutes of valley driving they blend right in with the protein.
About once a week I clean my car. This is how I do it.
1. I pull out the pressure washer(on a mild setting) and rinse the car down. I do this because the carwash doesn't do a great job rinse the car and it does a bad job of getting the tough to get bugs.
2. I then drive it wet over to the car wash and drive through, then go home.
When I get home I dry off the car with microfiber towels. Starting on the outside then to the inside of the doors, lastly I get the area under the doors and other crevices.
3. I take all loose items out and shop vac the interior. This includes all headliners.
4. I take a fragrance free, alcohol free, baby wipe to every wipable surface inside the car.
5. Lastly I clean all the glass.
This whole process takes about 20-30 minutes of my week.
At the 1 year mark I will likely have the car professionally detailed. I haven't decided yet if I am going to have the rock chips filled at that time or not. I may not need the interior detailed as it still looks new. I'm not really sure what the detailer would even do.
Snow Drift
[Off-Road Assist] Activated
Car washes are the most anxiety causing part of owning this car and I fear will be a major impediment to mass adoption. Typical cars are just put into Neutral and the car rolls through...not Tesla.
The good hand wash (touch-less) places here require the driver to exit the vehicle and then the car is pulled via a type of conveyor belt. The problem is that Tesla has added a safety/convenience feature where the parking brake is automatically applied when you exit.
So, when you exit the car and the brake is applied the car cannot roll freely and jumps the conveyor belt. So, the alternative is to engage Transport Mode (Towing) so that the car will free roll through the car wash. Well, you need an educated car wash attendant to do this. I use the same touch-less place bc the guy knows how to do it. Even with his understanding it takes him 2-3 attempts before the Transport Mode system will actually turn on and free roll. This backs up the line of cars and causes everyone anxiety. They have considered banning Teslas bc of this.
I wish Tesla would just let the car roll free in Neutral when you exit the car, like all other cars.
The good hand wash (touch-less) places here require the driver to exit the vehicle and then the car is pulled via a type of conveyor belt. The problem is that Tesla has added a safety/convenience feature where the parking brake is automatically applied when you exit.
So, when you exit the car and the brake is applied the car cannot roll freely and jumps the conveyor belt. So, the alternative is to engage Transport Mode (Towing) so that the car will free roll through the car wash. Well, you need an educated car wash attendant to do this. I use the same touch-less place bc the guy knows how to do it. Even with his understanding it takes him 2-3 attempts before the Transport Mode system will actually turn on and free roll. This backs up the line of cars and causes everyone anxiety. They have considered banning Teslas bc of this.
I wish Tesla would just let the car roll free in Neutral when you exit the car, like all other cars.
It's $50 for deluxe exterior/interior cleaning here (Not professional detailing, I mean a car wash place). If you just want basic exterior from a hand wash place its $20. I've seen automatic cheapo places ~$10 at night.
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touchless car wash means no one is hand washing it. it's just an automatic car wash that rinses and dries with no brush or any object touching the paint. These are decent when you're in a pinch but do not clean thoroughly.
Snow Drift
[Off-Road Assist] Activated
Touchless means you don't have bristles or flopping things hitting the car.
I've only seen a truly touch-less like you mention once in New Hampshire at a Mobil. Works well, except for drying, especially in winter.
We have Hand Wash, which sprays foam/water at intervals and a person scrubs the car and dries it off for you. This is the best of both worlds. Controlled scrubbing and drying.
groovidad
Living the Dream!
Have 2 coats of ceramic, currently. Haven't used a drive-thru wash yet. Have used them in the past on a Lexus I had before the Model 3. My detailer (been in business here for 18+ years) told me the first time I brought it in, "DON'T use a car wash!" Commented on swirls which he noticed on the Lexus when I brought it in. I will say, the ceramic coating decreases the amount of time it takes to hand wash AND it appears to stay "cleaner", longer. To each his/her own! Whatever your comfort level is, engage and be happy!
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Weird- they're all over the place down here.
Just used one today (car has PPF and ceramic on top of that)... certainly doesn't get it "as clean" as hand washing, but it's massively faster, and I drive 95% highway anyway so not like there won't be a buncha dead bugs and whatnot back in a day or two anyway
The prior trunk was crooked af so I made Tesla send a replacement to the body shop.
You go a step further than me. I usually either pressure wash mine (rinse all the dirt off first, then use foam cannon, then rinse, then dry with microfiber cloth) or I just run it through a car wash. There's a decent touchless carwash near me that I use but I'm also not opposed to using a normal drive through car wash.
I know it's not perfect and I know I'm not going to have a flawless surface but I really don't care. Like I said - this isn't a show piece for me, it's a daily driver and a damn good one at that!
By the way - are you using the Tesla roof rack for hauling your bike or have you gone a different route? I'm trying to decide if I want to bother with a way to transport my road bike or not. We've got a family trip to the mountains this summer and there are some epic routes up there that I'd LOVE to take my bike on. But 95% of my riding is from my driveway so it's almost not worth it to me to invest in a bike rack for my M3. I can use my wife's GLS with my Thule if I really need to.
golfpilot
Member
I could probably get one of those glorified windshield wiper things to get most of the car dry, and skip the carwash. The car wash filters their water so its pretty spotless and one or two microfibers I can get the remainder dry when I get home.
I'm pretty forgetful. Short of the car auto stopping at the garage door, there is no system that would keep me from running a bike on my roof into the garage. I went with the torkhitch method instead. Here is a picture of it at Sea Otter in Monterey. I was removing the hitch for a clean look at first but now I just leave it. It looks cool and throwing my bike rack on there only takes about 2 minutes. Its a pricey addition but worth it.
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srs5694
Active Member
I've tried a touchless car wash near me a couple of times and was badly underwhelmed. Prior to my first try, I'd noticed some dirty streaking building up under my outside mirrors, and the car wash did next to nothing for that; but the streaking went away when I wiped it down with a wet sponge. The second time, I'd just returned from a road trip, so my Model 3 had copious bug splats and other road grime on it. After the wash, the front end remained a bug graveyard. When I washed it by hand shortly after taking it to the touchless car wash, I got rid of the bugs, but also noticed a distinct whitening of the car (mine's white) when I cleaned the parts that appeared to be clean, so the car wash didn't even get rid of the thin film of dust that was causing that problem.
Also, is there a reliable way to find touchless car washes? When I Google the phrase, most of the hits I get are to car washes that are not touchless. In my area (northern RI), I know of only one touchless car wash (in Bellingham, MA), so I don't know if my experience is typical of this type of car wash or if this one I've tried is just plain bad. I'm willing to try another one, but if they're all like this, I'd say they're a waste of the $10-$20 that car washes cost around here. (Although maybe they'd be useful as first-pass tools when the car is badly coated with winter grime.)
Also, is there a reliable way to find touchless car washes? When I Google the phrase, most of the hits I get are to car washes that are not touchless. In my area (northern RI), I know of only one touchless car wash (in Bellingham, MA), so I don't know if my experience is typical of this type of car wash or if this one I've tried is just plain bad. I'm willing to try another one, but if they're all like this, I'd say they're a waste of the $10-$20 that car washes cost around here. (Although maybe they'd be useful as first-pass tools when the car is badly coated with winter grime.)
halfricanguy
Model 3 - LR RWD - MSM
My local self-wash car wash (the ones with the strip of car ports with nozzles that contain pre-soak, soap, high-pressure water, etc.) also has a touchless automatic car wash attached to it ($8-$10-$12 depending on how 'premium' you want to go). To take care of the bug splats and other problem areas like you mentioned, I go to the individual stalls first to 'prep' my car by soaking those problem areas in soap, doing basic wiping, rinsing, etc. so that when I then go to the car wash, I know it will perform much better since it's been 'pre-treated'. All in all, costs $15 that I pay every week or two.
Seems like a lot steps, but it's honestly quicker than if I were to wash it by hand (read: I'm lazy). I also don't think I'd be good at drying, and the automatic dryer does very well, especially with a coat of rain-x that it applies. The highest tier has an Armor-All Wax/Shine option, but I never use it anymore - it looks great but leaves an annoying film on the car and I think it started to damage my door seals.
Not sure about how to specifically find touchless car washes, but I'd start with those self-wash stations and gas stations. Look up their photos on Google maps to see if you can determine or give the locations a call.
went thru a car wash today (new nice one in the area)
leaked water by the driver seatHope it's just a rubber seal replacement? Mobile repair?
Nope.
High pressure auto washers can leak thru doors if their angle is right. Go to a different car wash or, better yet, wash it by hand like the manual recommends.
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