Car Wash issue: Car goes into Park after doors are closed?

[aus]

So my wife brings the MS for a car wash and they said they have to do a "hand wash" out of the tunnel because the car goes into park when they close the doors so an employee has to sit in the car to put it into Neutral while it's in the tunnel.
Is there any way around this?
Thanks for any information.

PS: yes I understand some of you would never due such a thing to your car and that it's always hand washed with merino wool mits, using only a de-ionizer for the water and dried with real chamois towels. I'm fine with running it through the car wash.

 

[GasKilla]

You need to activate "tow mode" to leave the car in neutral.

 

[MDMGSO47]

Does the car go into park when you get out even if you leave the fob in the car?

 

[JeffS]

You will probably find that car washes that require you to exit the car, and an attendant gets back in at the end...is an impossible wash to use.

I wash my car 3ish times a week at a touchless local drivedrive-in-and-sit there type wash. So I am not a hand-wash-judgy-mcjudgerton. But from experience...it takes too long to explain what to do, to the attendant. And the attendant at the other end doesn't know better. And it's an expensive car. And stuff can get broken. And on and on.

Best option may be a different car wash. Just my $.02 opinion.

 

[aus]

You need to activate "tow mode" to leave the car in neutral.View attachment 179680

Thanks!
That looks like what I need.

Does the car go into park when you get out even if you leave the fob in the car?

I haven't tried that, but it's a good idea.

 

[aus]

You will probably find that car washes that require you to exit the car, and an attendant gets back in at the end...is an impossible wash to use.

I wash my car 3ish times a week at a touchless local drivedrive-in-and-sit there type wash. So I am not a hand-wash-judgy-mcjudgerton. But from experience...it takes too long to explain what to do, to the attendant. And the attendant at the other end doesn't know better. And it's an expensive car. And stuff can get broken. And on and on.

Best option may be a different car wash. Just my $.02 opinion.

Unfortunately, they won't allow us to sit in the car while it's in the tunnel. We've never seen a carwash around where we live that allows anyone to sit in the car.

 

[jlewisthe3rd]

This is a new issue that was introduced shortly after 7.1. The trick is to leave out the passenger side in order to allow the Tow Mode/Neutral to work when the door is open and then closed. If you do so on the drivers side it will put the car into park. As a result of this most of the car washes that knew how to activate tow mode now allow you to sit inside the car. There is one car wash local to me in which the attendant knows the trick and is really short so he engages tow mode then crawls across and leaves out the passenger side and viola!

 

[byan1232]

I'm in NJ so most car washes do not allow customers to sit in their cars while going through the tunnel. This is mostly because they are afraid you will hit the brakes when going through and break their belt.

I just let the owner know I will take full responsibility if the belt brakes due to my misuse. Also, explain that it is very inconvenient to put a Tesla into tow mode and retrieve it after the wash.

Hope this helps.

 

[finallybuying]

Serious question: you can't just take the car to a car wash? Why not?!?

 

[Nick Deng]

Per Tesla support: the set has sensor to detect driver, that one; 2nd: the car goes park if door opens (specially driver side) for safty. So you MUST in the car to control it to use "N" for hand? car wash!