How the Heck am I supposed to Clean this Thing?

[bodosom]

I've heard that's the way it is done in cities such as Buffalo, NY. A nice ride for spring and summer and a beater for winter. (All the nice convertibles, muscle cars etc. are stored over the winter.) The beater is four or five thousand pounds of Detroit iron with snow tires and 200 lbs of sand in the trunk. As long as it starts, runs and stops and has a working heater, lights and wipers it is all you need.

That's probably overstated. People do put the motorcycles away though.

When we had a MINI it was the summer car and the Subaru Outback was the winter car.

 

[sleepydoc]

The Tesla Model Y Owner's Manual, Page 174, cautions against using hot water, highly alkaline or caustic cleaning products. When cleaning the Tesla Model Y do not use soaps or chemicals with a high pH (above 13). The manual cautions against using caustic cleaning products especially those that contain hydroxides.

If using a pressure washer keep the tip of the pressure washer wand at least 12 inches away from the Tesla vehicle. Do not spray high pressure water directly at the parking sensors.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model_y_owners_manual_north_america_en.pdf

I think you mean Low pH (more acidic) which is what damages the trim and paint? Pure water is 7.0. I have yet to use it, but I just bought a Griot's foam cannon set and the car wash concentrate has a pH of 9.5.

pH and Water | U.S. Geological Survey

pH is a measure of how acidic/basic water is. The range goes from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a pH of greater than 7 indicates a base. The pH of water is a very important measurement concerning water quality.

www.usgs.gov

Also see post #20 in this thread

Detergents are frequently alkaline, not acidic.

 

[sleepydoc]

That's probably overstated. People do put the motorcycles away though.

When we had a MINI it was the summer car and the Subaru Outback was the winter car.

There are certainly some people that have cars that they only drive in the summer, but what's being implied here is that Tesla owners are expected to get a 'winter beater' because the car can't withstand a carwash. That's pretty pathetic and not a reasonable expectation for any car sold in a region that has winter weather.

 

[bobby g]

When it was warm enough, I occasionally take my car to a bay car wash and wash it myself.
I also bought the mud flaps.

Mud flaps are great as is car wash mode - that was so annoying with the charge port opening all the time while washing

 

[dnstommy]

I would opt for using the self-wash with the pressure hose when the temperature is above freezing. As noted you should lock the Tesla using the phone app so the charge port door does not open if hit with water from the sprayer. Don't spray water directly at the side cameras or rear camera from a close distance and you should be fine. You can place the wiper blades/blade arms into service mode so the wiper blades are exposed while you are washing the Tesla vehicle.

Tesla still has a way to go as far as designing/building vehicles that stand up to winter driving. The seal at the lower edge of the windows will stay wet for a day or two after rain or after washing the vehicle and can freeze to the glass. This will prevent the window from properly lowering when opening the door(s). If you have a can of windshield de-icer spray you can spray a little of the de-icer (contains Isopropyl Alcohol) and this will melt any ice that has formed at the bottom window gasket. The de-icer spray will evaporate quickly and should not damage the door trim or paint.

If you park in a garage you might want to leave the window of the driver's door cracked so you can open the door without the window binding on the door gasket. The window can also freeze to the rubber door gasket. You can use a safe for rubber product such as silicone spray on the door gasket to prevent the window freezing to the door gasket. (If you use standard WD-40 know that over time it can damage rubber parts; there is a special WD-40 product that is safe for rubber and plastic.) You can safely apply some WD-40 or Silicone Spray to the inside of door handle so the door handle won't freeze and get stuck.

The fact I have to do this on a 60k car is insane. Meanwhile my Highlander could car less about the salt or ice.

 

[GadgetGary]

What about purchasing a cheap winter vehicle

How could you even say such a thing?

 

[Volleyballmom]

I'm currently driving a Subaru Forester with studded winter tires (in Quebec, long winters, lots of snow, ice + plenty of salt on roads). My hopefully soon-to-be-delivered MY will be a step up for sure. That said, I don't normally wash my vehicles often in the winter. It's below freezing most of the time. Do I really need to wash my car weekly in sub-zero temps (below 32 F for those of you in the U.S.)?

 

[jcanoe]

You should wash off any road salt from the vehicle and undercarriage when the temperature is above 32F (0C). Most of the corrosive effect of salt on metal takes place at warmer temperatures. As a practical matter unless you have a heated garage or heated car wash you can't wash the vehicle when the temperature is below freezing.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

Wash????

My car???

I don't think so

 

[rickybobbee]

a couple important points:

• I live in Wisconsin. It’ll be freezing cold outside and snowy for months on end.
• The roads are all salted.
• This is my commuter so I will be in the thick of it - snow and salt - daily for months on end
• The Tesla manual says Touchless car wash only (if can’t do by hand) and yet I read about pressured water blasting into the charger port or the frunk etc. and discoloring the finish
• The Tesla manual also says to immediately wash off salt and bugs (that’s our summer problem in Wisconsin) and so forth
• I have a garage but it’s not huge, not heated, has no faucet for a hose

Other cars I’d take to a car wash once a week or so. No other way to keep it even moderately clean in these harsh conditions. What are you snowbound salted road types doing to keep things clean and prevent degradation or damage to the car, battery, finish, etc.

I go to sonic wash auto drive through probably 3-4 times a week with no problems. The key is to use a newer auto car wash the brushes are softer than the old car washes that beat the crap out of the car and paint. older washes don't and can't clean the brushes very thoroughly and the older technology is just too abbrasive

 

[Volleyballmom]

Yeah I’m really struggling with the idea that I need to drop another $4.5k on PPF or ceramic wrap after just spending that much on winter tires & wheels & TPMSs. Why Tesla would deliver a sports CUV with summer tires in the late fall in the Midwest is beyond me. If the ppf or wrap is essential it should be included with the car.

Overall, I absolutely love my MYP and make excuses to drive it before and after work and days off. I just did a three hour round trip to go to a stupid mall I don’t even like to get Christmas ornaments. Worth it! Because of Tesla.

Anyway sorry for ranting and raving. I just need a plan that doesn’t invoke me spending more than 30 minutes a week cleaning this thing and doesn’t ignore injury to the battery / paint / etc.

@GadgetGary, out of curiosity, did you figure out how to keep your MY clean-ish in the winter? I guess I've settled for touchless automatic car washes in the winter for my white MY -- on those very rare winter days here in Quebec when it's above 32 degrees F and I can actually make it to a car wash (no manual car washes around me, and I'm certainly not going to handwash my car outside in the winter.) Would love to know what other northern folk are doing.

 

[GenralSpecific]

I’m in Wisconsin and I take my model 3 to a local reputable touchless car wash every week or two. I’ve not gone to a Kwik Trip wash yet that wasn’t good. Have been doing this for two years and it still looks fine.
I did put on a ceramic coat when I first got the car, it cost me $80 and a couple hours. Doesn’t stop the car getting dirty but it does make it easier to clean.

 

[GadgetGary]

@GadgetGary, out of curiosity, did you figure out how to keep your MY clean-ish in the winter? I guess I've settled for touchless automatic car washes in the winter for my white MY -- on those very rare winter days here in Quebec when it's above 32 degrees F and I can actually make it to a car wash (no manual car washes around me, and I'm certainly not going to handwash my car outside in the winter.) Would love to know what other northern folk are doing.

I did the self-wash a few times - that works OK but the brushes they have our questionable. So now I am doing touchless automatic car wash when it's >30degrees. No trouble with that so far!

 

[GtiMart]

My 2c: It's a car, it's meant to be driven outside in sometimes harsh environments. If you live in an area that freezes and has road salt, sand etc, you have to expect some damage to the car's finish. Clearly your car will not look as good in 5-10 years as another that's in a nicer climate. ppf will help, as will cleaning the car often, but you do what you can.

 

[Volleyballmom]

My 2c: It's a car, it's meant to be driven outside in sometimes harsh environments. If you live in an area that freezes and has road salt, sand etc, you have to expect some damage to the car's finish. Clearly your car will not look as good in 5-10 years as another that's in a nicer climate. ppf will help, as will cleaning the car often, but you do what you can.

Agreed. Rare is the 20-yr-old car (or even 15 years) on our QC roads. And those that are, you can bet they're not winter driven. If the salt doesn't get you, the potholes will.