It's winter in NY and I typically get my cars washed 2-3 times per week. What are others doing who have the 20" induction wheels. I am somewhat concerned about them getting damaged in the car wash. Has anyone added the wheel protectors and, if so, can you post pics of what they look like and if you are happy with them. I need my car cleaned .... hand wash is not an option and no touchless near me. PLEASE HELP!
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Scared to go to the carwash
- Thread starter Cycleholic
- Start date
What ever you do....Don't take your seat belt off in the car wash while rolling via neutral.
See if you can locate one of the single vehicle automatic washes that are sometimes co-located on the same property as a service station. As I recall you pay via credit card (you enter the code found on your receipt if you have just purchased gas to get a discount on the wash, so you can forget about the code/discount.)You drive in (there is no track) the door comes down and the automatic wash cycle starts. After the wash cycle ends the door at the opposite end opens and you drive out.
Those will give you swirls because of how much pressure the water is hitting the car with.
Yeah, I have also heard about discoloration which is what I am worried about. I ended up taking my car to a self wash and ended up doing it myself. It was freezing too.
I have been using Optimum No Rinse (ONR) to wash my Model Y since early December. I wash my Y inside my garage where the daytime temperature is right around 50F. I use 1 bucket, a good grit guard and a cross cut sponge. I also use 3 medium size microfiber towels to dry off the panels as I go. I mix 2 gallons of warm tap water and 1 ounce (2 cap fulls) of ONR. I do have a small spray bottle of ONR premixed with water to apply the the door panels or any other area that needs extra time to loosen the dirt. I wear kitchen gloves so my hands don't get wet and cold. I have used the ONR and sponge to clean all of the glass on the Model Y and it works great on glass too. To avoid getting any water/ONR mix in the window gasket I have been using Invisible Glass to clean the windows.
I'm not saying ONR is magic but this product is about as close to real magic as you will ever see. Used as directed the ONR lifts the dirt and the sponge picks up everything from the panels and glass. I was curious to see if the cross cut sponge retained any dirt so after washing the Model Y I rinsed out the sponge in a separate bucket with clean water. The sponge appeared clean and so did the water in the bucket when I emptied that bucket.
So where did the dirt go? The dirt was still in the bucket with the ONR solution; the heavier grit hopefully settled to the bottom of the bucket and if the grit guard does it's job the dirt stays at the bottom of the ONR bucket. After use I have let the ONR solution sit in the bucket for 24 hours but it remains cloudy, can't see down to the bottom of the bucket to see if the grit has settled out of the solution.
You are pretty much damned if you do or don't as far as washing the car in cold weather. For now ONR makes it possible for me to keep my Model Y clean until it warms up enough to switch to using my power washer and soap.
I'm not saying ONR is magic but this product is about as close to real magic as you will ever see. Used as directed the ONR lifts the dirt and the sponge picks up everything from the panels and glass. I was curious to see if the cross cut sponge retained any dirt so after washing the Model Y I rinsed out the sponge in a separate bucket with clean water. The sponge appeared clean and so did the water in the bucket when I emptied that bucket.
So where did the dirt go? The dirt was still in the bucket with the ONR solution; the heavier grit hopefully settled to the bottom of the bucket and if the grit guard does it's job the dirt stays at the bottom of the ONR bucket. After use I have let the ONR solution sit in the bucket for 24 hours but it remains cloudy, can't see down to the bottom of the bucket to see if the grit has settled out of the solution.
You are pretty much damned if you do or don't as far as washing the car in cold weather. For now ONR makes it possible for me to keep my Model Y clean until it warms up enough to switch to using my power washer and soap.
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Snow Drift
[Off-Road Assist] Activated
2-3 times? wow.
Where in NY are you? Most good car washes in NY are hand-wash...meaning it goes on a conveyer-belt, stuff is sprayed and people insides scrub the car. At that point your main issue is, do you have to exit the car? If no, put her in neutral and stay seated. If yes, you need to find a place that understands Tow Mode (Transport Mode) to prevent the parking brake from engaging.
I have used these types of places for our Model 3, once you find a good one, it's great. Now, we moved, so I go to a detailer, who washes the car parked, but it takes longer and is more $$$.
Don’t you want to know if water can get into the car tho and get that taken care of ASAP?
As for touch less, ONR or AMMO Frothe should work well. I too live in NYC without an access to garage. After you did ONR/AMMO, finish up with a sealant/wax spray such as TW’s Seal and Shine or their new Flex Wax.
In many municipalities car washes are required to catch, recycle the water used to wash the vehicles. The final rinse water can be fresh water (to reduce water spots after drying.) Some of the newest water treatment systems for car washes can further process the recycled wash water through a reverse osmosis (RO) filter. This RO treated, recycled water can be used for the final rinse without leaving water spots on the vehicle.
no doubt but someone posted stating he has heard water getting into the car. I just thought it was illogical to avoid car washes if you think your Tesla could leak. While we are aware of few cases reported here and mentioned in CR, no car should have that problem and I would think one should find out asap if that's a concern.
Car washes use cheap soap and the silicon brushes they use do not get rinsed out in between. So all the cars ahead of you that have gone through it, the dirt that is trapped in them is getting rubbed all over your car.
The alternative is touchless car wash but touchless car wash doesn't do a very good job of cleaning either.
The only solution is a hand-wash with a microfiber cotton mitt with two bucket method, one to trap the dirt. Or a single bucket but as you're swiping the cotton mitt, you have a continuous spray hose of water onto the surface just as you swipe and then rinse the cotton mitt per panel. The continuous spray hose creates a layer of lubrication on the surface of the paint so that dust, grime, etc. that is swiped off by the mitt is not microscopically scratching the paint.
The alternative is touchless car wash but touchless car wash doesn't do a very good job of cleaning either.
The only solution is a hand-wash with a microfiber cotton mitt with two bucket method, one to trap the dirt. Or a single bucket but as you're swiping the cotton mitt, you have a continuous spray hose of water onto the surface just as you swipe and then rinse the cotton mitt per panel. The continuous spray hose creates a layer of lubrication on the surface of the paint so that dust, grime, etc. that is swiped off by the mitt is not microscopically scratching the paint.
Spaceosaurus
Member
I've been going to a touchless car wash and that's worked fine, no damage to the car. The trim does get discolored depending on the soap they use, there's a whole thread discussing this and what folks have used to get it off. Personally I've had luck using Weiman Stainless Steal cleaning wipes. It take a couple passes of wiping + drying before it's off, but it's seemed to work. Otherwise no problems (incl. with the induction wheels).
LevelHeaded
Member
I’ve always done touchless on multiple Teslas in Seattle and SLC. If you go often you can get the cheaper washes that don’t include most of the random chemical treatments since you’re more so doing maintenance washes. But FWIW I’ve had no discoloration of trim in probably over 25 washes at my touchless wash here, many with the full suite of chemical rinses.
Whomever mentioned getting swirling from touchless washes must have completely different machines from anywhere I’ve lived, as this would be literally impossible at the places I frequent.
Whomever mentioned getting swirling from touchless washes must have completely different machines from anywhere I’ve lived, as this would be literally impossible at the places I frequent.
Bobbo8
Member
I love people living in warm weather areas (Houston) saying he washes his car no matter the weather. Come way up north and try washing your car when its freezing or close to freezing for weeks.
Many on this forum say that,......but my neighbor up the street goes thru a local carwash all the time, as he is too old to wash the car himself (his words, not mine). He’s had his for about 7-8 months now. His car always looks nice and clean when I see it.
I recently read up on how commercial car washes recycle the water they use to wash, rinse the vehicles. I learned that after catching, filtering, treating the used water it is stored in a holding tank for reuse. The water used in the final rinse can be passed through a reverse osmosis filter to reduce water spots on the cleaned vehicle. All in all a very impressive array of technology is available to minimize the amount of fresh water that is used by the car wash. There is however one little detail, until recently, that has not been addressed. The recycled water in the holding tank is a growth medium for anaerobic and/or aerobic bacteria. This causes the recycled car wash water to have a foul odor. Car washes cover up the odor with sweet smelling washing chemicals. The latest available treatment options include stirring and aerating the water in the holding tank to promote aerobic bacteria growth over anaerobic bacteria growth as the foul odor is a result of the anaerobic bacteria.
I'm not suggesting that breathing the water droplets from the car wash is unhealthy but from now on if I use a car wash I will make sure that the HVAC system is set to recirculate the cabin air. (I've always done this but now I have a good reason to minimize the amount of outside air that enters the cabin while using a car wash.)
This also means that if you use the self-service wash you are likely using the same recycled, bacteria laden water to wash your vehicle. Better wear that mask.
I'm not suggesting that breathing the water droplets from the car wash is unhealthy but from now on if I use a car wash I will make sure that the HVAC system is set to recirculate the cabin air. (I've always done this but now I have a good reason to minimize the amount of outside air that enters the cabin while using a car wash.)
This also means that if you use the self-service wash you are likely using the same recycled, bacteria laden water to wash your vehicle. Better wear that mask.
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