Single digit temperature washing

[fasteddie7]

Just pulled in my (not heated) garage and looked at my salt covered Tesla. Forcast shows single digit temperatures for the next 10 days, just wondering what everyone is doing to keep their Teslas clean during this mess. I've used the touchless in the past around 32 degrees and other than the occasional loud bang of the breaks letting loose and mirrors not folding/unfolding, had no problems, but this 2 degree stuff makes me nervous. Any advice? Garage is a little warmer but not much in single digit temps.

 

[navinsiri]

You can use optimum no rinse inside the garage. I use that but my car is covered in xpel. I wouldn’t do a rinseless wash otherwise.

 

[fasteddie7]

It's 1 degree Fahrenheit out now with a high of 16. Garage is about 25 degrees. Thinking of bucket washing and just thoroughly drying. I can't get in the door creases or the handles but if I pre condition for two hours or so might be ok? Or should I just suck it up and wait a week for temps to return to above freezing?

 

[rudngo]

If it’s really that dirty I would wait. Even with something like ONR, you don’t want to take the chance of dragging abrasive particles over the paint. One of the benefits of all aluminum construction is that road salt doesn’t affect your car.

 

[Sully's8]

You can use optimum no rinse inside the garage. I use that but my car is covered in xpel. I wouldn’t do a rinseless wash otherwise.

I too have a full xpel, so what is the "no rinse" solution you're using on it? My car is also a salty mess. . . hadn't even realized that the aluminum frame is immune to corrosion from salt. . . another good reason to own the S. Is the undercarriage all aluminum as well?

Thanks in advance. . .

 

[Barry]

Just back from the mountains and my car's filthy. I always wait for >32 before (touchless) washing. Today will be that day. As the salt and grime are in a frozen, not liquid, state, I wouldn't worry about corrosion.

 

[fasteddie7]

Corrosion doesn't really get to me I just hate seeing it look like it does right now lol. I wonder what would happen if I run it through the touchless on the way home from work and pull in the garage, give it a once over, and dry it the best I can...

 

[boonedocks]

Corrosion doesn't really get to me I just hate seeing it look like it does right now lol. I wonder what would happen if I run it through the touchless on the way home from work and pull in the garage, give it a once over, and dry it the best I can...

I do this every 3rd day or so. See if that touchless car wash has a monthly membership. Mine charges $32 a month for unlimited washes and lets me use it for both of my cars. Touchless wash and home for spritz of detailer spray and a fiber towel. Your idea sounds perfect.

 

[Big Earl]

Corrosion doesn't really get to me I just hate seeing it look like it does right now lol. I wonder what would happen if I run it through the touchless on the way home from work and pull in the garage, give it a once over, and dry it the best I can...

You might find that water freezes in inconvenient places. Be careful, as frozen door, window, and trunk seals can tear.

As bad as it looks, I would avoid washing the car until the temperature warms back up.

Another option is to wash the car, then head back to your garage, close the garage door, open all of the car doors, and crank the car's heat up to maximum for an hour to let everything dry out. Voila, instant heated garage.

 

[navinsiri]

I too have a full xpel, so what is the "no rinse" solution you're using on it? My car is also a salty mess. . . hadn't even realized that the aluminum frame is immune to corrosion from salt. . . another good reason to own the S. Is the undercarriage all aluminum as well?

Thanks in advance. . .

Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine

That's what I use. You can probably get it off amazon for less. There's also many videos on youtube that show the best techniques. Since your car is fully wrapped you shouldn't need to be too careful with it. XPEL is soft so yes it will leave small swirls but they're not permanent since the film is self healing when it gets warmer.

 

[rpo]

I had a hot/cold hose attachment installed in my garage so I can wash the car in the driveway in winter with warm water. The coldest temps I have washed the car in was about 25F. I am not sure how much colder I could go, but nothing froze on the outside of the car. My garage stays above 50 year round, so anything that did would melt once it was back in there.

Washing a cold car with warm water results in large steam clouds coming off the car though. My neighbors likely think I am crazy (for many reasons, but also) when they see me washing the car in the cold. I have NEVER in the 5 years I've lived here seen any of my neighbors wash their cars (or even put them in the garage) any time of the year.

 

[isjka]

I plan on heading to a hand wash place this weekend. Chicago had its first snowfall a few days ago and my car too looks like crap. In fact, I'm not sure if the cold/salt caused my front sensor to stop working. I can no longer pull into the garage and hear the audible sound when I approach a barrier. Hand washes are usually expensive, but I believe they are well worth it when temps are low.

 

[Stan Moraski]

My solution might not work for everyone, but I garage my p85 at the first sign of snow in Connecticut, and bring it back out in early March. I have a 1999 Saab that runs like a tank with four snow tires on it. Not comfortable driving my Tesla in the rain, let alone snow. Kind of a freak, I know. Happy Winter!

 

[NewTMSMan]

I recently cleaned my salt covered S by taking it to a self wash and just power washing off the road salt quickly (only 3 minutes in the cold), then when back at my garage I use this waterless car wash

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X04JRMU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works really well and only took me about 15-20 minutes. Car looks great. I did make sure to open the doors and wipe down the seals as well as I have had doors freeze with the frameless windows.

 

[DriveMe]

I came back from an out of state trip on Tuesday. Went through an ugly snow storm near Erie, PA. The car was not only dirty, but it was covered with ice and snow. The temperature outside was around 10. Not much higher inside the garage. I needed to de-ice my car. Here is what I did:

I plugged in my car and ran its heater for 3 hours with all the doors open. Also left the door to the house open for some time. That was enough to warm up the air in the garage to well above freezing and to melt the ice on the car. I carefully removed bigger chunks of ice once they became loose. I then filled a plastic soda bottle with warm water, punched a hole in the lid and sprayed the dirtiest parts of the car. This will have to suffice until it gets warmer.

 

[fasteddie7]

I came back from an out of state trip on Tuesday. Went through an ugly snow storm near Erie, PA. The car was not only dirty, but it was covered with ice and snow. The temperature outside was around 10. Not much higher inside the garage. I needed to de-ice my car. Here is what I did:

I plugged in my car and ran its heater for 3 hours with all the doors open. Also left the door to the house open for some time. That was enough to warm up the air in the garage to well above freezing and to melt the ice on the car. I carefully removed bigger chunks of ice once they became loose. I then filled a plastic soda bottle with warm water, punched a hole in the lid and sprayed the dirtiest parts of the car. This will have to suffice until it gets warmer.

My garage is to big for this to work for me I'm afraid. I'll have heat in there someday just not for this cold snap.

 

[mongo]

My garage is to big for this to work for me I'm afraid. I'll have heat in there someday just not for this cold snap.View attachment 269664

How did you end up with an extra truss?

 

[Brian-MS90D]

I use ONR and occasionally touchless car wash for underside (I don't believe the suspension components around the wheel are aluminum as previous posters have suggested...). I fill my two buckets with warm water (which also makes the wash cloths warm) and wear warm clothes. The warm water and my activity washing for 20 minutes keeps me warm enough. Yes, definitely dry to avoid ice around windows but I do that anyways because you can't leave the ONR on without drying.

Some people mentioned using the car to heat the garage. That seems like a really expensive and bad waste of electricity to me...

 

[DriveMe]

Some people mentioned using the car to heat the garage. That seems like a really expensive and bad waste of electricity to me...

Just a few bucks. No big deal. Cheaper (and possibly less wasteful) than an auto car wash!
The car was covered with a ton of ice. I had to warm it up to melt the ice anyway.

 

[DriveMe]

My garage is to big for this to work for me I'm afraid. I'll have heat in there someday just not for this cold snap.View attachment 269664

Yeah, my garage is much smaller. Plus it has a ceiling that separates it from the attic. So the total volume is way smaller.
Still, I was amazed how effective the car was as a heater!