Using the Tesla Key at Car Wash

[ssolomon1]

Do you have to leave a key or your phone in the car when an attendant takes your car through the car wash?

 

[Ashleyy]

Yes. I leave the key card on the charging port

 

[jcanoe]

Unless the car wash attendant * is very familiar with how to operate a Tesla vehicle you should remain in the vehicle. It is tricky to shift the Tesla Model Y into neutral for someone who is new to driving Tesla vehicles. You should learn how to activate Car Wash mode as this automates several steps that should be followed.

Car Wash mode automatically performs the following:
1) Folds the mirrors
2) Close windows (This was previously automated but now, due to power window safety regulations in the US, you must manually ensure that all windows are fully closed.)
3) Locks the charge port and the trunk or hatch
4) Turns off the windshield wipers

You can either shift into Neutral using the steering wheel lever (when in D lift the lever half way and hold to 1 to 2 seconds and Neutral will engage.) There is also an option to enable Free Roll while in Car Wash mode.

Car Wash mode setting can be activated under the Maintenance settings.

You should practice activating Car Wash mode, Entering Free Roll or shifting into Neutral and then resuming normal driving. (Resuming normal driving from Free Roll requires briefly pressing the brake pedal while shifting into Drive, is something you should practice.)

When the Tesla vehicle is going through an automated car wash that has a track with automated rollers you should never unbuckle your seat belt or shift around in the drivers seat. If the Tesla Model Y detects that you are not sitting in the driver's seat the Tesla vehicle will automatically shift into Park. (This would definitely ruin you car wash experience if not your whole day.)

* I would not recommend letting the attendant drive your Model Y through an automated car wash.

 

[SalisburySam]

Unless the car wash attendant * is very familiar with how to operate a Tesla vehicle you should remain in the vehicle. It is tricky to shift the Tesla Model Y into neutral for someone who is new to driving Tesla vehicles. You should learn how to activate Car Wash mode as this automates several steps that should be followed.

Car Wash mode automatically performs the following:
1) Folds the mirrors
2) Close windows (This was previously automated but now, due to power window safety regulations in the US, you must manually ensure that all windows are fully closed.)
3) Locks the charge port and the trunk or hatch
4) Turns off the windshield wipers

You can either shift into Neutral using the steering wheel lever (when in D lift the lever half way and hold to 1 to 2 seconds and Neutral will engage.) There is also an option to enable Free Roll while in Car Wash mode.

Car Wash mode setting can be activated under the Maintenance settings.

You should practice activating Car Wash mode, Entering Free Roll or shifting into Neutral and then resuming normal driving. (Resuming normal driving from Free Roll requires briefly pressing the brake pedal while shifting into Drive, is something you should practice.)

When the Tesla vehicle is going through an automated car wash that has a track with automated rollers you should never unbuckle your seat belt or shift around in the drivers seat. If the Tesla Model Y detects that you are not sitting in the driver's seat the Tesla vehicle will automatically shift into Park. (This would definitely ruin you car wash experience if not your whole day.)

* I would not recommend letting the attendant drive your Model Y through an automated car wash.

@jcanoe is giving some excellent advice here on Car Wash mode and how it works, thanks for that.

For me and my local conveyor-driven rotating brushes car wash, Car Wash mode is pretty cumbersome, especially the attendant training you have to do each time. Working with the facility managers, they and Tesla owners have adopted the following at least for the Model 3:

1. Driver - set the car wash as a location for automatically folding the mirrors
2. Driver - leave the key card on the console behind the cup holders
3. Driver - turn off the wipers
4. Driver - drive vehicle to vacuum station, get out, go pay, watch car go through wash, wait until cleaned and dried outside, get in car, retrieve key card, drive off with clean car
5. Attendant - verify key card is present and in correct location
6. Attendant - after vacuuming, drive to tunnel entrance
7. Attendant - place car in neutral, remain in car through tunnel, drive to drying station, put in Park, verify key card location after interior wipe down.

This puts far less onus on the car wash staff; all they have to learn is Neutral, key card location, and to stay in the vehicle. It’s usually the on-premise manager who sits in the car so as to not take the attendants off the vacuum or drying stations. Also easier on the owner as you skip the screen menu modes, the mirrors always are folded due to geolocation feature, and all you do is leave the key card and turn off the wipers manually or with voice command if it works.

By the way, we acquired another EV, a 2023 Ioniq5, and it has the same issues as the Tesla: you have to remain in the seat otherwise it shifts to Park. The Ioniq5 does not have a dedicated Car Wash mode, but the same technique I’ve outlined works equally well for both cars and makes life simpler for both owner and car wash staff. One difference is that the Ioniq5 doesn’t have (or I haven’t found) an automatic mirror fold based on location so I do that manually when turning off the wipers. There is a button on the driver’s door to fold the mirrors, quick and easy.

 

[jcanoe]

I am sure that somewhere there exist car wash owners, attendants that have the time and patience to learn the nuances of running the Tesla vehicle through a car wash. For all others, beware.

Find a car wash that lets the driver remain inside the vehicle. At the local car wash near me this is the case for the exterior only car wash. The full service car wash where the attendants clean the interior requires the owner to exit the vehicle, re-enter after the car wash has completed.

Use a self-service car wash bay with the high pressure hose.

Wash at home inside a garage (out of the wind) using Optimum No Rinse or another rinseless car wash product.

There are mobile car wash services that will come to your home or place of work.

Hope for an early spring.