My Automatic Car Wash Experiences

[wheeler]

I had a membership at a automatic car wash place on my commute route, and I had washed my CT there several times. Today after finished washing my CT, I was told I can not wash it there anymore, because it is too big?‍. They will cancel my membership and give a refund.

The results of automatic car washes on CT is not that good, but it is kinda works for me. Water stains on panels and a little leaking in the bed are not big deals to me, comparing to removing dust and mud from the car in just a few minutes. The finger prints and hard stains can not be cleaned by automatic car wash though.

Update:

I managed to fix the leaking myself.

Now I go to an unmanned stationary automatic carwash. No one there to tell me to leave. And after blow drying, I park and dry it with a towel. Cheaper, slower with better drying result.

And a new leaking spot showed up last time. Maybe I stayed in front of the blowers for too long. The strong winds could blow the water into seams.

 

[Crissa]

Your car wash isn't great if it can't remove fingerprints. Are they even using soap?

Perhaps a little pre-sudsing? I usually don't recommend windex, but bases are good at taking out fingerprints because they react with the oils chemically, and then the wash would flush it off.

And the water spots are on all the cars coming through there - which is why all the washes near my home have towel service.

-Crissa

 

[TexasRaider]

I was told by Tesla to only take it through the auto washes that move around the vehicle while it is stationary. But also, it would only clean it as you described above.

 

[Woodrick]

I was told by Tesla to only take it through the auto washes that move around the vehicle while it is stationary. But also, it would only clean it as you described above.

And that's pretty much what EVERY manufacturer says.


But in thinking about it, the loose cloths getting stuck in some of the gaps with sharp edges may mean some after car wash removals.

 

[TwilightHan]

Many car washes recycle water and do not clean the filters as well as use hard water, so if they don’t have a good set up, without drying it with dirty towels that scratches up a normal vehicles paint, the water spots will stain.

 

[TexasRaider]

Many car washes recycle water and do not clean the filters as well as use hard water, so if they don’t have a good set up, without drying it with dirty towels that scratches up a normal vehicles paint, the water spots will stain.

One of my local car washes “advertise” that they recycle ~50% of their water. Thankfully, I haven’t ever notice any issues. But of course, the result will depend on the filters in the recycling they do. (I’d believe.)

 

[wheeler]

Update:

I managed to fix the leaking myself.

Now I go to an unmanned stationary automatic carwash. No one there to tell me to leave. And after blow drying, I park and dry it with a towel. Cheaper, slower with better drying result.

And a new leaking spot showed up last time. Maybe I stayed in front of the blowers for too long. The strong winds could blow the water into seams.

Updated. New leaking