Is 2010 Prius safe at a car wash?

Depends on what you mean by detergent. Most soaps are corrosive to a car's clearcoat. Always use something specifically meant for a car. I've always found that the pressure washer is no match for elbow grease.

 

No problem. I am a huge fan of whole house filtration. My parents have a setup installed at their house, I'll try and find some info on it.

 

i think this thread is going beyond the OP.

what it boils down to is that no matter what method is used to wash car, it will degrade the paint job over time. now with modern car wash systems they are designed to minimize the damage which means that eventually "damage" will result... now we can look at it that way, or we can be realistic and call it wear.

now, this wear can be greatly mitigated by simply taking steps to protect the paint. do a high quality wax job 3-4 times a year. that helps to smooth the surface which makes it tougher for dirt to hang on and makes it easier to wash.

someone mentioned pressure washing... well, i hope you dont think that by "not touching" it will mean less wear on the paint... well, in that regard, water counts too. i also think that pressure washing if done carelessly, will damage the paint much faster than a wash job either by hand or at one of those newer automated car washes. if i went to the beach, then used pressure to wash car, wouldnt sandblasting be just as effective?

so one can either not wash the car, drive around with it dirty all the time which will give the impression of a faded or worn paint job. or wash it, keep it clean and shiny where no one on the street will see any imperfections. lets face it, in the long run, only you can see those tiny little scratches.

oh, and another thing. i think the biggest thing we need to worry about is the sun. so, either drive it and take a few preventative steps occasionally while washing it regularly, or garage it. the latter also goes a long way towards keeping it clean longer

 

How about one of these for a low water use wash at home solution?

Washmatik® cleans your car with one bucket of water! Save on metered water and beat the hosepipe ban. This clever system uses a patented one-way valve to defy gravity without pumps, taps, pressure jets or tangled hoses. The Washmatik® will clean your car using just one bucket of water, and is also ideal for windows, patio doors, conservatories, boats and caravans. Comes with brush head and handle, 8'/2.6m non-kink hose, extension pole, bucket clip, wash-and-wipe blade, rose spray/sprinkler and ‘chammy’ cloth.

You can find more information here http://www.orangeplanet.nl/index.php?page=3&item=39

 

hmmm wow, might be a good option for those times when you come home from the beach. keeps you from recycling dirty water where dust and salt might start grinding on your finish

 

This may be a bit OT, but it seems like some people might be interested in the differences.

Here's one of my cars out in the sun. I bought it used and the PO used a touchless car wash exclusively since new. Looks pretty good, right?




Here is the same car, not 2 minutes later, closer and with better lighting.




I detail as a hobby. It took me over 4 hours to restore that finish, that most people probably think looked great to begin with. I'll get a beer and turn on some tunes, it's relaxing and a bit of exercise at the same time. I realize not everyone enjoys it and being originally from the northeast, I realize you can't do it year round. I used to do whatever it takes to get the salt off in winter and then do a full clay/polish/seal/wax treatment in the Spring.

A really nice finish has depth and IMO is worth the effort. Here's one that I just finished a full treatment on. You can see that depth to the paint that's so hard to capture, but IMO looks really nice.



Again, apologies for the OT and I feel like a bit of a douche that's showing off his cars, but I'm just trying to give an example of what the differences look like as it seems quite a few people are interested.

Cheers.

 

Around my area, some Toyota dealers have an automatic car wash installed at their dealership. Every time that I took the 2007 Prius in for service, the dealership wash the Prius before handling the car to me. I believe that they run their new Toyota cars through the automatic car wash too, before putting them on the lot.

 

This makes me think that a lof of folks are overthinking this... I'm happy with a little bug/tar remover and the brand new $8 touchless machine up the street, so far.

Dave

 

I just order a bottle online. Should have it in a few days and then I will try it on my 2010 Prius V. One ounce of Optimum No Rinse in a gallon of water should go a long way. Living in San Diego area, there are water shortage in this area, might be going on water rationing this summer. Using only a gallon of water every two weeks washing the Prius would be saving on water too.

 

I don't take it personally at all, my post wasn't meant to convey actual frustration.

ONR will probably never be available at car parts stores, but niether are most good products.

LOL. It won't hurt the paint, but you do have to be smart how you use it like anything else. Use a good wash media (sponge, mitt) and a nice waffle weave drying towel and you'll do fine.

Go to YouTube and search for "ONR" and "Optimum No Rinse", there are how-to videos posted by detailers.

 

If your car is a showroom car, then sure, you have to be super-anal. If your Prius is a daily driver, which I imagine most are, it's a balance between convenience and amount of work necessary to maintain perfection (which is near impossible). But there is absolutely no reason to abuse the Prius and hasten paint destruction.

I would never recommend any of my friends or family to use an auto wash like the one posted by the OP, Prius or not. Especially the wash at the dealership. People who care about their paintwork specifically decline the FREE dealer carwash, and often will even request no dealer prep prior to new car delivery to specifically avoid the damage from the dealer wash. Touchless washes are a good compromise, but has its own set of problems.

The reason why clearcoated paint gets duller and duller over time is not because of fading or clearcoat degradation. It is due to accumulation of micro/macro scratches/embedded gunk on the clear coat from improper care. This causes random diffusion and scattering of reflected light, leading to a dull look. Like SW03ES stated andAirKuhl demonstrated, scratches/swirls may not be apparent beyond making the paint look dull until lighting conditions are correct. Those of you who trust dealer washes or these automatic brush washes (like in the OP's picture) and think your paint is still perfect, the next time your car is clean in the sun, look at it closely. I'll bet it's swirled out beyond comprehension.

There are many sites that have much more information about paint care, such as autopia or Meguairs. We are not making this stuff up.

Here is a picture of a white 2003 Toyota Camry I detailed. The left side of the trunk (top of picture) was polished while the right side (bottom) still was filled with scratches and swirls, which made it dull and matte-like. What would you like your Prius to look like?

 

You can't let it frustrate you. Some people just don't get it. When you look at our cars...my Lexus is a dark burgundy aith almost 130k miles on it and it looks so good NOBODY believes its as old as it is, and the Prius looks just as good (but its an easier color to maintain). Taking good care of the paint really makes a difference. I'll have no trouble selling either of those cars because I have the maintenance records and the pride of ownership really shows.

Just a simple wash once a week or once every two weeks takes 40 minutes tops to do at home with something like ONR, makes zero mess. Add to that a simple protectant regimen of 4 times a year, and a modern paint finish will look like new for many, many, many years.

If you don't want to devote the time to it...plenty of professionals out there who will come to your home and take care of your vehicles for you for not a whole lot of money.

To me...I'm not going to buy a nice suit and throw it in the washing machine and ruin it. I'm going to take it to the dry cleaners and have it properly cleaned to prolong its life. Car is no different. The carwash is the washing machine, the professional detailer is the dry cleaner. The good news is, with about a $100 investment in a few good microfiber sponges, a bucket, some ONR, and some good waffle weave microfiber towels you can do it yourself and not have to pay a detailer. Hard to dry clean at home.

Dealer carwashes are a NIGHTMARE...my God. You should see some of the brand new cars people brought to me when I was detailing professionally to fix, or nice BMWs and Lexuses that had gone in for oil changes and been washed with a broom.

 

Every dealer I've taken my cars to for servicing offers complimentary car wash, which I tell them not to do. If it's not the auto machine with those brushes bearing down on your paint, it's some guy with a bucket of dirty water and an old rag ruining the paint. No thanks.

In my area there is a car wash chain (Auto Pride) that does hand washing. The car is pulled along a track while a couple of guys hand wash the car. It then gets machine rinsed and blown dry, and after emerging from the building they do a quick dry touch up, dress the tires, clean both sides of the windows, and rub down the interior with damp cloths. Well worth the $15--and if I'm feeling really lazy, I'll have them wax it for another $20, but I usually wax myself a few times a year, with a semi-annual claying.

When I sold my '05 BMW 545i a few weeks ago (after 4.5 years) it looked as good as new.

 

Wow, ok thanks for all the good posts. I have seen similar posts before but this one definitely discussed some issues not previously covered. I really want to baby this one, so I plan on washing it at home. I'm just afraid I may have to touchless wash it the first few times, because I can't get the filters installed quick enough. (Water here is really redonkulus.)

 

I have a local detailer who will clay bar the car and either wax or use paint sealer or something like that. He says new cars really don't need wax, but he's happy to use it if I want it. He seems like he knows what he's doing. The dealer had a guy that had swirls all over the place.

 

New cars definately need wax. Why wouldn't they?

Brad, try the Optimum NoRinse and you won't need filters.

 

I have waxed cars and bikes, and occasionally waxed poetic. But I've never waxed myself. What wax do you use? Does it provide a deep shine? My bald head probably has enough of that already. I'd be afraid it would make me all slippery and I'd slide off the couch while watching Oprah. The semi-annual claying sounds painful. Is it a good exfoliant? Maybe I should clay myself this weekend and see how I come out.

See, that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. If I use a buffer I might come out like this guy! Maybe he should try the clay bar on himself to get rid of those ugly swirls...

 

Since you stole my reply I'll have to add I did try to wax myself and it hurt like a SOB. Don't try it. It's not worth the shine and it might void your warranty and cause customer disastifaction. Wives and girlfriends tend to not like bloody wounds and random tufts of hair.



Claying on the other hand, can be fun if you have a partner...