I bought my 2011 Prius III at the end of October, and I've yet to take it in for a car wash. Believe it or not, it's been raining about once per week in Phoenix all month. In any case, it's time to take it in, but I'm a little bit reluctant. Here are my questions. 1. Should you take your Prius to a regular car wash? When I watched the video, it warned against brushes, so I'm concerned. 2. When I leave the vehicle to get it washed, I'll have to leave the remote in the car so the car wash people can drive it. I'm worried about a lot of things, like do they know how to drive it, start it, etc, and will they lose it. 3. Do I take off the antenna, and if so, how do I do this? Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it seems like problems could arise. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
1) Be careful when driving it onto the conveyor rails. Side visibility is poor on this car and I rubbed slightly onto the edge of the rails-- resulting in cracking both left-side wheel covers. The wheel covers on this car have no lip so they are easily damaged. About $60/ea online or $100/ea at the dealer-- so don't make that mistake. 2) Leave the remote in the car. They've seen tons of them by now so don't worry about that. 3) The antenna is fairly sturdy so it should be OK. However, I would remove it to be safe. Just turn it counterclockwise and it will easily unscrew.
1) Be careful when driving it onto the conveyor rails. Side visibility is poor on this car and I rubbed slightly onto the edge of the rails-- resulting in cracking both left-side wheel covers. The wheel covers on this car have no lip so they are easily damaged. About $60/ea online or $100/ea at the dealer-- so don't make that mistake. 2) Leave the remote in the car. They've seen tons of them by now so don't worry about that. 3) The antenna is fairly sturdy so it should be OK. However, I would remove it to be safe. Just turn it counterclockwise and it will easily unscrew.
3. Do I take off the antenna, and if so, how do I do this? The 2010 manual advises taking off the antenna. It unscrews fairly easily. I find the non-contact carwashes just as good. You still need to elbow grease the bugs off the front with both systems. I have had no trouble with the under car washing but there are people here who have had water in electrical components afterwards.
I take mine to a carwash that requires I sit in the car while being pulled through. The brushes are very soft and they always cover the rear wiper with a long plastic cover so it won't catch. I never remove the antennea and no issues with it. The wash is only $4 and there is free vacumn afterwards. I could pay more to have their attendants do everything but I don't have to wait as long. Only a few minutes to wipe it down and vacumn the mats and I'm done and gone.
I decided to wash and wax my new Prius myself. Not only do I save the expense of a cash wash, now I have no worries with how it's being cleaned.
I took it in today, and removed the antenna myself per the above guidelines. The first guy was very informed, drove it into the wash, then out. No problems. After that, they cleaned it, and another car got behind mine. Understandably, the guy wanted to move the car forward, but he got in and moved the shifter around back and forth before I got involved. He kindly stepped away, and they finished after I had to shift it into drive and move it up. In Arizona at least, people don't understand these cars. Luckily, he was shifting around when there was no power to the engine, so the car drove fine on the way home. One thing I did like was when everyone else's car pulled up and sat there with the engine running. My Prius pulled up, on electric, with no sound....ahahahah Great to be an owner, the car is in the garage with the antenna attached.
So, don't get the underbody flush? For my other cars, I use an automatic car wash in the winter and opt for the underbody flush for the last couple washes in the winter. I hand-wash the cars during the rest of the year.
I personally have not taken my Prius to a car wash, but the "soft" brushes will actually cause scratches. I have found that the best automatic car washes have been the brushless washes. I had a car that had a side mirror that was damaged and i did a temporary fix, and had to have the car washed and the brushless did not tear the mirror off... Takes longer (3 - 4x's) and if it's a busy car wash day that could cause a serious back log....
You should get undercarriage wash if you live in the rust belt. The anticorrosion properties of the body sheet metal is extremely good, because it is required for warranty, but it is not so good on chassis parts. The HID headlight leveler on Gen II is a very good example -- most failures are reported out of the MidWest. All connectors are designed to be water tight. Usually they are not if they have been glued together after an accident. The undercarriage wash is a really good test if someone is selling a salvage title rebuild or there is collision damage reported in the Carfax.
Do you have brushless Lazer Car Washes in your area. There is nothing to touch the car except very high water pressure. They I use this type and have for the past seven years on all my cars. Lexus, Hondas and by baby ... Prius V with very satisfactory results.
I agree, brushless is better. I have not had this Prius washed in a conventional car wash, I either go brushless or do it myself at home. The newer water based car paints seem to scratch pretty easily. I went to a car wash that I had used for years with no problems when I first got my Gen2 Prius. Big scratch down one side from the brushes or dirt left on the brushes. I'm afraid to give them another chance.
