My new Prius scares the crap out of me

As you drive in, water is sprayed on the sides of the car. Then you get to a spot where the giant green light turns red, and you stop. Then, giant arms encircle the car, alternately spraying water, then soap. Nothing ever touches the car. After two minutes of this, the light turns green and you drive very slowly past an air blower.

 

brushless. amazing really.

 

Car rinse is a better discription. They are probably designed with road salt removal in mind. I would guess that it is very high pressure

 

It works as well as any other carwash, but it's here in California, where we don't have road salt. I alternate between this one and a full-service wash where the guys actually wash my car.

 

Interesting. I'm in SoCal and have never seen one. There are a lot of times that I just want to get a clean rinse. I'm very particular about choosing car washes that don't use those spinning brushes and fabrics. Hand wash only can scratch your paint if they don't give it a pre rinse. I guess the best way is to do it yourself... which I prefer.

 

This is "Internet Rumor" so take it for what you will....
But the problem I've heard about repeated use of "touchless" car washes is that they use more a more aggressive soap. Because there aren't any brushes to remove dirt.

Some people claim that repeated exposure to these detergents can be bad for the finish.

I don't know....seems to me that whenever you put ANYTHING against your finish, you are risking damage. Whether that happens to be your own wash mitt....or a rotating brush in a Car Wash. Nothing is guaranteed. Even at home, with your own equipment you can get a piece of dirt or rock that causes damage.

In short, I don't think there is any totally "Risk Free" way of cleaning your vehicle. Only careful minimization of that risk.

Is there greater risk with a public car wash with high speed rotating brushes? Probably. But in all honesty, in many years of occasional use, I've really never noticed a problem. But I think part of the success is the fact that I keep my finish in good shape to start with.

 

The key is keeping the hand mitt clean and free of grit. Before dipping the mitt back into the pale of suds, rinse it off with the hose 1st. That way applying the suds to the car will be dirt free, hence no scratches.

 

Obviously.
But my contention is that there is really no 100% way of guaranteeing that, even with your own bucket and mitt.
Mistakes happen, and/or it doesn't take too much of any abrasive to cause a problem.

Careful home washing by hand IS probably the safest method. But it's only as good and safe as the person doing it.

When I was younger I was a real "purist". I always washed by hand and the idea of using a mechanical car wash was blasphemy.

My cars looked great.

I just have to compromise now.

My car still looks better than the average in a crowd, but probably not the near show room look I use to obtain.

 

Fear of damaging the paint on my Prius is what motivates me to never wash it. Yeah, that's it. I'm actually protecting my car by neglecting to wash it!

Maybe if I had a Corvette I would care, but I use the Prius for it's utility as an appliance. It would be like washing the dirt off of my work boots, which I intend to get dirty the very next time I use them.

 

My car, sporting the dark "Winter Gray", requires special attention. I always use my portable power washer to rinse it off before any soap (Mother's Car Wash Soap) is lathered on. Also important, is to use a 100% cotton mitt that is kept off the bottom of the bucket and rinsed often. Procedure is everything.
Note: I find it amusing how a post about ones car scaring the crap out of them morphs into a car care discussion.

 

A thread I have on another forum about grandpa purchasing a new vehicle, morphed into a discussion on the engineering and management prowess of Delorean. Godwin's law I suppose.

 

Godwin? Goodwin? Goodwine? Wine tasting? Wine making? .......

 

xactly. Only Godwin asserts that the natural endpoint for any sufficiently long discussion is disagreement, and ascribing Nazi-like attributes to the opposition.

 

Hopefully we'll avoid that
It's pretty difficult to ascribe Nazi-like attributes to someone just for washing their Prius differently.

 

I found the only way to effectively clean the underside is to actually jack it up and onto safety stands (one end at a time), take off plastic trim panels where you can, and go at it with brushes, rags, and apply some sorta wax/oil protectorant.

Sooner than later too: a lot of the plastic panel bolts were close to seize-up when I checked ours.

 

I wonder if the OP still has the Prius.

 

He probably sold it and thought all of us are crazy...

 

This thread has been hijacked! Warn the authorities!

 

Car washes scare the crap out of me!

 

Had a dog that hated car washes. Would run front to back chasing the water spraying on the sides of the vehicle. Funny to say the least. Really went nuts when the dryer kicked on...