Having purchased a Prius Limited last year I've become concerned about going through a car wash. I've noticed when I do all the sensors seem to go off at once ( not a surprise), but am worried this might do some damage or "uncalibrate" the sensors. Not sure if there is a main kill switch that can cut off all the sensors until I'm through the wash. I did make the mistake of leaving on the rain sensitive windshield wiper sensor... but only once.
Toyota engineers are aware that these cars go through washes sometimes. Some of those functions can be turned off, but I don't think its worth the trouble. Those type error messages should clear when the car is shut off. The REAL moral of that story is that you should avoid car washes.
There was a firmware fix 18 months or so ago that fixed car wash related false alarms and braking. So that the car wouldn’t brake in the middle of a car wash and get rear ended by the car behind it. I think the warning you get now with all the sensors displayed on the multi functional display it’s only informational. You can clear the display by just pressing the back button the sideways U-turn button.
I appreciate the responses here. I've already decided that I will be washing my own car in the driveway, although I have to say the car wash is convenient during the winter days.
In the winter, when I'm visiting up north, I go to one of the higher quality self service car washes to wash off the salty blocks of ice. Hopefully, even though they recycle the water, the rinse isn't salty.
I only use touchless automatic car washes. It's been nearly 15 years since I've been into a non-touchless (the ones that slap the car, not the brushes. I avoid the brushes like the plague). I can't even recall a non-touchless car wash here in the metro area. So my experience is pretty uneventful since the touchless ones don't set off any sensors.
