Automatic Car Wash?

Ask them if that means they washed the car by hand before you took delivery of it.

When I bought my Prius I signed the papers on a Sunday but didn't take delivery until the next day because there was too much crap in my old car that I had to remove before I could trade it in (I was really just planning to just take a test drive on that Sunday but I got carried away and wound up buying the car right away). When I showed up to take delivery I noticed that it had pollen all over it (it was tree pollen season at the time) and they said they had just washed it but there was so much pollen in the air that it was already all over the car again. (They weren't lying, it was that time of year when you can't keep the car clean, we laughed about it.)

After I left the dealer I noticed that the gas tank was not full but figured there was nothing I could do about it. Then I got the new owner survey from Toyota which specifically asked if the tank was full and I said no. A few days later the dealer called and told me to bring the car in and they would fill the tank. When I brought it in, the very friendly porter tried to do me a favor by topping off the tank but it overflowed and got gas on the car. So then he drove it through the dealer's car wash.

Six months later when I brought the car in for its first oil change, they again washed the car for me. So that's three times at least that the dealer ran it through a car wash. This dealer sells lots of hybrids and many of the people who work there own at least one, so they pretty much know how to take care of them.

 

Generally it's a safe to assume that anything doubtful the dealer says is a lie. There's a small possibility that he was referring to the damage that could be caused by someone leaving the car in park and dragging it through the car wash.

I once had to go to a car wash when I was out of town. My Jeep had about three coats of Zaino applied to it the week before, and after a hand wash, the reduction in water beading and slickness told me almost all of the sealant was gone. I have no idea what they washed it with, but they must have to wear gloves and goggles when they use it. I could probably have washed my Jeep sixty times with store-bought car wash shampoo and not stripped as much sealant off as they did in one wash.

 

What I'm hearing strongly suggests I can go to a good car wash and have my Prius properly cleaned. Thanks all for your advice and input. However, I've decided that whenever I can, I'll wash the car by hand to be safe!

 

Some people's experience makes me go ...Eeeekkk!

So as to not duplicate the same problems with filthy car washes, gas pouring out onto the paint, and rock chips, I'm gonna just keep it parked in the garage.

If it's a nice day, I'll consider opening the garage door, give it some air, maybe show it to my friends, perhaps play the radio or CD.

I'll have to start it from time to time to keep the battery up and carry a gas can from time to time, but the most I have to do is buy a California duster and some windshield spray for those baked on dust particles.

My friends may call me "anal" but hey, perfect car in 2008, perfect car in 2028.

On second thought, ahhh.....NOT.


ZC1

(the points about self-washing and brushless car washes are good advice.)

 

I've searched and searched and can not find this anywhere. Perhaps I am not good at searching? I have always used an automatic car wash for all my cars (2 camrys previous to this Prius). I have also always had the "auto butler" service where they put on the clear coat protect-ant every 6 months. I've been very happy with the results. So, my question is not really about washing, but about the battery usage while in an automatic car wash. I leave the fob in the dash so there is no danger of them losing it, etc. I put the car in park and leave it running. They of course have to put it in neutral as it goes thru. So, when it came out and they were all done drying, etc I get in and the battery indicator is pink. They also had the AC up higher than I had left it. Is there something I should be doing different? Is it normal for it to go pink in only a 10 minute time frame? It charged right back up quickly on the highway and only effected my mpg by a .3 mpg, so I'm not terribly worried. I'm just curious if they should have done something different when it went thru. I asked the guy if he knew how to use the hybrid system when I walked away and he said they clean all the state vehicles so he was aware of how it worked. Thanks for any info.