Car Wash Blues

What is the reason behind removing the radio ant. before washing the Prius?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tectulsa\";p=\"80194)</div>

If you take your Prius to a self-serve car wash, you take the antenna off to avoid snagging the spray wand hose on it. I've only had mine at such a place twice now, and I've taken the antenna off to avoid the snag.

The heated underground parking at my condo has a wash bay, but with a regular hose. So I leave the antenna on.

 

I just took my new baby "Cherry" to the automatic car wash yesterday. I never gave a thought to how it would be different from ICE cars so I didn't read the previous posts in this thread.

The car wash(Magic Car Wash) is touchless and have a gang of people to hand dry and wipe at the end.

As I pulled up to the entrance of the car wash, I could see that the attendant was driving the cars into the track, putting them in neutral, and getting out before sending them into the wash. When he saw me his eyes got real wide and I had my first intimation that they might not know how to handle a Prius. I didn't know either! He asked me if I could pull it into the track (no problem) and asked me to put it in neutral which I did. I got out of the car, leaving it on. I did not close the door and one of the operators started the car into the wash. The entrance guy was on his toes and yelled to stop the track! I closed the door and and the operator restarted the track. I went off to pay the bill and chat with a curious person about my car. I realized that I still had the key fob in my pocket and wondered if that would be a problem (it wasn't).
When Cherry exited the wash, the exit guy who drives the cars the the drying area, opened the door and started blowing the horn. I excused myself from the conversation and drove the car myself to the cloth dry area.

The guy at the entrance told me that they have seen Prii before but had no comment other than that. They must have direction to have the owner drive the car. He did tell the operator that it had one of "those funny shifters" and that "you can't shut it off". Where did that idea come from?

I don't see how the car could accidentally go to drive without someone putting their foot on the brake, but maybe I should not leave the Hybrid Synergy drive ON.

Has someone made up a card for the car wash attendant?

 

This is why I've been washing my car myself. This is a chore for me because I live in a condo complex and there is no place with a hose for washing cars. Instead I use Quick & Easy Wash (no hose required), but I don't find it all that quick & easy. The results are good though.

 

You CAN put it in drive without touching the brake. One of the washes I've used requires you to drive through yourself (that's why I use it, their wash is actually inferior). As you approach the exit, you tap the gear from N to D without touching the brake. There's no need to stop the track in this case.

On the other hand, yesterday I tried a different wash where you don't ride through, and the kid who pulled it onto the track turned Voltaire off. I had to run in there (I was watching through the glass) and set him straight. They wouldn't let me ride through, but had an employee do it. They give a great wash there, but I'd rather ride through myself. <sigh>

Once the weather warms up, it's back to washing it in the driveway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clubmedic\";p=\"89659)</div>

Clubmedic you are right! You can shift to Drive from Neutral without the brake. I'm lucky one of the wiper guys didn't shift it into drive accidentally. Now I see how the almost disaster way back in this thread happened.

If you or the attendant turns it off it will go into Park so that explains the comment about "you can't turn it off".

 

Put the car into Ig-On mode. You can put it in neutral in that mode, and you don't put yourself at risk of draining the HV battery to the point of it turning itself off. Remember, the HV battery can't be charged in neutral.

 

But if the car's moving on the track, how do you get it from 'ON' to 'Ig-On' mode without turning off the car, and puting it in park? A bad thing when it's on a moving track.

 

You usually have a bit of time before the rollers pick up the car. Even if the rollers do hit the car when the car is temporarily locked in park, they are designed to slip without breaking anything.

It is really no different than driving the car to the track, with the brakes partially depressed, until the car is in place.

 

I simply take mine (2004, AM, #7) to an automatic wash, drive to the entrance, put the car in neutral (READY lite is ON), and let the car coast thru the wash. I'm in the driver seat the whole time, the ICE may or may not run. At the exit, I shift to drive without hitting the brake. The human attendants don't seem to care as long as I pay.

So far this works well for me. But if you guys see a problem, please say so!

 

I offered to do that at the Turtle Wash, but they refused. The attendant said only an employee can ride through the wash <shrug>. I'm sure they'd claim it's for insurance purposes.

 

Be sure the AC compressor is turned off. That can be a quick drain on HV battery, esp on hot days, and in Neutral, ICE can't recharge it.

 

Well, I finally took the plunge and had my 2005 autowashed at Danny's, 20th St and Highland, in Phoenix. They seemed to know what they were doing. One of the attendants drove the car through the autowash machine, and they seemed to be able to start and stop the car for 2 stops in the hand finishing area. I avoided the Armor-All treatment entirely. I was very pleased with the result.
I remov3ed the antenna at home, disabled the smart key system and left the fob in the dash slot, drove to the interior vacuuming station and turned the car off. They took over then.
I give them a thumbs up!

 

LaserWash touchless every time for me.

No need to remove the antenna, I get to drive through, and it mostly does the trick. It doesn't quite get the lower rear window, but that's not a big deal to do myself. Then every few months I give the car a loving hand-washing...