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Car washes, camera, sensors?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by dpbsmith4, Jul 9, 2016.

  1. dpbsmith4

    dpbsmith4 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2016
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    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    We're having trouble figuring out the slightly conflicting information on what is OK when taking a 2016 Prius to a car wash. What's particularly annoying is that my wife is sure that she saw a warning not to use "high pressure car washes" because they might damage the sensors and the rear view camera, but we haven't been able to find the exact place in the manual that says that. Meanwhile the manual does say that traditional car washes with brushes may damage the finish. And it definitely says that if you use a pressure car wash you should prevent the wash from spraying directly at the camera (how do you do that?)

    We have a Four Touring with all of the electronic assists, so there are sensors all over the car and we don't want to take a chance of damaging them.
     
    #1 dpbsmith4, Jul 9, 2016
  2. PriUncut

    PriUncut Active Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2016
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    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    That's true on all cars. Car washes (in general) are brutal on clear coast finishes. Unless it's hand-only car was.

    I wash my car myself... (never will I use a car wash). I use the No-Rinse Wash method. I used Optimum No-Rinse Wash & Wax from Accelerate and only 1 gallon of distilled water. That's it. See the Auto Fetish Detail guy on YouTube:

     
    #2 PriUncut, Jul 9, 2016
  3. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2006
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    Location:
    Edmonton Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    The car wash pressure washer is designed so it won't harm the car or the camera. They have "spacers" on the nossle so you can't get it too close. Just don't use the pressure washer under the hood. An ordinary garden hose is fine for that (I use it all the time without problems). The spacer they use is there so you can't harm yourself or others as the pressure can be high enough to force the water/whatever into your skin.
    And yes, rubbing the finish with brushes is and should be discouraged. Wash then dry with a microfibre towel and don't press hard.
    Most of the time I don't even use soap. Just water. Rinse it off to remove grit then wash with a car wash mitt, followed by a rinse and then the microfibre towel, wringing it out frequently (they tend to be small, which is good, because it's less likely you will drag it across the ground).
     
    #3 David Beale, Jul 9, 2016
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