How do I wash my Prius 4

Just a mention: I use an electric leaf blower to get the car virtually dry, works great.

 

WARNING! About Automatic Carwashes
This may apply to all models or just the Four Touring with Convenience Package. Perhaps you all can clarify which models this affects.

I like using the automatic carwashes. But not all are created equal. Some use plastic brushes. These will mar the finish so avoid them at all costs. Check it our before you try one. Find one that uses fabric-reinforced strips for everything that touches your car (except the wheels), especially the spinning brushes. Find out how often they change the brushes and strips. The more the better. When they get real dirty, they will scratch the finish. For years I would use the "touch-less" car washes. If you can find an automatic carwash that is very "eco-friendly" then your will have a good chance they will have the right kind of brushes.

Now for the warning. This carwash uses very high-speed blowers to dry the car. About the second or third time through I noticed a piece of my front bumper was missing (see uploaded image). There are two of these towing eyelet covers, left and right. (See pg. 651 in User Manual). Both have blown off different times. They are very difficult to find in the carwash. So don't count on it. I now make the attendant tape the covers before entering the carwash (the back wiper is also taped). The design for the covers leaves much to be desired. The clips used are very easy to snap the cover off. The tether from the cover to the bumper is very flimsy, not what you find at the department store when you try to rip off the tag from your shirt. Now the final straw happened. The cover blew off the car while driving on the freeway. Now I have to make a trip to the dealer to get a new cover, perhaps two. I'll post an update and let you all know what Toyota says about this as well as the replacement cost.

Update: The parts department will charge you around $22 for a replacement cover. But it has to be painted?

 

huh..... anything unique happen the first time it blew off that damaged the clips in some way so that it was never secure again? Seems like if the blowers will make it fly off, so will a strong gust at highway speeds.

 

I usually go to the hand car wash guys every couple of weeks and use the waterless wash and shine stuff myself in between to remove rain spots or accumulated dust.

 

Be sure to wipe your windows dry if you wash it your self. Those spots are hard to get off after it dries.

 

I import elephant urine. I pour in 2 ounces to a portion of water in one of those home car wash sprayers. The acidic qualities of the urine permeate deep into the paint and “lift” off the dirt. It sprays on and runs off all in one sweep! Dries on its own! The problem is the cost to import the urine and the ensuing odor. Takes a full day in the sun for the odor to go away. And of course, this is all meant to be a joke………….

 

Exactly, tried vinegar and lime away. Damn tequila!

 

All I can say is wow! The blowers in that car wash are strong! In looking at your photo, I can see how if it were my car, I could prevent this from happening again using very short screws from the back side.

 

You are very lucky. Dealers here are they only to make you pay the air you breath at their dealership....

BTW, regarding the post of the plastic covers blown away - wow... Never happened here also with the Gen3. Wind here is blown from above, not from the front. How is that happening?

 

I find a good malt whiskey gets rid of those damn rain spots, or it makes me forget about them anyway

 

If you have the rain sensors, make sure they're off before going to any car wash with the big brushes.

 

ETP, you might try using Rain-X, 2-in-1 Glass Cleaner + Rain Repellant. (That's what it says on the bottle.) It claims it has water beading technology. It seems to clean the windows pretty good.

When I first got my Prius, I waxed my windows with Meguiar's liquid car wax. And the headlights. And the tail lights. Even the rear-view door mirrors.

Can you tell I'm bored in retirement?!

 

That's what I use. Works very well.

 

Used to have a lot of water spot in the Gen 3 front wipers . Don't know how that happen. I use Black Magic wet shine. My friend told me it could regular car washer.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

@Coast Cruiser I think there's a caution in the Owner's Manual to not wax the headlights. Or it might be our previous Honda manuals, I'll try to check and update this post.

Update:

Yeah, 2016 Prius Owner's Manual, page 571 (in the pdf I've downloaded) says:

Do not apply wax to the surface of the lights.
Wax may cause damage to the lenses.

There's mention a page or two back to not use was with abrasive on the glass (windows, mirrors) so maybe it's a similar concern about abrasives, not sure.

 

I can understand to apply a water repellent to the windshield and the side windows, but on the headlamps? why?

 

If your using Rain X its none abrasive and besides good in the rain it makes cleaning bugs off windows and headlights a lot easier.

 

I use the Costco car wash. It really cleans, and I can't say that for a lot of other automated car washes. I used to wash by hand all the time, but I got lazy and a $6 car wash from Costco is hard to beat! It doesn't scrape my car at all and the paint still looks like new.