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At the car wash...

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I was actually wondering about this issue.

Is it an electric car issue? Why no rotating brushes or those draping carpet brushes? Often the touchless car washes use those high pressure spays. I would think those would be worse in terms of getting between the panels and into the electrical subsystems.

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No. It's a premium car issue. Rotating brushes are horrible for any car's paint job. They leave scratches and swirl marks. The draping carpet brushes are full of grit from the last car. Think of rubbing very coarse sandpaper on your paint and you'll get the idea.
 
The premium car issue was what I was thinking about the no rotating brush direction as well. I unfortunately, still have some washes left in a package I purchased at a car wash that has some of the draping carpet brushes. I now realize my mistake in selecting it as a place to wash my current Chevy Volt. I'm too cheap to not use the remaining washes, but when they're gone, I'll be changing my car wash location.

Just a heads-up about taking your PHEV or EV to a full service car wash... you'll get lots of questions from other customers as well as the car wash staff. Many are VERY unfamiliar with EV and PHEV operation and economics. Prepare yourself to go into sales mode every time you wash / clean inside of your car at a full service location.
 
Where I live we have lots of roving car wash companies that come to your house and wash/detail/wax your car as needed. I occasionally have them wash my current car when it gets really dirty, but I don't think at all about my paint job, paint armor or anything.

Any general advice on what I should tell anyone who is washing my car what they should or shouldn't do? Is all hand-washing of a car like the Model S OK, or are there certain materials or types of products they shouldn't use on the Model S?
 
Ok.

I can understand the paint issue. I can get over that. Honestly, I have been using the same wash for 4 years and haven't noticed any paint degradation. Looks great, actually.

If it is an aluminum issue, it's a done deal: no brush washes. If it's an electrical issue, done deal as well. If it's a paint issue, would need a better explanation other than the effect on the paint.

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If it was an electrical issue, it means that you couldn't drive your Model S through any puddles. So for sure it's not that.

I had a aluminium car which I drove for almost 20 years, but I never used anything other than the quarter car washes on it--I have no doubt that the aluminimum would react the same way that steel would. I'd really need to see some convincing data to go with that hypothesis.

If you're paying $750 or $1500 extra for your paint (e.g. aren't getting black or white), it only makes sense that you're not going to chance going through a potentially damaging apparatus.
 
Where I live we have lots of roving car wash companies that come to your house and wash/detail/wax your car as needed. I occasionally have them wash my current car when it gets really dirty, but I don't think at all about my paint job, paint armor or anything.

Any general advice on what I should tell anyone who is washing my car what they should or shouldn't do? Is all hand-washing of a car like the Model S OK, or are there certain materials or types of products they shouldn't use on the Model S?

Tell them to cover their belt buckles and don't do the Mr. Miyagi "Wax on, Wax off" technique.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk HD1343922998.286908.jpg


It'll only scratch or cause swirl marks, especially if you choose a dark color.

Actually, you are in a great position. Hand washing is the best gift you can give to your car, and the detailers know what to do to keep the paint looking good. The paint armor is treat like, well, paint. They can wash, wax, and handle it, just not try to peel it, but if they are any good, they already know that.

I will echo the automated car wash sentiment. I only use touch less washes on any of my cars if not handwashing them. The rollers and brushes will mess up your finish. I detail twice annually, no swirl marks and I have a two silver, one jet black, one red car.
 
Actually, you are in a great position. Hand washing is the best gift you can give to your car, and the detailers know what to do to keep the paint looking good. The paint armor is treat like, well, paint. They can wash, wax, and handle it, just not try to peel it, but if they are any good, they already know that.

I will echo the automated car wash sentiment. I only use touch less washes on any of my cars if not handwashing them. The rollers and brushes will mess up your finish. I detail twice annually, no swirl marks and I have a two silver, one jet black, one red car.

Thanks Spatters. I consider us lucky that we have these roving car washers regularly driving through the neighborhood -- one of the benefits of living in a tropical climate and around a lot of people who like to buy nice cars and take good care of them! I was hoping this was going to be the answer, but as someone who has never really paid much attention to taking care of the exterior of my car, I had no idea whether hand washing was better or worse than going through the automated car wash at the gas station.
 
I don't think that we have a touchless car wash in town! My Model S is going to get really dirty during the cold, rainy winter months.

Our LR3 has an aluminum hood and it doesn't seem to react poorly to the brush system in the automatic car wash here, then again, it doesn't go through it all that often.
 
I was actually wondering about this issue.

Is it an electric car issue? Why no rotating brushes or those draping carpet brushes? Often the touchless car washes use those high pressure spays. I would think those would be worse in terms of getting between the panels and into the electrical subsystems.

OK, I must have been asleep or something. What brings up the "car wash" issue??

We have a Roadster 1.5 that has a prohibition (after it was paid for -- can you say surprise?) from using automated car washes. The reasons were vague enough that I forgot the details, but faintly remember something about the electrics or paint durability.

I posted in another thread about "unknowns" that I wondered if the same prohibition would apply to the Model S. Crickets over there. Is there an anti-automated-car-wash prohibition from Tesla about the Model S?

If so, where can I see details?
 
OK, I must have been asleep or something. What brings up the "car wash" issue??

We have a Roadster 1.5 that has a prohibition (after it was paid for -- can you say surprise?) from using automated car washes. The reasons were vague enough that I forgot the details, but remember something about the electrics.

I posted in another thread about "unknowns" that I wondered if the same prohibition would apply to the Model S. Crickets over there. Is there an anti-automated-car-wash prohibition from Tesla about the Model S?

If so, where can I see details?

See this post: VERY informative post by VIN # ...F00017

The Guide for Owners states the following regarding car washes: “If washing in an automatic car wash, use “Touchless” car washes only. These car washes must have no parts, such as brushes, that can touch Model S. Using any other type of car wash could cause damage that is not covered by the warranty”
 
For what it's worth, I spoke to a co-worker yesterday about his immaculate black Audi S4, which I thought was new, but which is four years old. He washes it himself, and he has a special water purifier from Costco that he uses to rinse the car. He says that as long as he uses that special purifier for the rinse, the car dries spot free. I imagine I'll be buying one of those...
 
The Guide for Owners states the following regarding car washes: “If washing in an automatic car wash, use “Touchless” car washes only. These car washes must have no parts, such as brushes, that can touch Model S. Using any other type of car wash could cause damage that is not covered by the warranty”

Swell :-( -- I'm seriously disappointed. In Ohio winters, who has time to hand wash a daily driver? Is the Model S supposed to be a winter garage queen?

I wonder what is the source of the concern?

This must be another California-centric decision in design at Tesla. If Tesla thinks that cars actually get clean in a touchless car wash, they don't live in the Mid-West, or any other place that has road salt accumulate in the winter. Every "touchless" car wash I have ever used over the past decades leaves a film of grime behind when it's finished -- the car is not really clean. The only car washes I use have felt-like strips, either shuffling from above or on slow speed drums, lubricated with soapy water as the car passes each station. I have routinely put Porsches, Audis, Bentleys, you name it through these car washes, and have never had paint degradation.

What parts of the warranty are void? The whole thing?

Wahzup? What's the REAL reason? What parts could be damaged?
 
Swell :-( -- I'm seriously disappointed. In Ohio winters, who has time to hand wash a daily driver? Is the Model S supposed to be a winter garage queen?

I wonder what is the source of the concern?

This must be another California-centric decision in design at Tesla. If Tesla thinks that cars actually get clean in a touchless car wash, they don't live in the Mid-West, or any other place that has road salt accumulate in the winter. Every "touchless" car wash I have ever used over the past decades leaves a film of grime behind when it's finished -- the car is not really clean. The only car washes I use have felt-like strips, either shuffling from above or on slow speed drums, lubricated with soapy water as the car passes each station. I have routinely put Porsches, Audis, Bentleys, you name it through these car washes, and have never had paint degradation.

What parts of the warranty are void? The whole thing?

Wahzup? What's the REAL reason? What parts could be damaged?

I feel your pain. I'm in NE Ohio, plenty of salt on the roads from Nov to Mar.
"Touchless" car washes as you point out do nothing for the conditions we face here.
I'll wait to read the Owner's Manual section where this is stated and inquire further then. If all that is "voided" by going through a regular car wash is stuff related to the paint, exterior finish (and not battery, power-train, big ticket items) I may even take my chances going through, we''ll see.
I haven't hand washed a car in decades, and definitely not looking forward to doing so during the winters in NE Ohio.
 
The paint warranty.

Even though that is the most logical conclusion from "Rod and Barbara"s post on TM, we don't know until we see the real document (i.e. the Owner's Manual) to see if the voided warranty if purely limited to paint or if it encompasses more.
I've asked TM for a copy of the Owner's Manual from the day I locked in my order, all I've been told is "coming soon!"...
 
I'm a little concerned when reading through this thread because it looks like many are assuming there is some ominous reason behind the 'use brushless only' directive. Let's not go down that path again.

Have any of you contacted Tesla to understand why? I'm willing to bet a lunch that it has to do with maintaining the paint - and that most high end cars say the same thing (and some say NEVER take through an automatic wash).

I highly doubt that it is anything to do with the car being electric or aluminum ... because if there was some reason attached to that, brush or brushless wouldn't be the issue.

Could we PLEASE assume good intent before we start yet another thread that takes a rumor and turns it into fact?

(And while some have been asking for the owner's manual, you don't actually have the car yet. It's fine to ask, but hopefully no one is actually complaining.)