Do you Hand Wash or Auto Car Wash?

[SwampNut]

I lease and always hand wash. I feel like the auto wash is more abrasive.

This is only true if you're very diligent about the process of cleaning the wash cloth/mitt and the entire process. In most cases, home users end up recycling abrasives more than a *GOOD* automated soft cloth wash.

When lined up with the roller, tap the "shift to neutral" button that's part of the "Car Wash Mode" button in the mini menu.

(Not my image, found on the Interwebs)

LOL, I always took that as an instruction, not a button. And have always shifted using the stalk. Never saw it as a button.

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[VandalSibs]

LOL, I always took that as an instruction, not a button. And have always shifted using the stalk. Never saw it as a button.

So, I could be totally wrong - whenever I use an automatic car wash, it's the touchless type where my truck is parked and the cleaning equipment moves back and forth.... so I've never had to press it to make sure it's a button. But it sure seems like one to me.

 

[SwampNut]

So, I could be totally wrong - whenever I use an automatic car wash, it's the touchless type where my truck is parked and the cleaning equipment moves back and forth.... so I've never had to press it to make sure it's a button. But it sure seems like one to me.

I feel like I'm more likely to be letting my autistic view of everything interpret it the wrong way. I'll try it soon though.

 

[timf]

Auto wash only once every month or two. It's a daily driver, not a show car.

 

[VandalSibs]

I feel like I'm more likely to be letting my autistic view of everything interpret it the wrong way. I'll try it soon though.

Do let me know if it works or not - not that I need to be able to use it, but am just super curious about it.

 

[tkauftheil]

Wash it? Nope. The dirt it collects acts as a protective shell from scratches. The 30k miles of dirt also acts a an UV blocker for the paint.

 

[LR4toR1S]

I"m interested in what you folks do with your cars? Do you hand wash primarily, or do you use an automatic car wash?

If you autowash, do you lease?

I autowash and lease.

To be clear


Hand wash = A) Soap bucket and mitt? or B) Manually Spraying and Manually drying at a car wash?

Automatic = Sit fat ass in the car and watch brushes or nozzles do a poor job of spraying and drying the car?



I manually spray the car, use a mitt (not the brush) and then dry with a dedicated Griot's Drying Towel.

 

[Pacernow]

Hand wash

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I use a touch less wash most of the time and at least quarterly I go to the detailer for a maintenance wash. He can get it perfect and is reasonably priced.

 

[Robin]

I"m interested in what you folks do with your cars? Do you hand wash primarily, or do you use an automatic car wash?

If you autowash, do you lease?

I autowash and lease.

I take “Truckla” to a car wash that only hand washes (pre-wash) and move head/no need to put it in neutral and a machine goes around the vehicle and finishes the car wash. Then air dry followed up with hand drying .

 

[Robin]

We have 4 vehicles and all are hand washed - just not on a same day

It’s a lot of sweat equity hand washing these babies..‍

 

[Stearmandriver]

Would "it's a truck, it gets rained on" be an acceptable answer?

I just have too many other things to do around here to worry about washing a car. If it were dirty enough to bother me, touchless car wash is fine. A major caveat though - we don't salt roads here. If we did, I'd run it through a car wash semi regularly in the winter.

 

[KBabione]

Originally, I thought you needed foot on the brake, but no! Can go to neutral easily without foot on the brake. I agree: stalk seems to work easier & foot off the brake seems easier to nail the timing

I'm really glad that worked for you - you only need your foot on the brake if you're using the "Shift to neutral" button on the Car Wash Mode screen. I play guitar and the callouses on my finger tips would require me to have to push the button multiple times before it took - The lever method is just so much more simple.

 

[KBabione]

Do let me know if it works or not - not that I need to be able to use it, but am just super curious about it.

Oh - pushing the button definitely will put your car into neutral if your foot is on the brake pad. It's how I did it the first 10 times I went through the car wash. After about a 70% "failure" rate to do it the first time I, thanks to this forum, realized that I could use the lever to put it into neutral and haven't gone back.

 

[jemenake]

I used to use the auto-wash down the street because it had a "Touch-Free" wash option that only used the water jets. Then, one day, I drove in and didn't notice that it didn't ask me which wash I wanted. They had changed it to only be "Soft-Touch". The spinning fabric flaps mostly tore the spoiler off the back of my cab (the car gods were, otherwise, smiling upon me that day, and it didn't tear the wires to the 4-5 antennas, cameras, and lights in the spoiler, so I was able to tape the spoiler in place until I could get to a SC to get it replaced). So, now I have to go down to the self-wash stalls.

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