Careful! Car Washes

4

4RunnerV8

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Probably should post on detail forum, but thought everyone could use it - I normally avoid the automated car washes like the plague, but needed the car clean. Car came out clean- but in the process, the system ripped off the rear washer arm. Toyota dealer says that it comes to over 500.00 - can't just replace the arm, have to replace the entire motor assembly as well, and labor is tough. Next time I ride by, I'll check the manufacturer of the wash and post it up. The owner actually said that this has happened to several 4runners - should have warned me - and so far, he's playing fair on replacement. Only problem is that he wants a local body shop to do the work - I'd rather it be done by Toyota as I have heard of some problems with the rear window.

Just an FYI.

04 SE 4WD V8
 
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Most places in my area do have liability fo taking your money to wash your car and damaging it in the process - they did have several rules - no power antennaes, no bug shields, no aftermarket products, or non standard installed items on the vehicle. I made sure to photo the actual rules the following morning. This was an attended car wash, more than the standard drive thru... My lawyer brother-in-law said that they do have liability in this particular situation, particularly after admitting both verbally and in email that they have had problems with 4runners before.
 
MLB said:
My (very good ) car wash puts a poly bag over all rear wipers.
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Ditto. I use to take my rig to the wash all the time since it was so quick n cheap. And they did a nice job. Although there was one time, somehow my driver side window visor (in channel) got ripped out the channel at the top end. At the moment I was pissed, and wanted retribution because it created a crack on the visor. I played it cool and brushed it off since I kinda knew what I was getting into taking my car to "any" automated car wash.

That didn't stop me from going back. It never happened again, and I still drive with the broken window visor :D
 
That's easy to say to hand wash only and it's a good policy, but i'm not getting outside to wash my car in January, and I can't stand seeing it dirty, unless I went offroad. I always go to my local "touchless" car wash. It's automated and just soaks the car with soap washes with high pressure that moves around the car and sprays the under body. Actually works really well in between hand washes. I'm surprised at how well it does work. I just go home and clean out the inside and clean the windows, because it doesn't get everything off of the windows.
 
Im kind of in a battle with a carwash too, they scratched up the wheelwell in the back passenger door somehow. Many dep scratches down to the paint. All they keep saying is "I dont know how it could have happened!" and the owner is avoiding my calls.
 
If I have to use a wash I seek out the brushless ones and accept the vehicle won't be quite as clean. I have never had a problem in a brushless and if the wax is semi-fresh the car comes out looking pretty good:biggrin2:
 
I normally hand wash but in the winter and after big storms I run it through a touchless system which surprisingly works quite well but it does have one feature that touches your vehicle and that's the wheel brushes which does a nice job too.
 
keylay31 said:
I only use do it yourself car washes (the kind with the high powered sprayer, if im in a hurry.
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IMO, those are actually the worst out there. Those brittle brushes will definately scratch up the clear coat, and it's happened to me before on my previous car. And god knows how often they clean those brushes, if they even get cleaned at all.
 
I'll use just the sprayer on the DIY ones since those brushes hold a lot of grit from other cars and will scratch.

Some days it's just too cold to stand out there and spray my truck down for 5 minutes so I use the touchless.
 
Not only is it cold, but here in the south it is illegal to wash your car because of the drought. I dont like the automated washes, although I have never had a damage problem. I just dont think they do a very good job. I decided to let my T4r accumulate filth. I couldn't stand it any more last weekend. It had not been washed since August (about 15,000 miles ago) and just looked sad. I took it through a car wash hoping for the best. From a distance it looked better, but up close still not good. Since all the main dirt was off the surface, I took it home and buffed the heck out of it from front to back and waxed it. I actually had to use a bit of water (about 3 gallons) to rewash the tailgate because the carwash didnt touch it. It looked great for about two days until the rain came on Tuesday. It is raining again today but I dont care. We so badly need the water and I jsut wnat to be able to use my boat again this summer - if I can afford the $4/gallon gas by then....
 
MLB said:
My (very good ) car wash puts a poly bag over all rear wipers.
Click to expand...
Jeffrey_VB said:
The two car washes here tape the rear wipers down with masking/painters tape.
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i've had both done before and it's helped i suppose as my wiper was never damaged.

we just take our trucks to a hand wash place up the road from us. a little pricey but worth it. oh... they're open in the winter too.

when summer hits, i hand wash them myself.
 
AlphaQup said:
IMO, those are actually the worst out there. Those brittle brushes will definately scratch up the clear coat, and it's happened to me before on my previous car. And god knows how often they clean those brushes, if they even get cleaned at all.
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Handwash here ONLY as well. I went so far as to have it specified that no wash/wax was to be performed during the dealer prep process.

Regarding the DIY coin operated car washes. I've needed to do that on my 99 a few times during the winter. What I do is to fill up my own 5 gal bucket with warm to hot water with my own car wash soap and bring my own (lambswool or equivalent) sponge there. While there I would only use the sprayer, thats it. Worked great.
 
J.A. said:


Regarding the DIY coin operated car washes. I've needed to do that on my 99 a few times during the winter. What I do is to fill up my own 5 gal bucket with warm to hot water with my own car wash soap and bring my own (lambswool or equivalent) sponge there. While there I would only use the sprayer, thats it. Worked great.
Click to expand...

I was going to mention this as well, because I use to do this as well. The only thing I didn't like was because you had to waste a full cycle after your initial spray down. Then you have to put in more money for another cycle just to rinse the car. I don't know about where you live, but around here, it cost ~ $4.00 per cycle = $8.00 total. I'd rather throw in an extra $4.00 and take it to the brushless carwash down the road for $12.

Now if you just got back from mudding your rig, that's a different story. ;):
 
sbbamafan said:
Not only is it cold, but here in the south it is illegal to wash your car because of the drought. I dont like the automated washes, although I have never had a damage problem. I just dont think they do a very good job. I decided to let my T4r accumulate filth. I couldn't stand it any more last weekend. It had not been washed since August (about 15,000 miles ago) and just looked sad. I took it through a car wash hoping for the best. From a distance it looked better, but up close still not good. Since all the main dirt was off the surface, I took it home and buffed the heck out of it from front to back and waxed it. I actually had to use a bit of water (about 3 gallons) to rewash the tailgate because the carwash didnt touch it. It looked great for about two days until the rain came on Tuesday. It is raining again today but I dont care. We so badly need the water and I jsut wnat to be able to use my boat again this summer - if I can afford the $4/gallon gas by then....
Click to expand...

I feel you on that. I can't Jet Ski in mud LOL

I only go to hand car washes. The one I go to in Marietta always does a great job on my Runner, and they even blow out the gas door, mirrors, etc with air and wipe out the door jambs and the hatch. Usually if my cargo area is empty they even pull out my rubber cargo area protector, spray that off, dry it, vacuum under where it goes and put it back in. The price isn't bad either. :biggrin2:
 
That's a thorough hand wash! I used to have a guy near my work that did a similar job, but he went out of business. Now I just go touchless. Gets me through the cold months just fine!

Off topic: I went home for lunch and the westin bull bar was on the front porch!! Truckchamps has some fast shipping. I just ordered it three days ago. Can't wait to get that bad boy on. I need to get the CF 1" leveler in to though, so it won't look so droopy in the front. I will get picks up next week after I put the bull guard, KC titanium slimlites and valor tip on. Then I can do a comparison picture after I get the CF kit on. Love starting the mods!!
 
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