Is 2010 Prius safe at a car wash?

One owner says the rear hatch spoiler is quite delicate and if you use to to close the hatch, it might break.


Car wash employees will not know this.



The Toyota site says you should use eye glass or camera lens cleaner to clean the navigation screen.

Car wash employees are not going to have those types of cleaners.


Sounds like a car wash trip will put the 2010 Prius at much more risk of damage than most cars.

No car is safe in that car wash.

I never send my cars though car washes with brushes. They are just bad, bad, bad. Automatic car wash (without brushes), vacuuming, and wiping things down from time to time works just as good. You'll save money and the environment. For that extra special cleaning, I take my car in to a great detailer once a year.

I'd be especially worried about that long antenna on the new Prius. The one on my Honda was about half that height and rubber, but it got snapped off clean in a car wash. Scares me...

Simple: Remove the antenna before going through the car wash.

That's what I always did with my Gen 2 and will do with my Gen 3 ... I go through a soft cloth car wash here for $8 that always does a good job ... will probably do even better on my Blizzard than on my Black car.

I'm not too picky though.

Only use automatic car washes if you like scratches on your hood and roof. The antenna is removable but the rear wiper can be broken off. Also, the way the rear wiper is positioned straight instead of sideways, you are asking for trouble.

I have used automatic car washes for years without damage. So, cars can be built to withstand a typical commercial car wash, but I'm concerned that the Prius is extra delicate and unusually easy to damage (rear spoiler, nav screen etc.).

I prefer to hand wash and wax my cars. It takes about the same time as waiting in the long car wash line and having some kids using dirty rags to wipe down the interior. My babies deserve the love and extra attention. Also if you are "green" it also conserves water doing it yourself. I find that the auto washes don't do a good job at all and I end up have to spray and wipe down the car when I got home.

Well, it's safe as long as it doesn't get wet.

Exactly, almost word for word, the first response that came to my mind when I saw this tipic. Washing the Prius by hand is not that hard, so why risk it.

Mine's never been through a car wash.

I would think those brushes must micro-marr the clear coat ... the 'spider webs' you can see in certain light. I hate those.

Hand washing here. 2 buckets, right gear and 2 waffle weave drying towels. That's just me and some others though.

Looks for glass cloths at your local auto parts store. I use them on the clear plastic inside my 09 and they do not scratch. Also use them on the navigation screen.

Wash sponge for .. washing. 2 buckets, 1 to rinse sponge. Go top to bottom. Rinse sponge a lot doing dirtier areas down low.

Take nozzle off for final rinse for water to sheet off

I use a California Jelly Blade some and have seen no probs with it

Drying towels for exterior paint. Wash them in Woolite, not powdered soap.

microfiber rags for drying door jambs and under hood

Glass cloths for glass and easily scratched surfaces

polishing cloths for removing wax and polish. I like Meguiar's Cleaner Wax.

I am interested if anyone has been using a car wash and if there have been any problems. Car washes are more environmentally friendly and waste less water.

I wouldn't think hand washing with a nozzle wastes water. Washing with no nozzle is idiotic.

I guess a lot of folks in apartment complexes have no option to handwash their car.

Those quick wash places with high-powered nozzles are creepy. If they have a regular 'garden hose' and can take your time, that would be better.

Hand washing can save a lot more water than automatic washes, and help prevent scratching the paint.

Car washes like that are obsolete.

Either wash it yourself or use the new touchless car washes that are out there. I have to drive a few extra miles to find one but it's better than putting your car through a meatgrinder like those brush systems.

You have to be careful which statistics and conditions you use to base your hypothesis on. The one "study" I saw claimed hand washing user over 100ga of water! I have had some very large fish tanks in my life and I know how long it takes to fill a 100ga and 210ga fish tank with a garden hose at full blast and it is a lot long than it takes to wash and rinse my car. Now put a nozzle on the hose so it only uses water when you press the handle and you've just cut that water use down by 80%+.

You also have to consider the type of automatic car wash, how much water it uses, how much is evaporated, how much is recycled, and the chemicals they use vs. what you use. You must also consider the fact that if it is using a piece of land that is no longer open space and is contributing no ecosystem services while your driveway is multifunctional and while bad, it is still better than a piece of land with only one use.

I won't let any of my cars get within 1,000 feet of a car wash. The surest way to put scratches on your car is to run it through the car wash.

All my cars are hand washed by me from day one using Maguire’s Two Bucket method. I went through their car care school twice because I enjoyed it so much. I am a detailing fanatic that only uses Synthetic waxes. No polymers or carnaubas for this kid. They put carnauba wax in licorice you know. Eeee-Yuck!

Dan