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Washing a Prius III - not my idea of fun

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Leadfoot, Jun 7, 2009.

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  1. Leadfoot

    Leadfoot Penny pincher

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    This is somewhat of a nit-picky post, because I am otherwise elated with my new Prius, in just about every facet. :rockon:

    Picked mine up on June 1. The Southern California area got some rain this past week, making me lucky enough to wash my car this morning. Before starting my chore, I searched thru our forum and found a few tips here and there. (There's a good one that originated about interior care, that migrated a little toward exterior tips: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...894-protecting-cleaning-interior-gen-3-a.html )

    Reading the owner's manual is not for me, so pardon me if they cover something as arcane as this. I wash my own cars about 99% of the time.

    Pain #1: Wheel cleaning. My III has those plastic wheel covers. These pop off super easy and need to come off to clean the wheels properly. Make sure you put these on securely, to avoid that weebly wobbly look as you drive down the street. And eventually lose one. This wheel setup already has me pondering some aftermarket solutions.

    Pain #2: Window glass. I guess this means less body parts to wax, but the windshield and rear hatch cover about an acre. Cleaning the inside requires unpublished yoga moves. My aching neck! I put a nice coat of Rain-X on the windshield, now that it won't rain until December!

    Pain #3: Drying. There's numerous nooks 'n crannies to harbor water. Door jambs, seams, and wipers to name a few. My wife said our car has a cold and runny nose. Looks like future washes will need me to fire up my air compressor and drag the hose out front.

    So, such is the hard life of owning such a delightful car. I'll take it anyday!:bounce:
     
    #1 Leadfoot, Jun 7, 2009
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  2. LRKingII

    LRKingII New Member

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    A leaf blower works GREAT for me on drying a washed car. :)
     
    #2 LRKingII, Jun 7, 2009
  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    #1: lose the wheel covers.
    #2: clean the interior glass with the Stoner "Invisible Glass" tool and a little Windex.
    #3: use Mr. Clean Autodry. No drying required.
     
    #3 richard schumacher, Jun 7, 2009
  4. Midpack

    Midpack Member

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    :lol:
     
    #4 Midpack, Jun 7, 2009
  5. blippo

    blippo New Member

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    Yes it does
     
    #5 blippo, Jun 7, 2009
  6. sdtundra

    sdtundra Senior Member

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    I used to wash my 08 every weekend, looked good...and full detail about every month. Lately, in light of San Diego's new water restrictions, I used Optimum No Rinse which is not too bad. Haven't noticed any surface scratches or other damage. I still plan on washing it normally at least once a month.
     
    #6 sdtundra, Jun 7, 2009
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    An alternative to using your air compressor is to take the car for a short drive while it is still wet. This will blow off the loose water, making it easier to dry off the residual water drops.

    Also, if you shift to N before slowing down, then you will dry off the friction disk brakes so that they won't rust.
     
    #7 Patrick Wong, Jun 7, 2009
  8. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Not supposed to use windex or ammonia on tint, right?
     
    #8 ggood, Jun 7, 2009
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  9. rob2010

    rob2010 New Member

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    Very timely thread. I just got my 2010 last Thursday night and it managed to stay reasonably clean until yesterday when it rained. This morning water drop marks were all over it. :mad:

    At least now I know what I have to look forward to. But, I don't have a leaf blower nor an air compressor. Looks like the take it for a drive tip will be most useful. I'm still in the novelty phase enough that any excuse to take it for a drive works for me.

    Thanks for all the hints.
     
    #9 rob2010, Jun 7, 2009
  10. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Correct!
     
    #10 F8L, Jun 7, 2009
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  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I probably won't use it with ammonia on regular windows either! Windex Auto is ammonia-free (if you don't already have a household ammonia-free windex bottle)
     
    #11 Tideland Prius, Jun 7, 2009
  12. Leadfoot

    Leadfoot Penny pincher

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    Do you or Midpack have something to cap the hub with? Maybe Pep Boys sells a skull & crossbones version. Or I could put those spinners on there. :rolleyes:
     
    #12 Leadfoot, Jun 7, 2009
  13. liverbomb88

    liverbomb88 Push the Button!

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    +1
     
    #13 liverbomb88, Jun 7, 2009
  14. liverbomb88

    liverbomb88 Push the Button!

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    For glass, use something like Stoners Invisible Glass or Sprayway, both of which are safe on tint and available OTC. This tool or ones similar will help you get to hard-to-reach places.
     
    #14 liverbomb88, Jun 7, 2009
  15. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Gen II is equally bad at getting to some of the glass, especially the windshield over the dash. I swear, sometimes the only way I got a truly clean windshield is when it was replaced (a yearly event in AZ thanks to rocks and free glass coverage from State Farm).
     
    #15 HTMLSpinnr, Jun 7, 2009
  16. Leadfoot

    Leadfoot Penny pincher

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    This may revive my mundane topic from a couple months back. I forgot to add the matter of the not-so-smartkey. The doors constantly lock at the wrong moment. Or the system beeps as you wander around the car drying it. Forget just leaving the key inside your car - it then lets out a long beep to tell you you're a nimrod. So, while drying, I just try to leave one of the doors open; my strategy to out-smartkey the system. ;-)

    I otherwise do like the smartkey...
     
    #16 Leadfoot, Aug 9, 2009
  17. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Why not just push the button under the dash to disable SKS?
     
    #17 F8L, Aug 9, 2009
  18. PriusCrazy

    PriusCrazy Blizzard Pearl for Me

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    I noticed the same "problem" while washing/drying my car... Since I do all my detailing at home, it seems best to me to just put the key fob out of range.
     
    #18 PriusCrazy, Aug 9, 2009
  19. jim256

    jim256 Member

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    There's no button on the 2010. That's a dealer customizable feature--on or off.
     
    #19 jim256, Aug 10, 2009
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  20. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Man, that's not cool. That could potentially cause problems for people leaving their car undriven for a couple weeks. :(
     
    #20 F8L, Aug 10, 2009
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