Is the Prius exterior self-cleaning?

I think you are just lucky. Or the clean fairies visit you each day. Wish they would find their way to my house.....:-(

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mine stays pretty clean, except for the rear end, which tends to build up a lot of grime, and anything the tires throw up in bad weather. and squashed bugs/bird poop.

 

We're low mileage, garage stored, and rarely if ever on dusty roads. But the car does gradually get dirty. I wax it spring and fall, and wash it 3~4 times in between.

What colour's yours? Ours is the silver, seems to not show the dirt much.

Cosmetic washing aside, you really should thoroughly wash occasionally, paying special attention to the wheel wells, and any corners where grit and winter salt might accumulate. Take off anything that's easy too, like the rear license plate, the black plastic spats at the leading edge of the rear wheel wells, clean in behind.

 

clean is a subjective term. I wash mine every week from about April though Oct, and then about once a month Nov though March. I drive about 80% interstate highway and after 1 week in the warm months it needs cleaned, it becomes a dingy white

 

Try owning a " Winter Gray" car.

 

Wow I wish they were self cleaning....I wash mine 4-5 times a week.....mind you I'm doing about 1200 miles a week

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isn't Prius great.

 

You MUST mean running it through a car wash lol.

 

Nope always hand wash, sometimes twice a day depending on weather. Don't like driving dirty cars, doesn't look very professional

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Summertime highway driving messes up my paint. I drove to California over the weekend and had to wash my car this morning. Lots of bug splats on the front grill. I used to drive through parts of Louisiana and Florida and there were these huge insects that loved to float headlight and windshield height off the highway, and after a few hours, I could barely see.

In the brutal desert sun, I wash weekly, combined with a spray wax. I wax with carnauba every 6 weeks because I read via CR and other articles that carnauba doesn't last very long. But I love the shine.

 

That is the best one I've heard this past week. But then I haven't yet watched the Colbert recordings from my absence.

If this is a serious question, then as a frequent traveler on dusty gravel and dirt roads, I can assure you that a Gen3 Prius, without aftermarket treatments, is NOT self cleaning. Mine is in serious need of a wash right now, mostly from a side trip up a very long Forest Service road to a hiking trail. At 7000 feet, it was an excellent respite from last week's oppressive heat in the lowlands. But quite dusty getting there.

 

Mine is a beater car so I never wash it so I guess it's self cleaning when it rains

 

In reference to your video, I did that earlier in the year, during the Bay Area's winter storm LOL. I let the heavy rain did the pre-soak, I applied car wash mit and soap, and again, the rain would rinse out the soap. All these while rain was pouring down. Of course, wearing a raincoat is recommended.

 

Washed my wife's this morning. I wish.

There are things called birds. I'm not going to elaborate on this part.

Overall, the vertical lower part of the back window seems especially prone to get dirty. And since it's the part of the back window that's easier to see through, that's a real inconvenience.

 

We could use some of that rain, over on the "wet" coast. I can barely remember the last time it rained, and it didn't amount to much. Quite smokey too, for maybe two weeks now.

 

I own and have owned more than one, over time... black colored vehicle. I live in a rainy climate. But I have found if you make a minimal effort to keep the vehicle clean, and make sure it is protected with at least some type of wax, that the rain does indeed do a pretty good job of at least providing the illusion of being clean.

Sooner or later, and occasional bird bombs aside, you do have to simply clean the vehicle. But I do think rain...and aerodynamics can help extend that period.

I think the key, is having a newer vehicle with a new paint clear coat and/or having a good protective layer of wax.