Mach-E at the Car Wash - Best Practices

[Kamuelaflyer]

Nice! This is why I plan to haves professional PPF the front and all plastic parts and ceramic the whole car.

That's what I'm planning on as well.

Found people who do a good job out here with PPF. How you might ask? I asked the people with Tesla's. (Honest).

Then a proper ceramic coat.

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[ARK]

On the topic of car washes, anyone concerned that putting the MME into neutral for the car wash is a little too complicated for a worker who may be rushing/not paying attention because of the extra confirmation step?

The manual says this:

Entering Temporary Neutral Mode

1. Power your vehicle on.
2. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
3. Press and hold the brake pedal.
4. Shift into neutral (N). Note: An instructional message appears.
5. Press the low (L) button. Note: A confirmation message appears when your vehicle enters the mode.
6. Release the brake pedal. Note: Your vehicle is free to roll.
7. Switch your vehicle off.

So you have to press the low (L) button after you shift into neutral otherwise it appears the car is likely to automatically shift back into park as soon as the driver gets out.

Not having seen it happen before, is there is a big potential for damage if the car wash attendant puts it on the automatic mover, shifts into neutral (N) but forgets to press low (L) to confirm the neutral setting, your MME shifts into park when they get out, and the car wash automover tries to push it anyway while in park?

 

[RonTCat]

On the topic of car washes, anyone concerned that putting the MME into neutral for the car wash is a little too complicated for a worker who may be rushing/not paying attention because of the extra confirmation step?

The manual says this:

Entering Temporary Neutral Mode

1. Power your vehicle on.
2. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
3. Press and hold the brake pedal.
4. Shift into neutral (N). Note: An instructional message appears.
5. Press the low (L) button. Note: A confirmation message appears when your vehicle enters the mode.
6. Release the brake pedal. Note: Your vehicle is free to roll.
7. Switch your vehicle off.

So you have to press the low (L) button after you shift into neutral otherwise it appears the car is likely to automatically shift back into park as soon as the driver gets out.

Not having seen it happen before, is there is a big potential for damage if the car wash attendant puts it on the automatic mover, shifts into neutral (N) but forgets to press low (L) to confirm the neutral setting, your MME shifts into park when they get out, and the car wash automover tries to push it anyway while in park?

Most new vehicles do this, i.e. go into Park if you leave the engine on, the transmission in Neutral, and exit the vehicle. I would suspect the car washes have figured this out by now. Doesn't hurt to remind them.

 

[generaltso]

Presumably, the instruction message that pops up when you shift to neutral will tell them exactly what to do.

 

[ARK]

Most new vehicles do this, i.e. go into Park if you leave the engine on, the transmission in Neutral, and exit the vehicle. I would suspect the car washes have figured this out by now. Doesn't hurt to remind them.

Interesting, I didn’t know this. The ‘newest’ vehicle I regularly drive though is an 8 year old Chevy. I definitely will remind car washes of this when I visit. I just googled ‘car going into park in car wash’ and it seems like this is in fact a pretty common problem for new car owners and car washes when vehicles get damaged. It looks like the issue is made worse by the fact that seemingly every manufacturer has a different set of steps to take to keep the car in neutral at the car wash.

 

[ARK]

Presumably, the instruction message that pops up when you shift to neutral will tell them exactly what to do.

Hopefully we also get a very obnoxious audible alert that is impossible to ignore if you open the door after setting it to neutral (N) but before also pressing the low (L) button. Seems like it only needs to happen once to cause a decent amount of damage to a MME if the attendant forgets, is distracted, or frankly does not read English well enough to understand a prompt appearing on one of the screens.

A few months ago my mom called me and said she couldn’t see through her side mirrors after visiting a car wash. I go and see what the issue is and it looks like someone at the car wash manually forced the side mirrors closed with their hands and the motors driving the side mirrors were now messed up and wouldn’t reopen the mirror. If a car wash attendant can be so dunderheaded as to force automatic side mirrors closed with their hands in 2020, I have little faith that they will always remember to press the low (L) button after shifting into neutral (N) in 2021 on a MME.

 

[generaltso]

I have little faith that they will always remember to press the low (L) button after shifting into neutral (N) in 2021 on a MME.

It might be best to avoid car washes with attendants. All of the places near me require you to stay in the vehicle. Some are completely automated and some have people that guide you in.

 

[ARK]

It might be best to avoid car washes with attendants. All of the places near me require you to stay in the vehicle. Some are completely automated and some have people that guide you in.

I will have to find one, they are not very common around Los Angeles.

 

[Dudd]

I plan to follow the same regimen that I’ve always followed with all the cars I’ve owned. Rinse the salt off once a year.

My neighbour is out cleaning his white Model 3 every time he uses it. I'm sure he's wearing the paint out. I might let the Mach E accrue a protective mud/dirt layer just because...

 

[ARK]

I took my Mach-E to a car wash a few days ago. No issue with having the attendant put it in neutral. By his reaction, it seemed like pressing L after putting it in neutral to keep it in neutral upon exit is something other cars do too. Luckily, a message also does appear on the driver display informing the driver of this needed extra step.

The bigger thing was they couldn’t figure out how to open the door after it went through the wash. I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened, but my car rolled much closer to a wall than I would have liked as they struggled. Had to hop a small wall from the waiting area to get to them. As if the Mach-E itself wasn’t making enough of a scene ?

 

[methorian]

Just wanted to bring this video to some folks attention in regards to brushed car washes:



I know some don't care, but they really are very hard on your paint. Although the swirls may not be as visible on lighter colors, they'll definitely show up in all the shiny black trim on the Mach-E.

I personally avoid brushes on my paint like the plague. In winter I'll occasionally use a touchless carwash to get the salt off the sides/undercarriage, otherwise I wash/detail myself. If that isn't an option, try to find a good detailer nearby.

Obviously just my opinions, I understand some folks just want the convenience and don't mind swirls/etc.

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