2025 Trailhunter & Car Wash

Just wondering about running it through the regular car wash, not the touch-less which doesn’t seem to clean well. My concern is the roof rack and snorkel. Has anyone tried it? Being a new car I have been overly careful, but we all know that will end and we will want to “get ‘er done” so we can get on with our life.

 

I wouldn’t but you do you . Why take the chance with such an expensive vehicle.

 

The manual might have something to say about that.

I don’t think I would be comfortable taking the “desert air intake” through a conventional car wash personally, but I’m also a self-service guy.

 

Yes, that was a concern and yes the manual does. However, I got to thinking about a heavy, extended downpour of rain while driving at 70 mph. If it can’t take the weather then what….

 

My car/ truck is almost black (underground) which means it shows dirt and dust very quickly. I like the color but it is a PITA to keep clean.

 

A heavy downpour of rain at speed won’t hold a candle to those big, heavy bristles spinning at speed.

It could be more that the odd shape could get caught too, same reason I’ve seen rear wipers taped down at washes. (albeit rarely, usually on more horizontal rear windows like the Prius?)

 

Hmmm, you may be right, maybe a sock lol. It’s a dilemma. Not too many people understand the challenges of washing a car in triple digit heat. Plus, I’m not a spring chicken. I need to find a way to overcome the challenges. I like shiny clean cars. I have always done my interior - I’m a bit anal about where I sit lol. Pun intended. I don’t think that is ever going to change.

 

If you are able to wash by hand, I would highly recommend doing so. Those car washes will cause thousands of dollars worth of damage over time with your paint.

 

Yep, I have the same color.

 

Mobile detailer ?

 

I’d be more worried about the snorkel getting ripped off by one of those spinning brushes .
Then there’s the paint damage from those places .

 

I’m 68 and in SW Florida . I wash my own cars . Start at 7:30am to beat the heat and sun and finish by 9:am.

 

I’m a morning person too. I love my home, the view is beyond what I pictured as a perfect home, I’m blessed. I’m not trading that view for a better drive or bigger garage. Everything has trade-offs

The driveway is short and a steep grade. To top it off the drive is on the South side, the sun hits it all day, it’s 80 degrees, and the typically humidity is between 14 & 18% at 7:30 AM. Dramatically different from 99% of the people. During the winter it’s fine, I do it. The slope of the drive helps the water run off the roof lol.

 

Wow. What state is that ? Anyway about a mobile detailer my daughter uses one . She’s a RN so not a lot of spare time for car washing. Comes right to the house . Not sure what it costs . Probably a regional thing .

 

Recommend having a good detailer do a professional detail, paint correction, then seal the paint in a high quality ceramic coat. Washing will be a lot easier after that.

 

I took my Tacoma through one during ski season one year just because it was too cold to wash all the salt off. I was pretty disappointed with how many scratches it got.

 

That literally sounds like heaven compared to the swamp called the south.
Its 82 degrees and 98% humidity at 8am and you start sweating as soon as you walk out the door, in the garage, in the shade. There is no chance you dont sweat in the south in the summer. Even inside in the AC, most AC systems are not adequately adapted to handle the heat and humidity. A "cool" house is 70 degrees with 70% humidity. Its a far cry to find 40% humidity in the south in the summer INSIDE in the AC. This means even inside in the AC at 75degrees you can and will sometimes sweat.

Utah
Big sky country 2.0

I would be willing to bet the snorkel intake has a P-trap and a duck-bill to let water out. I might be wrong but i would almost bet it has a low sump somewhere in the tube and a rubber duck bill fitting in the bottom of that sump so if you do get water in, it will let the water drain out.
Well i cant find anything for the 4R yet but the Tacoma with the OEM snorkel doesnt look to have any sort of trap for water. This is the best i could find. First thing i would do is open the air box and remove the air filter and see if the OEM air box has a duck bill for water to get out.





A duckbill will look something like this, its a round rubber plug that is usually at the lowest point of an airbox or air inlet tube. Its design allows it to stay closed while air is being sucked thru the tube, but if water hits it, water will drip out.

 

Yea, that definitely isn’t inexpensive in my area.

 

Took my 4Runner thru the car wash at Costco Poway today for the first time. Wow! What a process!
My 4Runner came out really well. One heck of a line to enter the wash bay. Tomorrow I give it a nice paste wax and buff for a trip late in the week to Grandma's house in LA for a real Mexican dinner. My wife has a Tesla Model 3 that she wanted to take to save on gas, I told her driving my 2024 4Runner is a lot more fun for me.

 

I think it’s a great idea and I will start looking, asking around. I live in Southern Utah, St. George now. I love it here 10 months out of the year but August, and especially July is way too hot for me! It literally makes me sick if I’m out in the heat too long. It is 6:45 AM, 83 degrees, and the humidity is 19%. The soap and water dries before I can get the shammy. The water coming out of the shower head is almost too warm without adding any hot water at all. True story. I almost prefer my Midwest farm in winter to this. So what if my hand stuck to the well pump handle and door knob if I didn’t wear gloves in winter… lol but also a true story.

 

My husband and I have talked about that. I think it’s a great idea. Thank you.

 

Yikes! I do go to the mountains fairly often, so the suggestions, advice I’m receiving will help with that too. Thank you.

 

Cool. That is great information. Thanks so much for the research and posting the details. Much appreciated.

 

I’m not familiar with that. We do have a Costco but it is gas only. I like your idea of taking the 4Runner - more fun and more room.

 

If you love your car, I don't recommend taking it through an automatic car wash. The car wash brushes will ruin the paint/exterior in the long run. I recommend taking it to "hand wash" only car washing establishment.

Or you can wash the car yourself at home in the shade. Never wash it under the sun. The heat will dry the water quickly and leave water stains.

If your budget allows, I recommend getting the paint corrected, ceramic coated, and paint protection film.

Good luck!

 

If you are hyper sensitive about the finish/condition of your paint - you should probably stick to handwashing your car using the two bucket method. I'm pretty particular about our vehicles - but I also realize that they are daily drivers that get driven on the highway for some long trips - not show cars. Just drove my 2023 Limited to Colorado and back - 1700mi round trip. I've got about 35Kmi on this 4Runner - I don't have any dents/scratches - but I do have some small pits in the paint around the front end and in the windshield from rocks/debris that cannot be avoided. I touch the paint up with Toyota touch up paint and they are barely noticeable.

My wife and I both like to drive clean cars - but don't much like washing them. We've got a carwash chain in our town called Club Carwash - think they are partially nationwide, and growing. I totally understand the apprehension to using an automated carwash - and I am under no delusion that the Club Carwash we use could not cause some damage. I got a ~$23/month membership (unlimited washes) about a month after I got the 2023 4Runner and I have taken my 4Runner through it at least once per week (sometimes more than once per week) for the last ~29 months. My 4Runner has been through it well over 100 times. The only "damage" I ever got was once when the strong dryer blowers partially blew one of the rubber rain gutter fillers out of one of the roof gutters. I pressed it back in before hand drying the vehicle and it has not come out since. I hand dry the 4Runner using clean microfiber towels the carwash provides, and vacuum the interior with their vacuums. I go over the entire vehicle when I hand dry it - the blowers get most of the water off - but there are still some drops. I've never found a scratch or any other damage to the paint from the carwash - yet I know it is possible. There is a big difference between the typical gas station auto wash, with the plastic bristle brushes and the Club Carwash that uses cloth scrubbers/brushes. It is not touchless - and I'm sure it is possible that a rock/piece of crud could get stuck in the cloth scrubbers/brushes and scratch the paint - but after more than 100 times through the Club Carwash near my house I haven't seen it happen. So, I've concluded that my desire to drive a clean 4Runner, with minimal effort, outweighs my apprehension to getting a scratch in the carwash. Besides the routine washing, I hit it with some Meguiar's spray wax every 2-3 months and the rain beads up into tiny droplets. The paint still looks like a new vehicle.

 

I only use touchless washes on all my cars, too much damage in the past. They're getting harder and harder to find though (and I never get the glue that they call wax, just a wash...don't need that on my windows).

 

I really like your post…..Like you I’ve always washed/detailed my vehicles my whole life, even waxed the jams and detailed the engine bay…..but now at 70yrs old I’ve decided I rather enjoy a every minute I have left, now I’ll run them through the touch-less wash and be done. Instead I play on BLM with my SxS or 2nd Gen, go the range or work in my workshop on a project and drive an almost clean car.
My 35yr old 2nd Gen last year.

 

I thought I was the only one that waxed the door jams .
True story . I worked with a guy for years that would wax his kitchen appliances and also his lawnmower.