2025 Trailhunter & Car Wash

At most attended automatic/belt driven car washes you can opt for no brushes, at least in the Phoenix area that seems to be the case.

 

Thank you for the info. Much appreciated. The car wash I have been using on my 20 y.o. Sienna has never caused any problems. It has cloth scrubbers as well. If I’ve been to the mountains in winter the underbody wash is a must. It needs to be washed right now. Dark paint…. I have soft cloth dusters but they don’t get the dirt off.

 

Thank you. I didn’t know that. I will check that out.

 

@2ndGen22re @Nick B
My door jams:


I commend you gentlemen, I have many things to learn, never waxed or polished or ever used “two buckets” haha

 

@AbbyNormal you might be the nicest member with the most normal thread !

 

We visit Ft Myers from October to January. I wanted to change the oil and didnt calculate the time of day and associated heat, long story short. I thought i was going to die

 

Come down here now and you probably will. The heat and humidity is miserable.

 

Too funny! Though there are lots of nice folks here with very knowledgeable and useful info.

 

Hilarious. Much like St George in July. Plan carefully if you want to see another day.

 

I was just having this conversation with my buddy who just bought a Disney timeshare and asked him when he plans on going down to orlando. He said August, and i asked why would you pick august? Just why?

 

Yep - my 4Runner is Magnetic Gray Metallic (dark gray) so it shows dirt and looks pretty dirty after driving it in the rain. Your point about the underbody wash is very good also. I live in central Missouri. We don't get super harsh winters - but we get plenty of snow storms between mid Dec. - mid March and the roads are heavily coated with salt during that time. I think the underbody wash at the carwash I go to helps keep the salt from building up on the underbody. Throughout winter, as long as the temperature is above freezing, I regularly run it through the carwash. I think one thing to point out is that what makes sense from a car washing perspective depends a lot on where you live. Do you live far enough south that you get no snow/ice and the roads are not treated with salt/chemicals? Do you live someplace like SoCal/Az where you hardly ever get any rain? Or do you live in the Midwest/East Coast where the winters are fairly harsh and you get frequent rain. There are places where you can wash/wax your vehicle and it may look great for weeks. Where I live, you wash it and get it looking good, and you are lucky if that lasts a week.

 

Just don’t ask about oil change intervals or Raptor lights .

 

Yesterday evening. Guess what I ain’t doing after work. I got a car wash membership years ago and never looked back. I also learned that I can’t do everything at once. I have neither the time nor the energy. So after I dry it off, I might wax the front clip and doors. Next week the back doors. Next the back panels and rear lift. The roof. Then maybe I’ll do a deep clean on the wheels and tires. It breaks it up for me and creates a rhythmic system that I can handle. Not to say I wouldn’t have a detailed do it maybe once a year. But it’s not much cooler in the mornings and I have other commitments on weekend mornings. YMMV

 

I also have a 2025 4Runner in Underground. Took it through an automatic carwash the first month I had it and it created a bunch of swirls so I ended up having to take it to a detailer to buff the swirls out which cost me like $600. Long story short my 4Runner will never go through another automatic car wash. I hand wash most of the time now or occasionally will take it to a touchless carwash.

 

Even though I’ve gotten a ton of pinstripes from branches, I still refuse any carwash with brushes lol.

I’m pretty lucky in Wisconsin, we have s gas station chain that has well maintained automatic car wash bays that do brushed or brushless option. The brushless is consistently good at cleaning everything. It’s not perfect because it doesn’t get the very fine/thin grime off the paint, but honestly you would need to hand wash to get that off anyway.

I’d be a little worried about that snorkel with the overhead jets of the air blaster dryer.