EV Dictionary
This is your dictionary to all words you need to know of when buying an electric vehicle. This dictionary will […]
Yes, it is perfectly safe to take your EV or electric car through a carwash. In fact, your EV could even be partly subdued underwater due to the “soak test” that many manufacturers are adapting to.
The soak water test for an EV is a test where the car will be subjected to near flooding level rain.
Every electronic component in an EV is covered and coated with higher than military-grade material. Tesla, for example, has actually higher standards for their electronic components than the military in many countries.
There should be no difference to if plug-in hybrids could go in a carwash as well. So yes they can.
Plug-in hybrids are basically also categories as an EV, just with more than one way of storing energy and deliver that energy to the electric motors.
All electronic parts in a plug-in hybrid have to live up to the same standards. Maybe even more so, because they have to live up to the same standards as gasoline cars as well.
In almost all EV’s there should a “gear lever” with the symbol N. In a Tesla gearing located on the screen instead.
But nonetheless, you should be able to put your car in N mode or “Neutral” mode. Do this.
After you’ve done this you want to disable your wipers, roll up the windows, fold your side mirrors in and put some nice music on.
That’s it, don’t forget to bring an ice-cold beer while you enjoy the soothing sound of a clean car and only lifting a finger to take a sip.
I’ve used plenty of different car washes. Both with gasoline cars and electric cars. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Some carwashes I would never recommend using and others are great.
Please make sure to check online, maybe Trustpilot, to see other peoples experience with the carwash that you are considering. If there are no reviews I wouldn’t make the change.
So a car wash, carwash or auto wash depending where you are from, is a facility which cleans the exterior of your car automatically. Most car washes are self-serve and fully automated, but sometimes it’s a mix with automated washing and attendants who does the waxing.
In general, you can take your electric car through all types of automated car washes. But there are actually several different types of car washes on the market. Here I’ll list and explain the different types.
A touchless car wash uses only pressure washers and pressurized air with a mix of soaps. It’s fully automatic and tends to be the car wash that is most soft for the car and eliminates any risk of scratches in the paint.
It’s also the least efficient one when it comes to cleaning and drying. Because it doesn’t use any brushes it can’t get rid of the dirt that sticks hard to your card, and it cannot dry your car completely. I think it’s a good method if you just want to get rid of any dust quickly.
The rollover system I think is the most common car wash on the market, especially where I live in Denmark. The rollover car wash is also known as an in-bay car wash.
When you go into a rollover or in-bay car wash, you typically drive into a small hall where brushes and high-pressure sprays will go back and worth, up and under a few times until the car is clean.
It usually takes a short time and usually, you get to stay in the car while the cleaning is taking place. The whole process is fully autonomous, where you only have to select the program.
The tunnel car wash works in principle the same as the rollover or in-bay car wash. The difference is that here your car is moved through a tunnel with a conveyor belt. When you move through the tunnel the different steps of washing takes place. Water spray, soap, brushes, water spray and drying.
So the conclusion is, you can take all vehicles including electric cars, hybrids, gasoline cars, etc. through all types of carwashes. But please consider the upsides and downsides, these go for all types of cars. But I think I’ll keep taking my electric car through the carwash.
Morten has been working with technology, IoT and electronics for over a decade. His passion for technology is reflected into this blog to give you relevant and correct information.
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