lmariorod

All the more reason to wash it yourself.

But if you must go thru a car wash, touch less is preferable and ask to stay with your vehicle.

Can your car survive the carwash? - MarketWatch

ChrisC

No matter the type of car wash, they are sure to leave scratches or swirls in your paintwork which are more obvious on dark colors.
The touchless system doesn't clean the car because you need agitation to remove the dirt. My beater sees the car wash but my Audis do not. Sometimes in the winter months, I'll visit a hand-wash detailer but otherwise would (a bit compulsive?) rather wash, clean and dry the cars myself than spend the time trying to buff out imperfections.

Reggie

I use the touchless for my Audis in the winter to get the salts and dirt off. I will do this once a week if it is really bad. Lucky for us here in Colorado we get sunshine 300 days/yr and many winter days are in the 40-50s which allow hand washing if the ground is not frozen (but if it is then it becomes too dangerous to wash as the water freezes on the driveway)

superswiss

Interesting challenges. Conveyer belt car washes should be avoided with an Audi, though. Towing or pulling an Audi in neutral can ruin the Quattro drivetrain. It's even more important if you have a DSG. The problem with the DSG is that the oil isn't circulating when the engine is off, so you can ruin the transmission if the car is dragged through a car wash. I don't remember specifically what my manual says, but I remember it says to avoid conveyer belt car washes. Always go to one where the car wash moves around the car and not the other way around.

Ssc5174

I'm not sure i understand the point here. With a conveyor belt car wash - at least the one I go to - the car is just sitting on thr belt. it isn't being "dragged". Why would this damage the car?

superswiss

If none of the wheels are turning while the car is going through the wash, then you are good. The ones I'm familiar with hook on to the front wheel and pull the car through the wash. That's why it has to be in neutral, so the wheels can spin. These are also what the article refers to. I've never seen a car wash where the entire car is loaded up on a moving belt and carried through the wash. Can you provide a link or a picture?

irenesbob

I never use a car wash on the Audi but in the past with a beater I would go through and never had to turn the engine off - so I am wondering why you assume the engine would not be running in a car wash.

irenesbob

I found this interesting. I encountered some of the issues mentioned here when my 2013 Audi A6 had its deer collision last summer. The flatbed tow truck guy had to get detailed instructions from me on how to have the car not running and still able to roll without the parking brakes staying on so he could use the cable to pull it up on top of the flatbed truck. I haven’t noticed anything wrong to date so he must have done it correctly in subsequent moves. It went from the Catskills to two places in New Jersey and then over to the repair shop in Tuckahoe, NY a few days later, so it was loaded/unloaded several times. Either they did it right or the repair shop fixed the damage they caused.

Ssc5174

http://www.autospamd.com/index.shtml....the car pulls forward onto a moving conveyor belt - no chains and the car is stationary.

superswiss

I'm mostly familiar with the car wash streets in Europe. There you must turn off the engine. This posed a challenge again when I did European Delivery with my RS5. Had to look long and far to find a power wash station or something that doesn't' drag the car through it.

The ones I've been to in the USA before I had nice cars make you get out of the car. Just as described in the article. I suppose there is no guarantee that they leave the engine running.

Neat. Certainly not what I was referring to or even the article. This is a semi automated hand wash. Not your typical automated car wash.