BenzC400

The W205 owners manual (page 243) says:

"Never clean your vehicle in a Touchless Automatic Car Wash as these use special cleaning agents. These cleaning agents can damage the paintwork or plastic parts."

Does this apply to all car washes that don't use cloth or brushes? I've always used Touchless washes to avoid potential damage from dirt embeded in the cloth or brushes of contact washes.

Are all Touchless washes the same and do they use the same chemicals?

I've had my C400 for a week and it needs to be cleaned.

StanNH

I've never had any damage from touchless car washes, and I've used them on many cars for many years.

I think MB is just covering their butt in case you ever do see problems with the finish or trim. And how exactly would they be able to prove that you did use a car wash ... and that is what caused the damage?

During the long winter months, is it better to leave your car encrusted in salt than to take it through a car wash?

unr1

if you want a swirl mark upgrade, go for it

jbbeauso

How would you get swirl marks from a "touchless" wash? You usually get swirl marks from dirt on rags and brushes in a traditional wash. The only risk of a touchless wash is if the soap products the washing machine uses has a reaction with the paint... Doubt It would be worse than what you would use for a hand-wash. The bad thing about a touchless wash is that it doesn't clean as well and often leaves watermarks (depending on the paint colour).

NYC-Style

Do it yourself...it's more fun!!

joshg1001

Also all commercial car washes reuse the water from previous washes and just filters it. If the car wash doesn't change out the filters or if they don't have good ones, the recycled water with bits of dirt are being hurled at your car in high pressure.

unr1

sorry I completely misread the title and missed touchless..

And I agree it wouldn't be worse than a hand-wash. My fault!

jbbeauso

No worries.

A proper handwash with a good two bucket system and rinsing materials after each application to avoid build up of dirt debris is quite time consuming. For a lot of people in colder climates it is impossible to do during a large part of the year (especially when you are 6 feet deep in snow and your water pipes are frozen). I personally think a touchless wash is a pretty good option in those situations.

montrealdave

The manual says: 'Never clean your vehicle in a Touchless Automatic Car Wash as these use special cleaning agents. These cleaning agents can damage the paintwork or plastic parts.'

But here in Canada and I guess also in the North East US, it is difficult to hand wash your car in this weather and you want to get out the dirt and salt from your car.

Is it preferable then to use a carwash with brushes or a car wash that does it by hand? I would have thought that those two options would give more swirls...

Stan, what do you do to keep your car clean in this dirty winter weather?

Any input by fellow Canadians?

StanNH

I have always used touchless car washes and, over the years, have never seen any damage to the paint or trim. Even with hand washing, you're going to be picking up some dirt as you wash and dry your car, so there's no guarantee of a 100% swirl free wash any way you do it.

If you want to wash my car in sub-zero F temperatures, you're welcome to try.

Glyn M Ruck

Modern Chemical touchless car washes work well & won't damage paint & trim. They do however tend to react with some plated parts where plating contains zinc. They can also strip certain protective waxes from door interiors etc over time.

coladin

I always go through automated washes with brushes, most of these washes with brushes keep spinning to spin off the dirt from their brushes, I go to a higher end one where the actual brushes are sprayed. I went with my black C63 and it had some swirls, but I wax the car twice a year anyways. i'd rather that than damaging the paint or clearcoat.

mihaelb

What parts are those? What kind of damage/reaction?


I've been washing all my cars with both touchless and on occasion softcloth.
I know about the swirl marks that the softcloth causes over time, but sometimes you have just too much dirt for the touchless to handle.

The only adverse effect is the yellowing of the applied 3M protective film on my car (at least that's what the guy that i). He suggested to use a highly diluted acetone/water mix once in a while to remove the yellowing, but I never confirmed this.

Glyn M Ruck

Things like Benz wheel lug bolts can develop a fluffy white deposit & I've noticed cars like Australian Holdens that use a zinc plated bolt to attach the windscreen wiper arms corrode.

Glyn M Ruck

I always have my cars coated with long life polymer sealant like Auto Armor when new. Then pressure wash before hand wash. Never suffer swirls with this regime. I never polish my cars in the traditional sense. Nothing sticks with Auto Armor including bird crap. Glasurit, Sikkens & Spies Hecker tech guys will all tell you to preserve the nano clear coat skin at all costs. The minute you micro scratch the clearcoat surface maintenance becomes an ongoing chore. These are not the comments the detailing industry likes to hear of course.

Jinzen

Touchless automatic car washes are what dealers have to wash the car...

coladin

Maybe your local Ford or GM dealer, but I have not seen a luxury car dealer have anything but handwashes

Jinzen

My last Land Rover and current Mercedes Dealer both use automatic car washes. It's very obvious when they ask me if I want to run my car through the car wash when I pick it up.

Boston based here. (You guys in Canada do pay like 50% more for your cars, so maybe your dealers are better).

cidtek

My dealer always not only washes the car exterior but details the interior as well. My Weathertech mats are always shining like new when I pick up the car.

richardamp

I wonder if it's a Canada vs. US thing, or at least a dealer specific thing. The Lexus and MB dealers around me definitely just send it through a normal car wash. With my seat bleeding issue they did do a full detail as a nice gesture.

mikbar2

Our dealer does hand washes on every car coming in and also offers free washes for however long you own the car if you bought it from them.

MDMercedesGuy

My dealer has a carwash.

In college, I worked in the service department of a Saturn dealer as a detailer. We handwashed customer cars... upwards of 100 a day. I don't think that water got changed out at all on average... oh God the swirls.

2 bucket method with grit guards and a boar's hair brush is the only route for me. Sold my 9 year old Saturn VUE when I ordered my C250... ran and drove like garbage, but not a single swirl.