You guys are gonna laugh but I'm not sure about this.

Can I take the LX into the car wash? Not sure about height issues, the rack on top and the tire width (will it fit into the track?). The wash place I would use has both spongy type material that swishes back and forth but also has some spinning things -- will that material that spins get caught in the roof rack?

Or for these cars, do I go to hand wash only (it's much more expensive)? Plus, I think the machines have sprayers underneath -- I think it would be good to spray the bottom after the dirt/clay roads I've been using (I couldn't even see out the rear window). I don't think hand wash guys will get underneath.

Unless you have some excessively wide tires or a big lift, there is no issue. The rollers will go right across the roof rack no problem.

Any mechanical car wash is hell on your paint. Those rollers, brushes, sponges, or whatever will scratch the paint all by themselves, and when they get dirty, they just use the dirt from the 500 cars before yours as an abrasive.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Any mechanical car wash is hell on your paint. Those rollers, brushes, sponges, or whatever will scratch the paint all by themselves, and when they get dirty, they just use the dirt from the 500 cars before yours as an abrasive.

While all true, I don't see why this would matter for an off road truck that the OP is offroading and driving through mud, brush, etc.... It seems that knocking the excess mud and dirt off cheap and quick were his initial concerns. I may have read it wrong though.....

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Any mechanical car wash is hell on your paint. Those rollers, brushes, sponges, or whatever will scratch the paint all by themselves, and when they get dirty, they just use the dirt from the 500 cars before yours as an abrasive.

While all true, I don't see why this would matter for an off road truck that the OP is offroading and driving through mud, brush, etc.... It seems that knocking the excess mud and dirt off cheap and quick were his initial concerns. I may have read it wrong though.....

True enough. If the paint is getting treated worse by other conditions, then no worries from the car wash.

I take my sedan through the car wash (a few times a year). The LX will be subject to worse environments - was bought to go off pavement specifically.

So, don't necessarily want to make it worse going through the wash but I'm not expecting to keep pristine, show room condition either.

But yes, as a first pass, I would like to remove the earth that has traveled back home with me from off pavement destinations including underneath.

I just wasn't sure if 285 tires would fit the tracks or if the spinning things would get caught in the racks.

Sounds like gtg.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Any mechanical car wash is hell on your paint. Those rollers, brushes, sponges, or whatever will scratch the paint all by themselves, and when they get dirty, they just use the dirt from the 500 cars before yours as an abrasive.

Maybe this is why my car looks older than the mechanical condition its in. The car will last another 5-10 years for me. The exterior doesn't look that bad but it is showing signs of age, including some chips and cracks in the trim.

I buff and wax myself every couple of years. Perhaps I should do it more.

Last time I used a car wash, it left a LOT of scratched and chipped spots in my paint...

I've started just going to the "touchless" washes or doing it myself...

Make sure you have the phone number of the car wash before you go in or at least have some idea where you are so you can look it up easier. GPS doesn't work inside.

I don't remember where, but I had stopped for fuel and you could save 10 cents a gallon with a $5.00 wash. I figured I needed better than 30 gallons and it was a touchless wash, so why not? The bar going in said 84" max height and a quick check of the owner's manual said my brand new truck was 82", plus I didn't bang into the bar when I went under it. Golden, right? Nope. The machine went from the front to the back of the truck and on its way back to the front it stopped at my doors. All the lights started flashing.

I had just purchased the truck in TN, was on my way back to Florida and wasn't exactly sure where I was. I narrowed it down to one of two places and got the number right on the second call. Fortunately, there was no damage to anything, but I don't do automatic car washes anymore.

I dunno why but that made me chuckle.

Well, you ask a lot of questions and sometimes I chuckle. On the other hand, you didn't get stuck in a car wash, so maybe I need to ask more questions.

If something actually touches the vehicle hand wash it is for me.
We are lucky enough to have a touch less wash that is actually really good. Saves me a lot of time.

Your LX should fit into the car wash. I usually hand wash my 4Runner, but when I need a good undercarriage rinse I take it to a touchless wash. I do this during the winter months to wash off the salt.

Wtf is an LX? Honda Civic Lx? Accord LX? Lexus LX?

quote:

Originally posted by JJexp:
Wtf is an LX? Honda Civic Lx? Accord LX? Lexus LX?

That's what I was thinking. Are we supposed to know which "LX" you have? Did I miss a memo?

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:

quote:

Originally posted by JJexp:
Wtf is an LX? Honda Civic Lx? Accord LX? Lexus LX?

That's what I was thinking. Are we supposed to know which "LX" you have? Did I miss a memo?

I assumed it was a Civic LX. Was wondering how small his car wash is.

quote:

Originally posted by JJexp:
Wtf is an LX? Honda Civic Lx? Accord LX? Lexus LX?

The LX is a model of vehicle for Lexus.

For the Civic and Accord it is a trim. Most folks don't go around referencing their trim aside from the foxbody Mustang folks.

Would it have been strange if he asked a question referencing an Accord, Civic, or any other model designation?

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Would it have been strange if he asked a question referencing an Accord, Civic, or any other model designation?

if the question was whether or not they'd fit in a car wash, yea it'd be strange!

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:

quote:

Originally posted by JJexp:
Wtf is an LX? Honda Civic Lx? Accord LX? Lexus LX?

That's what I was thinking. Are we supposed to know which "LX" you have? Did I miss a memo?

Yes, but don't beat yourself up over it.

We have a really great car wash kinda near me. I run my 2016 Corvette through it twice per year. Before the first time, I spoke to the manager and asked him.