How to Use a Touchless Car Wash From Pay Screen to Dry Car
Learning how to use a touchless car wash takes one visit. Close the windows, fold the mirrors, pay at the terminal, roll in slowly until the sign says stop, shift to Park and stay in the car until the light turns green.
Yes, Park. Neutral belongs on a conveyor, where the car has to roll.
The cycle runs about 3 to 4 minutes, and only water and chemicals touch the paint.
Keep a towel in the car, because spray alone doesn’t always lift everything.
How to use a touchless car wash in eight steps
- Shut the windows, sunroof and fuel door, fold the mirrors and switch the wipers off
- Pay at the terminal and pick a wash
- Wait for a green light, since red or yellow means the bay isn’t ready
- Roll forward slowly until the sign or a red light tells you to stop
- Shift to Park and stay in the car
- Sit tight until the machine stops moving and the light turns green
- Drive slowly through the dryers, then unfold the mirrors
- Tap the brakes lightly as you pull away, stop in the shade and towel off what’s left
Ben’s ScratchFree CarWash in Fort Worth says lasers measure your vehicle, so you “just drive forward until the sign tells you to stop,” and puts the wash at about 3 minutes. Spotless Carwash in Forest Park, Illinois, runs its bays on lights and averages 4.
Spotless’s signal also has a Back Up light, so reverse only if the sign asks. Its terms won’t cover damage from ignoring stop signals.
Some bays use a floor plate called a treadle instead. Xtreme Clean Auto Wash in Michigan says “do not drive off the plate until the machine has stopped moving.”
Set the car up before you pull in
- Close every opening. Ben’s terms name windows, doors, sunroofs and charge or fuel doors, and Mazda’s CX-30 manual says water pressure can force a fuel lid open
- Fold the mirrors. Mazda says to retract them, and BMW’s 535i manual warns they can be damaged depending on the car’s width
- Move the wipers from Auto to off. Toyota’s bZ4X manual says blades left on Auto may be damaged
Loose parts are where washes differ. Ben’s makes you secure or remove antennas, toppers, racks, bug deflectors and loose trim. Brown Bear in Washington offers its touchless washes to vehicles with ladders or bike racks. With anything bolted on, ask first.
Trim deserves a look too, since Mazda warns that a high-pressure nozzle held too close can deform molding and let water inside.
Caked-on mud or salt is worth a rinse first, because Consumer Reports (CR) says spray and soap alone don’t always remove all of the dirt. Our self-service car wash guide covers the wand bay.
Park in a bay, neutral on a conveyor
In a touchless bay the car sits still and the machine travels around it. National Carwash Solutions, the parent of in-bay maker Ryko, sums up the customer’s part as pulling in and placing the vehicle in park. Ben’s, Spotless and Xtreme Clean all say the same.
Neutral is for washes that move the car. Superstar Car Wash in Arizona says the attendant will tell you to shift into neutral once the car is resting on the conveyor. Touchless tunnels exist too, so if the track moves, use neutral, and if the machine moves, use Park.
You may read that Park strains the transmission in a touchless wash. None of the manuals, operators or equipment makers we read say so, and the car isn’t moving. Ben’s and Spotless don’t ask you to switch the engine off, so leave that to the posted sign.
Menu lines worth paying for
| Touchless operator | Price |
|---|---|
| Spotless Carwash, Forest Park, Illinois | $10 to $14 |
| Brown Bear, Washington | $11.99 to $23.99 |
| Wolfeboro Carwash, New Hampshire | $14 to $18 |
| Ben’s ScratchFree CarWash, Fort Worth, Texas | $14 to $24 |
The cheapest wash runs $10 to $14 at these four and the top wash $14 to $24, so read the lines on the menu, not the names.
Start with the presoak, since Simoniz’s Al West told CR that with touchless “You’re relying solely on chemistry.” Supplier Kleen-Rite says the most effective washes use two steps, low pH for minerals and salts and high pH for road film and bugs.
Brown Bear and Wolfeboro put two steps in every tier. Spotless gives you one at $10 and two at $12.
Don’t step up just for a spot-free rinse. It’s already in the cheapest wash at Spotless, Brown Bear and Ben’s, and Wolfeboro doesn’t list one at any price.
The undercarriage wash is the add-on with a case behind it. CR’s experts say to get one at least once a season, especially on mud or salted roads. Spotless includes it, and it costs $2 more at Wolfeboro, $4 at Ben’s and $6 at Brown Bear.
Wax, ceramic and gloss lines are mostly about looks. CR’s Jake Fisher says some extras are “just for vanity’s sake.”
The top wash is the one I’d leave alone. Step up four times a year for the underbody and, at Ben’s prices, you add $16 a year. Buying the $18 wash every two weeks adds $104, and the $24 wash adds $260 for gloss and protectant lines I can’t put a number on.
Pull out slowly because the brakes are wet
Ease off the gas and brake lightly a few times until braking feels normal again. Mazda says wet brakes can lengthen stopping distance or pull the car to one side.
Look the car over before you leave the lot. Spotless wants damage reported to the attendant before you go, and Ben’s wants it before you leave or within 24 hours.
Water spots start with minerals
To prevent water spots, you need water with almost nothing dissolved in it, or a towel. A spot-free rinse uses reverse osmosis to take the minerals out first.
- 95 to 99% of dissolved solids come out with reverse osmosis, says filter maker CrystalQuest
- 2 to 10 ppm is what’s left of 200 ppm tap water
- 20 ppm is where Professional Carwashing & Detailing says spotting can become unacceptable
That leaves plenty of room on ordinary tap water. At 500 ppm, the EPA’s guideline limit, a system at the 95% end leaves 25 ppm by our math, which is over that line.
So dry the car anyway. CR says air-drying can leave water spots, and AAA Club Alliance says to use microfiber in the shade, since sun can dry the car too quickly.
Our guide to drying a car after washing goes further, and we also cover removing water spots that have already set.
What the spray leaves behind
CR’s chief mechanic, John Ibbotson, says touchless washes “don’t always clean your car thoroughly.” Paul Lamberty, retired from BASF, told CR to keep a soft towel handy for leftover residue.
Don’t leave the stubborn marks for next time. Mazda says insects, tar, tree sap and bird droppings can damage the finish if not removed immediately, and CR suggests an automotive bug and tar remover when soap won’t shift them.
AAA Club Alliance passes along washing every one to three weeks, and Mazda says at least once a month. Wolfeboro Carwash suggests a hand wash every 3 to 4 touchless washes, or every six to eight weeks on a two-week schedule.
West’s alternative is an occasional soft-cloth wash, and our touchless vs soft-touch comparison goes through that choice.
Teslas, coatings and matte paint need a check first
- Teslas need Car Wash Mode on, which closes the windows, locks the charge port and turns off the automatic wipers, Capital One’s car guide says. Ben’s says Tesla’s manual calls for touchless washes only and tells drivers to stay in Park. Our Tesla and EV wash page has the rest
- Ceramic coatings are allowed in non-touch washes at Ceramic Pro, but it bans soaps with a pH under 5 or above 9, and Kleen-Rite puts presoaks at 1 to 6 and 8 to 14. Ask what the bay sprays, or buy a pH-neutral wash like Ben’s $24 one
- Matte paint is murkier. Hyundai’s manual rules out rotating brushes and says nothing about touchless, so check your own
