Car wash for new Model Y

[hemanthkmr69]

Hi,

I have new model Y black color , it got some dirt and what would you highly recommend for a car wash , I did some research on my color it's best to go with brushless wash since black is sensitive color.

I spoke to circle K they can do brushless car wash but they are gonna wash even underneath car ( where battery stays) , am concerned about if the automated wash( high pressure water spray ) can hamper battery ?? I don't know

Since am new to car wash itself and having Tesla , kindly suggest the best practices.

Appreciate in advance to one and all

[carlf]

You can wash the car just like any car, but naturally a manual wash will be more gentle with the paint...

[hemanthkmr69]

Am mainly concerned about cleaning underneath for Tesla specifically

[OscarH]

First of all I would recommend a paint sealant treatment, like Ditec or similar. I wash my car at self-service stations, BUT I bring my own two buckets and two sponges. I fill the buckets with the station's soapy water, using one for the upper half of the car and the other for the lower half. This has worked really well with my last two black cars, including a Model 3. No swirl marks at all after two years!

I am currently waiting for a black Model Y and a paint sealant treatment is the first I am gonna do.

This is obviously overkill for most people, but since I own the car myself, it feels great to keep the paintwork in showroom condition

If you decide to wash your car at an automatic car wash, I wouldn't worry at all about an underbody wash. The car should definitely be able to handle that.

[shamrock1000]

Not a problem

[OscarH]

Not a problem

[tor-ake]

Old fossil cars had very complicated shapes and crevisses underneath, with the cars structure, prop shafts, exhaust system, exposed brake lines etc etc, and that is why there even *is* underbody washing. Teslas are completely smooth, covered by the battery tray and plastic shields, only the suspension parts needs to be rinsed, so underbody flushing is next to useless.

Further more, water in the car washes are reused, and sometimes the filtering isn't 100% so there can be some road salt left in the water. I avoid those automatic washes as I do not particularly enjoy have salt water sprayed on the underside of the car for no reason.

Better to wash in those self wash stalls, and spray water only where it's useful. But opinions are like a**holes - everyone has one, and me too

[SwedishAdvocate]

…] Further more, water in the car washes are reused, and sometimes the filtering isn't 100% so there can be some road salt left in the water. I avoid those automatic washes as I do not particularly enjoy have salt water sprayed on the underside of the car for no reason. […

So say one lives in the south of SWE, and the last time there's salt on the roads are on 3/31 (last of March). Is there still going to be salt in the water these washes use say one month later?

If one is driving an old fossil car in the winter, then there's going to be salt spray from those salty roads underneath the car. I would think it would be better to wash that away so the salt isn't left to sit for the whole summer and 'reactivated' every time you drive the car in the wet.

[Autonom]

The conventional wisdom among car restorers is don't use undercarriage wash at all, or at least not during the winter.

The thing is that the undercarriage wash pushes water where there typically isn't any. It may break the seals of otherwise perfectly fine ball bearings, I have experienced a failed ball bearing for exactly this reason.

I never wash the undercarriage, never seen any bad effects of that so far.

BTW, you can''t filter out salt, so assume salt water during all of winter..

[tor-ake]

…] Further more, water in the car washes are reused, and sometimes the filtering isn't 100% so there can be some road salt left in the water. I avoid those automatic washes as I do not particularly enjoy have salt water sprayed on the underside of the car for no reason. […

So say one lives in the south of SWE, and the last time there's salt on the roads are on 3/31 (last of Mars). Is there still going to be salt in the water these washes use say one month later?

If one is driving an old fossil car in the winter, then there's going to be salt spray from those salty roads underneath the car. I would think it would be better to wash that away so the salt isn't left to sit for the whole summer and 'reactivated' every time you drive the car in the wet.

There'll be salt in the water as long as dirty cars with salt in the dirt use the wash, but after a number of good rains it'll probably be better. I think they use osmosis to get salt out of the water, but it has limited capacity, so it'll take a good time to get the salt out.

Screenshot From 2026-10-06 17-23-06.png

The issue with old fossils and their exposed underbodies is that they get dust mixed with salt water into a mud like goo stuck in hard to reach places, so they need a through washing to get rid of the salty "mud" cakes. The salty water itself is a lesser evil in that case.