Sensors trigger
Tesla ban: The first car washes fear a wave of lawsuits and prohibit entry
When the sun is shining, that’s a must for many Germans: first rinse roughly, then take it to the car wash.
© Extreme Photographer / Getty Images
Tesla drivers don’t have it easy in the district of Oldenburg: Several Raiffeisen gas stations prohibit vehicles from the Californian brand from entering for fear of defective cars.
Several gas stations in the Oldenburg district no longer want to clean Teslas. In the past there had been too many problems with open tailgates and tailgates that had opened during cleaning and were damaged. Older vehicles are particularly affected, mostly Model S and X, which lack the so-called car wash mode. With the 2021.24 software update, Tesla initially only activated this for the 3 and Y models.
However, this mode is still missing in the luxury vehicles X and S, which is apparently now taking revenge. Because according to the manufacturer, “the car wash mode closes all windows, locks all doors and switches off windshield wipers, guard mode, “lock after removal” and parking sensor signals. If it is missing or not switched on, “this can cause damage (e.g on the charging port or on the wipers)”. The biggest problem with this: “Damage caused by washing is not covered by the warranty.”
Officially only contactless laundry
In general, Tesla advises against visiting car washes with contact with brushes or cloths. In the manual of all vehicles it says: “If you wash the vehicle in an automatic car wash, use only a non-contact car wash. These car washes do not have any parts (brushes, etc.) that touch the surface. Other types of car wash can cause damage, not covered by the warranty.”
The operator of the car wash explained to the Nordwest-Zeitung that the blocking for Tesla is for their own protection. Because although the customers would have assured after a wash that the vehicle was locked, there would have been many cases of water ingress. The culprit was an open flap that probably jumped open when the brushes or cloths were touched. It goes without saying that other electric cars are not denied access.
Return only after update
As soon as something changes in the software of older Teslas in the car wash and thus all vehicles are equally safe, the operator assured on request that the vehicles would be welcome again. Until then, one must proactively protect oneself against claims for damages.
source: district newspaper, Tesla