narnia

I was discussing the car wash mode issue with my dealer, and he told me you can buy a seat belt buckle to pop in when you leave the car as a fix. I'm going to try this!

acura tlx seat belt | eBay

Stew4HD

Hmm, I guess that could be handy. Let us know

MiaQbn23

I just had a not so pleasant experience at an automated car wash that pulls the car through while you sit inside. Put the car in neutral and as soon as the wheels began to roll the parking brake applied and car put itself in Park.

I did not realize that you needed to have your seat belt on to go through the wash. Almost gave me a heart attack. The attendant stopped the wash and I was able to put it in neutral again with seat belt on.

9SpeedTran

Yup just leave it buckled. Piece of cake.

Ero

Or just use the car wash mode? But it's misleading, because it flashes "SHIFT TO PARK" on the display. I assumed it knew I wanted car wash mode so i shifted to park as it instructed....Apparently as it turns out you're not actually supposed to ship to park -_-.

tjwgrr

If you leave the vehicle, opening the door will put it in park, hence the car wash mode for unattended washes. Otherwise, keep your seat-belt fastened if you remain with the vehicle.

Hoosier_TLX

It does suck a bit having to remember to put it in car wash mode, but the modern safety features are a necessary evil i guess. I had a bad experience once with a car wash that had rails to guide the car. They got the car too close to the rails on the passenger side and it messed up both wheels on that side. I didn't see them for several days, and of course, no possible chance for getting them to own up to it. I only use car washes that have no rails and I'm not a huge fan of the washes that aren't touchless.

usdmJON

Maybe this is just a TLX thing I am not understanding... I wash my own car as I am not looking to some lame carwash to damage my car on accident.

Hoosier_TLX

I will use the self serve spray type of car wash to get the quick removal of road grime, but I normally don't use car washes either. I'm more paranoid of getting fine scratches or worse. I don't have the same desire to do the wash myself as I used to but I still prefer to wash my car.

fsttyms1

Live where it gets below zero and you will be going to car washes and not washing the car yourself if you want your car clean

Quandry

No worse than having to remember to latch your seatbelt before driving off.

Unless you have underground parking, then waterless products do the job for light soiling.

narnia

I have to put my car in park, get out of my car, and hand it over to an attendant. He drives it onto the track, puts it in neutral, and exits the car.

Before I get out of my car, can't I clip the seat belt buckle in so the car stays in neutral when the attendant exits?

tlxsteve

Glad I got the I4. :evil grin:

Stew4HD

indeed.. i never tought that the pushbutton shifter would be so complicated.. not just car wash mode either.. There are some cool things that the system does too.

fsttyms1

And if you have caked on salt, grime and snow

9SpeedTran

Yup, works perfectly.

narnia

Great, I just ordered a seat belt clip!

Quandry

First try to avoid those conditions, but then a quick visit to a self wash to power wash it off and then back home, let it dry then waterless clean. Avoid the rails of pull through car washes and no need for Neutral gear challenged.

phil30

So just to be sure I've got this right:

1. If you stay in the car during the carwash, put the car in neutral, leave the engine on, but be sure to keep your seatbelt buckled to avoid MiaQbn23's situation. I'm assuming if you stay in the car, but put it in neutral and then put it in accessory mode, you don't have to worry about the seatbelt.

2. If you have to park and get out before the car enters the carwash tracks, the engine has to stay on so that the attendant can drive it onto the tracks.

3. If you are allowed to drive it onto the tracks, but have to get out before the carwash begins, you need to put it in neutral and hit the ignition button once to put the car in accessory mode. The seatbelt should not need to be fastened in this case.

4. Depending on the situation, you need to do one or more of the following:

--make sure the car wash guy understands what to do, or
--buckle your seatbelt before exiting your car, or
--buy a seatbelt clip (from the dealer?) to insert after you unbuckle and before exiting

Am I missing anything? I know that automated carwashes are not optimal, but sometimes it's the only choice, especially in cold climates with lots of road salt and weeks of temperatures below freezing.

Please set me straight if I've misunderstood anything (not about the error of my ways in using carwashes in the first place, but in my admittedly obsessively detailed plan of action).

a35tl

That seems so complex just to go through a car wash. My head is starting to hurt.

phil30

LOL I agree but I'd rather hurt my head than my car.

phil30

Thank you for this! Mine arrived yesterday and it looks like it should be the perfect solution.

narnia

I was just going to follow up on my post. I tried the seat belt clip last week and it worked perfectly.

Just note - when you want to remove the clip, press the red release button on the original seat belt, not the one on the clip. I was pressing the button on the clip and when it wouldn't come out I thought I broke my seat belt!

phil30

Duly noted, and that's probably what I would have done, too, so thanks for the heads-up. Now I almost wish my car were dirty enough to justify a carwash so I could try it out lol. ;-)

mikol77

Its the same as just buckling the belt and sit on top of it. You don't need the belt extender.

narnia

After I get out of the car, the attendant gets in to drive the car onto the track. I didn't want to take a chance of him undoing the belt.

phil30

That's the same way it works at the place I go, and in addition to the guy who drives it onto the track, there's another one who drives it off the track and a couple more who are in and out of the car finishing the cleaning after it's off the track. The clip is easier and requires no special instructions.

gptlxdrvr

This is huge. Thank you OP.

Mr Hyde

Wow, that is needlessly complex.

What you really just need to understand is that if you are unbuckled, and open your driver's door, the car will shift to park. If you are buckled, it will stay in drive.

Keeping that in mind at a carwash, once you hand the car off to an attendant, all they would need to do is put the car in car wash mode.
1. Put the car in neutral
2. Turn car off my hitting the start/stop button

Or you can use one of these buckles, or just buckle the OEM seatbelt after getting out of the car, and they can just put the car in neutral, where it will stay.

phil30

I think that's pretty much what I said, but thanks for confirming it in a less complex way.

Since someone posted earlier in this thread about his experience having his car go into park while it was on the track, I don't think it's unreasonable for drivers to find workarounds that completely avoid this.

The other problem with car wash mode is that at my carwash, the attendant has to drive the car onto the track. So I have to leave the engine on with the car in park when I get out, he drives it onto the track, then he would need to put it in car wash mode. The attendant at the other end drives it off the track, meaning he needs to turn the car back on. I could explain all this to the guys working there, but it's easier for me to just use the clip, which cost about $7 and requires no special explanations to anyone.

So no one way is best, it just depends on what you prefer.

narnia

As phil30 said, car washes often involve more than one attendant. Many of these workers don't speak English here in NYC, so I don't want to take a chance on a miscommunication in explaining the car wash procedure.

It's annoying to lean on a buckled seat belt, so if you just buckle your seat belt when you leave the car it's possible one of the attendants will unbuckle it. Therefore I feel the belt buckle clip is the way to go for those of us who have to use a car wash with attendants. This $7 clip can save your $40K+ car's transmission.

phil30

Those are exactly the kind of situations we will avoid with the clip. Other people have figured out other ways that work for them, but for me, the clip is the best solution. I never would have known about it if I hadn't read about it here, so thanks again for your original post, Narnia.

jchoi5

I just ordered the seatbelt clip too. Thanks OP.

You don't have the option to sit inside your car at my local car wash. (they make you get out).

They did not know wtf they were doing. I asked them many times if they knew about the electronic gear shifters and they just said ok, ok. I saw them put the car in neutral, then open the door. Of course the car went into park.

I was afraid the rails messed up my parking pawl. The rails tried to push the car.

Eventually, one of the attendees had to sit in the car with the car in neutral.