Mirrors do not like Cruz Thru

Yesterday I went through a Mister Car Wash (formerly known as Cruz Thru) and when I stopped to vaccum I noticed my side mirrors were coming apart. I tried manually snapping them back into place but I stopped because it wasn't going easily. Don't want to force it and break it. The employee that help me file a claim says that it happens sometimes with Tacomas, "the newer ones". Not sure if he meant 3rd gen or 2019s.

I've gone thru that same car wash multiple times with my last Tacoma, a '16. This has never happened before. So I need to know. Has this happened to anyone else ?

 

What caused that the blow dry, or was this a car wash that rubs on your truck. I am thinking you should be able to put them back together if no clips are broken. Sometimes in the winter I go to a touch-less car wash they have strong blow dryers and this never happened to me.

 

Par for the course...

 

It has brushes that spin and slap against the vehicle. I guess I'll be going to a 'no touch' car wash for now on. Just sucks since there are none near my house or on the way home from work.

 

I doubt if it would help in this situation, but do you fold in the mirrors prior to going through the wash?

 

No I don't. I mean I have before because the mirrors end up getting folded in by the brushes. So when once I folded them in prior to entering the car wash, and they just ended up folded all the way out.

Would folding in the mirrors keep them from being damaged ? IDK. I do know they shouldn't be damaged so easily.

 

That's what I thought would happen. I'd suggest not using car washes with brushes. Unfortunately newer vehicles aren't constructed very well and the materials used aren't the best either.

 

I now just enough to get me in trouble, one of our large customers build car washes.
I think it has more to do with the proximity sensor settings. New washes have proximity sensors all over, and the wash arms are set to encounter the center of the wash (in toward vehicle) until the sensors say they're close enough, and send a signal for them to retract (backing off the vehicle). This is why even the same brand chain wash, can have one that damages paint, mirrors, etc, and ones that don't.
If you go through a wash, and just the tips of the spinning brushes are contacting the vehicle, that's good, it's when they push in so hard the center of the spool is near your vehicle and putting lots of pressure against. My local chain wash is the latter, therefore I don't run my company truck through it. As for my personal? I hand wash and wax.

 

Find it amazing that people don't fold in their mirrors in a car wash, but rather keep them sticking out like Dumbo ears just waiting to get whacked off.

 

Thank you. That explains something for me. There's another Mister Car Wash just a few miles away where the brushes seem to be less umm.. violent.

So should I be more mad at the car wash ? or at Toyota ?or at myself for going to this 'gauntlet' style car wash in the first place ?
I guess I answered my own question

 

That's what I'm hoping for. Going there in a few minutes. Thanks

 

Yes. Folding the mirrors in will help mitigate damage. Obviously.

Damaged so easily? Do you have the specs on how hard they were getting hit in the car wash?

 

If the mirror snaps back together, I'd be more concerned with the amount of pressure used against the paint, but if you don't see scratches you're good.
Good drive through car washes use the draping brushes, I like these much more. Another thing to consider is- if, or how well they rinse the brushes, in between vehicles. If the brushes are dirty, well then they're scratching your paint. The touchless ones, use very aggressive pretreat, and extremely high pressure water, so they're not always as innocent as some think. My buddy used to manage a wash, and he said he wouldn't run his cars through it, unless he manually turned off the pretreat. And still then, he only used it for winter bottom blaster, and to strip the wax off, before he hand waxed.

 

Specs ? Uhh, no. I see the point you're trying to make. I guess by easily I mean ' while driving through a car wash easy '. In all my years ( and there's a lot of them ) I've driven through many many car washes and have never seen a side mirror damaged on any car or truck.

 

It most likely popped when the brushes snapped it back against the body in the wrong direction.

As said above, fold 'em in first.

And yes you can just snap the shell back on, I've had an issue or two, trust me.

 

Wow that's crazy. So you're telling me I need to start hand washing it ? I know that's not what you're actually telling me but that's what I'm saying to myself right now. That's alot of work.

 

It is just a plastic cover/lamina. Should snap right back in, no need to ask anyone else to do it. You can buy that part prepainted from the dealer if you ever need to.

If it was chipped/damaged by the car wash, just get a quote from the dealer for a cover, should be around $40 if you are in murica. Give the car wash the bill and tell them they need to calibrate their equipment better.

 

Good things come to those who put in the time, or alternately, (a well known adage in software engineering): you can have it quick, good, or cheap. Pick two.

I hand wash about every month or two.

 

Good tip. It being metallic grey, I'll have to wash it more often than that. I know nothing of software engineering, or any engineering, or software. But it sounds like you know what you're talking about.
Thanks