Car wash mishap

My 13 has a lot of scratches, some deep, from debris attached to high speed brushes. I've learned my lesson, no clean truck is worth paint damage. It's inevitable in those.

 

A little off topic....but I drove mine thru one of those "touch less" care washes...and as I was at the very end where it blow dries the water off...I looked into my rear view mirror and my OEM bed mat was floating in the air! That thing is heavy...I couldn't believe it was blowing that hard to make it lift it up...so I just pulled up a foot or so...luckily it fell right back down into the bed!

 

Don't text and Drive...or Carwash

 

I think their is a lot of wrong info in this thread.

The brushes or "soft cloth" in tunnel washes will leave surface scratches on the surface. This is common knowledge.

The touchless washes are just as bad but in a different way. They use harsh high alkaline content soaps to strip the dirt off the paint. They typically leave the vehicles finish looking duller & not as radiant as they should be. They use these same soaps in the tunnel washes with brushes as well.

in regards to pressure or chemical, you still need some form of mechanical agitation to break the bond of dirt film on the surface you are washing.

Handwashing with a good quality auto detergent such as Meguiars, 3D, or Chemical Guys as well as using soft wash mitts & microfiber drying towels is the best way. Using your own materials ensures they are clean & fresh.

 

It's a truck, not a ferrari. I drive it through the $5 car wash a few times a month. Use the high pressure self wash to spray off the heavy mud. A couple times a year get it waxed. Just another reason I went with White...it just holds up and shows better over time with lower maintenance than some of the other colors. I had my White 1st Gen 4x4 trd OR for 10 years and she always looked great after wash and wax with over 100k miles on it until the day I got rid of it. Sold it for top dollar private when I was ready to upgrade.

 

Do you have oversized tires? Sometimes the sidewall tred will grab the rail and climb it. I dont use them anymore because of the same thing happaned to my wife. A truck with oversized tires jumped the track and got stuck. My wifes car kept hitting the truck until the attendant noticed the back up of cars and shut the line down. Got hit from both ends.

 

The other day I was at the gas station park and the steering wheel just started turning slowly to the right I grabbed it a stoped it but when I let it go continued to turn again had to shut truck of for it to quit.

 

This is why I don't wash my truck.

 

Wait... You guys wash your trucks?

 

Most people do more damage to their paint by washing their car than anything else. Most people don't wash their car properly either though.

I expect that in 10 years my seldom washed paint will probably be one of the better looking things about the truck. You can wash all you want but it won't stop the inconsiderate bastard who parks next to you from swinging his door into it.

 

Not sure if you have a 2006 (your description) or a 2016 (your picture) but it will work for a 2006 and may with a 2016. This will help keep your mat in place. Simple and Cheap.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/quick-bed-mat-mod-pics.16869/

 

Regional manager admitted via phone conversation that attendant was at fault for putting my truck on the track wrong. Instead of pushing rear wheel, my front wheel was being pushed which caused my wheel to turn.

 

I don't seem to have that problem. I park on the last row furthest from the front door at Walmart.

 

I learned not to park too far away from all the other cars. You stand out like a sore thump and some jealous asshole will park next to you intentionally or even ding your door knowing that's why you parked out there. I park where I feel it's unlikely for any car to park next to me but not so much so that it's conspicuous. Yes, I've given this more thought that a sane person would.

 

Over the past 4-5 years, I've taken up parking next to the carriage return. Everyone is fearful of those spots, but generally speaking people aren't going to ram a carriage into your car when the return cage is right there. And I'll park fairly close to t he cage so that the side not against the return is as far away from dings as possible. So far, so good.

 

Not for this reason, but I've decided to either hand wash or use the touch-free "laser wash" with this truck. Using the touch-free frequently this winter just to blast salt off. After hearing about this I may never go to a wash with a track system again!!