Agree 100% with all stating that car washes should be avoided big time. Read any car detailing forum and they all rant and rave about the perils to the finish done by car washes. I won’t allow the dealer to perform their complimentary wash when I take my car in. Invest in some quality detailing supplies, and over time, you and your RX will be happier.

I doubt that Lexus ever planned on the plethora of issues that seem to crop up the second you enter a car wash. Good lord, I have to fold in the damn mirrors, disable the parking sensors, turn off the automatic rain sensing wipers & make damn sure the hybrid battery is fully charged. Toyota hybrids don’t like to be left running & in Neutral. Bad things start to happen if enough time goes by & the battery is low. I got a good laugh out of this video because every word is true, I’m just glad I don’t have the collision avoidance system:

Unfortunately, car washes are a necessary evil here. The climate is about as harsh as it can get. It’s hot, dry & dusty & our water is some of the hardest (mineral content) on Earth. If I spray my vehicles with my garden hose, I end up with white calcium deposits where every bead of water sat. The humidity is very low, so the water evaporates faster than you can wipe it dry. Usually, the vehicle looks worse after hand washing at home than if I had just left the dirt on. Most car washes use RO water & they recycle most of the water used in a filtering system. About 2 or 3 years ago, it got so dry from lack of rain, that we went into our final stage of water conservation where car washing, lawn watering & pool filling are not allowed. The only reason the ban was lifted was we got a freak tropical rain system (that we rarely get) that lasted for more than a week. Oh, BTW, when we do get spring, summer & fall thunderstorms, they are often severe & contain hail and/or tornados. You won’t find many 10+ year old vehicles with pristine paint in this part of the country, unless it’s been garage kept all its life.