Car Wash Mode

[ChevyCustomerCare]

So this morning, I had the car washed and I will just say that while the instructions were confusing as written, the procedure is very very easy for the attendant to NOT screw up.

I put the car into neutral from Drive with doors closed. Then I opened the door. At this point I still had the brakes pressed. As soon as I let off the brakes, the car put itself into Park and you can definitely feel that with the car and the notification from the instrument cluster. Then with the door open, I put the car back into neutral and it stayed in neutral.

I explained the procedure to the attendant that was vacuuming and was going to move my car onto the track and he also performed it without any issue.

So I think for GM, the solution is to write the procedure more clearly on the manual (no recall necessary) and make sure people can easily understand what would happen.

Hi thorin78,

We're glad to hear that everything worked out well. We'll definitely note your suggestion regarding the manual improvement/clarification for this process.

Always feel free to reach out if you have any future questions/concerns.

Amber G.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[Anonymous]

As I have experienced, this is the automated car wash sequence and pitfalls.
Whether you use service mode to put in neutral or the open the door with key on, then shift to neutral method, the problem is this:
The car will only stay in neutral during door close-open-close if a butt remains in the seat. Once you step out of the car and close the door, the next time the door is opened (at a car wash, this is when the car is still rolling at the end of the wash track) it abruptly goes into park and park brake sets.
My fear is the pressure this puts on the park mechanism, not the brake. The car wash attendants are getting in cars all day that allow stepping in while car is in track and before it exits the track, so the are behind the wheel when it comes off the track. When they do that in a Bolt, the wheels lock on a moving track.

If I have something wrong, please educate me.

If Chevy got this wrong, they should fix it.

At this point the manager of the carwash rides in the seat, which costs me a few extra bucks every wash.
B

 

[gpsman]

Or you can stay in the car yourself at no extra charge.

I have gone to three car wash places and in all cases I am able to pre-pay and ride in the driver's seat.

I think people are making a mountain out of a mole hill. Also, car wash places ARE aware of these cars and their quirks. At least California car washes are.

 

[bobpenn]

Took my car to an "average" car wash. Just the usual conveyer belt type of cleaning.

I asked them if they understood how electric cars work at a car wash, and they assured me that they did.

I didn't really believe it, but I tried it anyway.

Sure enough, they did! The put it into neutral correctly (they claimed it was like a Tesla in that way) and the car rolled along happily on the belt.

So it may just be that most car wash places have figured this out by now.

 

[SeanNelson]

So it may just be that most car wash places have figured this out by now.

That may be true in the parts of California where EVs are a lot more common, but I suspect it's unlikely in a lot of other areas.

 

[ChevyCustomerCare]

As I have experienced, this is the automated car wash sequence and pitfalls.
Whether you use service mode to put in neutral or the open the door with key on, then shift to neutral method, the problem is this:
The car will only stay in neutral during door close-open-close if a butt remains in the seat. Once you step out of the car and close the door, the next time the door is opened (at a car wash, this is when the car is still rolling at the end of the wash track) it abruptly goes into park and park brake sets.
My fear is the pressure this puts on the park mechanism, not the brake. The car wash attendants are getting in cars all day that allow stepping in while car is in track and before it exits the track, so the are behind the wheel when it comes off the track. When they do that in a Bolt, the wheels lock on a moving track.

If I have something wrong, please educate me.

If Chevy got this wrong, they should fix it.

At this point the manager of the carwash rides in the seat, which costs me a few extra bucks every wash.
B

Thank you for reaching out, brianpletcher! If you have any concerns about this feature when taking your Bolt EV in for detailing/service at your local car wash, we do recommend riding alongside a trusted service member, or referencing the aforementioned manual sections to the servicing attendant.

Rest assured that your comments/concerns regarding this feature have been brought to the attention of the appropriate teams on my end. If you have additional questions/concerns, please feel free to send me a private message!

Kindly,

Amber G.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[bbock]

This procedure feels very Easter-eggy. Yes, it’s in the manual, but since it’s different from the way cars generally work, it seems like a flawed implementation.

Suggestion for a refinement of this idea: DON’T RELY on gamer moves to expose needed functionality. By gamer moves I mean how in video games special moves were accessed by a specific set of often obscure key presses. The implementation of this feature was clearly made by an engineer. And I say this with love, but they don’t really think like normal people.

Instead: Add an additional car wash feature to the screen. So the driver would go in on the infotainment screen and select Car Wash Mode. The infotainment screen and the DIC would read CAR WASH MODE. The infotainment screen would retain a button to turn this mode off. The car would be able to be driven in drive or low at very low speeds in this mode. If the car is placed in neutral in any fashion, it will remain such as long as the key is in the car. If the key leaves the car or it is turned off, car wash mode ends, the car is put in park.

The other problem with the existing car wash mode is that it really doesn’t solve the problem that the original functionality tried to avoid. I assume the purpose was to keep a car from being left in neutral with the door open and the key inside where it might accidentally role uncontrolled. But someone could quite easily and inadvertently put a car into car wash mode without knowing it simply by having the door open.

 

[Anonymous]

There’s an easy way to avoid mishaps at the car wash:
1. Put the shifter in Park and get out of the car.
2. Engage the driver’s seat belt.
3. Get back in and drive up to the car wash. (You will be sitting on the seat belt at this point).
4. Put the shifter in Park or Neutral as instructed by the car wash attendant.
5. Leave the fob in the car and and exit the vehicle. Tell the attendant to leave the seat belt engaged.
6. The engaged seat belt seems to disable the safety interlock with the door. So once the vehicle is placed in Neutral it stays there irrespective of what happens to the door.

I tested this extensively with my Bolt and it worked every time.

 

[bobpenn]

Great post! Thanks!

 

[Kingofgix]

Can Chevrolet verify that this seat belt approach will work?

 

[BillM]

I am glad to have found this thread. I agree that there should be some more overt means of setting car wash mode that is less like needing to know a hidden move in a video game. It is too easy to mess up the procedure if the owner doesn’t inform the wash attendant or the attendant is distracted from following the procedure.

I believe it would be a good idea to add an info pane that can, and probably should by default, appear on the home screen of the infotainment system. The pane should have a slider that allows setting car wash mode. It would be easy for both the owner and wash attendant to see what mode the car is in. For safety, the car wash mode could auto cancel after 15 minutes. Again, it would be easy to see the car has reset the mode.

 

[bolter]

I am glad to have found this thread. I agree that there should be some more overt means of setting car wash mode that is less like needing to know a hidden move in a video game. It is too easy to mess up the procedure if the owner doesn’t inform the wash attendant or the attendant is distracted from following the procedure.

I believe it would be a good idea to add an info pane that can, and probably should by default, appear on the home screen of the infotainment system. The pane should have a slider that allows setting car wash mode. It would be easy for both the owner and wash attendant to see what mode the car is in. For safety, the car wash mode could auto cancel after 15 minutes. Again, it would be easy to see the car has reset the mode.

Great idea that would cost essentially nothing to implement.

 

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what the 2019 Bolt "Car Wash Mode" reads? Here is my situation:

- I pull into the car wash vacuum stall in my 2017 Volt, turn it off and go inside the office to pay.
- Employee #1 vacuums my car, gets in, starts it up (no seat belt) and drives it to the staging area. He turns it off and exits the vehicle.
- Employee #2 gets in, starts it up (no seat belt), drives to the start of the tunnel, puts it in neutral, turns it off, and exits the vehicle.
- Car goes through the tunnel in neutral and turned off.
- At the end of the tunnel, employee #3 gets in the car, starts it up (no seat belt), drives it to the drying area, turns it off, and exits the vehicle.

Can a 2019 Bolt handle all that turning off and turning on without people having trouble? It's going to have to roll in neutral with the power off.