wolf

I went through an automatic car wash last evening. It was one of the older auto "touchless" washes that is at many Exxon stations. This one has a door that opens when you drive in, and closes after you are in. While we were in the wash (which is about a 6 minute cycle) I noticed the Mercedes CLS that had just gone through was sitting on the other side of the "closed" exit door. I assumed they were simply drying off their car after having just gotten out of the wash. After a few minutes they drove off. When my wash finished I drove out slowly to let the blowers dry my car. The wash door "closed" after me. As it is clear, I could see the next car was now in the wash. The exit from the was was a short inclined hill.

It is below freezing here in the North East. So, there was a sheet of ice on the exit run. Even though I have my blizzacks, I couldn't make it up the hill. My wheels were spinning and I knew I had about 5 minutes before the next car would be out.... At that point I realized why the CLS had been there so long....He had been stuck too.

WIth my daughter in the car seat in the back, I couldn't really go too far for help. I hopped out of the car to see if anyone was around. The CLS guy was parked and told me he had backed his car all the way to the door and then pulled to the right. I took his advice and after a few tries got out. It was looking ugly there for a few moments!

bha7176

Damn, that sucks. I went through an auto wash yesterday with the wife's 325XI - no incline on exit though and we made it out fine. I have gotten my 550 stuck in my driveway once before though, just trying to back it out of the garage last winter for a little drive to exercise her mid-cold season. I ended up getting out of the garage, then stuck, then it kept shifting to the left, into the grass and a big mound of snow from my driveway. I had to keep shoveling on the left side into the snow bank. Took me about three hours to get it unstuck - at which point I immediately parked it back in the garage until spring! The point was to run the car for some 'exercise', ended up I got my exercise for the week - I was worn out, sweaty, and basically beat after that episode.

inktoxicated

lol sounds like a stupid washing design. how can cars just be pushed out if theres another one in the way

mark_hk

Hmm...i dunno...id never take my car into those car washes...

End up damaging the paint work! Hand wash is so much better....

healthservices

I would never do it either but then again I dunno if there is a choice out in areas where the weather can get so cold.

melimel

oye, thats scary... I hate car washes in the winter, unfortunately sometimes we have no choice. Our cars literally get so dirty and covered in salt and snow and dirt from the roads, that a car wash in frigid temps are necessary. I go to the hand wash(i dont know how they do it honestly) and then i go home and stick her in the garage. I wipe her down again (just because) and let her dry in slight warmth.
When I was young my mustang used to get washed, then the handles would freeze shut, so I had to drive her around for a while, lol. One time I had to use a blowdryer to open the handles one morning! lol

nomis_nehc

Do those people wear gloves?

I actually washed my car a few weekends ago when it was pretty cold here (can't compare to East Coast of course), and I wore disposable gloves. It helped quite a bit surprisingly.

mark_hk

Yeah I guess it doesnt get as cold here in Hong Kong...

Tropical weather and all...