Yes — but which kind of car wash you choose, and whether you turn on the right setting first, decides whether you end up with a clean car or a damaged one.
Touchless only, and only with Car Wash Mode on
Tesla’s own owner’s manuals are direct about this: use touchless automatic car washes only — the kind that clean with high-pressure water and soap and have no brushes or cloth strips that physically touch the car. Brush-style washes can scratch the paint and, on a Tesla specifically, can damage exterior sensors, cameras, and door handles that sit flush with the body.
Before you pull in, open Controls on the touchscreen and turn on Car Wash Mode. It closes all the windows, locks the charge port door, and turns off the windshield wipers, Sentry Mode, walk-away door locking, and the parking sensor chimes — all things that could otherwise trigger mid-wash and either damage the car or get in the equipment’s way. If you’re going through an automatic tunnel wash where the car needs to roll along a conveyor, Car Wash Mode also has an Enable Free Roll option that puts the car in Neutral for the length of the wash so it doesn’t try to auto-park or apply the brake when no one’s in the driver’s seat.
What to check before you go
Make sure the wipers are fully off and resting flat — a wash that catches a wiper mid-motion can bend or snap the arm. The manual also warns against touching anything on the screen that could pop open a door, trunk, or frunk while you’re inside the wash tunnel. Skipping Car Wash Mode isn’t just risky, it’s costly: Tesla states that damage caused by a car wash isn’t covered under warranty, so the few seconds it takes to turn the mode on before you pull in is cheap insurance.
Hand washing and home washing
A hand wash at home or a full-service hand wash bay doesn’t need Car Wash Mode in the same way, since there’s no equipment brushing against the car and no conveyor to worry about, though it’s still worth locking the charge port and being mindful of any exposed sensors. If you’d rather not deal with any of this, a touchless wash with Car Wash Mode enabled remains the simplest way to keep a Tesla clean without a service visit.
Photo by El Jundi.