I’m curious if it’s safe to take this through a car wash without harming my paint. It has the Auto Armor protector coat on the outside, but I’m unsure if that makes a difference.
Only use touchless washes.
Hyundai has really poor paint quality control, and their warranty rarely pays out because they always say it’s due to stone chips. Hand wash it using the two bucket method. If you don’t have stone chips and want to take a risk, a touchless wash could work. Speaking from experience with Hyundai warranties.
@Braint
THE PAINT QUALITY IS TERRIBLE! I just bought a 24 Kona but took it back because it had spots. They first said it was sap, and I told them I don’t park under trees. After I washed it, they said it was just dust in the paint.
@Leeland
It’s crazy. In my warranty claim for the i30N, I showed 15 other cars with the same issue from the clear coat peeling. Only one of us got it fixed under warranty. The N cars come in a nice pale blue, but on the i30N forums, it’s known as Paint Peel Blue because it’s so common. A tiny chip leads to the clear coat peeling off in a large circle around it. Body shops think the factory paint is just a bad re-spray; it’s that bad. People often ask what the first modifications should be, and it’s always a GPF delete and front PPF film.
@Braint
In my 23 Elantra N Line, the bumper started peeling. They said they would cover it, but there were never any appointments available.
If it has that shark fin, you really need to be careful because it gets damaged in every car wash.
Beatrix said:
If it has that shark fin, you really need to be careful because it gets damaged in every car wash.
My shark fin fell off while I was driving, and I always hand wash my Kona. It cost me almost 700 to replace it. I threw a fit and contacted Hyundai’s home office and the secondary warranty people. By the way, that warranty is a rip-off. I paid over 2500 when I bought my car in 2020, and all they said was that Hyundai should pay. Hyundai thought I damaged it myself, so no coverage under its 5-year warranty. That hurt.
AccentAddict said:
No, you will die.
It’s also illegal.
No way. Stick to touchless or hand wash. NEVER take it through a car wash tunnel with brushes.
Austin said:
No way. Stick to touchless or hand wash. NEVER take it through a car wash tunnel with brushes.
I’ve taken my 23 Tucson through a brush car wash weekly, sometimes several times a week, with no problems so far.
@Masitsa
Wait until you see all the swirls on your paint in the sunlight.
Austin said:
@Masitsa
Wait until you see all the swirls on your paint in the sunlight.
It’s not a show car. I honestly don’t care about paint swirls.
Austin said:
@Masitsa
Wait until you see all the swirls on your paint in the sunlight.
It’s not a show car. I honestly don’t care about paint swirls.
It damages the clear coat.
@Austin
I’ve used touch car washes for nearly 30 years and have never had serious problems. I’ll be fine.
Austin said:
No way. Stick to touchless or hand wash. NEVER take it through a car wash tunnel with brushes.
Thanks! I used a touchless wash and dried it with a microfiber cloth. It came out clean.
It’ll leave swirl marks.
(Update) I went to a touchless car wash and dried it with a microfiber cloth. It looks as good as new.
Henry_Taylor said:
(Update) I went to a touchless car wash and dried it with a microfiber cloth. It looks as good as new.
Be careful drying with a microfiber cloth. Avoid circular motions on the paint and use a clean cloth. Dust, dirt, and debris can leave scratches on the paint, which look bad in light and reflections.
@Puck
I was super careful, and not a single spot showed.