Well I don't own a new Camry, but have had multiple Toyota hybrid cars and a Rav4 hybrid currently and live in upstate NY where they cover the roads with salt. My wife and I always wash the vehicles though out the winter at drive though car washes that do the under carriage wash and never had a problem. I couldn't imagine not washing the under side of my vehicle living here. That's interesting news to me!

 

I was just saw a post somewhere else that said you should not do undercarriage wash on a hybrid...

Given I'm in New England and lots of salt gets used on the road , that would not bode well long term for the car...

So I checked the 2025 Camry manual and it says:


So I guess that means I really should not take it through a Car Wash with an undercarriage wash?

If so what do others do who live in areas with a lot of snow and ice and salt to prevent frame rust?

I hope it keep this car a long time...

Thanks,
- Karen

Looking at how the manual describes car washes, I think they are to the manual car washes with the high pressure nozzles., not automatic car washes.

 

Only one of our full service car washes has an underbody option and you can choose high pressure or soaker. I've never used it since salt on our roads is never going to be an issue but if I did, I would go with the soaker mode because it is a hybrid. I can't be completely susceptible since people obviously drive their cars in heavy rain with running water on the roads which will throw a lot of water up to the undercarriage without damage.

 

So dirty semi frozen crap off the road hitting your undercarriage at 60 MPH is OK, but don'y dare to actually clean the crap off the bottom of your car.
I have a 2000PSI electric pressure washer bought at a garage sale for $20. I might be hesitant to blast off the paint if it was a cheap respray that might depart it's adhesion with the under layer, but it works fabulously to wash the car when the temps are cold. Ill continue to wash the undercarriage but the bottom of my car looks very close to brand new, even with 14 years and 202k miles. The bottom of my car looks like it never saw salt or any other corrosive that spent any time there.
Now putting it on a lift and hitting it with a 4000 PSI commercial pressure would be idiotic. I think the lawyers wrote this recommendation to indemnify the manufacturer from a suit.

 

I have not specifically researched the Camry, but Toyota is starting to put Hybrid traction batteries under the rear seat but outside the interior floor pan. HIGH pressure washing could possibly damage some of the high voltage components & seals. They also specifically say to not pressure wash any rubber seals.

 

My wife and I owned a 2007 Camry for fifteen years and 180,000 miles and had no problems with car washes. In the midwest, underbody pressure sprays are a must to prevent rust and to get all of the salt and crud off the bottom of the car in winter.

 

My wife and I owned a 2007 Camry for fifteen years and 180,000 miles and had no problems with car washes.

Was it a hybrid? I just googled it, and that was the year the first Camry hybrid was introduced.

- Karen

 

Hybrids don't have issues with car washes, it's EVs that have to be put in a special mode for drive through car washes. It has something to do with the electric motors since there is no transmission to put in neutral.

 

Living here in southern New England with all the snow and slush, been washing the undercarriage of our prius since 2010. These cars are meant to drive in all that crap, no? How would hosing the chassis off of salt be any worse?

 

Living here in southern New England with all the snow and slush, been washing the undercarriage of our prius since 2012. These cars are meant to drive in all that crap, no? How would hosing the chassis off of salt be any worse?

Hosing off is probably OK. High pressure washing is not.

 

Dec 28 and it's gonna be 52F here today in Southern Michigan. I'll wash the Reservoir Blue Boat in my driveway, with a reverse osmosis rinse.

 

What do you use to get the RO rinse? We have some of the hardest water in the nation (450ppm) and it's hard to dry the car fast enough to avoid spotting. An RO rinse would do it, just not sure about the equipment needed.

 

My well-water is hard too, but not sure it's as hard as yours. What I do is fill a 5-gallon bucket with RO water from the tap on my kitchen sink. I wash the car in sections. I wash the roof and hood first, then rinse with hose, and then I dip a 20-ounce plastic tumbler into the RO bucket and pour it over the roof and hood to wash off the hard water. Then I wash and rinse one side of the car, and then pour on the RO water again, etc. 5 gallons is enough to wash off the whole car. The water to my house and outdoor spigots already goes though a giant iron filter, so iron is removed for the car wash. I can also turn a few levers in my basement that will allow softened water to go to my outdoor spigots, but even then I get mineral spots on the car without the RO rinse- probably because the hose is already filled with minerals. In the summer I just don't do it in direct sun, and I have to work a little quicker. Maybe there's another way to apply the RO water with some kind of pump and hose, but it works pretty good just pouring it on with the tumbler.
Sometimes I get some mineral spots here and there if I don't get the RO water distributed evenly, but it gets most of it. Not perfect, but saves me $8 a pop for an auto car wash.

 

Unfortunately the way my water softener is plumped, it only service's certain indoor areas like the sink, toilets, bath, and showers, and not the outdoor faucets. I'll get better results letting the rain wash the top side of my vehicles while using our well water to hose under the chassis. It's another big reason I had a professional ceramic coating done. Less to no need to ever wash, and wax my truck.

 

Yeah, sounds like you have a good system for your situation.

 

Trucks been getting a good rinse today, been pouring rain all morning.

 

Speaking of rain - I drove this morning for a few hours in the rain at highway speeds. Noticed water coming up from wheels banging up against the metal. Might try some mud/rain flaps. You like that Taco? Never had one, but had a Nissan Frontier in the late 90s, early 2000s that went 254,000 miles on the original clutch

 

My 2019 tacoma had already come with mud flaps, just like my gen1 tacoma did. I think being in connecticut makes mud flaps mandatory for vehicles. It certainly helps prevent paint chips.

 

You are correct, 6.1 page 385 says, Do not wash the underside of the vehicle using a high pressure car washer

 

What’s the concern?

 

A pressure washer I can see, but I can't see any issues with a garden hose. I would think if you drove in the rain at highway speeds you'd create more of a spray abrasion to the chassis.