@Drew1964 You probably should watch this video before taking a brand spanking new vehicle through an automatic car wash:

 

I meant in general with respect to eye sight. I’m not running out to get my new car washed. I only wash mine after a lot in winter to get salt off from roads.

 

With respect to your specific question (and totally aside from the "irreconcilable differences" debate about how to wash a car), I had the same question with my 2017 Forester the very first time I wanted to take it to my local normal rotating brushes (not brushless) automatic car wash, that I've always used with my other vehicles (and like you said, only once in a blue moon).

In my 2017 Eyesight manual on page 23 it shows the Pre-Collision Braking System OFF switch in the console area above the mirror. Page 29 shows a picture of the vehicle going through a rotating brushes car wash with a ! CAUTION notice that explains why you should turn it off ... "Otherwise the Pre-Collision Braking System may activate unexpectedly."

 

Never do an auto car wash imo.

So much risk so little reward

 

There are other type of car washes that do not touch the car. Touch less they even wash the under carriage as you pull in. Drying by air.

 

:thumbsup:Some great advice, right there. From hoshie and Scotty...

 

The problem is that if you don't shut off Eyesight, the car might decide to apply the brakes if it detects an oncoming object, like a brush or stream of water, while you are in the carwash. :surprise:

 

Just turn the car off; so easy, so simple.

GD

 

So then Yes IF I go to a auto car wash I would have to turn off the eye sight. That’s all I wanted answered. Not if I should or shouldn’t go to one. I’ve taken my car to my car wash for years. It’s automatic. I don’t have a garage so car always parked outside anyway. When I need a quick clean up after a winter storm I go there.

 

EyeSight and Car Wash

I have taken my 2017 Forester with EyeSight through a brushless carwash about once a month since new. At this particular carwash, you stay in the car as it goes through the wash. At first, I turned off the EyeSight system before entering. Then one time I forgot to do it, and nothing happened. This carwash instructs you to keep the car running, in neutral, with your foot off the brake as you go through the wash. Don't know if having it in neutral makes any difference, but since that time I forgot to turn off the system, I have continued taking it though with the EyeSight system turned on without any incident.

 

I think 5 hour Energy Drinks should sponsor Scotty.

 

Yes I started looking at the manuals online. Like 200 pages just for eyesight. I’ll turn off the system when it’s time to wash it. No big deal. Will just have to get use to all this new technology for me. Have until April to read up on it. Thanks.

 

I think it is an interesting question - will the pre-collision braking engage if the car is in neutral? Most automated car washes around me have you pull in, then place the car in neutral. The tracks in the floor then "pull" you through the wash. The manual states "when using a drive-through car wash". I am not sure the ones that pull you through would be considered "drive-through".

 

I think it would as you are (car) is moving in neutral the brakes may be applied. I’ve been to both the one that moves the car and the other where car is in a stall where the sign says shut car off and the machine is U shape travels fore and aft relative to the car. I turn it off.

 

For 2019 Forester , see Eyesight manual pages 30( pull through car wash warning) and 22( location of Precollision deactivation button above mirror). Manual specially says TO deactivate system for this type carwash.

 

I've recently went through a automatic car wash where you put the car in neutral on a track and it pulls you through. I didn't turn anything off and it went through w/o any issues.

 

To answer the initial question, speaking from the salesman side of things....you can absolutely leave Eyesight on without incident in an automatic car wash. It won't hurt anything and does nothing more than beep a few times letting you know that an "Obstacle has been detected."

It's not going to randomly slam on the brakes or hurt anything electronically or mechanically.

More of a sanity check feature than anything...(in regards to the brief beeping.)

 

FWIW in my extended family we have a 13OB, 14 OB, 15 Xtrek, 17Foz, 18 OB all with eyesight. As everyone else seems to live happily with dirt I have probably taken them thru the wash more than anyone else.(Plus I think the kids think why pay for anything, if you drive a dirty car home, dad will inevitably take it to the carwash - and gas up!) I never turn Eyesight off. I have once had the eyesight system activate and it did try abruptly brake transiently which was a very startling experience. As that was in the carwash I use the most, its seems its not particular to a type of car wash. It happened with the 18 OB, maybe they changed something in the eyesight compared to other years.

 

I have a 2019 Touring. Only been through an automated car wash with it once.

I didn’t disable Eyesight or do anything other than place the car in neutral, and the car wash track assembly conveyer moved the car through the car wash without any issues. To be honest, I didn’t notice to see if Eyesight automatically disabled itself or not, but I don’t think it did.

 

Car Wash & Eyesite

Never gave it a thought and never a problem. (It would have been in the manual I think, if it was something special.)

Once, pulling in towards a 6' high stone wall to park, eyesight kicked in and the brakes went "Bang", and stopped the car's forward motion extremely quickly and forcefully, I thought my teeth would fall out ! I drive much, much slower into those parking spaces. It has not repeated. I don't want it to repeat.

I got worried about a steering problem, on the highway. Turned out that I unconsciously initialized lane control. Of course it ended when I saw the switch on the steering wheel. It frightened me for a while.

The car is fine, I had to learn to leave it alone and just drive it. I do like the rear radar, seems to notice pedestrians, and cars when they are 50 feet away and give out a signal.

I likely will have the dealer install an automatic center rear mirror, night driving is more annoying than ever and ˆ want to pay attention to the road ahead.

 

I always turn the automatic braking off. It's recommended in the manual, it takes two seconds to activate/deactivate. At least one poster mentioned that the system activated on him in the car wash. Why risk it?

 

Concierge dude at the dealer made a super big point to warn me about this. In the brushless ones where the car just sits and the sprinkle thingy moves around it, there is obviously no problem. But in a moving system where the car goes through, if Eyesight thinks an approaching brush (or even a dude with a wand) is a hazard, it'll slam on the brakes. If you're in the car, you can just switch it off and continue, but if the car is unoccupied and it does this in the middle of a wash line on a busy day, you could have problems. Just turn it off.

 

It can trigger in a car wash. Been there, done that. I now disable it.

 

Just to add to the debate, I'll just reference the thing (a link to a post from another older thread) that caused me to decide that I wanted to find out where the PreCollision OFF switch was, before I took my new 2017 to my local automatic car wash for the very first time. My local automatic car wash = drive onto chain, stay in car, leave car running but put car in neutral and then get pulled through tunnel into rotating brushes).

https://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f281/forester-w-eyesight-through-automatic-car-wash-772553/#post7360026

Your mileage may vary, but the odd time I take mine for an automatic wash, I plan to keep turning it OFF.

PS: By the way JumpingJackFlash was the person that posted the thread I referenced above from an older forum post.:laugh::laugh:

 

Both the dealer and manual say turn controls off. Not something I want to test. Gotta love technology

 

You also may want to cover the eyesight camera housings with a bit of tape (the blue painter tape works well and comes right off). That way, if the car wash attendant sprays the inside of the windshield when cleaning the interior, the cameras don't get sprayed.

I've done this a few times and it works well.

 

Painter's tape over cameras worked fine



I've had my 2019 Touring model for almost nine months without a wash so I read everything on this forum about car washes and Eyesight and had it washed today with no problem ... but first I used painter's tape to tape over the Eyesight cameras (thanks for that suggestion, jfm) and then shut off Eyesight. No problems. I do hand wash my Corvette Stingray but, as someone said, the Forester is a Subaru so I'm happy to take advantage of the convenience of a car wash.

 

Good question though!

I'm waiting for my Forester to come in, but I had wondered the same thing.