Sometimes you simply don’t want to take the time to break out your buckets, sponges, and soap to give your beloved ride a scrubbing. That is, assuming you have that stuff in the first place. That’s why those oh-so-convenient drive-through or automatic car washes exist. But for one Tesla Cybertruck owner, a simple car wash turned into a headache when his truck went from fully functional to stone-dead. Worse yet, if you don’t use “Car Wash Mode” with your Tesla, you could end up in the same situation. 

Forgetting ‘Car Wash Mode’ can severely damage a Tesla, as this Cybertruck owner learned firsthand

A Tesla Cybertruck owner took their large, presumably dirty EV to an automatic car wash to knock off some grime and restore the shine. It was an automatic car wash, the sort of setup wherein a mechanical system moves the vehicle through the various stages of the car wash. At first, everything seemed fine. 

Then, the Cybertruck gave up the ghost. Suddenly and without warning, the Tesla truck’s dominating center screen stopped responding. The doors wouldn’t open. This monster Apocolypse-mobile had been bested by suds and water. It wasn’t going anywhere.

The frustrations continued when the owner reached out to Tesla Support for assistance. According to the video, the owner received an email from customer support and a link referring him to “Page 198” of the Cybertruck’s owner’s manual. The page stated that Cybertruck owners must activate “Car Wash Mode” before using an automatic car wash to prevent damage. 

One user responded with a cheeky “They should have sent him a bag of rice.” Funny as it sounds, it would take a whole lot of rice to immerse the electric behemoth. After all, it’s a 6,634-lb, 70-inch tall pickup truck. Not exactly a smartphone.

Another humorous comment conveyed utter disbelief, saying, “There is no way this is real.” Believe it or not, it’s a real concern. According to the Exterior Cleaning section of Tesla’s Cybertruck support page, “If taking Cybertruck to an automatic car wash is necessary, Car Wash Mode closes all windows, locks the charge port, and disables windshield wipers, Sentry Mode, and walk-away door locking.”

Tesla says Car Wash Mode “keeps your vehicle in Neutral and activates free roll for the duration of the wash, while preventing Cybertruck from applying the Parking brake if you leave the driver’s seat.” But the owner must activate the mode and place the vehicle in “Enable Free Roll” or shift into neutral.