Will a Car Wash Damage My Radio Antenna?

Automated car washes have a poor reputation for damaging the flimsy or exposed components on your vehicle. Mirrors, the antenna, your paint job, and your wheels are particularly susceptible. Your antenna is one of the most vulnerable exterior parts due to its design and its placement. It is very possible depending on the car wash you are using and the design of your vehicle to have your antenna or other exterior components damaged.

Any vehicles that stand wider or taller tend to position their antennas in places that make them an easy target at a car wash. Large spinning brushes and long heavy sponges are used to try and remove most of the dirt and grime from your vehicle. These automated tools are preprogrammed to move in and out, and up and down according to the size of your vehicle. It is a very generic setting that may or may not be a good fit for your particular model. When the brushes push against the side of your vehicle, your antenna can be bent, snapped, twisted, or pulled off.

While your vehicle’s antenna is designed to bend in the wind and when met with small tree branches and other obstacles that may end up in its path, it has its limits. The thin metal that makes up the straw-like component is designed to bend and will bend until it snaps without much force.  The weight of the brushes and sponges in the car wash alone are heavy enough to snap the antenna without the machine pressing against it. Due to how inexpensively antennas are made, the only option you have is to replace it once damaged.

Who’s Responsible for the Damages?

Once you pay for an automatic car wash, you are agreeing to the terms of use, and have agreed to not hold the car wash or its affiliates responsible for any damages the machinery inside of it may cause to your vehicle. In other words, you are solely responsible for any damages that occur to your vehicle while it’s in the car wash. Some automated car washes recommend that you disconnect the antenna before entering in order to keep it from being bent or snapped. However, there is another option.

Use a Mobile Car Wash

Skip the drama and hassle of dealing with automatic car washes and the potential they have to damage your vehicle. When you are not guaranteed a perfectly clean exterior afterward, why would you want to risk any damage to your car? The convenient, fast, and practical option is to opt for a mobile car washing service.

NuWash mobile car wash offers a wide selection of personalized services to make sure you get exactly what you want out of your next car wash. The mobile service also allows you to completely skip the car wash and have it done while you work or play. Save yourself time, stress, and money repairing parts that weren’t broken when you started. With a professional technician from NuWash performing your services, you can rest assured no antennas will be harmed in the process.