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4-1. Maintenance and care
Cleaning and protecting the vehicle exterior
■Automatic car washes
●Fold the mirrors back before washing the vehicle.
●Brushes used in automatic car washes may scratch the vehicle surface, which
can harm your vehicle’s paint.
■High pressure automatic car washes
Do not allow the nozzles of the car wash to come within close proximity of the win-
dows or door weather seals of your vehicle.
Before entering the automatic car wash, check that the fuel filler door on your vehi -
cle is closed properly.
Follow these guidelines when washing and waxing your Lexus:
●Working from top to bottom, libera lly apply water to the vehicle body,
wheel wells and underside of the vehi cle to remove any built up dirt
and dust.
Wash the vehicle body using a sponge or sof
t cloth, such as a chamois.
●For hard-to-remove dirts, use car wash soap and rinse thoroughly with
water.
●Thoroughly dry your vehicle.
●Apply polish or wax only when the vehicle body is cool.
Wax or polish your vehicle when the e
xisting coating of wax or polish
begin to deteriorate. A good way to determine this, is by checking to
see if water beads on the painted surfac e of your vehicle. If it does not
bead, that means the wax or polish is no longer protecting the finish,
and therefore should be reapplied.
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4-1. Maintenance and care
4
Maintenance and care
■To prevent paint deterioration and corrosion on the body
●Wash the car immediately in the following cases:
• After driving near the sea coast.
• After driving on salted roads.
• If you see coal tar or tree sap on the paint surface
• If you see dead insects or in sect dr
oppings on the paint
• After driving in an area contaminated with soot, oily smoke, mine dust, iron po
wder or chemical substances.
• If the vehicle becomes heavily soiled in dust or mud
• If liquids such as benzene and gasoline are spilled on the paint surface
●If the paint is chipped or scratched, have it repaired immediately
■Wheels
Remove any dirt immediately by using a neutral detergent. Do not use hard brushes
or
abrasive cleaners. Do not use strong or harsh chemical cleaners. Use the same
mild detergent and wax as used on the point.
■Plastic bumpers and side moldings
Do not scrub with abrasive cleaners.
■Windshield and front door glass water-repellent coating
The following precautions can extend the e
ffectiveness of the water-repellent coat-
ing.
• Remove any dirt, etc. from the windshield regularly.
• Do not allow dirt and dust to accumulate on the windows for a long period. Clean the
windows with a soft, damp cloth as soon as possible.
• Do not use wax or glass cleaners that cont
ain abrasires when cleaning the win-
dows.
• Do not use any metallic objects to remove condensation build up.
