7-94 Vehicle care and maintenance
7
During cold weather Salt and other chemicals spread on winter roads in some geo-
graphical areas can have a detrimental effect on the vehicle
underbody. You should flush the underbody with a high pres-
sure hose every time you wash the outside of your vehicle.
Take special care to remove mud or other debris which could
trap and hold salt and moisture.
After washing your vehicle, wipe off all waterdrops from the
rubber parts around the doors to prevent the doors from freez-
ing.
CAUTION
!When washing the underside of your vehicle or the
wheels, wear a pair of gloves to protect your hands.If your vehicle has rain sensor wipers, place the
wiper switch lever in the “OFF” position to deacti-
vate the rain sensor before washing the vehicle. Oth-
erwise, the wipers will operate in the presence of
water spray on the windshield and may get damaged
as a result.Never spray or splash water on the electrical parts
in the engine compartment. This may damage them.
Be careful also when washing the underbody. Do not
spray water into the engine compartment.Avoid automatic car washers that use rotating
brushes. These brushes may scratch the paint sur-
face and make it dull.
Scratches are more noticeable on darker colored
vehicles.Some hot water washing equipment uses high pres-
sure and heat to clean your vehicle. This heated
water may damage your vehicle’s resin parts. It can
flood the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, be sure
of the following:
• Keep the washing nozzle at least 20 inches (50 cm)
away from the vehicle body.
• When washing around the door glass, hold the
nozzle at a distance of more than 20 inches (50 cm)
and at right angles to the glass surface.
When using high-pressure water to wash a vehicle
equipped with the F.A.S.T.-key system, keep the
water from spraying on the open button on the rear
hatch. This could cause the rear hatch to open and
flood the inside of the rear hatch. Make sure to do the following when using an auto-
matic car wash, with help from either this manual or
the car wash operator, to avoid damaging your vehi-
cle:
• Fold the outside rear-view mirrors.
• Put down (except for vehicles equipped with SIR-
IUS satellite radio antenna only) or remove the
antenna.
• If your vehicle is equipped with rear spoiler, check
with the car wash operator before using the car
wash.
• If your vehicle has rain sensor wipers, place the
wiper switch lever in the “OFF” position to deacti-
vate the rain sensor.CAUTION
!
BK0151000US.book 94 ページ ２０１２年３月２９日 木曜日 午後６時８分
