Went through carwash while in park?!?!

monto · #1 03-22-2012, 09:16 PM

I can't believe I have to post this and I am more than pissed off at myself. Of all days something had to happen at the exact moment my 2008 3.0si hit 100,000 miles. It was complete coincidence that I pulled into the gas station at exactly 100k miles and thought I would honor the achievement by running it through the wash; I even spent the extra $2.50 for wheel cleaner. It's a conveyor car wash where the left wheels are pushed along by the rolling stopper which in turn spins the right side. I didn't notice until half way through, approx. 50 feet, that the gear lever was in park. I quickly pressed the break pedal which stopped the car, the rolling stopper subsequently just rolled under the rear tire and put it in neutral. Prior to noticing I was in park there was no awkward motion or jerkiness that one might intuitively expect. The car seemed to pull out of the wash fine and I immediately stopped to do a walk around and switch in and out of park and drive a few times; nothing out of the ordinary. After cursing myself in my car for the next few minutes I drove the 5 miles home, which included about 4 miles on the highway and didn't experience anything unusual. Should I be worried or take the car to be looked at? Is there an explanation or fail safe mechanism that prevents anything negative happening?

Thanks for reading and for any info you can share.

Cheers,
monto

monto · #2 03-22-2012, 09:24 PM

The warning light was on since I was on fumes ;-)

jeremym · #3 03-22-2012, 10:58 PM

Depends. Do you have monster truck tires and/or desert tires on or just regular RFT's or equivalent? Obviously you NEVER want to do that, as it can put unneeded stress on the drive line and/or transmission. However, the slots the wheels go into in those car washes were probably so loaded up with soap and water, you just slipped right along the entire time.

I do not claim to be an expert, but I can't imagine much damage (if any) was done.

And holy crap! 100k miles on a 2008? I am about to hit 49k on my 2007 and every time I get in to drive, I pray to the God I don't believe in that nothing breaks.

monto · #4 03-23-2012, 08:43 AM

I think you're right. I have regular all season tires and as a result of getting the tire shine all 4 wheels were thoroughly sprayed down which probably helped them slide along. It probably also helped that the tires tread is nearing the bars as they have 55,000 miles on them.

I've slowed down the pace of the mileage in the last 6 months but it only took my 3 years and 4 months to get to 100,000.

Thanks for your reply,
monto

blue dragon · #5 03-23-2012, 09:03 AM

wow! 100k!<shocked>
What problems did you run into post warranty?

monto · #6 03-23-2012, 09:09 AM

I had to have the transmission replaced at 95,000 miles. Thankfully my dealer paid half out of good will and I now have a new transmission with 2 year unlimited mile warranty. Nothing major other than that.

blue dragon · #7 03-23-2012, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monto

I had to have the transmission replaced at 95,000 miles. Thankfully my dealer paid half out of good will and I now have a new transmission with 2 year unlimited mile warranty. Nothing major other than that.

Thats not good! Thats definitely a major failure.