hatch gets dirty within a day of washing the car

Hey Guys,

I noticed this the last few times I detailed the Leaf, but within a day of driving even only local distances (30 miles no highway) the hatch gets covered in a dark dust that easily wipes off but makes the car look dirty from behind. I have not noticed this buildup on other cars. Anyone else notice this with the Leaf? I assume this must be due to it's aerodynamic shape and it somehow collects grit from the road and air and deposits it onto the hatch.

Marko

LEAF leaves an impressive wake vortex depositing anything kicked up from the rear wheels onto the hatch. You should see ours after the drive up the two mile gravel road to the house in the dry months of summer. There is so much dust on the hatch you have to yell a warning "clear!" before closing it, lest innocent bystanders be enveloped in a cloud of dust.

Yup! It's a dirt magnet. No way around it. Have to hose it off all the time.

I assume this must be due to it's aerodynamic shape and it somehow collects grit from the road and air and deposits it onto the hatch.

Click to expand...

Make that "non-aerodynamic shape." What the Leaf has is "French styling" more than anything resulting in genuinely low drag.

If you just leave it alone for a good long while, it will look two-toned and then no need to wash it. Mine is a beautiful silver/dirt combo

haha. makes me wonder if adding a boat tail of some sort would alleviate this. the one i saw someone add to their leaf with clear plexi only deals with the air flow over the top and sides of the car though and if the dirt comes from the bottom it might have little effect.



Marko

~1.3 miles of dusty gravel road, every time I drive.

I keep a leaf blower in my carport during (~8 month's of) dry season...

Leaf blower :lol:

LEAF blower... I like that. You should see the inside of the 17" alloy wheels.. they turn into dust-packing centrifuges, and then when you finally come to a stop on some clean pavement, it dust cakes drop out the sides, like some sort of powdered LEAF droppings.

My station wagon did the same thing.