Motor full of frozen water / soap after carwash (-20C)

[leafz99]

Hi guys,

I've taken the leaf to many carwash before, but this is the first time happening : Somehow, a ton of water / soap infiltrated the motor / battery compartment. I am 100% sure that the hood was properly locked in place so i really don't understand how this happened. Both the trickle and quick charge ports were also covered in soap. Here are a few pictures of the mess :

http://imgur.com/a/e2YaF

What would be the best way to clean this? Wait till it melt in 2-3 months and properly clean everything..? What could i do in the future to prevent this happening?

Thank you..

 

[LeftieBiker]

First, avoid washing the car when it's that cold. As for dealing with it, if you can park the car in a heated structure for a few hours, that's the easy way. The hard way is to spray it with warm (not hot) water, directing the spray to avoid buildup. They sell multi-purpose sprayers for $25 or so in Home & Garden centers.

 

[RonDawg]

The hood of most every car out there is generally not water-tight (unlike doors, sunroof, and trunk/hatch) since water is able to splash up from below anyway. When using the high pressure jet of a self-serve car wash, or a "touchless" automated system, it's not difficult for water to get under the hood.

Heck, when using a touchless system, water was still able to get into the trunk of my Audi when I inadvertently shut the hatch lid on the handle of a reusable shopping bag, That thin piece of fabric being pinched in the weatherstrip was enough for the high pressure spray to penetrate it.

To avoid this, don't aim the high pressure jet at the edges of the hood, especially at an angle. Use a lower pressure setting, or better yet use a cloth or sponge to clean those areas after you wet them with the low pressure setting. Were you trying to clean off some particularly difficult to remove grime off the headlights?

If you don't have access to a heated garage, perhaps you might be able to use a portable hair dryer in the low setting to gently melt the ice. Don't let the surfaces get too hot though, just warm enough to loosen the ice. However, from your pic I don't see anything where you need to remove the ice right away, and unless it's something preventing needed access (such as the coolant reservoir cap) or a heavily ice-encrusted electrical connection I would just leave it alone.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

When I read "a ton" I imagined much worse than what the pics showed. Heck a warm cloth would clean that up. If I'm charging in a snowstorm I have to brush it out good before I unplug, and it's much fuller than your little bit of soap foam. But I sympathize with your annoyance. Assuming your hood and hatch alignments are good and the seals making contact, it's probably the high pressure spray as described above. Try a different car wash, on a warmer day.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Yes, once the pics finished loading (I have DSL) they were much less bad than I had pictured. A pitcher of warm water should take care of that.

 

[RegGuheert]

Yes, once the pics finished loading (I have DSL) they were much less bad than I had pictured.

When I read the thread title, I imagined the water INSIDE the motor had frozen (The word "carwash" was not visible in my browser.) Since the motor is water cooled, that certainly could happen if someone replaced the coolant with an incorrect ratio of water and coolant or did not run the pumps sufficiently to fully mix the antifreeze.

 

[powersurge]

I am not trying to sound insensitive, but... So some water and soap got on things in the engine compartment. It did not "infiltrate" the engine compartment. Piece of sound advice from at 40 year car owner, drive the car and don't even think about it.. Don't try to dry it, clean it, or wipe it. In a few days, it will all disappear.

Just for your information , water that sprays into the engine compartment does not hurt anything, it is actually normal. when you drive in heavy rain water gets in there without your knowledge anyway. ALSO, every year for 40 years, I spray my cars with engine soap and wash it all off with a strong hose!! That is considered as good maintenance.

A car lives its life outside, and is made to take anything the elements (or car washes) throw at it. The only thing to protect your car from is pot holes and driving it high standing water... Relax and enjoy your car.

 

[arnis]

No problem to wash the car at -20C. The trick is to find a place to melt the frozen water.
Motor compartment is not afraid of tap water. I'm pretty sure I'll wash it with pressure
washer once it gets really dirty. Just not salty water and in summer so it dries up fast.