Maintenance And Care; Cleaning And Protecting The Vehicle's Exterior - Toyota PRIUS 2008 Manual

4-1. Maintenance and care

Cleaning and protecting the vehicle's exterior

Perform the following to protect the vehicle and maintain it in prime
condition.
● Working from top to bottom, liberally apply water to the vehicle
body, wheel wells and underside of the vehicle to remove any
dirt and dust.
Wash the vehicle body using a sponge or soft cloth, such as a cham-
ois.
● For hard-to-remove marks, use car wash soap and rinse thor-
oughly with water.
● Wipe away any water.
● Wax the vehicle when the waterproof coating deteriorates.
If water does not bead on a clean surface, apply wax when
the vehicle body is cool.
■
Automatic car washes
Fold the mirrors back before washing the vehicle.
●
Brushes used in automatic car washes may scratch the vehicle surface
●
and 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 windows. Before entering an automatic car wash, check that the fuel filler
door is closed.
■
Aluminum 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 paint.
■
Bumpers and side moldings
Do not scrub with abrasive cleaners.
346
PRIUS_U_(L/O_0802)