Car Wash

A Rancher pick-up truck being cleaned in a car wash...		...and a Manana convertible being cleaned manually.

The Car Wash is a business featured in many Grand Theft Auto games that lets the player take any passenger car, light truck or SUV to this facility to remove dirt, grime and the occasional blood.

Car washes are only functional in Grand Theft Auto IV, Episodes From Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.

Description

Other GTA games

Car washes are found all over the map in previous Grand Theft Auto games, although the player cannot interact with them in any way as they are considered static objects. The player may still drive through the car wash and they also are often attached to a gas station. When accumulated dirt was introduced on vehicles in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, car washes were believed to be featured, but the feature was never included in the final version of the game, though during the car chase sequence of Reuniting the Families, a car wash sprays soap onto the Greenwood driven by Carl, Sweet, Ryder, and Big Smoke as the chase leads through it, much to the chagrin of Carl.

Grand Theft Auto IV and Episodes from Liberty City

Available immediately after the beginning of the games, car washes are interactive in Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes, though they are first introduced to the player during the mission Clean Getaway. In most cars and while not wanted by the police, the player can pull up to a marker behind the car wash to trigger a cutscene. In the scene, the player pushes a button on the control panel, opening the entry gate. The player then drives in and stops, allowing several brush strokes and water sprayers to clean up the car. Once the car is shiny, still in the cutscene, the exit gate opens and the player drives out in a view that shows off the new cleanliness of the car. The cutscene ends and the player will assume control and may now drive the car. If the player drives to it with a car with an open top (i.e. Feltzer or Peyote), a different cutscene plays where the player remains in the entrance while a random NPC starts to clean the car's right fender manually. Once the short cutscene ends, the player appears in the opposite side of the car wash, in the same case as the normal scenario.

Taxis (excluding Roman's Taxi) get a discount wash at $3 instead of the usual $5, except the car wash in Tudor. Large trucks and vans such as the Boxville, emergency and law enforcement vehicles, limousines, helicopters, motorcycles and boats are restricted from the car wash. The Super Drop Diamond is also restricted from the car wash. The car wash is, however, long enough to allow cars like the Cognoscenti, the Romero and the Stretch E with no apparent trouble.

Except for the one mission, there appears to be no apparent game-related benefit to using a car wash, other than making a vehicle look nicer for the player's enjoyment.

Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online

There are two interactive car washes in Grand Theft Auto V, located in Strawberry and Little Seoul, Los Santos, even though the player doesn't need to use them to get a car cleaned. Vehicles can be taken to Los Santos Customs to be "repaired" clean. The car wash on Innocence Boulevard is based on Lennox Car Wash in Lennox, California, with some elements being based on Mission Car Wash in San Fernando, California. If the player's game is linked with a Rockstar Games Social Club account, an icon for using the car wash can be unlocked at least once.

Locations

GTA Vice City & GTA San Andreas

Ocean Beach, at the Going station (GTA Vice City).

Idlewood, Los Santos, at the Going station (GTA San Andreas).

East Los Santos, northeast of Cluckin' Bell (GTA San Andreas).

South Mulholland, Los Santos, behind the Quite Humorous Comedy Club (GTA San Andreas). The Mulholland car wash was previously more detailed during development than its final form.

Soapys Car Wash, Roca Escalante, Las Venturas (GTA San Andreas).

Grand Theft Auto IV and Episodes from Liberty City

Tutelo Avenue, Beechwood City, northern Broker.

Saratoga Avenue, Willis, southern Dukes.

Hell Gate, Purgatory, western Algonquin.

Big Horn Drive, Westdyke, north Alderney.

Tinderbox Avenue, Tudor, south Alderney.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Tutelo Avenue, Beechwood City, northern Broker.

Saratoga Avenue, Willis, southern Dukes.

Hell Gate, Purgatory, western Algonquin.

Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online

Innocence Boulevard, Strawberry, Los Santos.

Lindsay Circus, Little Seoul, Los Santos.

Trivia

Grand Theft Auto IV

• Occasionally, if the player skips the wash sequence cutscene, the vehicle's passenger side door will open, likely a game bug. Some others will have the same bug, but for both front doors.
• For some reason, the in-game message will state that they have to pay $5 for cleaning the Merit-based Taxi, instead of the usual $3 for the other taxis. However, after cleaning up the car, only $3 dollars are paid. This is likely a minor oversight.
• Despite the apparent restriction to van-style vehicles, the Gang Burrito and the Slamvan (both from The Lost and Damned) are still allowed to use the car wash as normal.

Grand Theft Auto V

• There is a loading screen tip in Grand Theft Auto V, stating people will look down upon you unless you get car washes regularly. However, this is not evident in-game.

Grand Theft Auto Online

• There is a glitch in Grand Theft Auto Online, where if a player blows up a car in the wash while there is a player in the car being washed, the player in the car would freeze in the car and become invincible, but after a while they will be kicked for being idle.