Woman Triggers Multiple Alarms Driving Mom's Car into Car Wash—Forgot to Disable Sensors

A woman driving her mother’s car into an automatic car wash was suddenly met with a cacophony of alarms, warning chimes, and beeping sounds. Video footage shows her appearing visibly anxious in the driver’s seat—constantly glancing around and even biting her nails—but ultimately taking no action. In the caption accompanying the video, she wrote: “You should really check how to disable the sensors before entering a car wash.” Modern vehicles are commonly equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), including cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors designed to monitor the surroundings and detect obstacles at low speeds. During a car wash, these systems can mistakenly trigger alerts when they sense wash equipment or water flow. Some vehicle models offer a “car wash mode” that temporarily disables features such as automatic emergency braking, parking sensors, or rain-sensing wipers. However, the location and activation method for this mode vary significantly across brands, models, and model years. Many cars allow drivers to temporarily deactivate certain alerts using a physical button—often marked with a “P” and a soundwave symbol—or through the infotainment system. Yet there is no universal switch to silence all warnings at once. Because the woman was driving an unfamiliar vehicle, she failed to promptly identify or operate the relevant controls, resulting in the persistent alarms.