Future Ford Vehicles Could Get Automatic Car Wash System

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for an automatic car wash system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.

The patent was filed on November 1^st, 2023, published on May 1^st, 2025, and assigned serial number 0136063.

The Ford Authority Take

This past September, Ford published a patent for a car wash communication system that aims to give automatic car wash users that sort of power via a system that would be capable of communicating directly with the automatic car wash itself. The car wash would know to focus extra attention on specific areas based on input from the driver, as well as the type of detergent it would use and the amount of water needed. Now, this newly published patent gives us another, similar idea for an automatic car wash system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.

In this case, Ford is proposing a system that would make it far more convenient to use automatic car washes by shutting off various features that we tend to do manually at the moment. That includes actions such as turning off the automatic windshield wipers, folding in the side mirrors, and putting the vehicle in neutral, among others. The system would be able to automatically detect when a vehicle is heading into a car wash and do these things without the need for user input, making it a potentially convenient option for those that frequent those types of things – if it does indeed come to fruition, at least.

“Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” Ford said in a statement. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans. No matter what the patent application outlines, we will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”