Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this, I am out of town and pollen is getting crazy. My wife is home alone and wondering if she can take it to car wash.
taking LX with retractable antenna to car wash??
- Thread starter Ryan Carroll
- Start date
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Either turn off the radio or use the antenna switch to lower it prior to going through. I made the mistake of going through a car wash and forgetting to lower the antenna and now I have a useless metal boomarang that doesnt retract. You live and you learn I suppose.
Remember if you reinstall a broken antenna, the FSM (at least for an '01) instructions are backwards v. how the antenna should be installed.
You might also tell
to fold the outside mirrors in before entering. 
You might also tell
to fold the outside mirrors in before entering. 
As long as the gear strap didn't break off inside the motor it's not hard to fix. Unscrew the top ring, let the motor run up and before it hits the stop, pull firm up on the antenna and it should feed it out for removal.
Installation similar to removal, let the antenna motor run down, and insert the plastic gear in the hole and feed into the motor (I think teeth face towards rear doing this). And reinstall top ring.
If antenna broke off in motor, you'll have to remove motor through fender well and disassemble.
I'll just say that I recently installed this antenna I bought from amazon after a car wash mishap. I wasn't paying attention and had my mind on other things and forgot to shut off the radio before I entered. I realized it was still on and the antenna was deployed half way through the auto wash. The replacement fits great after trimming the white plastic geared portion to the correct size and reception is good as well.
OEM was $45 I think, my buddy who replaced the antenna in his 100 pointed me to this one for $20.
OEM was $45 I think, my buddy who replaced the antenna in his 100 pointed me to this one for $20.
Leave it up so you can justify the snorkel. That's what I did. The secondary antenna in the rear window is actually a pretty good one so it has not been missed.
- Thread starter
- #10
just to clarify, your antenna's don't retract all the way in. Mine leaves about 6-8" out in the down position.
**hoping this makes sense.
**hoping this makes sense.
I think I am ok I can hear the motor run and the antenna goes up n down but only a few inches..
I was thinking about swapping out to the TRD stubby antenna, but not sure how hard that is to swap
I was thinking about swapping out to the TRD stubby antenna, but not sure how hard that is to swap
If, like me, you're in the boonies, be aware that FM likes an antenna ~30" long, AM as long as possible. It sounds to me like the antenna needs some lubrication (I use silicone spray applied w/ a paper towel), or perhaps the nylon gear strip or the mating gear inside the motor is stripped...you want to hope and pray it's the antenna.
Steve
A wet truck attracts more pollen, get the leaf blower out
- Thread starter
- #14
I had never thought of that before. Although if she is taking my LX to a car wash, I don't think shell be up for getting the leaf blower out. hahaA wet truck attracts more pollen, get the leaf blower out
If you listen to the radio a lot, go for it. We listen to Bluetooth mostly, so antenna stays almost down.
I don't like the car wash, especially if they have those massive blowers at the end to remove all the water from the vehicle. It's not good on these older vehicle. Those seals start flapping and could cause issues. It's def a good way to find out if your vehicle is properly sealed and not letting any water in.
Sorry. No suggestions on the antenna.
Sorry. No suggestions on the antenna.
My wife takes ours through the car wash a few times a year, just retract the antenna like everyone's said. I will say that most auto car washes do a horrible job on our 100(unless it's got the hands-on crew following up). The rear hatch is never cleaned well at every single one we've been to and that's where you put your hands frequently for opening/closing the hatch. She just keeps going mainly for our son, in which case I say keep going
It's not that hard to replace antenna if you need to, I've done the $30 Amazon replacement and it was pretty simple task.
Edit: I love how they always tape our rear wiper down, as if it'll self destruct like some domestic SUV would in the car wash, lol. I've been through many times without tape and that sucker never really moves. Probably explains why the hatch is always dirty too, meh
It's not that hard to replace antenna if you need to, I've done the $30 Amazon replacement and it was pretty simple task.
Edit: I love how they always tape our rear wiper down, as if it'll self destruct like some domestic SUV would in the car wash, lol. I've been through many times without tape and that sucker never really moves. Probably explains why the hatch is always dirty too, meh
The antenna should retract entirely when you switch to a radio input other than AM or FM radio. Or at least mine does.
^yep, all the way down