My local full service car wash recently closed leaving only a "sit in the car DIY" car wash in this area. At this CW the driver stays in the vehicle, engine running with shifter in neutral. This sounds OK but when all the brushing and drying ops. are finished and it is time to engage "drive" and head out, the darn rotary shifter locks in neutral and nothing will move it into drive! Meanwhile the car behind is within inches of smacking into the back of the Jag. So try not to panic, switch engine off [shifter promptly vanishes] restart and hope shifter will now obey and engage drive. Remembering that the foot brake must be pressed to start engine and hope this doesn't jerk me off the car wash hitch. Whew!
A call to the service manager at the Jag dealership to get this rectified elicits the following helpful advice---"This neutral lock is for safety reasons and commercially operated car washes are not recommended by Jaguar, read the owner's manual" I did and yes, there it is on page 162. "Commercially operated automatic car washes are not recommended" Who Knew!
Has anyone else run into this problem? Any advice?

 

I use this type of car wash from time to time (yes, I know it is not good for the finish) and while having another car right behind you can certainly make you nervous everything will be fine if you don't panic. Shutting off the engine and starting over is panic. If you wait for your car to go all the way forward off the rollers (often signified by a green light) and then applying the brake for a split second while shifting from N to D or S, the engine remains on and you can go on your way without going dead in the water in front of an approaching car. Applying the brake is not only necessary to start the car but also to shift out of neutral or park. The shifter will then "obey" every time.

 

Wow, thanks "Swimref" I will try that, assuming panic doesn't take over.

 

My 2012 works with a quick brake tap to release the neutral lock.

 

I agree.....and as much as I don't like automatic car washes, I occasionally patronize them in the winter, because if you opt for the "deluxe" wash, they spray the undercarriage of the car, which gets the road salt off of the car.