Hi Everyone!
Costco is closed today for the long weekend.
I hope you are having a great long weekend (and last day of summer vacation). We just came back from the Gulf Islands yesterday after closing the cabin up for the summer and my car could sure use a Costco Car Wash in Vancouver!
A couple of weeks ago, our family headed to Seattle to visit some friends and go to the Zoo and the Space Needle. When I heard that Costco had a Costco Branded Car Wash near Downtown Seattle, I had to make a stop.
The Costco the Car wash is located is actually the location of the first Costco store. It is worth going in to check out the little homage to the first Costco after the checkout.
The Costco Car Wash is located right next to the Gas Station on 4401 4th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134 (https://goo.gl/maps/gTP6ifdNBbtAsviZA) If you stop to fill up at the Costco Gas Station it will ask you if you want to purchase a Car Wash at the same time. Just keep your receipt with you and show it to the car wash attendant.
If you don’t pay for your Costco Car Wash at the Gas Station you can also pay for it at the self service terminals in the Car Wash Lineup. I was able to tap my CIBC Costco Mastercard to pay for mine.
EDIT: It looks like the Costco in Bellingham is getting a Costco Car Wash which is slated to open this fall!
You can’t miss the Costco Car Wash if you head on over to the Costco Gas Station at the location.
The Costco Car Wash has the same hours as the Costco Gas Station. We went in the middle of the day, but even though there was quite a lineup, we weren’t in line for very long. There are actually two lines that merge into one Car Wash line. There is one lineup after the gas station (long) and one lineup from the lane coming from the warehouse (shorter)
There are no options at the Car Wash, but it does offer a premium wash including an undercarriage wash for only $7.99 plus tax (USD).
The Costco Car Wash accepts cars and trucks up to 7′ 2″ so the average car or truck will have no problem.
Going through the Costco Car Wash was pretty simple, there is an attendant working there to help you go through if it is your first time to tell you what to do.
We did have a problem going through the Costco Car Wash due to our car’s automatic braking feature. When it sensed there was an obstacle in front of us it automatically braked, which took us off the track that automatically pulls you through the car wash. We ended up getting stuck halfway through and had they had to reset the car wash (Oops). Just remember to turn this feature off before you go through!
The Costco Car Wash was fast and only took a couple of minutes. 
Our car was perfectly clean when we came out. The warm and sunny Seattle day dried the car off with no waterspots. If you find yourself in Seattle with a dirty car, I would definitely recommend visiting the Car Wash.
Unfortunately, there are no Costco Car Washes in Canada as of yet. You can find out all the locations of the Costco Car Washes here: https://www.costco.com/car-wash-service.html
Happy Car Washing!
Personally, I’m not a fan of these auto this or not. Especially with auto engine disengage at a stop or red light especially in the heat of summer. Eventually we’ll see these more of an issue or a detriment than a benefit.
Anyway, the fact is most people have very little if any idea what their vehicles features are or how to use them. Automakers should require people to attend classes or courses.
We don’t have to look far to see how many don’t turn on their tail lights at dusk or at night (we’ll see more as we get to the winter season). Automakers refuse to implement auto front and tail lights based on the ambient lightening. Then again, many people are clueless. Their dash/console is completely dark and they still don’t turn on their lights and drive obliviously.
The automatic braking problem you faced during car wash shouldn’t actually be an issue if your car is in N(neutral)mode as they are disabled when car is in neutral and only gets active during driving. May be the issue was related to auto-hold/braking enabled which works even when you are in Neutral. so you need to disable auto-hold feature to let the car push ahead in neutral.
The Costco in Seattle is absolutely awesome!!!!
I’m curious to know how well this car wash wash washes the underside. That’s the primary reason I’d pay to go to a car wash. Otherwise, I’d rather have 5 hotdogs and wash the car myself.
Hi there
Does US Costco accept our CIBC Mastercard?? I thought they only accept VISA?
Ha. No thanks. Seattle traffic is outrageous these days.
We were at Costco Bellingham recently and we thought Canadian prices were bad (in general) but Costco USA prices are unbelievably expensive now.
Housing such as rentals in Washington State have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic and factoring the exchange rate apartment rentals in Bellingham are just as expensive as in downtown Vancouver (with and without exchanging into Canadian. We haven’t seen so many homeless in Washington in a long time.
Take for example Subway in the US. Their sandwiches are the same if not more expensive (in US dollars) than in Canada right now. A tuna sandwich—may or may not contain Tuna is $10.39 CDN in Canada. It’s the same price in the USA, if not more…but in US dollars at $10.99. Convert that to Canadian, it will cost you around $14.50 Canadian plus Washington State tax.
Depending where you live, even driving to Blaine or Sumas isn’t worth it anymore to get gas.
Anyway, it’s a good concept to have a car wash but I wish they had a shop for repairs, at least installing car batteries.
I’ve been to the Costco car wash in San Diego a number of times. Such a good value! So wish we had one here!