By Erin Wheeler
A 2018 news report by ABC15 Arizona showed videos of several vehicle collisions inside multiple Super Star Car Wash locations, which caused vehicle damages that the business repeatedly refused to take responsibility for.
The Phoenix-based car wash company has locations in Arizona, California, Texas and most recently, Colorado.
The first Colorado location of Super Star Car Wash opened in the Falcon Marketplace shopping center in the spring of 2023. Since then, numerous patrons have spoken up about similar damage-inducing incidents — all singing an increasingly familiar tune of confusion regarding who is responsible for damage that occurs inside the automatic-style car wash while vehicles coast in neutral at the mercy of the conveyor belt rollers.
One Falcon resident who found herself in a collision inside the car wash, Leacia Martinez, took to a neighborhood social media group in an effort to warn the community about her experience that occurred in November 2024.
“My worst nightmare came true,” Martinez said in her post, as she described her experience at the car wash. She said the incident began with the conveyor belt rollers abruptly stopping all vehicles in the middle of the wash for multiple minutes (which she later learned was intentionally done to prevent a truck with a bed full of debris from entering). When the car wash started again, she said a Range Rover in front of her was no longer being propelled forward and appeared to be rocking from side to side due to no longer sitting properly on the rollers. Martinez said she incessantly honked her horn for help while her vehicle rolled closer to the stuck customer ahead of her. When employees failed to stop the belt in time, she had no choice but to hit her brakes, leaving 2 to 5 inches of space to spare before she would have hit the Range Rover. In her attempt to avoid a collision with the vehicle in front — and with the belt still in motion — a Cadillac Escalade behind her (which was covered in soap that obstructed visibility) smashed into Martinez’s rear bumper.
Both vehicles were visibly damaged during the collision; when the customers both pulled over to discuss the incident with car wash staff later, they were told that the car in front of them (the Range Rover that was stuck on the rollers) was liable for the damage. Referring to the Range Rover driver, Martinez said, “I don’t think that she has any liability whatsoever. She had no idea we even hit each other.” Martinez said she feels the car wash should have taken accountability for the incident, as she explained, “The second I saw the Range Rover not moving, and as I was going forward, I started laying on the horn. I feel like an employee should have heard that and stopped (the car wash) right away, so that’s negligence in my opinion.”
Martinez filed a claim with the car wash, but it was promptly denied “due to the fault of the driver of the Range Rover for failing to heed instructions.”
Not satisfied with how the situation was handled, Martinez sought help from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, but she said they were unable to get involved since it was a civil matter.
Martinez’s warning video on social media gained more than 5,000 plays and 56 comments that shared sympathies and similar stories inside automatic-style car washes.
One of the social media comments stated,“I was at Super Star today and was hit inside the car wash. I filed a claim with the general manager and just received an email saying my claim was denied. And the sad thing is he watched it all on video, and it was no fault of mine.”
Another commenter said,‘This is not the first time this has happened at Super Star Car Wash. It happened to me when I had my kids in the car in September and again in October. We were all freaking out! Luckily, none of us hit each other during either of my experiences, but this is clearly a Super Star issue and has nothing to do with the clientele.”
Paula Wheeler, a Falcon resident and Super Star Car Wash membership holder, also had a near-collision experience inside the car wash. During her August 2024 incident, a car in front became stuck and the accordion effect it triggered brought the surrounding vehicles close enough to set off the front and rear safety sensors on Wheeler’s vehicle, warning of impending collisions.
“I looked back to see if the attendant was still there and he wasn’t,” Wheeler said. “You would think that the safety protocol would be that he is standing by that shut off at all times. So, I just laid on my horn trying to get somebody’s attention. All of a sudden, I saw workers running up and down the side screaming ‘shut it off’ and ‘close it down.’”
Wheeler and Martinez both said these incidents left them wondering why the car wash doesn’t have technology to automatically stop the rollers in the case of an emergency, or why there aren’t employees on standby ready to help in a timely manner during an emergency.
The New Falcon Herald visited the Falcon Super Star Car Wash location to learn more, and while the manager on shift, Addy, refused to comment about any incidents, he did share about standard procedures and the mechanics of the car wash.
Contrary to Wheeler’s and Martinez’s stories, Addy told The New Falcon Herald that a staff member is posted at all times near the multiple emergency shut-off buttons placed throughout the wash tunnel.
“As far as shutting off the wash, there are only manual buttons — they aren’t automatic — but they are always actively being manned,” Addy said. “It’s a button, it’s super easy.”
Which begs the question: If it’s so easy to do, why did it take so long to do during those incidents?
Wheeler said, “I really think that the whole thing could be avoided if someone just did their job. If they’re putting cars through the car wash, they need to actually have an attendant right by the shut-off button. No questions asked. It’s just that simple.”
She said she felt enough confidence to maintain her car wash membership when the manager on duty during her incident said multiple times,“There’s a safety mechanism inside the car wash, and it does not let you slam into the person in front of you.”
However, Martinez’s experience proves that statement wrong.
Manager Addy admitted that cars can collide inside the wash, but he claimed it only happens when customers make a mistake. “I have been here for a long time — I’m one of the people who has been here the longest — and what I’ve seen is a series of events, which is started by somebody not doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” Addy said.
When it comes to these kinds of incidents, Addy said, “It doesn’t happen very often.” He said poor reviews are a factor in the reputation of the car wash. He said people are more apt to write a bad review rather than a good one.
The Super Star Car Wash in Falcon had 547 reviews and an average of 4.5/5 stars on Google as of mid-December 2024.
While Martinez said she will stick with fully manual car washes from here on out, Wheeler plans to continue utilizing Super Star’s services with her own added precautions.
Wheeler said she believes collision risk can be reduced by spacing customers’ vehicles farther from each other inside the wash. She said, “Now if there’s somebody in front of me, I always just sit there and pretend like I don’t see the attendant calling me forward, so I can wait and make more space for myself. But it doesn’t really help behind me.”
Wheeler expressed gratitude there is a convenient car wash in Falcon, but said that she is reminded of the traumatic near-collision experience each time she rolls into the wash tunnel.
“It’s like there’s nowhere to go. I feel trapped,” she said.“Every time I go in there now, I have to tell myself, ‘It’s OK, take a deep breath.’”
