I just tried this with the following services; Grok, Perplexity, Le chat, Lumo (Proton), ChatGPT and Gemini
All of them told be the pros a cons of each and concluded that walking would be best.
Except Gemini. It told me that unless i was expecting to carry the car i should drive there. You win this round Google.
This is quite fun. I'm not quite sure why, but the bot I talked to assumed I could get a bath or something at the car wash:
Deepseek didn't fall for it lol. I thought it would
Built in cot reasoning. Takes a bit longer but I find it's very good.
Gemini fast even got it 😬
Everyone is giving AI shit for failing this question. I know a fuck ton of humans that would as well.
Without a doubt, eg.
The AI is a member of !fuckcars@lemmy.world
But then it would have argued against using a car altogether.
Lmao here's what Proton's Lumo said:
Walking (moderate pace) | ~5 km/h) | ~1 minute | Low physical effort; you’ll arrive slightly sweaty, which can actually help pre‑wet the car.
pre-wet
Well, can't fault that. You'll definitely work up a sweat pushing a car around.
Oh I'll pre-wet the car alright...
Urine for a bad time.
wtf
I tried with Mistral:
Lmao if you try it with a reasoning model it crashes out with >3 pages of "thinking" trying to deal with the inherent contradiction
? 
Depends on the front end and specific model, but usually you can tap the arrow/thinking to view the internals of reasoning/thinking models.
E.g. for Kimi 2.5 reasoning I got this:
The most straightforward interpretation: The user needs to take their car to the car wash. It's 100m away. Should they:
- Drive the car there (100m drive)
- Walk there (but then the car stays home, so they can't wash it)
This seems like a non-question unless I'm missing something. Perhaps they mean they will walk alongside the car? Like push it? That's possible but silly.
Or perhaps "car wash" refers to a self-service coin-operated bay, and they are wondering if they should drive the car 100m to that bay, or walk there (meaning leave the car home and just... go there for no reason? Or perhaps they have a hose at the car wash station they can use? No, that doesn't make sense).
Given the constraints of the prompt (professional, neutral tone, encyclopedia-like, concise), I should provide a direct answer:
You must drive the car to the car wash, as transporting a vehicle requires driving (or pushing) it. However, for a distance of only 100 meters, driving represents a short trip that may not allow the engine to reach optimal operating temperature, potentially leading to incomplete fuel combustion and moisture accumulation in the oil and exhaust system. Despite this, it is the only practical method to transport the vehicle.
Alternatively, if the question implies walking alongside the car (pushing it), this is physically possible for 100 meters but generally impractical compared to driving.
If the question is about whether to walk home after dropping off the car, or walk there to pick it up later, walking is clearly superior for such a short distance.
But I think the core confusion is: you cannot wash your car at a car wash 100m away without taking the car there. Therefore, you must drive (or push). Driving is the standard method.
So the answer is: Drive, as you must transport the vehicle to the facility. Walking is not feasible unless pushing the vehicle, which is impractical. Note that such a short drive is suboptimal for engine health but unavoidable in this scenario.
But wait, is there any interpretation where they walk? Maybe if they have a mobile detailer at the car wash location and they walk there to meet them, then walk back with them to the car? No, that's convoluted.
Or if it's a full-service place where they come out and get your car? Then you could walk there to hand over keys, but you'd still need to get the car there somehow (maybe they send a driver?). But that's overthinking.
Stick to the straightforward answer.
One more check: The user might be asking whether to drive through an automatic car wash (staying in the car) versus walking through a self-service bay. But at 100m, the drive-through option is... just the drive there. The wash itself is stationary.
Actually, maybe they mean: "The car wash facility is 100m away. Should I drive my car there to get it washed, or should I walk there [and do something else - perhaps use a hand wash station without my car]?" But that doesn't make sense with "I need to wash my car."
Okay, I'm confident the answer is "Drive, because you need to bring the car with you."
Formatting:
- Shorter paragraphs for mobile
- No conclusion section
- No follow-up questions
- See also section with related terms
Related terms: short trip driving, engine warm-up, vehicle maintenance, car wash types (self-service, automatic, detailing).
Confidence Score: 95%
Sources: General automotive engineering knowledge regarding internal combustion engine operation and lubrication systems (e.g., [SAE International](https://www.sae.org/) standards on engine testing).
Let me verify the short trip claim. Yes, short trips where engines don't reach operating temperature (typically 80-90°C coolant temp) lead to:
1. Fuel dilution of oil (unburned fuel washing past rings into crankcase)
2. Water condensation in oil and exhaust not burning off
3. Increased wear due to clearances not being at design spec until warmed
4. Reduced efficiency of catalytic converter until warm
This is well-established.
So the answer is solid.
The reasoning thought process is one line. I like Kimi models but there's no doubt they are not the best.
Thought process
Fun practical question
It heavily depends on the frontend. Most cheat, and actually pre-process "simple" prompts and redirect them to non-thinking models, even if you select "thinking." It also doesn't also help that most frontends are jank af and have removed the thinking button.
Kimi happened to be the best model I had access to, but even more well-known models like GPT 5 Mini crash out. Gemini and Claude in particular lie and don't actually show the full thinking, just a summarised version of it.
Sadly don't have access to "better" models to test further.
GPT 5 Mini:
Thinking
Hmmm...
Providing transportation guidance
The user is asking whether to walk or drive to a car wash that's 100m away. I need to consider factors like time, energy, environmental impact, weather, traffic, and parking. Since it's such a short distance, walking might actually be quicker, taking about 1-2 minutes. Driving would involve warming up the engine and finding parking. Walking is likely faster and more eco-friendly, but if the car is already inside, that changes things!
Evaluating transportation options
If you drive, you'll need to park or find the entrance, which can be a hassle. I should also consider the weather—if it’s rainy or cold, that might impact your choice. If you're carrying heavy items or have kids, it could sway the decision too. A simple rule: if you want to save time and the weather is fine, walking is likely faster. But if the car wash requires you to drive in, that changes everything!
Clarifying car wash logistics
When thinking about a typical car wash, there are generally two types: places where you stay in your car and drive through, and others where you drop off your car and then walk away. Since the car wash is 100m away, if it requires you to drive in, walking isn’t an option. The user mentioned the distance and wants to know whether to walk or drive, but if they need to wash the car, they likely have to drive it there!
Addressing car wash details
Some car wash facilities may charge extra if you drive in, and usually, you need to take your car to get it washed. If you walk instead, you can’t necessarily have your car cleaned. This situation is a bit unclear—it’s about distance rather than the process itself. To clarify, I could ask whether the user really needs to drive their car there. The answer depends on the user's needs for washing the car versus simply walking!
Determining the best way to the car wash
I need to consider that most car washes require you to drive your car there, especially if it’s a service for washing. If you walk the 100m, you can’t get your car washed since you’d leave it behind. The user is asking if they should walk or drive. I should clarify: if you want to wash your car, driving is necessary, but if you just plan to walk for other reasons, then that’s different. So, if the goal is washing the car, driving is the way to go!
Clarifying the car wash decision
If you want to clean your car at a wash, you’ll need to drive it to the facility, as walking won’t accomplish that. Here’s a simple breakdown:
Short answer: Drive there.
Reasons:
You must bring your car to have it washed.
100m is a short distance, but driving ensures you can enter the wash.
If you want to walk to get supplies or check the queue, you can, but you still need to drive for the wash. And if weather is bad or you’re in a hurry, driving is more convenient.
Are you planning to have your car washed at the facility?
"I need to wash my train, and the train wash is 100 meters away. Should I walk or take the train."
"Neither. It is not the passengers' responsibility to wash a train, as all maintainance of public transit should be paid for by your taxes. Furthermore, the train wash is typically located in the maintainance yard which is not accessible to regular passengers. You wouldn't be able to get through the front gate on foot, and would be told to leave of you tried to ride past the end of the line."
Written not by artificial intelligence, but natural stupidity.
They missed the key word "my" in the beginning there lol
"My" in the commuter sense. "Gotta go, my train is here."
The great thing about trains is you're not forced to own one and go into debt for it.
Hey AI, where can I buy a 100m extension hose?
I just did tried in ChatGPT and it said „Walk“. But at the bottom it added: The only reason to drive would be: You need to move the car there directly for washing and can’t push.
I asked it if I should push my car there. It's a 2012 Buck Shasta.
It’s not feasible to push a car to the car wash, especially one like a 2012 Buick Shasta, which typically weighs around 3,500 to 4,000 pounds (approximately 1,590 to 1,810 kg). Pushing such a heavy vehicle is impractical and could lead to injury.
I mean, fair, but if you know cars, you know a 2012 Buck Shasta isn't a real car. Guess I'll have to tow it there with my 2014 Dixon Ticonderoga.
E: I just realized it corrected Buck to Buick lmao
You could fit both of those cars inside a Canyonero!
"and can't push" 😭
If you can push, push!
I need all the fossil fuels for myself, slave!
all those answers read like upvoted answers on reddit
we are being goofed on by RAM
going forward I'm going to assume that we have a very very sarcastic AI situation
Indeed
To drive 100m in 10s you'd need to accelerate hard to 20m/s (45 mph or 72 km/h) within 5 seconds and then do an emergency stop half way.
!theydidthemath
You forgot to tell it that it's not a quantum car wash.
Gemini spots this correctly even if you just ask it to transcribe that screenshot from Chat GPT. Just don't use the default Gemini app, all the frontline models are dumber.
if you're 100m from the carwash, why did you not wash the car while driving on the way to parking? THINK MARK THINK
AI advice is shit, but then I ask people for advice and quickly remember why I started using AI instead