I accidentally drove my car through about 1ft of standing water in poor visability conditions (rainy night). The car floated for a bit until I gassed it to get myself out of the water. No water got inside the passenger compartment as far as I know. Then the car had a funny smokey smell and what looked like steam coming out from under the hood on my drive back to my house about 0.5 miles away. All electrical systems were still running when I parked it. But I’m worried. What should I do with the car now? Is it safe to drive? What might go wrong under such conditions?
My biggest fear is that water might have splashed into the engine. How would I know if that has happened?
- What are the main precautions when driving a car in rain ?
- My car just stopped, lost power, power steering, brakes?
- My car seem to be losing power when I hit the brakes, does anyone know what is wrong with my car?
- Car lost momentum, and lost power steering/brakes?
- What could cause an engine to stall on a 1994 Jeep Cherokee?
The cars’ fine. You need to be more carefull though.
I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE TURNED AROUND, THAT PROBLEM WOULDNT HAVE HAPPEND THE SMOKE WAS FROM THE ENGINE BEEING VERY HOT, THE ELECTRICAL CAN BE FIX AND REPLACED MAKE SURE YOUR CAR WONT BLOW UP.
Your biggest concern is if water got into the engine. If this happens, and water hits the oil, you won’t have proper lubrication and will likely throw a rod. I have seen this happen. Best to change the oil and filter, let the car run for five to ten minutes then change the oil again. Have it serviced by your mechanic to save costly repairs.
it should’nt be a problem the steam was the water boiling off hot pipes & block if it was running after you hit the water your fine
The reason you saw steam coming from under your car and smelled a funny odor is because the entire exhaust system is under the car and extremely hot. As soon as you dunk it in water, it’s like all those films of volcanic lava hitting the ocean. It really doesn’t hurt anything. There are very few wires under your car, and they are heavily shielded because they are constantly exposed to water when it rains or when you hit puddles. Remember that when it rains, water is being driven into every nook and cranny under your car at high speed and to keep it out of where it’s not supposed to be, engineers design a lot of moisture protection into the systems of your car. The components in your car that are most likely to be damaged by water, such as the car’s computer, fuse box, fuel injection system, and alternator are very well protected. If the car still runs, and everything electrical is working, you’re good. You would need more than a foot of water for a longer period of time to do any real damage. In fact, your car is already at least six to eight inches off the ground, and the only part of the engine that would be under water is the very bottom of it. Think about this: The cars that were flooded last fall in New Orleans were covered in some cases to the roof, and they were cleaned up and resold to unsuspecting buyers without disclosing they were flood-damaged. They still run, but you sure wouldn’t want a car that was submerged in that muck. Don’t let any of these “experts” try to tell you that you have a potential blow-up on your hands here. The only thing you might want to do is check the oil to see if there’s any water in it. You can tell because it would look kind of frothy on the dipstick. But even that is a longshot.