Post-flood Corolla

So, I drive a 2001 Corolla, keep it in great shape, and what happens? We get 3 inches of rain in one afternoon. The interior is destroyed, carpets and seats are soaked, and were still wet the next morning. I thought that it was okay otherwise, but now the SRS warning light is staying on. I'm taking it to the dealer on Monday morning and meeting with a claims adjuster on Tuesday. I'm afraid that this warning light could be a sign of electrical damage, sort of a sign of impending doom.

Anybody know if that's a good bet, or if I'm over-reacting? Rachel, the proud owner of a swimming car

Reply to
starqueg
Loading thread data ...

If the vehicle was submerged, it is time to get another one.

Reply to
Ray O

Reply to
starqueg

Surely rain water is not as bad as sea water. I'd have been out there extracting the water from everything with the carpet cleaner or shop vac, ASAP, maybe parked at a very steep angle to help it drain. The WD in WD-40 is "water displacer." Too bad it stinks...

Reply to
Fishface

The SRS light simply means that the airbag(s) will not deploy when called upon. If you manage to avoid those situations, then you will be fine. Take the drive home for Turkey Day.

The SRS system looks at the seats and seatbelts to set itself up properly. If the system detects any anomoly during the self test -- the period immediately following turning the key to ON -- then the light will come on. SRS is a "safety of flight" item that will not reset itself, even when the condition is corrected or mysteriously goes away. (By definition, this is not a condition that can "mysteriously go away.") Earlier I said the self test period, but that is a bit erroneous, the SRS system continuoulsy checks itself to determine its integrity. All this means is that the sysem could pass the self test period, but the light can come on at any time while the vehicle is in operation. The bottom line is that once the light comes on, the system will not reset, it must be reset by a technician -- presumably after an exhaustive check to ensure system integrity.

My guess is that you have a problem with one or more of the switches in the seats and seatbelts.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

=====

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I'm kinda curious though. How did the interior become soaked from a rainstorm? Were the windows down or something? In any case, good luck.

Reply to
Built_Well

Water is a weird thing in a car.

I just read an article that said the low intakes on new cars can cause Hydraulic Lock, a condition where water gets into the engine. Liquids are not compressable, and can severely damage an engine if you start the car with water in the engine. Hopefully this is not your case...

Water also seeps places. I used to work at a dealer where we sold flooded cars. If you have the equipment and the know-how, you can salvage the car in decent shape. This means removing the seats and carpeting, and having an 'extractor' helps; kind of a super carpet cleaner designed to extract water from upholstery. They are expensive; a good detailer will have one, but expect to pay!

After reomving the carpeting, you need to use a Shop Vac (or better!) to collect all the water from the creases and folds in the body panels. It's nice to have a nice, warm sunny day to to this! You extract the water from the seat and carpeting and let them sit in the sun; if you get to it RIGHT AWAY they won't smell musty when you're done.

Then, you have to get the water out of the other body panels, like rocker panels and the trunk, etc. This requires removing the panels from the doors, the rear panels, the seats, and any sound deadening or insulation materials, so you have a bare interior. Again, vaccum all the water out using a good wet/dry vacuum. Then, get a 5 gallon pail of hydraulic oil and a sandblaster with a good compressor, and spray the oil into the creases and crevices (note: this is ILLEGAL in some states! In Mass it is not allowed, but in Vermont, it is!) until no water can be seen in the oil (this is also a good way to rustproof the car.) You may have to punch holes to spray the rocker panels, and spray the floor of the car and the body panels, doors, fenders, etc. Five gallons (~$30) should do it.

You can see, this is a pretty involved operation, and you may still not get all the water out, leading to early rusting. A good detailer can do this in a couple days for a couple hundred bucks or so, anything less than that and you want to watch the guy to make sure he does it right! Or, if you have someone car savvy with the right equipment you can get to do it for you, so much the better.

After the interior and the body panels and rockers are done, you want to put the car on a lift and spray the underside thoroughly, also, and chase any more water away.

Reply to
Hachiroku

I had a friend from work sucked water up into her Fine American Car trying to get through a viaduct one day after a good rain and totally ruined the engine. The insurance company was a bit snotty about paying out, too.

Charles of Schaumburg

Reply to
n5hsr

You're welcome.

If the carpets are a little wet, then the car is probably fine. If the car was submerged, most the elctronics will eventually fail.

Reply to
Ray O

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.