Error Code P0171

first, consider yourself fortunate that you didn't hydrolock! how wet did your airflow meter get? do you have a manual? have you inspected your plugs for color? (to see if they look like the motor is lean.) P0171 does mean a lean condition. it indicates that the first oxygen sensor has detected "too much" oxygen present in the exhaust stream. if you meter was hosed and was skipping counts on airflow, you would be lean.....this is just a guess but it's where i'd start. the signal from the airflow meter is the basis for everything the ecu does with fuel and timing. stay out of the throttle, knock will literally beat your motor to death

Well, I do have a manual transmission. I am not that well versed in the terminology you used, so I am kind of confused. Air flow meter? In layman's terms, what did you mean? Thanks, I appreciate your patience.

Thomas

your airflow meter is a device used to "count" the amount of air that enters the engine. the computer in your car adjusts how much fuel the fuel injectors add and how much timing advance is given based primarily on the signal from the airflow meter. if you damaged the meter when you hit the water, it might be "under reporting" the amount of air entering the motor. you need to get a factory manual (or manual cd) and do some diagnostics.

hydrolock is what happens when you run a car with the intake you have through water....the motor sucks water into the cylinder and locks up because water does not compress. when the piston attempts to compress the water, your motor will break (rods through the block.) your intake is also known as a cold WATER intake, as they're famous for ruining motors.

"inspected your plugs for color " nothing new here:

"stay out of the throttle, knock will literally beat your motor to death" if your mixture is too lean and you run your car hard, you will generate dangerously high temps and suffer from detonation. this is really bad. you should probably do a google search and check it out in more depth.

I'll look at all of this... but I have another observation... there is no loss of performance whatsoever at cruising speed. I hear no noises or anything. It is, however, jumpy at low speeds in first gear. I also smell a fair amount of fumes I never had to smell before. Since the "incident" five days ago, I have driven around 80 miles. Does that help?