Driving T in Deep water safety

LOL! I bought a brand-new Corolla 1200 in 1974...

If it RAINED too hard the damn thing stalled!!!!

As long as the harnesses, motors, and actuators do not get wet, no problem.

Keep in mind that the doors are not water-proof. If you drive in water that is deeper than the door sill, water will come into the passenger compartment.

A major concern with driving in deep water is sucking water into the air intake. Water does not compress, and if it gets into the combustion chamber, the connecting rod will probably get thrown through the side of the block, destroying the engine. Whenver driving in deep water, one should only creep slowly enough to not create any wave over the front of the vehicle.

If the water is higher than the door sill, expect big problems.

After driving through deep water, change the engine oil, transmission fluid, and differential fluid.

If the air filter is wet, it needs to be changed. Inspect brake linings, including the parking brake. Inspect the parking brake cable and linkages, shifter linkages, accelerator linkage.

If water gets into the passenger compartment, remove the seats and carpets, inner door panels, trunk carpet, spare tire, jack, and let everything dry out by leaving open. The vehicle will probably experience a wide variety of electrical problems, and several very expensive computers may need replacement. The main ECU is probably around $1,500, the air bag computer is probably another $800, the AC computer is $300, power window motors are probably several hundred apiece. Better yet, total the vehicle.

This is one of the areas where a high SUV or pickup may do better than passenger cars because the door sills are higher. Otherwise, they are all about the same.

I have actually seen this with an early 1980's Toyota 4x4 pickup. I had a 1983 Datsun 4x4 and I used to go four-wheeling with my buddy who had the Toyota. He went flying through a muddy puddle and when I tried it I got stuck in the middle. The water was past my doors and it was coming in. He threw me a rope and I had to climb underneath the truck to fasten it to my frame. He pulled me out then proceeded to rub it in by going back through the puddle forward and backward and forward and backward...

Go slow and easy, and know how deep it is BEFORE you start through - either let someone else go first and they can be the one that gets stuck, or it's your street and you know exactly how the road goes.

Never let it get to the bottom of the floorboards, let alone over the door sills. In a small car or minivan like the Sienna I'd say 6 inches deep is the absolute level where you say "Are you NUTS?! Go back and try a different route!"

Read Ray O's post - it can range from changing all the fluids, flushing the brake fluid and dealing with minor problems, all the way to "It's cheaper in the long run to just scrap the car now."

Get the EFI Computer or any of the other expensive electronics wet, and it may well be the latter.

If all the electronics get submerged and you start down the road of "It'll only take a $1500 computer and it'll be all fixed" you are only starting down the road of throwing good money after bad - Next week they'll say "You only need to replace a $1000 instrument cluster and it'll be all fixed", and two weeks "You only need two $400 window motors..." and you're already in so deep you can't stop now.

About the same. They waterproof the connections against the occasional splash, but no automotive computer case or airbag controller case is designed to be submerged.

Though there are some models from all makers where they put the computer in stupid places like under the passenger seat - the absolutely lowest possible point on the car they could pick.

(The better locations are high on the cowl or above the glovebox, where you really have to work at getting the water that high.)

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My brother had his 4runner up to the hood in water the other weekend.

His didnt leak at the doors (20 seconds submerged). and made it out the other side fine. Some water remnants in the intake setup but nothing major.

Also beware that turbocharged engines having just had major load may well crack the turbo exhaust housing ro the exhaust manifold. I have driven my poor celica through a foot deep flood and its still miles from the intake but it leaks at the doors. The toyota diffs/boxes Ive seen have self-sealing vents so no real need to worry IMO.

J

This is all pretty scary stuff about all the 'overpriced' computers going bad. This reminds me of my trip to Padre Island in Texas about

15 years ago. I encountered the WORST RAINS I HAD EVER SEEN anywhere. It was more like scuba diving (I'm certified) - and I was in a Ford van where all the windows and other seals were less than perfect due to ordinary wear and age. Every door must have filled 50% full of water. Every body cavity must have filled with water. Water was leaking out and into the inside for weeks afterward. I actually drilled holes from the bottom and inside to let the water out. I never drove through water more than six inches deep! Water on windows and windshield must have been a solid inch of water or more for 20 minutes at a time!

What you and others have described is a very fragile car that one should not even take out in rainstorms - even if unavoidable. Is it not a fact that the inside of doors is expected to get wet since seals against the windows can not be made waterproof in a practical manner? How about all the water on the hood and windshield - does a good portion of that not drain straight into the engine and air intake compartment? In the 06 Sienna - where approximately are these critical wires and computers located so they have some protection from water? Is it better to drive or not to drive a vehicle after it has gotten dipped severely?

In college I overslept on a test day and had to drive fast through water ponds. I was unable to start to get home later in the day. Learned that one needed to wipe water drops out of the distributor cap. That was all it took.

Thanks for all the replies, M

Some water can get into the doors without any problem, but water dripping in thorugh the window seals and submerging the doors are not the same thing.

How about all the water on the hood and windshield - does a

Agan, water dripping or splashing in the engine compartment is not the same as submerging the engine compartment, and it will not drain into the air intake.

There are those who tell you that it is perfrectly safe go flying through deep water over the top of the hood. I'm telling you that it is not. Just remember who is going to pay to replace your engine if it ingests water or replace the components that may be ruined.

In the 06 Sienna - where approximately are these

Critical wires and computers are located in the passenger compartment, mostly under the dashboard, some in the B-pillars. Stay our of water that is deeper than the door sill and you won't have a problem.

Passenger vehicles are perfectly capable of driving through rainstorms. It is driving through deep water that should be avoided.

A vehicle that has been submerged severely will probably not start.

Your Sienna does not have a distributor or distributor cap.

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Ray, I over-reacted - did not know that there were so many things that could be harmed by water. So driving say 60-70 mph on the interstate in heavy rain and many 1-3 inch 'surprise' puddles may be ok? Assuming all other safety factors are in place.

M

Driving at 60 or 70 MPH on the highway in heavy rain and hitting many surprise puddles, even 5 or 6 inches deep, will not harm any computers or the engine. The AC compressor drive belt may slip, and if the AC light starts flashing, it means that the AC rotation sensor has detected a difference in AC compressor RPM and engine RPM and de-energized the AC compressor clutch. All you have to do is cycle the AC switch off and back on and you'll be back in business.

Of course, driving at 60 or 70 MPH in heavy rain has other hazards, like hydroplaning, reduced traction and braking efficiency, reduced visibility, etc...