[ank.nsit]

Originally Posted by Pacifica

Hi,

I'd left my 2008 Hyundai Sonata A/T petrol car parked in my company's basement in Poona while I went to London for an assignment. I'd left a key with one of my colleagues to move the car in case of any signs of flooding.

Today I came to know that the basement flooded in overnight heavy rain and my car is submerged up to the wheels. Its so heartbreaking to see my car like this.

I suppose I will need to get insurance to survey the car now. Is such damage something that can be fixed? Advice would be welcome.

I am not sure if this water level in a standing car would have caused any actual mechanical damage. So, I doubt if the insurance companies would have anything to cover in this case.

What I know for sure is water entering a running engine causes hefty damage which are not even covered by the insurance.

[aaggoswami]

From the attached image, it does not seem to have suffered any severe damage. Unless the water entered engine air intake with engine running, no serious damage would be there. Most probably, even water would not have entered inside the cabin. If significant water had entered the cabin, there would be fogging from inside the car IMO.
Just to clear your doubt and avoid further damage ( in case there is some damage done ), please get the car towed to Hyundai Service Center, get all the fluids changed and lubrication done. They would identify any concern if at all there is any damage.

[ajmat]

Note that my advice to log an insurance claim is merely to ensure that they are aware of the incident, if the car requires very little work, you can withdraw the claim.

[svsantosh]

Firstly dont open the doors right away to tow/put the car in N mode to tow it up.

Let it sit until the area is mopped up and while opening the car, come prepared with the H.A.S.S tow team and insurance surveyor and document each step (video) if need be.

If its all dry, and upon arrival/inspection by HASS no water is found in airline-filter-engine, you are plain lucky. (Remember dont start without ensuring water isnt in air lines).

You would only have wasted the insurers one day and pay a small amount to HASS for a cleanup and underbody inspection of brake and fuel lines.

ELSE - in case something is awry - insurance and HASS should work together and give you a quote.

[Pacifica]

Thanks for your advice, guys.

The biggest problem is that I am in London while the car is in India.

I have asked my company admin to call in the insurance company and get them to survey the car before they pump out the water so that the surveyor can inspect it first hand.

The handbrake is on and the gear lever is in P. So they can't tow the car without first pumping out the water. I will ask them to take the car to Hyundai to check it.

[Soumyajit9]

Just curious to know, would Insurance companies honour this claim ? Isn't it an "Act of God" ?

[CDM]

Unless the water has now receded, the level does not appear to be high enough to cause any major damage. Most of us will probably have driven though deeper water.

My recommendation is as follows:

1. Do not start the car at all till you carry out the below steps.
2. Disconnect the battery.
3. If the Sonata can be put into neutral without starting the engine, do so. Otherwise jack up the front wheels and have the car towed to a service station (need not be a HASS-I don't trust them anyway).
4. Drain the engine and gear lubricants and replace all filters.
5. Drain the fuel tank and replace the fuel filter.
6. Get the exterior including the wheels pressure washed to remove any mud or other debris.
7. If the interior was flooded, remove the seats, carpeting, door pads etc. and allow them to dry.
8. Check the power window motors if they were flooded.
9. Use air pressure to dry out the interiors, including the interiors of the doors etc.
10. Put everything back and enjoy your ride-it will be fine.

Cheers.

CDM

[aashishnb]

I have been reading the threads on water damage to engine and best way to wade through water while driving is to go at a low gear & low RPMs without shifting the gears.

From some of the threads on automatic gearboxes and the new AMT in Celerio, I understand that they upshift automatically even in the manual mode.

Does that mean that driving an automtic transmission is not safe while wading through water?
Is there a safe way to drive an autobox if one has to go through a waterlogged street without any other alternatives.?

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by aashishnb

From some of the threads on automatic gearboxes and the new AMT in Celerio, I understand that they upshift automatically even in the manual mode.

Does that mean that driving an automtic transmission is not safe while wading through water?
Is there a safe way to drive an autobox if one has to go through a waterlogged street without any other alternatives.?

From what I learnt during the celerio TD, in manual mode the upshifts happen only as we near the redline, else the same gear will be held in manual mode.

Generally, the AT boxes in most cars will have a low mode or a second gear option. Hence, that can be used. Else, even heavy accelerator use will delay upshifts. So I dont think it will be a problem.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by aashishnb

Does that mean that driving an automtic transmission is not safe while wading through water?

very safe.

Is there a safe way to drive an autobox if one has to go through a waterlogged street without any other alternatives.?

If water level is high, select 2 or L (not D). Press accelerator gently, no need to race the engine. If not high, keep going at low speed in D.

[Pacifica]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Just curious to know, would Insurance companies honour this claim ? Isn't it an "Act of God" ?

Well, a Bajaj Allianz surveyor is working on the car now. I expect the final report from him this week, although the unofficial word from him is that he expects to write off the car as a complete loss.

[tush]

Dear Bhpians,

Need your advise and guidance. On 11th Oct- Sunday, there were sudden heavy rains which caused the basement parking to flood due to storm water.

Swift DDIS(ABS) got submerged as you can see in the attached pic. It was water level was upto the lower border of the number plate as you can see from the pic.
The Car remaine in water remained just for 2-3 hours before we came to know. We immediately pushed(manually me alone and later security guards help) the car without starting it to unflooded area. The water drained out from the tail pipe and the interior was flooded slightly below the border of mid console(the part where the hand brake is located) where we keep stuff. Removed all the water from the interior with help of a mug as it was taking long for it to drain out.

Removed the rubber floor matt. There was absolutely no water in the boot. This is the only good part. It was late mid night by then. We have not yet attempted to start the engine based on knowledge developed reading team-bhp. Is the engine, turbo, intercooler, gearbox and other mechanicals, electronics gone for a toss with this level of water? Called MASS the other day and they asked me to check the OIL level if it has gone up. Checked OIL level and seems up compared to a DZIRE DDIS I checked and hence Water suspected to have entered engine from the exhaust pipe. MASS executive visited yesterday evening for a check and says he will inform the Service Manager about his findings and things towing is the only option. He said the reason being the sensors could get damaged if they attempt ignition or start the CAR. He did touch the OIL to feel water contamination.

MASS executive has provided a car towing service providers number. He said to get it towed. This is just based on the contacts they receive when customer themselves get the car towed. He says MASS doesnt provide towing service nor they have any affiliation with Towing service providers. In any case he said the SA will contact me in the morning(today) for next course of action. Not comfortable with Towing service providers as am scared of any physical damage that may occur if they are not professionals. I have maintained my car very well and had fun driving it on a daily basis. I am sadened with this event and dont know how to approach this situation. Your guidance and help would enable me to take a guided approach and not push me into unreasonable expenditure and help get my car back to original.

What would be the damage? Thanks in Advance !

tush

[Raja]

Originally Posted by tush

Not comfortable with Towing service providers as am scared of any physical damage that may occur if they are not professionals.

Hi Tush

Sorry to see your misfortune. If you are worried about towing companies taking your car to MASS, I recommend Bakare Crane services. They have transported high end cars in the past with no damage:
http://www.justdial.com/Pune/Bakare-...507-Q3A5_BZDET

[The Rationalist]

Hi tush,
It's very sad to be in a situation like this. But you have managed the whole thing till now well, by not even attempting to start the car, appreciate your presence of mind. You should get the car towed to the service centre. Towing won't damage the car as I myself had been in a situation like this and the car was towed 25 kms! Check if ECU was submerged and if not remove the spark plugs, then crank the engine. Water will get pushed out. So just get it towed soon.

Regards,
The Rationalist.

[itwasntme]

Best is to get a flatbed truck to move it to the service centre. That way, any damage to rear wheels etc is further avoided.