Car stalled in water, wont start
 

Flooding like crazy in houston and me being one in one of the more flooded areas an emergency came up and i had to get somewhere. I was driving outside my garage and the car basically stalled while i was still on the gas like as if i had stalled in a MT. i drive a TL 2005 AT. Is it possible to get water sucked up into the engine? i checked the battery and the battery is fine, any other possible problems, checks you guys can point me towards? i have insurance but i sure as hell dont want to have them fix the car and give it back to me like that, I'd just rather have a new TL instead but I'm pretty sure that wont happen if the car wasnt totaled. Help me please!

If the starter won't turn the engine over then it sounds like the engine is hydro-locked. You need to pull out the spark plugs and then crank the engine so that it pumps the water out. You may get lucky and the engine may still be good. I do have to warn you, most of the time when an engine gets hydro-locked it is toast. Good luck.

ur car sounds like its done..

Take your car or have it towed to the dealer. The car may not be done totally, give it a shot at least.

i just had the car towed to Champion Acura on the gulf fwy in houston. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens. :(

You left out some details. Did you drive through some deep water?

Yes the engine will turn off if it hydrolocked. But a lot of times its still good as long as you don't try to force it to start again without removing the plugs and cranking it over to get the water out. I did the opposite on my old Maxima back in 98 when we had the floods here. I forced it to start and run and bent a rod and had to get a new small block installed. $7k of damage and insurance paid for it.

1) How deep was the water when the engine stopped ?

2) Do you have the factory air filter, or do you have a CAI ?

Just because it sucked up water, it doesn't mean it's destroyed. My buddy sucked up water in his SRT-4, but after draining it all out, the car ran completely fine. If the engine is moving at a high speed, the sudden lock will destroy parts. If you're moving slow, it's no worse than stalling a stick shift.

Anytime you get enough water on top of a piston to lock up the motor, you risk bending rods. Even at cranking speeds. Water won't compress...so something has to give. You may get lucky...but if it were my car...and it has hydro-locked...I would have the engine torn down and the rods checked. That's just me...

The engine shuts down because it can pull air in anymore so the ecu tries to save it. No air, no engine. But usually water will get into the piston area which will require you to open the plugs up and crank it. It usually doesn't hurt the engine.

Jetskis is a good example. Happens al the time when they get submerged and this is the procedure for them.

Sorry to say, but you are wrong. When a "car" engine sucks up water it happens so fast that the computer never see's it comming. The fact that water doesn't compress is the reason why the engine stops running.

Incorrect.

A engine is like a vacumm pump. If the engine can not SUCK air it will then DIE. The ECU comment I made probably was not correct. But the engine dies usually before it can get water in far enough to actually bend rods.

If the engine stopped because it already had water in the chamber then it would be damaged already when 90% of the time it isn't unless you TRY to start it up again.

I wish this were true. My 99 GSR sucked up water and the motor hydrolocked, snapped 2 rods and punched 2 quarter sized holes into the block. When i pulled the head, 3 cylinders had water in them. I was doing about 30 mph and hit a puddle, this is why i will never ever put a CAI in any car i own. :tomato:

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I am just going by my training and past experiences with cars I have had to repair.

the water was around 6-8 inches high where i drove through. i just got a call from the dealership saying that the engine did have water in it, but they said it isnt as bad as i think it is. Should i just call it a day and trade in the car for a new one?

yeah just pony up for a new mazda rx8 and call it a day

haha! Finally some humor to this! I like that!

update: still in the shop, estimated price so far is $7000 :(