Dice

I was on my way to work and anyone living in NJ knows it was pooring earlier. I was on I95 2 mins from G Washington bridge. The traffic was backed up and I was barely moving. Everyone was going through a couple puddles I went through about 3 so far. As I was about to go through another one the traffic seems to have backed up. As I was sitting behind a 16 wheelers I started noticing that the water was rising at a high rate and before I knew it boom. My engine seized and my heart stopped. I could not beleive that it happened. I ended up getting towed back home which cost an arm and a leg since very few tow companies are allowed to tow on on turnpike/i95. Its obvious what happened my Injen sucked some water in. What do you think I should do? Should I even bother calling acura and getting it towed to the dealer? Seems like Acura warranty would have nothing to do with it. I have full coverage with Geico, would they care that I have a CAI ? Should I put the stock intake back on? The worst part is that about 20mins later all the water went down. Why couldn't I have been very late to work today. I appreciate any advice you guys could give. Any negative comments please keep them to yourselves.

Thank You

jmathew34

you should have taken it to a mechanic and they could proably get the water out the cylinders and get it running again....don't let it sit too long

joerockt

Wow, this is a first. Dosent sound like they were "puddles" you were driving through...

What happens now when you try to start it? Its possible all it needs it just to dry out a bit. Considering you were just sitting in traffic, I cant see why there would be that much water taken in...

Dice

When I try to start it nothing happens. I dont hear the engine crank or anything. It was very hard to tell how deep it was but everyone around me seemed not to be having any problems. I think I got unlucky because same time it happened to me a G35C in the local lane died and 3 guys in a passat got screwed as well about 2 mins after I did. They are the ones that acctually pushed my car out of the water. So should I hurry up and get it to a mechanic or should I let it sit for a while to see if it dries up?

LuvMyTSX

Ouch. I am familiar with that area as well. I used to do 95 to rt. 80 for my old commute. Yuck. Sorry about your car.

Audioserf

Put your stock intake back and call Acura.

joerockt

Not good. If its seized, you're pretty much screwed.

moda_way

Sounds electrical to me. Maybe you didn't hydro lock rather you eletrically shorted and the bang you heard was the motor coming to an immediate halt.

Check main fuses and such too. If you have a stock intake, then hydrolocking is pretty much not going to happen. It would have to be above the front wheel to reach the first junction of piping where water could get in. However, you could hit some pretty decent wires with electric running through them.

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

yikes. there was about 2 inches of rain on my street during the hardest part of the downpour. i hope it stops and clears up tonight so i can at least move my car for street cleaning.

did your injen have a hydroshield/drycharger on it? how deep was the puddle?

IS_250

iTrader: (1)

sounds like hydrolock to me.

if the piston tried to push water something has to give. most likely something internally is broken and is not allowing the motor to turn over or crank.

call your insurance company and go from there.

Trident

Does the elec system function at all?
If all your elec is toast then it is a fuse or short problem. If some elec works then it is possible that the fuse for your starter is blown. If that isn't the problem then you might be in trouble. Given your description I find it hard to beleive that the car would hydrolock that easily. My bet is that it is an elec problem at some level.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

Damn you were in that rain too, I turned around and said screw this... Poor car couldnt bare it anymore. I took all those mild puddles slow. As soon as a saw water shoot up from the car in front I went to a really slow speed to pass it...

I have a hydroshield but todays rain was ridiculous. Hopefully it seems like electrical.

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

any of you guys ever go into neutral and coast through puddles?

lol. i was actually thinking of getting a k&n typhoon and ditching the icebox. hearing this makes me think otherwise.

Dice

All the electrical works fine. The puddle was maybe 6-8inches when I went in it but like I said I was stuck behind a truck and the water was rising so I was have no idea how deep it was. Once I started moving again is when it hydrolocked. I saw other cars around me going just fine. Civics, old camry's just blowing by like it was dry pavement. I found it very weird as well the it hydrolocked. I live in a flood zone and i drove my car through deep water with problems before hence why I proceeded to through. So whats my best bet to call Geico or to call Acura? Should I even waste my time putting the stock airbox on? Could Geico deny my claim due to the CAI? Thanks everyone I really appreciate all your help I have no idea what to do since I have never heard of anyone actually hydrolocking their car.

Tsx536

If you plan to go through insurance or Acura, put your stock intake on. Better to be safe then sorry.

Don't try to turn the engine on. I would drain the oil and go through a couple of oil changes to try to get the water out of the engine. This happened to one of my neighbors once. He let drain the oil right away, and let it drain overnight to try to get as much water out as possible. And the engine ended up firing up after a couple of days. Then he did 2 or 3 oil changes. Good luck man.

If you have heavy rain, I would just switch the Injen to short ram mode. The few extra hp is not worth it in your situation.

ssm from jc

Same thing happend to me in April You can use your roadside assistance to get it towed to the dealership. I did not have time to put my stock intake back on. Long story short I had geico they paid for everything and they replaced my engine with a new one. Good luck.

rex.

this happened to my brother this morning in his 95 accord + AEM CAI on the Belt Pkwy. Luckily for him his car still starts, he waited for the water to dry out before he drove though. If his engine was messed up that just meant time for an H22a swap. Lucky for me I still have the stock intake, or i would have hydrolocked during May.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

I would pull the spark plugs and look for water inside the cylinders.

moda_way

If there is still water in the motor, starting it will just mess it up some more unless, as Tsx536 mentioned, it drains down to the oil pan.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Keep in mind that if you take it to the dealership and they find water in the motor, they are going to be questioning you and may deny you a warranty repair.

Be prepared to make a comprehensive claim with Geico and see your rates go up.

amadeus303

iTrader: (2)

That's nuts, man... sorry to hear about your misfortune. The rain wasn't too bad when I was driving to the office. Good luck!

fish008

Be careful with trying to start it, if you try for to long you will distroy the starter for sure. Something in the startup process has to give, and as water does not compress AT ALL, the starter will break. If you haven't killed the started yet you can take out all of the spark plugs and try to start the car. If water is in the cyclinders than some of it will come out of the whole where the spark plug was. THIS WILL NOT FIX IT, just prove that it is indeed hydrolocked..."looking" for water through a spark plug hole will prove to be difficult. After that, put you stock air intake back on and make a claim with with Acura or Geico.

waTSX

Yikes! I just had a CAI installed and I live in Washington. I will be driving carefully in the rain.

Sorry about your car. That really sucks.

TommySalami

Is this a big problem with CAI's? Im about to install the Injen with the hydroshield this saturday and live in about the same area (with serious rains here and there although I usually pull off and get a slurpee till they pass) so should I have much to worry about?

Tsx536

Very good advice.

Tsx536

I would just install it in Short ram mode for now. We're talking about a few extra hp and ft/lbs of torque. IMO, it's not worth the risk of possibly ruining your engine.

xenonhid

Did your gear safety lock engage? Not sure if you have a 5AT or not, but if it did, it will lock your shift gate and you have to insert a key in the shift lock.

I ask because this would be an indicator of a blown fuse. I would hope this is the scenario as it is better than hydrolocking from CAI.

godfather2

doesn't sound too good, all i have to say is good luck

xenonhid

Good luck, you never know, it might not be as bad as it could be.


Either way, I try to assess mods that are available. As much as I appreciate the knowledge and advice I get from car enthusiasts and forum experts, I try to keep reliability of the car and stay away from mods that contradict what Acura engineers have designed with a purpose.


And the CAI is a risky setup I have always thought. Especially being in Seattle which rains like cats and dogs here.

TommySalami

Yeah we have some pretty good rain these months, I guess I'll just have it in cai mode for a few days till its supposed to rain, then convert it over. Maybe I can make a mesh shield for the bottom too, to keep water out, or something

ABPTSX

damn sorry to hear about that man. hopefully it works out

this is why i kept my injen in short ram mode. i just didnt wanna deal with the possibility of it messing up my entire engine. Yes sometimes when its very hot outside the car does drag because of the heat in the engine bay but i guess its a safer way

Simba91102

Why would Acura cover this as a warranty repair whether it has stock intake or not? Remember what a warranty is. Defect in parts or workmanship? With water in the engine? Unlikely. If you can stick the insurance company with it (and according to a post here you should be able to), I'd take the money and run (and reconsider the cold air intake on the new engine).

Power1Pete

Sorry to hear that.

This morning I went through a feet deep puddles myself...

babytl

The rain here in NYC was so bad. I think it was the first time I saw this kind of downpour in my life!

avs007

If you had the stock intake, you can claim it was a defect in the intake system which allowed water to be sucked in. They'd have to prove you did something stupid. Idling at a puddle is not stupid. If there is no water inside the passenger cabin, that means you can easily prove that water did not come up to the door line. I would think the stock intake should be able to handle that... If not, than something is wrong....

kest

My girl works for allstate and told me that there were so many cars that they totalled out they went into catastrophe mode. Put the stock intake back in and call your insurance company.

Tsx6363

definitely not puddles here in ny, the grand central parkway was also flooded today.. as well as utopia parkway.. flood also closed down 34th street and all of the green lines (4,5,6) were shut down

Tsx6363

oh and whats the diff between CAI and short ram mode?

TwinTurbo335

o wow. hope your car is oK. Im about to put on a CAI too. Dont know if i should keep it or not. sounds pretty risky to me. but SF barely rains so I don think i should worry much about it.

TommySalami

The intake has a joint between two pipes. Short ram mode is when you put the air filter essentially inside the engine bay and only use one pipe, cold air mode is when you use the two pipes connected and put the filter in front of the front tire.