Parked my car in downtown Atlanta at a meter parking spot and after we had some killer rain, came back to find it FLOODED! Wasnt sure why there was 4 inches of water in the car and the street looked normal til a young guy came out of the building and said that the street was just flooded to my bumper.

The water line on my door panels indicate that the water was at the maximum, 7 inches from the floor of the car.

The driver's seat (power) does not work at all and the tranny on the highway was hesistating and shifting wierdly. Also the speedometer sometimes goes from 0 to 2 mph while stopped.

So heres my question:

I was wondering if I should claim this with insurance if the seat and tranny ultimately work fine wehn they dry out.

I thought that flood damaged vehicles are totalled by insurance because of unknowable hidden damage that could spring up at anytime, but I was snooping around the web and found many sites saying that the car should be dissassembled where needed and cleaned.

I rather not claim if its just ging to get cleaned, when do they total the vehicle? How do I know that this tranny wont clonk out on me 2,000 miles later from damage done yesterday?

 

After Ivan last year, we had some serious flooding here in Pittsburgh and nearly all of my fellow firefighters cars were in about the same amount of water yours was in... (Luckily I hitched a ride to the station that day!) ALL of the cars were totalled including some rather newer vehicles. That being said, I do believe none of their vehicles would even start...

Flooding is some nasty stuff... Things need disinfected because flood water is never clean in any way... Not to mention who know what could fail later due to the water damage. I would 100% turn that into insurance and make damn sure they go nutz making sure it is 100% fixed...

My

 

It should be totaled, as water gets into things and they will never be the same
again.
Electrical connections, wheel bearings, electronics inside the car, water
in trans and engine oil, differential, inside the doors, etc.

Parts will fail and/or give trouble from now on out.

It should be totaled and given a salvage title as a flood car.

Brett

 

File a claim. I think Brettg is correct about flood damaged cars inthat they should get a salvage title. There were dealers up in St. Louis a few years ago reselling cars that were new but had flood damage. The owners of ther cars were experiencing electrical issues, rusting and mold growth. Water damage is worse than an accident most of the time since they don't fully rewire a car and replace all the electronic components. Good luck. And park in a deck in the future. I turned on the Atlanta news this morning before heading out and they showed a Lexus with water up to the windshield.

 

you should not be driving it. rather you should never have moved it. file a claim!!!! immediately!!!

 

x4 .. file

 

Where did/does the water enter the cabin? Also, How was the tranny effected? I doubt it was the actual mechanics of the tranny but rather the connections going from the tranny to the computer. I doubt they will total the car, but expect a 5-10k rebuild and check of all that stuff. We had people standing on the roofs of their cars on storrow drive yesterday from the rain, glad we don't have the TL yet and were using the van.

Will going through those deep puddles which kick up 10+ feet of water and make a grinding sound damage the car?

 

Elmer - sorry to hear about your misfortune. We had bad rain her in MA yesterday as well. If you can have it declared totalled, maybe you can:

a) Get a new 05 TL (or even 06!)
b) Get that Lexus you always wanted

I know you've been frusterated with your TL's build quility from past posts. This might be just the opportunity to wipe the slate clean!

 

This was not my TL, it was my 96 Lincoln Towncar

Sorry I didnt realize I forgot to put the vehicle when I posted in a hurry

Im thinking that it wont take much for the vehicle to get totalled since its worth around $8,200 as opposed to 30+ for the TL.

I just hope they dont elect to fix it because I really dont want something going out on me later and having to deal with more repairs.

 

The car has holes all over, and door seals are not water tight.
Differentials and transmissions have vents, seals are not designed to work under water, most
automotive stuff is splash proof, but not built for submergence.

Brett

 

Wait wait wait. This is your lincoln? That changed everything. For starters now no one knows how much water the TL and its parts will take. Are TLs in as much danger from the elements as lincolns?

 

wrong forum, but it should def. be totaled and good luck with insurance

 

Id be sooo pissed if it was the TL, setting aside the fact that its brand new, the car has just so much more wiring and circuitry to go bad than a Towncar.

 

I have pics on a camera phone which would be a bitch to get up on the forum, setting aside the fact that they are terrible quality and at night, theres nothing much to see than a perfectly good loved Towncar with water everywhere!

 

Does anyone have experience with how the TL does with water. How deep can the TL get until it starts to flood? Can it forge?

 

Forge????? Not likely.

 

Alright, but how high can the water line go until it starts to leak?

 

Likely as deep as the bottom of the doors, which is very low.

Lots of people ruin their engines when trying to go through water, many
cars have the air intake low in the front to get cool air for the engine.
Water goes into the intake, into the cylinders, and bends rods.
My sister had that happen to her taurus last summer when a truck made
a wave as she was going through deep water.
She got a great insurance payout and got a new V6 accord.

There were loads of cars that had the same thing happen to them.
The TL pulls air from a wheel well I read, I have not looked into it yet.

if you want to get out of a car, try the deep puddle bit, its sure to ruin the car.
If you LIKE the car, forget about going through anything deeper than about
6 inches of water, and then, go slow....

Brett

 

Yes, in a TL you are screwed if you try to "forge" it in any way

for one thing, if you drive the car into a body of water YOU WILL NOT GET REIMBURSED BY INSURANCE! SO DONT DO IT
insurance does not cover stupidity by the driver (in this case trying to turn your car into a boat for a bit)

The TL sits way lower than a towncar does and the intake is very low, if you get water to that level you are screwed

Im glad it wasnt my tl because the water would have gotten to a much higher level inside since it sits so darn low

 

OK, I will keep that in mind. There should be some sort of float sensor that closes the intake at a certain water level. I dont have the car yet but I assume the intake is on the left(water tends to pool on the outside of the road).

I should have told my father to do that with his taurus the other day, its worth crap but the insurance would be nice.

 

crazymjb....when are you gettign ur tl??

are you looking? there are killer deals out there

i thought i got a deal but people seem to be getting anywhere from invoice to 500 over EASILY

if you are going to buy now is the time, i never anticipated the TL sellign at such good deals so easily

good luck and let us know what color combo you end up with

remember , white is the only color where the bumpers dont match the car!

 

Yeah, but it's still the best color!

 

soonest 1 week, longest 3 weeks. Most likely 1-2 weeks. As of lnow our dealer had 3 Eb, anth, navi, 5ats in stock. My parents considered the 6mt, but think they will wait till there lives are less stressful when we move out. My father finally came to accept that we are getting the TL(my mom buys all the expensive stuff, with their shared account, for him because he can't bring himself to spend their money).