350TLS

oh boy!!!!!!! bought a 07 Type S 6 weeks ago..last week, rained pretty hard in houston and then it stopped for 10 minutes..have to take my sister home to her house so we jumped in and rushed out of the sub..as we closer to the stop sign, i saw that the water was rising to the bottom bumper..so i stopped and put in reverse and it stalled..i was like "oh shieieit" ..i opened the door to see what happened and water rushed in the car..i'm f*%$@...didnt wanna make it worse so i didnt start the engine..called my brother and we pushed the car back to the house..got the vacuum and sucked the water out of the car..it seems like the water never ends..the next day, sucked more water out. the carpet is dried but under the carpet i can feel there's puddles of water..called the insurance guy and he said check the intake/ air filter. checked it and its all wet and damped..f*#&^$ me!! called for a claim..this is the question, after i thought about it, shouldn't i started the engine again and have it totaled or leave it as it is for the insurance company to fix?? i thought maybe it was because i reversed the car and water blocked the exhaust pipe that and the engine died..but after i check the intake, i knew that there's water in the engine..the adjuster is coming out tomorow..what should i do??

rbf351

you can try to see if the engine will work or not.

remove all of your spark plugs, and intake, and then crank the engine a few times, all of the water will come out though the spark plug holes. after all the water is gone, replace the plugs, and intake, and give it a crank. if you are lucky the engine will turn over, and you didn't destroy it.

hopefully you were smart, and didn't try to crank the engine after it shut down

also you will need to remove all the carpet if you want to get all the water out, there is padding under the carpet that can hold alot of water

350TLS

no i did not try to start the engine after it cut off..

i talked to some of the mechanics and that is what they told me to do with the spark plugs and stuff..but im afraid if i do that the insurance company might think that im sabotaging it..i just left everything alone..

after thinking about it over, i should have started the engine again so that i can have the car totaled and get me new TL-S instead of fixing it and have problems later in the future, and, also devalue of the car with water damaged title...the air intake is still damped after 3 days sittin in the sun...what would the insurance company pay in something like this??

trancemission

I would do exactly what rb said.

rbf351

you should have tried what i mentioned above before you called the insurance company.

also your car would not have been totalled because of engine failure. they would have removed and replaced the carpet, and rebuilt the engine, which is most likely what they are going to do now.

350TLS

is it too late now since the ins guy hasnt come yet? if it goes well i'll just cancel the claim..bc i sure dont want this problem to be in carfax if it is not major...i rather spend a few hundred dollars to clean up than to file a claim..i dont like filing claims..it looks bad on my driving record...its been pretty clean and i like to keep it that way..

rbf351

i would see if you can at least remove the water from the engine before he gets there

but remember you might have already damaged it.

darksom1

They will not total his car as you said, but if it is spewing water like that, I think it is safe to say he hydrolocked it, and if the insurance company will fix it...then why do any of that stuff you are asking him to do? That is the least that the service repair will do to it. So just let them, unless he has a high deductible, I don't really see the point in him removing carpet and trying to "dry it out" now. If it was my engine and it turned over, I would still be leery of future concerns as he said and want it handled professionally.

OP: Locking your engine will not result in messing up your driving record. It has NO bearing on that whatsoever. So I am going to assume you meant your record with your insurance company. If I am not mistaken, this will go under comprehensive anyway and not cause a big problem? I just know if I had a brand new car and it locked on me, I would want it to be as good as new, and if my deductible would not be higher than the repairs...then why the hell would I not go that route? The only reason not to report any claim to me, is because I can get it fixed for less than my deductible and not have my insurance go up. This, however, far exceeds any deductible!

rbf351

just because there is water in it, it doesn't mean it is damaged. it will cost him nothing to remove the plugs, and get whatever water is in there out. sometimes people get lucky, and there is 0 damage done to the engine. if the engine turns over, and no check engine lights or any other dummy lights come on, then there is nothing to worry about.

darksom1

Gotcha! Thanks rbf351!

I'll chuck that info away for FYI since I have an AEM CAI, tho I will never go near high water if I can help it!

dudechewy

damn that sux....happened to my car couple of months ago.....try cleaning the spark plugs and if it doesnt work u need a new motor......and insurance does cover it.......when it happened to my car they had to replace the whole engine and insurance paid for the whole thing.....but the car was never the same ....good luck hopefully changing the spark plugs works out for u...

bruce.augenstein@comcast.

Just grin and bear it. You wouldn't have been able to restart a hydrolocked engine anyway. You more than likely have crankshaft damage and/or a bent connecting rod. This can all be taken care of, so I'd be more concerned with other flood damage and the resulting possibility of long term electrical problems.

Bruce

rbf351

i guess if you never were in the situation you wouldn't know better, but you can get lucky, and the engine just stalls, and no damage happens, and as long as the water did not rise above the where the ECU is then there would be no electrical damage. and all you have is a wet carpet

geekybiker

Oh no, that's not true. I've done it. shortly after the con rod punched a hole in the cylinder wall and stopped it permanently though.

This type of claim will go under comprehensive. Dont worry about it. However get that carpet up and dried out immediately. The longer it stays wet, the greater chance your car will smell like mildew for the rest of its life.

Silver Bullet

Man I feel your pain! Good luck on getting it resolved.

Flood water is nasty stuff even if you "dry" out the car. I would definitely make sure they pull all the carpet and padding. Hopefull the leather didn't get wet.

How hide did the water get when it got in your car? Maybe the electrical isn't a problem.

350TLS

thanks guys for the input...
the car is sittin in the driveway at an angle and the water is pushing to the back..we sucked up as much water as can but we cant sucked those puddles under the carpet..the only thing i checked was the air intake/filter and it was soaked..i didnt want to mess with it anymore after that...
my deductible is only $500, i know this incident is gonna cost at least $5000...the car been sittin there for 4 days already...it just sucksssss....
the water level just reached high enuff where i open the door water spill in the car..so i dont think it was that bad..but on the front passenger side..the're no water on the floor..(my wife on the passenger side was all clean and dry and bietchy hehe) so i guess the water inside the car was due to me openning the driver side and it flooded in.....

also..it seems like everything is fine with electricity (crossing my fingers) bc everyhting worked..lights, panels, dashboards, radios...

and where is the ECU??

leedogg

I would use one of those wet/dry vacs then leave the doors open

350TLS

yeh..i rented a wet/dry vac from kroger the day after and sucked them all out..left the doors open..but the next day...i touched the floor and it got damped again..i can feel the puddles beneath the carpet....i aint messing with it anymore...let the pros do it..

rbf351

why pay 500 bucks when you can pay nothing, remove the 6 spark plugs. and crank all the water form the engine.

also the ecu is right where the ABS edu is located, which is the square box with the yellow plugs in the picture below(my TL)

350TLS

thanks rfb351 for the insight..
looking at the pic, i dont think water got even close to these units...i think the electrical components are safe..but when i check the dipstick for the trans fluid, it looked kinda pink instead of a deep red color like regular transmission..but i'll go home and do the spark plug test bc the claim adjuster cant make it to day...

also, a really good friend of mine is an ins agent who sold me Farmers Ins told me to file a claim bc every insurance company allowed 1 forgiveness..that means that you are allowed 1 claim b4 rates goes up..(well he better tell me the truth or i'll kick his arse when we go drinking hehe)

rbf351

it's not even about that, you don't want a flood on your cars title. basically your car will be worthless if thats on there.

if you were from NY i would help you out with this. it's such a simple thing if your internals didn't get damaged

also since your tranny is a sealed unit, no possible way for water to get in there. so nothing to worry about there. the color is normal

350TLS

thanks rbf..im gonna try the spark plugs stuff..if all good then im gonna cancel the claim..i rather spend up to $2000 instead of a flood title

jay0k

This is one of the reasons why I talked myself out of the CAI. That and the dealer trying to void my warranty.

And yes, you are correct, it will most likely raise your rates.

I've never filed a claim and I get a hefty discount for being "100% Claim Free". If I so much as submit a claim for my car being keyed, hail damage, etc, I would lose it.

rbf351

just remember that you need to remove all the spark plugs and intake box before you try to crank it

also there is a chance that the engine is already damamged, and i can not be help responsible for anything you do or try to your car

geekybiker

Have a mechanic look it over (Probably compression/leaddown tests?) before you cancel anything. Water damage can be seriously expensive. Worth asking the insurance agent if this would result in having a flood branded title. (Most flood damaged cars are totalled anyways.)

SteveP66

Me 2...... sorry buddy - hope it all works to your advantage

6spMike

There may be some rubber plugs in the floor pans you can remove to let the water drain out. I'm not certain Acuras heve them, though.

ankur914

Correct me if Im wrong here, but doesnt the TL's original factory intake cold source near those lower front valence grills (specifically the driver's side lower valence). From many pics Ive seen of installed CAI's, the CAI filter actually resides in the vicintiy of the drivers side headlight - higher than the hypothesized (at least by me) location of the factory intake cold sourcing inlet......i dont know...but its just a thought. (also, i believe the factory cold sourcing works on the basis of "force" where you essentially have to be driving for air to enter that inlet..then again, im not to familar with this....)

OP: Hope you have no engine damage. I believe your insurance company should forgive you just this once, as it was not driver error (arguable, i know, but so is the fact that it was caused by nature tooo as the downpour was signifcant to make it unavoidable). Hopefully you get your car running like new. Best of luck!

bruce.augenstein@comcast.

OK, that sure gave me my grin for the day.

Thanks,

Bruce

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

p.s.

get some air freshners, cause the water is gonna get moldy and start to stink. lol

i had a friend who hydrolocked and flooded the interior of a 3.2CL. man, that car smelled for months. he didnt do a good job of cleaning it. like other people said, remove the carpet.. maybe get a wet/dry vac or something

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Let the insurance company handle the claim.
There will be no Flood Title unless the car is totaled, and then you wouldn't care. Why do all the work if the insurance will pay for the cleanup, and if a problem arises down the road, you'd be able to add it to the claim and have it taken care of at no cost.

350TLS

alrighty....thanks for the feedbacks..
talked to the insurance company and they said they will take care of everything..there will be no flood title just comprehensive coverage.. they took it to the Honda/Acura collison center and took the carpets out..sucked all the water, adjuster say there will be no rust of any kind bc Acura has good paint sealant..they replace the paddings under the carpets, cleaned the carpets so all of that is taken care of..they gonna check the electrical components..then..they gonna bring it to the actual Acura dealer to work on the engine..there's water in the engine but only the top half of the engine bc it went thru the intake..he said the bottom half is fine bc the car is so new that the sealant is tight..it'll take 10-15 days for them to finish the job.. i told him take as long as they can to do it right..im in no rush to get it back..
will keep you guys posted..
also..is that guy clearing out the amber for the headlights still doing it? i want to send in the headlights to get them cleared while it is in the shop..

AngeloUCF

I agree with you 100%. I did the same in my Civic a few years ago. Huge downpour with a CAI hydrolocked the car for hours. When it finally started, I thought everything was fine. A few months later, after the water weakened the internals significantly, a rod busted through the crankcase while driving about 35mph down the road. Had to replace then engine, of course.

This happens almost religiously to engines in this situation. Yours will probably last a bit longer since it's brand new, but I'd get rid of it.

vara411

Crap!! This just happened to me today on Miami Beach. Went for breakfast and there was a steady downpour. Before I knew it, the streets were flooded. My TL was parked by the curb and the water was rising. I decided I'd drive her out of harm's way. Well, it worked, but only for a little while. Water had already risen elsewhere on the streets and had come up just below the bottom of the door. Long story short, the engine stalled. My first reflex was to crank the engine just once to see if I could still get out of the water. Made a nasty sound (like when you turn the ignition while the car is still on) so I decided not to do it again.

Roadside Assistance picked me up and now it's on its way to the shop......... but now I'm crapping bricks based on what I'm reading here. Could I have killed the engine? I have comprehensive coverage thru GEICO... would they cover the engine damage if I did?????

I can't believe the rotten luck I've had with my car since I got her. I've tried so hard to take care of her... could someone send me an encouraging word on this? I'll accept the truth, too.

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hear that vara. hope the car didn't get damaged too bad, but the insurance should cover it either way. did water get in the interior or did it just get in the engine?

darksom1

I don't know what to say bro...but here's a hug from AZ:

wait...they didn't kiss did they? LOL!

I hope that second crank you did to get out of harm's way was not a big one. Also, do you have an aftermarket CAI installed?

vara411

Hey guys thanks for the love. I'm feelin it. My poor little girl. I had just gotten the A-spec suspension put in two days ago, too!

Water did NOT get into the interior. I do NOT have an aftermarket CAI, though something like this is making me consider it!

You wouldn't believe the crap that people were telling me to do.
Person 1: "Yeah man, just crank it until you push all that water out the engine."
Me: "Umm... thanks but no."

Person 2: "There's an Autozone right across the street. Get you some QuickStart spray, open the air filter, and spray that in there. It burns quicker than gas so you should have a start and all that water will just spit out the back."
Me: "Umm... thanks but no."

Sheesh.

Last question: does comprehensive coverage work increase your insurance premiums? I had just finished getting into a fender bender 3 weeks ago and I'm scared they'll be through the roof now.

rbf351

if he would have told you to remove your spark plugs then crank it until the water is out of the engine, he would have been correct.

darksom1

LOL, isn't that remark supposed to be more like something like this is making me NOT consider it? If you had an aftermarket CAI, you may have taken in more water. That's what people DON'T like about them. A reason NOT to get one is what I mean. LOL! However, I have one and love it, but I don't swim in my Ack though! Good luck on the fix, if necessary!

As for the insurance, I am not sure on that, but I thought the more money you cause them, is what makes your rates go up. I don't know if comp claims fit underneath that though. You don't want to contact them at any rate unless you have to. (Interpret that as if you can't get this fixed for a lot less than your deductible)

Oh yeah, +1 on rbf's remark about the spark plugs!

leedogg

yeah, you gave him 2 kisses. how cute.