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Flood damage?

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LTC8K6 said:
Unless the drains are clogged, there's no more standing water in the car.

He just needs to get the damp areas to dry out and he'll be fine, imo.

The O2 sensors were completely dry about 30 seconds after he started the car, I'd guess.

If he were going to have electrical problems from the water with ABS sensors, etc., he'd have seen them already.

His worry now is corrosion, and drying everything out well is the cure for that.
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LTC pretty much everything in this post is wrong, now that we're all calling you out, lol...
 
I drove to a carwash and they are vacuuming the water out right now. During the drive the airbag light stayed on and the cruise control lght flicked on and off constantly.

I am not a happy camper.
 
tk149 said:
I drove to a carwash and they are vacuuming the water out right now. During the drive the airbag light stayed on and the cruise control lght flicked on and off constantly.

I am not a happy camper.
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Well, now I have to retract... 😀
 
SpatiallyAware said:
LTC pretty much everything in this post is wrong, now that we're all calling you out, lol...
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You are calling me out after the situation has changed, though. Had I known that he still had standing water in the car, and had left it there, and that he was seeing electrical problems, I never would have said what I said.
 
LTC8K6 said:
You are calling me out after the situation has changed, though. Had I known that he still had standing water in the car, and had left it there, and that he was seeing electrical problems, I never would have said what I said.
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Ah no... I called you out after everyone else called you out; before the OP came back and updated with electrical problems.


Really... just leave it. Maybe you posted without thinking first or something, I dunno. It doesn't really matter other than people should know they can't just towel up flooded water and expect no issues.
 
tk149 said:
I drove to a carwash and they are vacuuming the water out right now. During the drive the airbag light stayed on and the cruise control lght flicked on and off constantly.

I am not a happy camper.
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Personally I would not touch the car, even to vacuum it. If you have full coverage your insurance company will total it.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Ah no... I called you out after everyone else called you out; before the OP came back and updated with electrical problems.


Really... just leave it. Maybe you posted without thinking first or something, I dunno. It doesn't really matter other than people should know they can't just towel up flooded water and expect no issues.
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Why should I leave it? I don't think I said anything wrong in the context of the thread. Perhaps I should have quoted your post, but otherwise I'm happy with what I have said.

I don't feel called out at all.
 
LTC8K6 said:
Unless the drains are clogged, there's no more standing water in the car.
Wrong. Cars don't have floor drains, and they don't have "door drains" that are designed to empty out standing water in the event of a flood. They have holes and crap that are there as part of the process of making the door panel and etc, but in no way do the doors, body, trunk, etc have "drains". The only thing that really has a "drain" would be around the edges of some doors, on some cars - and sunroofs. Some cars have rubber plugs that can be pulled - but again, you cannot just towel up the water and forget about it.
He just needs to get the damp areas to dry out and he'll be fine, imo.
Wrong. There will be mold/mildew no matter WHAT he does, even it's right after the flood happens. It is just about impossible to fully dry a car after it has been flooded as high as 20". To imply that he can just get the damp areas is again... Wrong.
The O2 sensors were completely dry about 30 seconds after he started the car, I'd guess.
Ok, technically yes, the 02 sensor itself is dry and fine. Again, it's not the connectors or sensors that are the problem, it's all of the standing water inside of his wiring looms and wire casing that CANNOT be dried out. It WILL cause corrosion over the next few days/weeks.
If he were going to have electrical problems from the water with ABS sensors, etc., he'd have seen them already.
Wrong. In a flooded car it usually takes AT LEAST 24 hours for the problems to really show themselves. Again, these wiring looms are protected from splashing, heavy rain, brief puddles and designed to dry out in those situations. They do not hold out water in a flooded car.
His worry now is corrosion, and drying everything out well is the cure for that.
Wrong. Honestly, corrosion (I'm assuming you mean body corrosion??) is the absolute least of the worried with a flooded car.
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Alright now... Don't start fleabagging us 🙂


Edit:

My replies in bold
 
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SpatiallyAware said:
Alright now... Don't start fleabagging us 🙂
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Um, every car out there most certainly DOES have door drains. And they are NOT part of the manufacturing process, they are there SPECIFICALLY to let water that passes by the belt moulding, mirror, vent glass, etc, out the bottom of the door.

Now, they might not be "designed" SPECIFICALLY to empty the door in case of a flood....then again, they are also going to be the spot where rising water enters the door in the first place.

But yes, all cars have door drains.

Mold/Mildew: If he got the carpet completely dried out NOW, there wouldn't be any. Best option would be take the car to an interior shop, have them remove the seats and carpet, and hang them up over night to dry. (the carpet, not the seats) But if it all gets dried QUICKLY, it won't stink. Once it does, though....it's tough to get that smell out. Not to mention the health hazards of breathing that junk.


edit: I am referring to the bolded text in the post above this one....I assume Spatially Aware posted those replies in bold, as they do not appear elsewhere in this thread......but my answer here is to whomever did that. If it's not S.A., my apologies.
 
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Pacfanweb said:
Um, every car out there most certainly DOES have door drains. And they are NOT part of the manufacturing process, they are there SPECIFICALLY to let water that passes by the belt moulding, mirror, vent glass, etc, out the bottom of the door.

Now, they might not be "designed" SPECIFICALLY to empty the door in case of a flood....then again, they are also going to be the spot where rising water enters the door in the first place.

But yes, all cars have door drains.
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I covered that:

"The only thing that really has a "drain" would be around the edges of some doors, on some cars"


These drains aren't going to empty the water out of all the nooks and crannies inside his door panel. No way, no how. I'd bet even after 24hrs of hot weather there's still water pooled up in his firewall, trunk, door crevices/tracks, etc. You (or LTC?) were implying that car doors are somehow design to withstand FLOOD water, which is totally different from what the door drains are designed to drain.


Again, he's not saying some kid spray water in his car... This is an entire different ballgame.
 
The car is now relatively dry...at least on the surface. The carwash guys did a good job of sucking the water out.

I brought the car to a Toyota dealer, but they weren't going to be able to look at it until tomorrow. I made an appointment. The mechanic said that the airbag light and cruise control light weren't really a problem.

It started really raining last night at about 10 PM. I came out to the car at about 7:30 AM and the parking lot only had some puddles. I'm really hoping that the car wasn't in high water for very long.

I'm going to try to locate the fuseboxes and check them for water tonight. Any other suggestions?
 
Alright now... Don't start fleabagging us
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AFAIK, there isn't anything to stop rain from filling up the doors, thus the drains. A heavy rain can put a lot of water in your doors. Without drains, they'd get a lot of water in them.

As for the rest, I already covered it, as did others, not sure why you felt the need to go over it again.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
And you have full coverage on it?


You also might want to talk to your apartment complex, their insurance should cover property damage due to flood.
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My State Farm car insurance has comprehensive with a $500 deductible. I've never been in any kind of claims situation before. What are they likely to pay?
 
tk149 said:
My State Farm car insurance has comprehensive with a $500 deductible. I've never been in any kind of claims situation before. What are they likely to pay?
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Um comprehensive? Nothing. It sounds like you don't have collision (full coverage) - maybe uninsured would cover it, I'm really not an insurance guy.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Um comprehensive? Nothing. It sounds like you don't have collision (full coverage) - maybe uninsured would cover it, I'm really not an insurance guy.
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The insurance agent said Comprehensive coverage and that I would be covered beyond the $500 deductible. I have Collision coverage too so hopefully I'm covered either way.

The website says
Comprehensive CoveragePays for damages to your vehicle that is not a result of a collision, such as theft of your car, vandalism, flooding, fire, or a broken windshield. However it will pay if you collide with an animal. Comprehensive Coverage will also pay substitute transportation expenses of up to $16 a day if your car is stolen. Payments will be made starting 48 hours after the theft is reported to us.
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Well, the insurance report has been submitted. I dunno how that is going to screw up my resale value. I was hoping to trade in the car next year. 🙁
 
SpatiallyAware said:
I covered that:

"The only thing that really has a "drain" would be around the edges of some doors, on some cars"


These drains aren't going to empty the water out of all the nooks and crannies inside his door panel. No way, no how. I'd bet even after 24hrs of hot weather there's still water pooled up in his firewall, trunk, door crevices/tracks, etc. You (or LTC?) were implying that car doors are somehow design to withstand FLOOD water, which is totally different from what the door drains are designed to drain.
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Then perhaps you could explain this:

and they don't have "door drains" that are designed to empty out standing water in the event of a flood. They have holes and crap that are there as part of the process of making the door panel and etc, but in no way do the doors, body, trunk, etc have "drains"
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You said the doors don't have drains. They do. Every single car made that might get wet has them. No, they weren't designed with floods in mind, but there's no difference between water coming by the window and getting inside the door and water coming up through the drains and getting inside the door, OR the drains getting clogged up and letting water build up and slosh around inside the door.
Water is water, and inside the door is inside the door, regardless of how it got there. The water inside the door panel itself is a non-issue. It's plastic, mostly, and water will run out if it just like the water inside the door itself will run out the drains.

You may well be confused about exactly what you're trying to describe here, which could be the problem.
I am talking about metal drains holes in the bottom of the sheet metal of the door....holding water in the door can foul up window motors, lock actuators, regulators, etc.
All cars have those drains.

As far as car's various drains....you'd be wrong on some of those points, too. Convertible tops have drains and channels. Cowls have drains of varying designs. Sunroofs and doors, as you mentioned, do. Rockers have drains. All weatherstrips are designed to channel water so it can drain off. Trunk lids that have rear bolt-on panels have drains in the bottom of them. Etc, etc.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
Again, my bet is they total it.. In which case you'll get the market value of the car minus $500...
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Market value before or after the flood? 😛

Bluebook says $6000 for my car in "excellent" condition. I would have said my car was in almost excellent condition before this.


EDIT: BTW, I just wanted to thank everybody who posted advice in this thread. Sorry, I've been kind of angry/sad/frustrated all day and didn't think of it earlier.
 
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tk149 said:
Market value before or after the flood? 😛

Bluebook says $6000 for my car in "excellent" condition. I would have said my car was in almost excellent condition before this.


EDIT: BTW, I just wanted to thank everybody who posted advice in this thread. Sorry, I've been kind of angry/sad/frustrated all day and didn't think of it earlier.
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I think they might search around and see what cars like yours are actually selling for, and not use just book value.....never know with insurance companies.
 
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