Water + car = ?

KNiVES

KNiVES

KNiVES

Soldato
Joined
4 Jan 2005
Posts
15,020
I just took the dog out - I take him in my car to some of the fields just outside the village where I live. Along my usual route, there was a part that was over a river and it was just totally flooded. I plodded through it just fine (it was knee-high) but on the way back the car just stalled and stopped dead right in the middle of the water. I had to get out and push the car out the deeper water (I can't feel my legs right now the water was freezing). I got in the car at the shallow end, and it took about 10 minutes to ignite and start properly. The car's working now but the handling feels sluggish. Is there anything I should know about this, is it safe to drive once all the water's gone after a set period of time, or would I need to get some guys on it? It's a Daihatsu Terios.

I realize I shouldn't have gone through the water but I underestimated how much of an effect it had, even if the car was high up.
 
previous_daihatsu_terios.jpg


but its a 4x4??
 
I went into the water slowly, about 10mph or so - I didn't want to crash into it like a nutter :p

I think it's fine now, but I'll give it another whirl later on just to be sure.
 
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I thought if you stalled you were meant to wait 10 minutes or so then try starting it again. Or is this wrong?
 
It doesn't sound like you've hydraulicd it. Probably just water in the electrics somewhere, or a damaged MAF (can be expensive).


If you do get water in pistons, waiting 10 mins won't do much, you need to take the plugs out and deal with the water.
 
Ok I just went for a whirl and it feels perfectly fine now. Braking, acceleration, response, etc are all unaffected.

Unfortunately I've just noticed my front number plate's gone missing ! :eek: It must've came off when I drove through the floodwater. What's the law on numberplates, is it legal to drive without the front numberplate on yet still have the back one on? And how much would it cost to get a new one as well as having it fitted?

(you can tell it's my first car, I've only been driving for 3 years)
 
Wouldn't there be the possibility of damage to whatever holds the screws in though? If it came off during driving through floodwater, it might not be enough to hold the new numberplate. I'll take some pictures tomorrow in the morning and show you guys anyway. It seems largely fine to me. There's two small holes where the plate goes in front of.
 
KNiVES said:
Wouldn't there be the possibility of damage to whatever holds the screws in though? If it came off during driving through floodwater, it might not be enough to hold the new numberplate. I'll take some pictures tomorrow in the morning and show you guys anyway. It seems largely fine to me. There's two small holes where the plate goes in front of.
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There's these things...called sticky pads! :D

Wonderful things :D
 
How are you supposed to drive through fords and the like anyhow (apart from slowly).. are you supposed to keep dipping the clutch and rev the nuts off it in a petrol?
 
Solari said:
How are you supposed to drive through fords and the like anyhow (apart from slowly).. are you supposed to keep dipping the clutch and rev the nuts off it in a petrol?
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If the water is deep enough to worry about it on the fords around here then it's best not to try and drive through them.

That doesn't stop the odd chancer in a 4x4 trying and they usually end up being swept down river and a rescue operation has to be mounted. To access this ford you have to turn off the main road where as if you'd kept to the main road it crosses the river on a bridge and it's probably only a half mile deviation.

This on here - http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=54.747619,-2.01553&spn=0.002177,0.004989&z=18
 
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