Q: Car won't start after driving through water
Today, I drove through about a foot or so of water. While driving through the water, my car stopped and died. About 10 minutes later, I was able to push it to dry ground. About 6 hours later, I tried to start the car. All the electrical components such as battery and dashboard lights would come on but it would not start. This evening we tried to jump start it and it was trying to turn over but didnt. There was not a clicking sound but it sounded like it wasn't getting enough gas or something wasn't connecting?? Now, when I turn the dashboard lights on, the check engine light, oil light, battery light, and steering wheel light are lit up. The worst part of my situation is that tomorrow is Sunday and I'm afraid all car rentals and mechanic shops will be closed. I understand that it's a car not a boat but I just moved to this new house a few days ago and did not realise how high the water was. Any advice would be great help. Thank you.
My car has 220000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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This is probably not something that anybody will be able to solve quickly. Fixing a car that has been in the water can be very challenging because of the endless list of things that could be wrong. If you were in deep water, and you let up on the gas pedal, it’s possible that water was drawn into the exhaust possibly damaging the catalyst or even getting into the engine and damaging the valves and head gasket. If the water was really only a foot deep, you probably didn’t get any into the fuel system, but that needs to be checked because it is a possibility.The car has some of the electronics mounted low enough that they may have been damaged by water. The list goes on. I recommend you plan on not being able to use this car for a few days and contact Your Mechanic. They can send a technician to your home to check out the car and let you know what it’s going to take to get this thing back on the road.
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