Driving through Deep Water
Other
Lately I have had to drive through deep water and this did concern me greatly.
I have now learnt how to do it safely without any damage to my car.
This is the correct way to do it
First approach the deep water slowly assess the depth of the water, only continue if the water goes halfway up your tyres.
Check that there is no oncoming traffic.
Enter the water a little and stop allowing the water in front of the car to settle with the rear of the car still out of the water. Then continue in the middle (generally) or the shallowest area in first gear slowly in high Revs without changing gear until you reach the other side.
Do not be tempted to panic halfway and speed up because the wave will then come over the bonnet and damage the engine badly. Definitely do not stop midway.
When you exit the water do not speed up continue slowly and tap the brakes as they will be wet and not work properly.
For the record I have managed it every time
Well done for posting this good advice where we live we get a lot of sea and river flooding
jdible you’re welcome. Best to avoid if possible after Telmel has said. I had no choice as flooded from all directions to get to my house which fortunately isn’t too close to where it happens round my way
The most expensive thing besides the engine and brakes is the catalyst converter
If it is very hot and you drive through a flood it can destroy it
Even water getting in the tailpipe can cause serious damage. The catalytic converter can be ruined and mean up to a £1,000 repair or replacement and it may not be noticed until failing an emissions test on the MOT
telmel wow I didn’t know about that! Thanks for adding this very helpful advice
telmel mine shouldn’t have been too hot as had only driven 2 miles and half of that was through traffic
telmel out of interest, how long do you need to drive for it to get hot? Thanks
jillylovesyou There isn't any particular length or time J, if you were driving on a motorway for example very fast for 10 minutes it would get very hot, or slowly for say 30 minutes on a normal road , it depends on the way you drive and how fast , also if the weather conditions are hot or cold
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