[JUSKIDN]

I left work at the Navy Pensacola ER Wednesday night and was driving through the parking lot in a few inches of water. The rain was so bad that is was coming down sideways with very limited visibility. The news said we got 5" around that time frame with a total of 24" for the whole day. Anyway as I was driving the car stalled and would not start. The display read "ignition malfunction" contact dealer. I did and they said it does not sound good and thinks water may have been sucked in the air intake. As the car was being loaded on the flatbed water was coming out the exhaust. I will find out more I guess once the insurance adjuster looks at it and gets it to the dealership. I should be very upset but on the news I have seen people who have lost much more including their houses and loved ones. The car is just "stuff" and "stuff" can be replaced.

[overcoil]

Sorry to hear about the malfunction.

Not really shore where your air-intake is on your car. Sometimes forward motion in high water can guide water pass the air filters into the cylinders and crack the pistons - hydro lock - can happen with fuel also if injectors malfunction.

Some times when pulling car onto a flatbed the water poring along the underside with some water in the final quarter of the exhaust can make it appear water is draining from the engine.

Maybe a computer or electrical device got too much moisture and failed and you don't have massive failure.

[JUSKIDN]

well the dealer has the car and the whole engine has to be replaced. The motor was hydro-locked but luckily my insurance will cover the damage minus the $500 deductible. A new engine with labor is $17K.

[Vitoco]

Originally Posted by JUSKIDN

well the dealer has the car and the whole engine has to be replaced. The motor was hydro-locked but luckily my insurance will cover the damage minus the $500 deductible. A new engine with labor is $17K.

Nice to hear it worked out for you! Was this "just" from heavy rainfall or did u drive through high water?

Is there reason to fear driving when it´s raining a lot or was this some kind of "freak accident" with a bunch of factors coming in to play. In that case, what are the factors?

[Efthreeoh]

OP, how fast in the parking lot were you going and how deep was the water? A "few inches" of water at normal parking lot speeds should not have allowed the engine to ingest so much water that it hydro-locked the engine. The engine air intake is pretty high up behind the grill.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by notime

Sorry to hear about the malfunction.

Not really shore where your air-intake is on your car. Sometimes forward motion in high water can guide water pass the air filters into the cylinders and crack the pistons - hydro lock - can happen with fuel also if injectors malfunction.

Some times when pulling car onto a flatbed the water poring along the underside with some water in the final quarter of the exhaust can make it appear water is draining from the engine.

Maybe a computer or electrical device got too much moisture and failed and you don't have massive failure.

Generally the piston rods get bent when an engine hydro-locks.

[fecurtis]

Sounds like you hit a puddle with a lot more than just a "few inches" of water in it. Not particularly easy to hydro-lock engines.

At least they're getting it fixed and you're only out $500. Hopefully your premium doesn't increase too much as a result.

[chiefneil]

That's unusual for just a few inches of water. The air intake is way up high. I've driven through some fairly deep puddles during monsoon season (deep enough that I could feel the car slow dramatically and lighten up) in my E46 without problems. Sounds like I'll need to be more cautious in my F30.

Glad your insurance is covering it. 17k is a big chunk of change.

[JUSKIDN]

The BMW rep said it could have been blown in there as well from the wind and rain. The weather was horrible that night. When it stalled I had to leave it there and the water rose up higher throughout the night. Luckily it didn't get in the interior but the next day when the water receded I could see grass and small debris stuck in the air dam vents. The BMW dealer in Pensacola said he had about 30 BMWs that were damaged in the water but most will be a total loss. I will never try to go through any puddles ever again.

Another little bit of info from one of my coworkers there that had his X5 in the storm. You know how you can hold down the remote and all the windows roll down and sun roof opens? well thunder struck real loud and somehow made this happen. When he went to the vehicle the next morning it was filled with water. The leather seats were swollen and many of the electronics were ruined. Im unsure what his damages will cost.

[claykin]

Water blowing into the air intake will not seize an engine. Air intake had to digest a good gulp of water to pass through the air filter box to the engine.

Has insurance company representative verified diagnosis? Typically they'll send someone to dealer to verify the engine really is toast.

[JUSKIDN]

yes the insurance adjuster was there Monday and he concurred, the new motor was ordered then.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by JUSKIDN

The BMW rep said it could have been blown in there as well from the wind and rain. The weather was horrible that night. When it stalled I had to leave it there and the water rose up higher throughout the night. Luckily it didn't get in the interior but the next day when the water receded I could see grass and small debris stuck in the air dam vents. The BMW dealer in Pensacola said he had about 30 BMWs that were damaged in the water but most will be a total loss. I will never try to go through any puddles ever again.

Another little bit of info from one of my coworkers there that had his X5 in the storm. You know how you can hold down the remote and all the windows roll down and sun roof opens? well thunder struck real loud and somehow made this happen. When he went to the vehicle the next morning it was filled with water. The leather seats were swollen and many of the electronics were ruined. Im unsure what his damages will cost.

I live on a small river. When it floods I have to drive though deep water, so I'm pretty familiar with high water crossing . Now, my old Jeep, F150, and Hummer H3T all have intake systems designed to drive through water and not have water hydro-lock the engine, but when you drive through water that deep (halfway up the door sometimes) you drive very slowly (2 -3 MPH) as to not create a bow wave up on the bumper, which will get water into the engine.

10 years ago we had to replace the bridge over the river, so for several months we drove through the river every day in my E30 and my wife's Z3. The river usually has 3 - 5 inches of water in it. Never did either the E30 or Z3 injest any water into the intake. The E30 even had a K&N cone filter conversion without the airbox. I think you were just driving too fast.

[JUSKIDN]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I live on a small river. When it floods I have to drive though deep water, so I'm pretty familiar with high water crossing . Now, my old Jeep, F150, and Hummer H3T all have intake systems designed to drive through water and not have water hydro-lock the engine, but when you drive through water that deep (halfway up the door sometimes) you drive very slowly (2 -3 MPH) as to not create a bow wave up on the bumper, which will get water into the engine.

10 years ago we had to replace the bridge over the river, so for several months we drove through the river every day in my E30 and my wife's Z3. The river usually has 3 - 5 inches of water in it. Never did either the E30 or Z3 injest any water into the intake. The E30 even had a K&N cone filter conversion without the airbox. I think you were just driving too fast.

the BMW tech or maybe it was the adjuster, told me the intake on the M sport is very low. Thats why the American model doesn't have the fog lights.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by JUSKIDN

the BMW tech or maybe it was the adjuster, told me the intake on the M sport is very low. Thats why the American model doesn't have the fog lights.

I'm not super familiar with the F30 nor the M-sport version. I had an F30 as a loaner back in August and while I didn't go through the car to the level of detail of noting exactly where the intake pulls air from, but I did peek under the hood and saw what in my opinion is an unattractive airbox (not that my opinion matters). When your post came up I looked at realOEM.com to take a look at the air intake system and from what I can tell the intake is still pretty high up behind the grill, like every 3-series I've ever seen (back to the 320i).

Real OEM doesn't show a different intake tract for the M-sport version (I doubt it is different). What I do notice is there is a intake charge heat exchanger in the intake system that looks like the exchanger is mounted low in the front end. Perhaps your car has a damaged intake tract in the plumbing somewhere low in the car that allowed it to ingest that much water to hydro-lock the engine. Usually a car will just shut down if water gets in the intake to the point where it starves the engine of air and stalls and doesn't take in enough water to actually damage the engine. If you do have a damaged intake tract at the heat exchanger, however, it seems to me a SES light would show up if the leak in the heat exchanger plumbing is after the mass airflow sensor. If the intake is set up so that the location of the mass airflow sensor can't detect a leak in the intake tract after the sensor (i.e. air filter), then that's a design flaw.

I hope everything works out for you.

[JUSKIDN]

it will be fine, my insurance is putting a new motor in it. I will never go through any water ever again :-)