Phev - wading depth?

[Markyswan]

So is this the same as people that clean the engine bays with water. I caused damage when I did this a while ago 

[TonyHSD]

On 11/21/2022 at 9:29 PM, Markyswan said:

So is this the same as people that clean the engine bays with water. I caused damage when I did this a while ago 

No, cleaning engine bay with jet wash done correctly is no risk at all and usually does not cause hydro lock. Sometimes when engine is washed some water may enter into wire harness with damages protection and cause some problems but it’s rare occurrence. 
Driving through deep water though is a complete different story. What kills the engines is water sucked by the engine via air filter , since water ca not be compressed the pistons stopes before tdc same as the hot the valves and bend the con rods which means total engine failure. Along with that comes many other issues including flooding the interior which is so bad that in USA cars with wet carpet been written off immediately classed as bio hazard. 
Here one of the best ever episodes, love it 👌

 

[ernieb]

8 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

No, cleaning engine bay with jet wash done correctly is no risk at all and usually does not cause hydro lock. Sometimes when engine is washed some water may enter into wire harness with damages protection and cause some problems but it’s rare occurrence. 
Driving through deep water though is a complete different story. What kills the engines is water sucked by the engine via air filter , since water ca not be compressed the pistons stopes before tdc same as the hot the valves and bend the con rods which means total engine failure. Along with that comes many other issues including flooding the interior which is so bad that in USA cars with wet carpet been written off immediately classed as bio hazard. 
Here one of the best ever episodes, love it 👌

 

It's the lads on the sides giving encouragement " go on mate you'll be alright". 😄

[yossarian247]

It does amuse me in those Rufford ford videos when you see a car start floating and the brake lights then come on. In that situation you don't need brakes, you need an anchor! 

[philip42h]

I can understand someone who'd bought a LR Discovery (wading depth 900mm) wanting to put it through water up to that depth - after all, what's the point of buying a car and not at least exploring it's limits.

I really can't understand folk attempting to take a family hatchback through 3 feet of water - do they really not know that that should be impossible?

At least at Rufford Ford there is a marker clearly indicating the depth of water in the ford, and a  driver can take a measured decision on whether they are likely to get through either for fun or for necessity. But out in the real world there are no such depth markers - instead the driver has to make a judgement based on the surroundings. If I can clearly see the kerb / verge on both sides of the road I can be reasonably sure that the water is less than a foot deep. If I can see the hedgerow disappearing under the water I know that the water is likely to be way, way too deep. Otherwise one just doesn't know unless you wade through the water first (and the freeboard on my wellingtons is only 300mm even assuming that I have them to hand). If I can't see the kerb edges, I'm probably going to have to find another way around ... 😉

[Parts-King]

We have had umpteen cars go bang when driving through flood water (Toyota and other makes) funny how it's always somebody else's fault though! Nobody takes any ownership of doing stupid things anymore, quite a sad state of affairs really. There are plenty of videos of the consequences on YouTube 

[TonyHSD]

Did you see the Fiat 500, was floating then return to the land 😂 in reverse . They have strange air intake and probably that’s was what saved it and everyone was talking “ how did it survive “ 👌😉

Ans yes, the spectators are encouraging people to go through it and then they are laughing at them, very typical for the geographical area 🫢🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
One German commenter says that in their country firstly people will never try on that deep water and secondly the the locals will warn people not to proceed., but here it’s a tourist attraction, and how wouldn’t be 😂🚗💦

[yossarian247]

Part of the problem is that the average driver nowadays has little or no knowledge of how an internal combustion engine works, and many seem to think that if they go through fast enough, or with enough revs, their engine will somehow overcome the water. Of course quite the opposite is true. 

[TonyHSD]

For hybrids best way to go is slow and steady in ev mode if there is enough Battery charge. In event of too deep water but too late to go back finish the crossing and pull over immediately and switch off the car. Open bonnet and check air intake and open air filter , if all dry you can continue, if wet or any water in, you need to dry everything out properly before starting the car again. And if there is any water pass air filter towards Mac sensor and throttle body best not to start and call for recovery. This way the engine can be saved. 👍