isosunrise

I drove through a "puddle" that was to the hood of my car. I had NO choice..

I went not only once but twice as I had to go in and come out..

My car mad an EXTREMELY bad noise when I was half way through, like a squeaking metal rubbing sound.

I come to find my headlights and fog lights are filled with a large amount of condensation. Its been 3 days and so far nothing has happened to my car - headlights and fogs are still working but tons of condensation.

Im only asking what I am in for as I have made this same mistake with another car and had to replace both cats and some belts after going through tons of water..

Please help, I am a wreck and plus I was out of warranty as of The evening before all this happened.

paulybagadonuts

Maybe you should drive a Hummer with one of those snorkle pipes for the air intake... not a C class!! How did you have "no choice"?

isosunrise

Its a tractor trailer lot, had trucks behind me! Couldn't just stop... For now my cars fine i did noticed some fluttering sound this morning. not sure if its because it's cold out or from excessive water..

amdeutsch

So lets get this straight.

a) This isn't the first time you've done this.
b) You repeated it knowing full well what the consequences could be.
c) You didn't want the responsibility for making others behind you wait on you turning around.
d) You didn't want to get your shoes, pants, etc wet.
e) All of the above

Would that sum it up?

Doanster

You're now unfortunately going to go out to the garage each morning to find a potential new problem. If the water was literally up to your hood, water ingestion into the motor is a real possibility, which is your number one concern. Electrical gremlins will probably appear as well with the fog lights and perhaps some sensors around the wheels (ABS, pad wear, etc.).
Not sure if I would drive it vs letting it sit and dry out a bit, but I'm no expert in this regard.

BTW, I don't care who's behind me... I'm backing up vs driving through a lake!

MBSebas87

dcjwlee

What kind of drugs are you on? I may need some of what you have. PM me your number.


You did something like this?

LouZ

Don't panic.

You didn't get any significant water in the engine. If you did, it would have hydrolocked in an instant and it would be destroyed.

As for the lights, if you are a bit handy, and you have halogen lights, pop the cover in the back that services the light, (there may be pix in the owner's manual), then use a hair dryer and let the warm air circulate for a while. You could do the same for the fogs, but it will be more difficult, just drive with the fogs on for the next few days so that the heat from the lights dry out the housings.

For any underhood components, again, drive for a while so that there is plenty of heat in the engine bay, most components under there are designed for "some" water (they are designed to drive in the rain!) If you are really worried, get a can of belt dressing and WD40 and spray everything down.

.....and yea, when an 18 wheeler is barreling down on you, you made the right choice, so just forget what the other posters stated, although, I'm sure each one of them is a PERFECT driver.

Doanster

"Designed to drive in the rain" != being submerged. That's the concern I'd have because things could be fine now, but then fail while on the road.

Also, the OP didn't say an 18-wheeler was barreling down on him... it was in a tractor trailer LOT, which means he had an opp to back out.

LouZ

He stated....Its a tractor trailer lot, had trucks behind me! Couldn't just stop...

Next time you drive in a big rainstorm, stop and take a look under your hood, water will be draining out like it was submerged!

Domm

Most places would shut down a lane even if it is submerged in a foot of water, so it is extremely dangerous to drive through a flooded area as deep as yours. It would have been safer to purposely stop and have the vehicle behind you be notified with your brake lights than being forcibly stopped through hydrolocking, which could have caused traffic and put yourself in more danger. From what I remember, regardless of whether someone is barreling down the road, if they fail to maintain a safe stopping distance and hit you, the ball is in your court. However, what's done is done and I hope you learn your lesson this time.

RLE

Why would you think this blunder could be covered by warranty?

MBNUT1

+1

isosunrise

Thanks for the calming message.

So Far only large issue is that my headlights & Fog lights have a ton of moisture in them. Ive counted and its been about 6 days since it happened and so far NO damage that I know of. I do notice my breaks feel less responsive.. Under my hood looks like a hurricane, I cleaned it up as much as possible.

I also notice a whining noise when I turn my steering wheel. I noticed it in the past, its become worse after the water incident..

I tried Drying out the headlights with a blow dryer today for an hour on one side it did nothing at all.......

I was thinking of bringing it into MB to say theres moisture in my headlights whats up with that.. good or bad idea.


As far as everyone else. There were trucks behind me, I had no choice but to go through.. I did go slow thinking it would help...

any more positive advise would help

ggms16

Alright... I'm not blaming you for what happened, you have to be there to really understand the situation and of course everyone could react different, He already went thru the water, period. Now lets help him solve.

I would EXTREMELY suggest you to flush your engine immediately. As someone said before, if enough water would be inside of the engine it would be destroyed already, but it doesn't mean water didn't leak into your engine.

I would get a brand new air filter immediately and make an immediately oil change. I'd take the oil to blackstone lab for analysis, if they found water high in the oil, then I would make another oil change in less than 500 miles, just to make sure there's absolutely no more water into the engine.

I wouldn't be worried about the headlights as I would be about the tranny and the engine. For the tranny, if you don't feel its working weird, then don't mess with it, if it starts behaving weird, I would also make an oil and filter change to it.

The steering noise could be because water leaked in the oil reservoir, open it, inspect it with a flashlight, if you see water spots, have it flushed also.

As soon as you have resolved all mechanical concerns, I would take the headlights out, remove all bulbs, wash it with a hose, and dry it with a hair drier.

Good luck and keep us posted.

isosunrise

Obviously I would not go to any MB Dealer for this as I would pay more then this car it worth lol.


I may consider going to some local shop that deals with MB. If you had to put things in order from most important to least what would you say to to do first.

Car is about due for an oil change anyway so thats not a big deal.. As far an engine flush goes how much does that run, along with other things you mentioned... Now im freaked out. I know from experience that nothing bad will happen right away. takes time..

ggms16

I would definitely do the engine first and the air filter. Then check the transmission oil and then the steering.

To give you an idea, these prices are if DIY:

- Oil change, 70$
- Oil analysis by blackstone labs, 20$
- Air filter 40$
- Transmission oil change ~300$
- Steering oil change ~ 150$

So its nothing tooo expensive either. Its definitely not worth more than the car.

clkwork

Your pistons probably look a bit like this:




Don't worry! Just crush up some Viagra and feed it in the gas tank and they will be good as new!

ggms16

LOL

isosunrise

Car is now dead in the garage.. I put the key it makes no sounds nothing. Completely dead... Had the headlights on for 30 minutes and this happened. I cant win!

clkwork

serious advice: stop messing with it and call your insurance company

RLE

Your advice about water ingestion into the engine and trans is not valid. The crankcase is sealed at the dipstick and oil cap and if those part's seals had not been airtight, water or not, the check engine light would have been on previously.

Checking the air filters for moisture is worthwhile but if water had been inhaled by the engine (through the mass airflow sensor) the engine would have quit and that's when internal damage would have occurred.

The trans does not have a dipstick so how would water have gotten inside?

What I don't know is whether the differential has a vent on top.

The power steering reservoir cap has a seal.

RLE

Damage related to this sort of incident is covered by your comprehensive insurance minus your deductible. Not foggy lights but real damage.

A few years back here in Seattle we had some torrential rains and my dealer had a few cars in with hydrolocked engines (including an E55, ever seen a bent rod?) and I was told that insurance picked up the bills.

Scat01

+1 - think about oil pressure, if there was a way for water to just run into the crankcase, don't you think oil would be blasting out everytime the motor was running???

finger360

Yea cut your loses and call the insurance company. Potentially totaled, they will cut you a check and you eat the higher premiums.