Flooded.
I'm going to call my insurance tomorrow and get it towed to the dealership. Anyone else experience anything similar? The water honestly wasn't too high, as I chose that detour to avoid having to drive through flooded water in the first place. I'm a very anxious, so I was hoping I could get some feedback, or any past stories. Will insurance cover it (full coverage)? What probably occurred? Are there any other alternatives to try and clear the water out myself?
I've been in much worse situations and have gotten out without a scratch. I did not intentionally drive into this flooded area, and I was out of options. Flame me if you will, but please leave some advice while you do so




If you claim it, it may be noted as water damage on carfax.
If you got water into engine or exhaust system, you will need service to clean and flush out, usually without mush long term luck. That kind of damage is super iffy...
Call tomorrow and good luck. Hope all is ok...
I was browsing around the forums and this has happened to a few other W-204's. Is this a design flaw, or do I eat all the blame here? Anyway, I'll be getting it towed to the dealer as soon as they open!
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The worst that can happen Skip to 3:12
maybe water got into the exhaust and thats what the white smoke is??
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The worst that can happen Skip to 3:12
maybe water got into the exhaust and thats what the white smoke is??
Thank you. Exactly what I meant...
Dealer should give you pc of mind.

I'm going to call my insurance tomorrow and get it towed to the dealership. Anyone else experience anything similar? The water honestly wasn't too high, as I chose that detour to avoid having to drive through flooded water in the first place. I'm a very anxious, so I was hoping I could get some feedback, or any past stories. Will insurance cover it (full coverage)? What probably occurred? Are there any other alternatives to try and clear the water out myself?
I've been in much worse situations and have gotten out without a scratch. I did not intentionally drive into this flooded area, and I was out of options. Flame me if you will, but please leave some advice while you do so

Change all your fluids, ie, engine, tranny, differential oil. If everything is working, and running smooth, shine all that diagnostic crap. Check your engine air filter. Might be a good time to throw away the paper element and switch to nice cotton filters. Clip your splash guard back in place under the vehicle.
Hope your air conditioning system didn't pump any water into the interior. Are the windows fogging on the inside when the car sits for awhile? Run an air purifier, ie, ( http://www.alpineairtechnologies.com/ ) to kill any mold for a minimum of half an hour with the windows up. Then if any fogging is still occuring on the interior, make sure to open the car up and get thoroughly dried out.
Don't sweat it. This vehicle was designed to get wet, just not forge rivers!
Now, for my own past story, went through some water in a Mazda B2000 little pickup truck. Water was up to the top of the raditor, just below the hood. I pumped water right into the cab via the heater fan. Engine ran like crap with half a cup of water under the distributor cap, but kept on running. The manual transmission oil and differential oil, when I dumped it, looked like grey liquid clay, about the consistency of a milkshake. Changed all the fluids and emptied and dried the distributor/cap. Was back in business after the great dry out.

Good luck!
*Head lights
*Fog lights
*HID Ballast Control Unit
*Throttle Bodies
*Splash Guard
*Oil filter
*Air filter
And as suggested, I also asked them to change all the fluids. The parts & labor will cost a few hundred less than 10k, so I'm just going to pay for it from my pocket. They did however say that it's a preliminary estimate, and that they might discover other problems upon replacement of everything listed.
I appreciate everyone who took the time to respond! You guys were very helpful, and I definitely needed it.
I'll update once I get my car back (probably not until next week)




Last edited by ZephyrAMG; May 17, 2010 at 05:04 PM.
From the parts that the dealer wants to replace, it would mean that your headlights were flooded and that would mean about 2 feet of water for a prolonged period. That is serious underwater driving...
So either your dealer is taking it safe (changing every possible part and charging you dearly for it) or we are not getting the full story.
Regarding the headlights, it should be obvious to see if they are still working or not and if there is water inside of them.
I would pay a visit to the dealer and ask to inspect every part they mention. Since it appears your car can run after the fluids are changed, then I would hold on all the parts they want to change and get a second opinion from a reputable electric shop.
Also, I know it's not good to have a flood registered on carfax, but $10K+ out of pocket when factored later on when you trade the thing in, it might make more sense to call the ins.
I mean if you keep this thing 3-4 years, you might get $30K for it tops when trading it in, so would the flood title make the car worth less than $20K--I don't know, but I'd sure find out.
Not to mention if the engine is damaged at all cha-ching, I'd have my ins. on speed dial!
Also, if you're leasing it, which I'm assuming not, would the flood title be your problem?
You could always leave the keys in it at your local movie theater, hint, hint

Either way, sorry man that totally sucks a$$
Last edited by black-clk500; May 18, 2010 at 02:00 PM.



