Nikic

Hi,

Today is the worst day of my life. It was a rainy day in florida (Tampa Bay Area) and i was driving seeing a big puddle (about 6 inches or so) seeing other cars go through without a problem. So im going through the puddle and i notice to see that my car starts stalling out and it ended up doing so. I tried to start up the car a few more times (stupidly) but it just kept kicking over. I put the car into neutral and got out and pushed it out of the water.

Now the car does not kick over when trying to start it, it just clicks.
It kicks over maybe once after 1 hour of not trying.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you!

C280 Sport

Not saying this is the case but I did have a friend who did this in his 01 Lamborghini(I know I know different car) and the same thing happined. Stalled out. For him water got all in the car and the motor needed to be rebuilt. In your case I doubt this is it but you may of got water all in where the electronics are and disrupted something. Where is the car now? Im guessing you had it towed to a dealer since your 2007 car is CPO'ed correct?

sosh

Likely that it ingested water in the engine. Looks like you may need the engine and perhaps all the electronics replaced. Hope your insurance covers it but if it is this worst case they may total it.

Dema

6 inches deep? certainly not deep enough to issue any serious damage. So I would say that the car had some manufacturing defect.

sosh

Perhaps the OP really does not know exactly how deep it was. Did he get out and measure it?? Doubt if it was what you say as so far as a defect. Suspect the water was much higher and the cars that did go thru had quite a bit more clearance then the Benz. The only defect here was the decision of the driver to continue thru the flooding.

MBtech1098

Motor is hydro-locked. Anytime it rains hard we have anywhere from at least 2 up to 10 cars towed in needing engines. The rods are always bent, and 9-10 times the engine has a hole in the block behind motor mount brackets. The intake ducts are positioned low. Basically if you have a Benz or any car, you should not be splashing through puddles, unless your vehicle is equipped. (i.e. snorkel) Depending on your milage and the value of your vehicle, they may total it...just be careful, sometimes they fix it, but with a junkyard engine. In your case though that will not probably happen due to you're still in factory warranty, and the dealer cannot put a used engine in, and uphold the warranty.

Nikic

Hi,

I put the E350 in the garage with the hood open to see if everything will dry up and work properly in the morning. That is highly doubtful though. I opened the air filter and i did see drops of water in there, that sure is not a good sign.

What are the odds of that working?

BPhillyBenz

Man, thats a shame. Good luck!

SnakeDoctor

Eek, sounds like hydro-lock. I hope we are wrong, but what you describe sounds like it. Water sucking up into the engine is catastrophically bad. I really hope that's not the case, but it definitely sounds like you should take it to the dealership/carshop and find out exactly what's wrong.

Was the bottom of your car, or any part of it submerged under water? If the intake get submerged, it can suck up water, and that's no good.

:\

mg-E550

I understand the hydrolock concept....but all of the air intake components are on top of the engine it seems. COuld 6" of water do this.....I guess you could have waves and sent in a surge of water.

htn75

Nickic....
I'm also from Tampa. It's still raining as I am typing. You must have been in S.Tampa area where it always flood. Sounds like water is in the engine. Hope you'll work this through. GL

Sathinas

Why don't you test the engine to see if it's hydrolocked?

Take the belt off. Put a socket (don't know the size) on the crankshaft bolt and try to turn the engine over. It should require little effort to turn the engine. Of course "little efford" is subjective. But if you have to stand on the prybar, then it's hydrolocked.

You can also take out the spark plugs and try to crank the engine. If there is water in the engine, you'll have a cool fountain for a few seconds.

If the engine turns over, with the crankshaft bolt method, chances are you're not hydrolocked. If you get a cool fountain when you take out the spark plugs and crank the engine, then.. DUH!

If you take out the spark plugs and the engine doesn't turn into a fountain, when you crank it over, then you have other issues. Likewise, if the engine still downs't turn over when after you take out the plugs, you may have a bad rotating assembly part, or a bad starter circuit.

LaicepsYdobon

Something similar happened to me but in my case some jackass in a Jeep Cherokee powered through the water covering me with it. My car sucked some water in and presto the car was hydro locked. Push the insurance company to total your car. Do not let them try to fix it. You will have endless problems with it. Have it totaled and move on to another car; sounds harsh but at least you will stay sane. This is also a good time to see how much the dealership and insurance company have your back. Sorry about your ride...

You can read my story here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...long-post.html

petee1997

I am not familiar with the term hydro locked but I assume the engined is cooked. Why write off the car? Can't the engine be replaced? Is the engine so expensive that it is not cost efficient to replace it?

LaicepsYdobon

In my case it was $25,000 to put a new engine in the car and $21,000 to give it a salvage title so the insurance company went for the cheaper route. You'd want to write a car off that has water damage or a water damaged salvage title because other gremlins will pop up in the car namely electronic which are a nightmare to live with and are virtually non-fixable. Usually dealerships are not happy with servicing cars that have been water damaged. Plus there is a slight chance of fungus and other nasties growing somewhere in/on the car that you don't want.

E2233

I do not know how high the water reach. The water level in the morning was up to the rim. It must have reach the exhaust. The interior was wet with mud. The water could have entered throuh the lower part of the door. The seat tracks were muddy. The floor mats and carpet were wet. The remote did not work. The door finally opened by using the door handle setting off the alarm. The first message after the car was moved about 100 feet was ABS. Then the car locked and would not start. About an hour later the car started with the ABS message. Later on the battery was displayed. The defroster was not working. There are a series of other electrical problem. I think the dealer is going to replace the wiring and all parts that may be water damage. The car may have been in the water for about four to six hours. I parked the car in the lot with a light rain and no sitting water. During the night the rain increased and flooded part of the parking lot at the hotel.

The vehicle locked and would not start and the display screen was red with ABS and battery messages.
The Mercedes dealer called yesterday. They are taking out the carpet and the seats. Then they will start on the wiring. It may be a week or more before the vehicle is returned. I am concerned about long term problems with the electrical system.

ImInPA

It sounds like the Starter motor is wet. With all of the intakes on the top of the motor, it is highly unlikely that ny serious damage has occured. I would suspect batter and starter.

E2233

I think water level was high as the exhaust or the bottom of the door. The night before there was a light rain and no standing water in the parking lot of the hotel. The first thing in the morning I noticed the water around the car was just up to the lower top of the wheel. The dealer states all new carpets have to be ordered from Germany. The battery and oil is okay. The seats had to be removed and most of the electronics below the floor board had to be replaced.

ImInPA

It sounds like the water was consderably deeper than the OP originally suggests. Looking at the schematics, I see no way that water could enter the engine to cause hydro-locking unless the water was over 18" deep. Does the original poster have some sort of aftermarket Cold Air Intake installed?

E2233

The vehicle is stock with the low profile tires. The lower part of each muffler has a designed hole about the size of a silver dollar.

I think the water level in the car would have been higher if the water was over the muffler. The water did not reach the trunk or the battery.

The track on the seats were wet and the floor was wet. Some of the water may have drain out as the creek level dropped.

E2233

The carpet will be replaced with all the electronic below the floor board

The wiring harness takes about six weeks to be delivered from the factory. The part has to be made for the vehicle by the factory.

Soy11

Misunderstood my car for a submarine and now it is with the dealer asking for $13000 for new engine. I drove through one of those puddles after spending a night at this girls place whom i just mate, dropped her home. Just while making out huge storm strikes breaking all huge branches.

Storm calmed down and i leave her place as her whole family woke up and with frustration drive through this puddle. End up spending the night on freeway and a bill of 13000.

Hoping insurance will pay for it.

E2233

Where are you located?

How long was your vehicle in the water? Was the water level above the trunk or above the windows?

Your insurance carrier should cover your repairs under your comprehensive part of your auto insurance. You may have thirty days of auto rental under your auto insurance.

Most posting about engine damage shows the cost to be about $25,000.00. I am not sure you can buy a new engine for less than that amount.

I am still waiting for my vehicle. The dealer is installing the front seats and the restoring the dashboard. The vehicle should be ready sometime next week if there are no over problems found once the vehicle starts up. I think the insurance carrier has paid about $14,000.00 so far.

BPhillyBenz

Bummer, sorry to hear that...but it sounds like an interesting story...Cut to the chase, was she worth the 13k?

EmE247

Sorry, but most tail not even worth half of that.