That’s one way to trash an engine.
We had a hurricane recently in NJ that flooded us and caused widespread damage.
My buddy, who typically is driving a truck, had his Honda Accord that day. He tells this story of him getting stuck in the flood and panicking to get home. Apparently he was able to drive this accord through flood areas above his engine (he tried to time it behind the wakes of large trucks ahead of him but could never time it right).
He was amazed that his car didn’t short out. He checked out the design after and apparently this model has an engine block in front of the intake which diverted the water just enough from his engine.
This is the last situation I’d ever want my wife or daughter to be in. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with your car completely submerged. Just god awful.
And scary.
We lived in Houston during Harvey. 5 feet of rain in 4 days. Thank god our home didn’t flood (got really close).
About 90 people died in that storm - most of them died by drowning in their cars. If you’re going to even attempt to drive through a flood street you better know how deep it’s going to get (assume it’s deeper than you think). You may wind up in a situation you can’t get out of.
That’s horrifying. I am Dallas and we did some emergency truckloads in there for some crews that were clearing out the water. Really scary stuff
Yep. The wife and I were confident in front of our kids, but we were very nervous.
I felt like the scene in Goodfellas where Henry Hill was so paranoid that he kept looking out his front window.
Just before our neighborhood flooded we decided to leave. Went to my cousins house for a few days (she lives in a newer neighborhood on higher ground). Called my father after we got there. After telling me to stay put that whole time, he said “now I can tell you this: I’m really glad you got the fuck out of there.”
Thanks dad. 
It’s events like that though that does restore my faith in humanity a bit. Sure - you’ve got pieces of shit that try to take advantage (price gouging, pretending to be FEMA wanting to do a “home inspection” and invading it……but you had so many people ready to help. From the Cajun Navy to almost anyone with a lifted truck and a boat to help with water rescues.
Shorting isn’t the immediate issue but flooding is. I’m sure you know. That’s an impressive accidental feature and I wonder why more engines aren’t regularly built that way!
Is this true? I can’t imagine a situation where I would drown inside my car. After getting out is a different story.
Yep - now, not all drownings were in a car. Guy in my neighborhood decided to try and wade out….older guy……got into a strong current he couldn’t get out of.
One was a Houston cop who did drown in his car. Drove under an overpass not realizing how deep it was.
Sometimes you get caught in a current and you literally can’t open the door - or you don’t have something to break the window.
Blockquote
The new study also shows that most fatalities – over 80% – were drownings, many occurring either in vehicles or when people were swept away while trying to get out of their cars. Six people died when their boat capsized during a rescue. The second largest causes of death were electrocution and lack of medical treatment, responsible for 6% of fatalities each.