Flood Damaged Car Recovery: What to Do When Water Gets In

Flooding around the Clyde valley has gone from rare to routine. Roads through Glasgow, Rutherglen, Hamilton and the low lying stretches around the river now flood several times a year, usually fast and usually somewhere that was passable an hour earlier.

The cars we recover from those events divide neatly into two groups: the ones that will be repaired, and the ones that were written off by their own driver in the ten minutes after they stopped.

The judgement call before you enter water

Most flood damage is entirely avoidable at this point.

If you cannot see the road surface, do not drive on it. That is the whole rule, and it holds because floodwater hides three separate hazards: depth, which is almost always greater than it looks; damage, because water that has been moving across a road undermines the surface and lifts manhole covers; and debris.

Depth thresholds worth carrying in your head. Around fifteen centimetres of moving water will affect the steering of an ordinary car. Thirty centimetres will float many modern cars, and a floating car goes where the water goes. Modern cars float more readily than older ones because they are better sealed, which is a genuinely counterintuitive risk.

The other consideration is the air intake. Most cars draw air from somewhere low in the engine bay, and the moment that intake goes under, water is being pulled towards the cylinders. That happens at depths well below the point at which the car is in difficulty.

If you must cross shallow standing water, go slowly in a low gear, keep the revs up and the speed down, keep moving steadily, and dry the brakes afterwards with gentle pressure.

If the engine stops: the single most important rule

Do not restart it. Not once, not to see, not to move it twenty feet.

Engines compress air. Air compresses, water does not. If water has been drawn into a cylinder and the engine turns over, the piston tries to compress an incompressible liquid, and something has to fail. Usually that is a bent connecting rod, and in bad cases a rod through the side of the block.

That is hydrolock, and it is the difference between an insurance claim and a scrapped car. An engine that ingested water and was left alone can very often be dried, inspected and returned to service. The same engine after one attempt to restart it frequently cannot.

Turn the ignition fully off. Do not even wake the dashboard, because on many cars that runs pumps and fans.

Get yourself out first

The car is insured. You are not spare.

Floodwater rises faster than people expect, and cars are swept off roads by water that did not look like it was moving quickly. If the water is rising or moving, get out and get to higher ground immediately, and do not go back for belongings.

If the doors will not open because of external water pressure, go out through a window. Electric windows usually work for a while after the car stops. If they do not, that is what the pointed end of a headrest stem or a window breaking tool is for, and one of those in a door pocket costs a few pounds.

Never walk through moving floodwater to reach the car, and never let children or animals do so.

How we recover a flooded vehicle

Once you are safe, ring 01698 700970 and tell us it is a flood job, how deep the water was, and whether the engine ran while it was in the water.

The recovery is winch work rather than a straightforward tow. We use rated winch equipment to draw the vehicle clear of the water along a planned line, because dragging a car sideways out of a flooded dip can pile silt against the wheels or drop it into whatever the water has washed out of the road surface.

The car then goes onto a flatbed with no attempt to start it, and it goes to a workshop that can properly assess water ingress rather than to your driveway. Water damage is progressive: electrical corrosion, contaminated fluids and mould in the cabin all get worse with every day the car sits.

If the interior is wet, tell us. Getting carpets and seats out and the cabin ventilated early makes a real difference to whether the car is economically repairable.

What your insurer needs

Document it at the scene if you can do so safely, and afterwards if you cannot.

Photograph the depth of the water against the car, ideally with something for scale such as the wheel or the door sill. Photograph the location and the road, any road closure signs or their absence, the waterline inside the cabin, and any silt or debris line on the bodywork.

Note the time, the weather and whether the road was signed as flooded. Insurers do ask whether the driver drove into standing water knowingly, and the answer affects some policies.

Report it promptly. Flood claims cluster after an event and the assessors get busy.

Whether it can be saved

Broadly, and without seeing the car:

Water up to the sills, engine never running while submerged, cabin dry: usually repairable.

Water into the cabin footwells: repairable but expensive, because of the wiring looms, modules and airbag components that live under carpets and seats.

Water above the dashboard, or an engine that ingested water and was cranked: usually a write off, and often a total loss on a car of ordinary value.

Salt water at any depth is far worse than fresh, which matters for coastal flooding.

Related

Our guide to recovery in bad Scottish weather covers snow, ice and storm work. SRL Recovery covers flood recovery across Glasgow, Rutherglen, Hamilton, Paisley and the Clyde valley, twenty four hours a day.

Quick answers

My car stalled in a flood. Can I restart it once the water goes down? No. Restarting risks hydrolock, which bends connecting rods and usually ends the engine. Leave it and call for recovery.

How deep can I safely drive? If the road surface is not visible, do not. Fifteen centimetres of moving water affects steering and thirty will float many cars.

Will insurance cover flood damage? Comprehensive policies normally do, though some ask whether you knowingly entered standing water. Photograph everything.

Can the car be saved if water got into the cabin? Sometimes, but it is expensive because of the wiring and modules under the carpets. Getting it dried out quickly improves the odds.