How to handle when a motorbike, scooter or manual transmission stalls due to flooding

During the rainy season, streets in Vietnam are prone to flooding, causing many vehicles to stall while moving. Let's take a look at how to handle it when manual transmission, clutch, and scooters stall due to flooding!

How to drive without stalling in floods

With automatic transmission:When driving through flooded roads, use a low gear (1st or 2nd) and keep the throttle steady to safely pass through the flooded area. Keeping the throttle steady makes it difficult for water to enter the exhaust pipe because the steam is pushed out.

With manual transmission motorbike:Use the lowest gear possible and keep a steady throttle, but never release the clutch all the way in flooded areas.

If the car stalls, do not try to start it immediately, but find a place with a steep slope to let the water in the exhaust pipe drain out. Then remove the plug connected to the spark plug, shake off the water and blow out all the water from the spark plug. Reinstall, pull the choke and start the car or start it with the kick starter. When the car starts, do not put it in gear immediately, but slowly increase the throttle to blow out the water in the exhaust pipe and warm up the engine.

But that is only a temporary solution to keep your car running. You should have your car serviced and it is best to change the engine oil as soon as possible.

For scooters:With scooters, due to their special structure, the automatic transmission's vent pipe is low, so water can easily get in, causing the engine oil to become acidic and change from its normal yellow color to a milky white color.

For scooters that have stalled due to flooding, drivers should not attempt to restart the vehicle, as this may cause further damage.

The best thing to do is to pull the car out of the flooded area and find the nearest auto repair shop to get it repaired, because when a flooded car stalls, restarting the car will cause water to seep deeper into the engine, causing corrosion later on.

Illustration photo.

What to do after a scooter is flooded

Step 1: Remove the spark plug, wipe it dry, then reinstall it. Turn off the fuel and drain all the old fuel remaining in the carburetor.

Step 2: Drain all the oil in the engine compartment, clean the engine compartment with specialized lubricant. Finally, replace the oil to ensure that there is no water left in the engine compartment.

Step 3: You should also dry and clean the connections in the electrical system. Impurities in flood water are often numerous and often stick to the contacts in the electrical system, so if not cleaned, the connections will corrode or oxidize during use.

Step 4: Dry the vehicle's brake system to minimize the possibility of brake pad failure.

Step 5: Use grease or engine oil to clean off any dirt on the chain, brake pedal and starter (if any).

For scooters that have stalled due to flooding, drivers should not attempt to restart the vehicle, as this may cause further damage.

The best thing to do is to pull the car out of the flooded area and find the nearest auto repair shop to get it repaired, because when a flooded car stalls, restarting the car will cause water to seep deeper into the engine, causing corrosion later on.

Some experiences when driving in the rainy season

Try to find higher and less flooded roads to get home even if it means taking a longer detour than usual.

Always drive in low gear, specifically 2nd gear for manual transmission, because if you drive in 1st gear your bike will jerk, and if you drive in 3rd or 4th gear your bike won't be strong enough to get through a puddle.

Try not to drive too close to the curb because if it has just started raining, you are more likely to run into people trying to pull over to put on their raincoats. And after a period of heavy rain, these are the areas where the water is deeper and more dangerous. If possible, try to drive in the middle of the lane to limit the flooding.

Maintain a suitable distance from the vehicles in front, do not drive too close to large vehicles in case they brake suddenly or you cannot see the obstacle that the vehicle in front encounters. You should also not drive parallel to cars, especially buses and large vehicles because you can easily fall due to the force of the water waves created by these vehicles.

Try to keep a steady throttle when driving on flooded roads because accelerating and braking suddenly will make your car more likely to stall. Also, do not try to overtake when you are not sure about your visibility and acceleration ability.

If you want to increase or decrease speed, you should change the adjustment level of the handbrake and footbrake instead of increasing or decreasing the throttle, your car will pass through the flooded area immediately.

Avoid windy areas such as between high-rise buildings and stay away from large trees to prevent uprooting.

According to VnMedia