Tips for escaping when driving through flooded areas

When having to go through flooded areas, drivers should use low gear and keep the accelerator steady to avoid water entering the exhaust pipe and causing the engine to stall.

A common problem that cars encounter when driving through flooded roads is hydro-locking - a phenomenon in which water enters the air intake, causing the car to suddenly stall. If the driver tries to start the car after hydro-locking, the damage will be even more severe. Many cars can lose up to 30% of their value due to this defect.

Prolonged rainy weather causes many roads to be flooded. If cars move through deeply flooded areas, they can easily stall.

The main cause of water hammer in cars is when the driver tries to start the engine when the car is flooded. At this time, water will flood into the air intake (air intake) of the engine, causing the car to stall or damage other parts of the car.

Another cause that can lead to water hammer in cars is due to some parts inside the engine being damaged, such as the cylinder head gasket. At that time, coolant can leak into the engine if the car accidentally moves into a flooded area.

The third cause of water hammer is a damaged fuel injection system or carburetor.

Therefore, for 4-seater cars, when you see a flooded road, deeper than about thirty centimeters, you should not go in. If you want to go, at least make sure that the water in the flooded section is not higher than the air intake of your car. Moreover, you must always keep a steady throttle to ensure that water does not flow into the exhaust pipe.

In particular, some people think that going through a flooded area requires speeding, which is a huge mistake. Even if the road is flooded and the water is not as high as the air intake, when the car moves, it will create high waves with other cars, and water can still splash in. Therefore, when going through a flooded area, you must press the accelerator hard enough, but not too fast.

In case water accidentally enters the exhaust pipe, do not panic because the water entering the exhaust pipe actually clogs the engine, causing it to stall but not enter the engine. Therefore, if the driver stays calm, wades down, has enough people to help push the vehicle through the flooded area, and then starts the engine, the engine can still continue to operate as usual.

If you accidentally turn off your engine while in the middle of a flooded road, do not try to start your car. This will cause more damage to your car.

If you notice that the engine oil has turned the color of rice water or a strange color, it means that water has entered the engine. Instead of starting the car, you should push the car out of the flooded area and quickly disconnect the battery cable. Then call a tow truck for assistance.

For cars that are flooded and cause the engine to stall, the driver should not continue to start the engine because water can easily cause the engine to seize. If the engine is damaged, cars that cost 500-700 million VND usually cost around 10-15 million VND to repair.

When having to go through flooded areas, first determine whether the water level is shallow or deep and whether the vehicle is an SUV or a sedan. Normally, if the water level is not more than 20 cm, the vehicle can move through safely. When going through flooded areas, the driver must not open the door to avoid water from entering the vehicle. With sedans, the intake manifold is placed low, you can open the hood, remove the air filter, lift the cover to go through safely, then reinstall and continue moving. With the current state of potholes, potholes, gas pipe covers... on roads in urban areas, when flooded, they will become "traps" for drivers because they cannot see the road surface. In addition, when moving in the rain, it will reduce the ability to observe signs and moving vehicles.

Walk in the middle of the road to avoid deep water.

In all road surface designs, the middle will be the highest and gradually decrease towards the outside, so the closer the vehicle is to the middle of the road, the less likely it is to be flooded. In addition, the closer to the outside, the higher the risk of entering a pothole, sinkhole or manhole, and can suddenly cause the vehicle to be flooded deeply, which can cause the engine to stall.

When driving in flooded areas, drivers should slow down and watch the vehicle in front. This will make it easier to control the vehicle and also watch the vehicles in front to avoid potholes that the vehicle in front encounters. In addition, drivers should not drive near large trucks because they will create sudden large waves, which can flood the intake or exhaust pipes, causing the engine to stall.

When driving through flooded areas, you should turn off all unnecessary accessories such as air conditioning, sound system, etc. to reduce the load on the engine to avoid sudden engine failure.

One more thing drivers need to keep in mind is to always save a traffic rescue phone number in their contacts for use in case of emergency./.

According to VOV