Safe water level to drive through?

Just recently I managed to move my civic away from a flooding street.
I wish I could move it earlier, but the storm came in really quick...
Anyway - I was wondering if there is safe water level for the car to drive through? Is it mid-tire?...
After moving the car out, should I look for anything specific?.. It didn't flood inside... engine sounds fine.
Attached the picture just before it was moved.

The intercooler is down there isn't it? I'd say it's cutting a little too close. That water is probably a little too close to the intercooler for me to consider driving it through. Then again I have driven mine through snow an inch higher than that with no issues 2 years later. Surely snow must have melted onto the intercooler.

how is a short trip through standing water going to hurt a closed intercooler?

as long as your carpets are not soaked i am sure your fine. Would need to be in deep enough water to hit the intake or electrical components.

I lost a car to a flooded out street a few years ago... car in front of me made it through no issue was only 4-5 inches deep... i went through but had a crack in my intake which promptly sucked in water and hydrolocked the engine.

Two feet

According to FEMA: - Six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars, causing loss of control and potential stalling. - A foot of water will float many vehicles. - Two feet of rushing water will carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and pickups.

Also worth noting, if your not absolutely sure of the road your on, if there is flooding and your forced to drive down that road...DONT! Your life is worth more than the car.

That's about it as on the picture.

10th gen is pretty low

while I wouldn't recommend it, 6 inches of water can certainly be driven through without losing control or stalling. You would have to suck water in the engine or short an electrical component to stall.

on Monday NJ got about a months worth of water in 3 hours... I waded through several 3-6" "puddles" on the way into work and survived the to tell the tail. I did spend most of the 3rd grade playing Oregon Trail so I have some river fording experience.

"This is why we sell only crossovers"

- Ford, probably.

They certainly have an Edge in that market

Marcellus84 said:

After moving the car out, should I look for anything specific?

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Remove the front, passenger floor mat then open the VIN cover to check to see if the insulation under the carpet is damp. If it is, you might want to file an insurance claim.

zroger73 said:

Remove the front, passenger floor mat then open the VIN cover to check to see if the insulation under the carpet is damp. If it is, you might want to file an insurance claim.

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Thank you for the tip! I checked under the VIN and that entire foam is completely dry.
The water did not enter the car on either side. The floors matts were dry after the storm, but I think I was very lucky... 5 more minutes in that spot and most definitely water would get inside.

I know nothing about car floods, and basic google search showed me that sometimes symptoms of the flooded car are not immediately apparent. So I wanted to double check here first and if it makes sense to file a claim.
Thanks again!

no problem for the engine, the stock intake is very high, but you went very close to the maximum level: doors are just there, so are wheel bearings, transmission and some wiring.

Your only major issue is the air intake. (Think of the off road vehicles that have a snorkel for the air intake and a similar one for the exhaust - With those two things, those machines can go through very deep water). As long as you didn't suck in water, you're OK. Water splashing against the intercoolor or radiator is no big deal. The issue is not getting water into the engine, which will (likely) ruin your engine, resulting in a number of potential issues, "hydrolock" where you could bend a connecting rod, as one forum user did, which I recall might have been from having a cold air intake that grabs air lower in the engine bay or, in this person's case, a loose connection in an air hose after market device.

The key is, if you do get caught in water like your picture shows, and you're above the air intake go SLOW.

sesty said:

while I wouldn't recommend it, 6 inches of water can certainly be driven through without losing control or stalling. You would have to suck water in the engine or short an electrical component to stall.

on Monday NJ got about a months worth of water in 3 hours... I waded through several 3-6" "puddles" on the way into work and survived the to tell the tail. I did spend most of the 3rd grade playing Oregon Trail so I have some river fording experience.

Click to expand...

something something dysentery

Safe water level is no water at all. There is always the possibility that water will go somewhere it shouldn't.

We had some guy the other day who drove around flooded street and road closed signs and tried to drive through a flooded wash and got swept away. The cops had to come and pull him out and gave him a nice big ticket since we have a stupid motorist law in AZ for just such an occasion. Jackass had the balls to complain that the ticket was absurd.

Glad you didn't have a CAI. Your engine would have been toast.