Is the Warranty Still Valid After a Car is Submerged in Water?
3 Answers
After a car is submerged in water and repaired, the warranty period is three years. Below are the relevant regulations regarding water damage repairs for cars: 1. Three Guarantees Law stipulates: According to China's Three Guarantees Law, all new cars sold on the market must provide a warranty period of no less than 3 years or 60,000 kilometers. Any quality issues that arise during the warranty period can receive free repairs, including parts and labor costs. 2. Car Warranty Period: This refers to the period during which the car manufacturer promises to provide free repairs and maintenance for any faults caused by quality issues after selling the product to the consumer. There are two conditions for the warranty period: one is a time limit; the second is a mileage limit.
Whether a water-damaged car can still be covered by warranty depends on the specific situation, but to be honest, it's basically very difficult. The automobile three-guarantee terms clearly state that manufacturers are not responsible for accidental damages like water immersion. This has nothing to do with heavy rain or flooding—manufacturers only check if the water ingress was caused by human factors. A friend of mine had his car submerged half a meter high in an underground garage, and the 4S store directly pointed to the water stains in the carpet seams, saying it was a natural disaster and refused to cover it. The best thing to do is immediately call your insurance company to report the incident, and remember not to restart the engine! I've seen cases where people started the engine after the water receded, only to end up spending over 50,000 yuan on major engine repairs.
Last time during the typhoon, my car also suffered damage, so I specifically studied the warranty terms. Vehicle warranties usually only cover quality defects, while water submersion falls under accident category, so manufacturers naturally avoid responsibility. However, I noticed a detail: if water ingress is caused by poor sealing at wiring connectors (which counts as assembly defects), you might still claim warranty. The key is to get professional inspection at authorized service centers within 48 hours and obtain maintenance reports for negotiation with manufacturers. I remember the mechanic saying during last repair that airbag control modules and body control modules are most vulnerable after flooding - keep the repair receipts for potential compensation claims regarding used car value depreciation later.
