Will water entering the car's air intake affect the engine?
2 Answers
Yes, it will have an impact. A small amount of water may enter the engine and mix with the engine oil, degrading the oil quality. Oil containing water can increase wear on engine components, potentially leading to increased engine noise and vibration during future driving. Below are precautions for driving through water: 1. Drive in a low gear: Use a low gear (for automatic transmission vehicles, engage the hill-climbing gear) and slowly drive through the water at a steady speed while maintaining control of the steering wheel. Be aware of any potholes or gaps beneath the water on the road. 2. Do not restart the engine after stalling: If the vehicle stalls in a waterlogged area, do not attempt to restart the engine. Engine stalling indicates that water has already entered the cylinders. Restarting the engine can cause severe damage due to the incompressibility of water, potentially bending or breaking the piston connecting rod components and, in severe cases, leading to complete engine failure.
Once I drove too aggressively through a puddle in the rain, and water got sucked into the intake, causing a hydro-lock. Water in the engine is no joke—when it mixes in the cylinders, the piston can't compress it, and the force bends the connecting rod. The mechanic told me if I had shut off the engine immediately, it might have been salvageable, but I tried restarting it, and the rod punched right through the block. Now I avoid standing water at all costs. Everyone, remember: go slow through water, keep the level below half the tire height, and if the engine stalls, never try to restart it—calling a tow truck is way cheaper than a full engine rebuild. Trust me, spending over 20,000 RMB on a new engine hurts.
