Car was flooded and shop messed some things up.......

My car, an 04 LSV6, was recently the victim of a flash flood.


Fortunately, there was no mechnical damage, just interior damage. After 2 weeks of being in the shop, I just got her back. Well.......the SRS light is on and the light on the center console by the clock that shows Passenger Airbag OFF never lights up, regardless of whether or not anyone is in the seat......and the Passenger unbuckled light is always on........regardless of whether or not the seatbelt is plugged in.

Any ideas what would cause this...and how I could fix?

Just take it to the dealer. Something must have short circuited with the srs system.

water inside the car is TERRIBLE. you will probably be fighting electronic failures for the life of the car, as water slowly will corrode any circuit it came in contact with.

Insurance usually totals cars with interior flooding..

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manybrews)</div><div class='quotemain'>water inside the car is TERRIBLE. Â*you will probably be fighting electronic failures for the life of the car, as water slowly will corrode any circuit it came in contact with.

Insurance usually totals cars with interior flooding..</div>

only salt water corrodes the circuitry. Insurance usually totals cars with any flooding that is more then midway up the door.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(04LSV6)</div><div class='quotemain'>My car, an 04 LSV6, was recently the victim of a flash flood.


Fortunately, there was no mechnical damage, just interior damage. After 2 weeks of being in the shop, I just got her back. Well.......the SRS light is on and the light on the center console by the clock that shows Passenger Airbag OFF never lights up, regardless of whether or not anyone is in the seat......and the Passenger unbuckled light is always on........regardless of whether or not the seatbelt is plugged in.

Any ideas what would cause this...and how I could fix?</div>

If the insurance paid for the repairs, can't you just tell them that the car is not fixed right yet. I wouldn't date play with airbags. Those things are too sensitive, complicated and expensive.

Yeah...no salt water though I am concerned about the electrical. If i didnt owe so much Id trade her in but i would just plain lose in that situation.

I have a call in to my insurance company so we'll see what they say. I don't think I should have to pay a diagnostic fee out of pocket for this...but thats prolly what will end up happening.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(9G)</div><div class='quotemain'>Just take it to the dealer. Something must have short circuited with the srs system.

_____________________
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/3235/mcqueen9xf.jpg</div>

now i realize why that picture look so weird...It's them nascar tires...they look out of place on that evo.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(04LSV6)</div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah...no salt water though I am concerned about the electrical. If i didnt owe so much Id trade her in but i would just plain lose in that situation. Â*

I have a call in to my insurance company so we'll see what they say. I don't think I should have to pay a diagnostic fee out of pocket for this...but thats prolly what will end up happening.</div>

keep receipts for everything. also if the shop that did the work is reputable they should stand behind their work. let me know how this all pans out.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stewi)</div><div class='quotemain'>

only salt water corrodes the circuitry. Insurance usually totals cars with any flooding that is more then midway up the door.</div>

oh really? Tell you what. Flood your car with tap water. drain it and come back a year later. We'll see how non corroded the wiring/circuitry is.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stewi)</div><div class='quotemain'>only salt water corrodes the circuitry. Insurance usually totals cars with any flooding that is more then midway up the door.</div>
Only salt water, are you sure :?: :shock:

Yes.

If you leave tap water on it without letting it dry out of course it will corrode. We are talking about a flood, not just wetting a bunch of shit and then waiting it out without it drying. I am an insurance adjuster, I handle this type of thing on a daily basis. Salt water floods is pretty much garanteed that your car is a total loss, but not fresh water. Ever drop your cell phone in fresh water, let it air dry and then it works? I have...

What alot of shops do with a fresh water flood car is they use shop vacs to get the water out of the carpet and what not, then they open up the dash the best they can, they open the doors of the car and they let it sit in a paint booth baking at 185 degrees to dry it out. Is there 100% success, no, there isnt 100% success in anything, but just because water got on it, doesnt mean it automatically will corrode. If you get it wet, and dont dry it, and leave it like that, then yes OVER TIME, it will corrode, but if someone is fixing it, my money is on them drying it out and replacing whatever they cant dry

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rez887)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stewi)</div><div class='quotemain'>only salt water corrodes the circuitry. Insurance usually totals cars with any flooding that is more then midway up the door.</div>
Only salt water, are you sure :?: :shock:</div>

salt is highly corrosive, so even if the water is dried up, the sodium has already started to damage the metal, and there is no turning back, not the case with fresh water, because it doesnt contain salt

If a customer of yours had problems with their car as a result of what the shop did to it.....would you expect the customer to pay for the repairs or would that be covered by insurance?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stewi)</div><div class='quotemain'>Yes.

If you leave tap water on it without letting it dry out of course it will corrode. We are talking about a flood, not just wetting a bunch of shit and then waiting it out without it drying. I am an insurance adjuster, I handle this type of thing on a daily basis. Salt water floods is pretty much garanteed that your car is a total loss, but not fresh water. Ever drop your cell phone in fresh water, let it air dry and then it works? I have...

What alot of shops do with a fresh water flood car is they use shop vacs to get the water out of the carpet and what not, then they open up the dash the best they can, they open the doors of the car and they let it sit in a paint booth baking at 185 degrees to dry it out. Is there 100% success, no, there isnt 100% success in anything, but just because water got on it, doesnt mean it automatically will corrode. If you get it wet, and dont dry it, and leave it like that, then yes OVER TIME, it will corrode, but if someone is fixing it, my money is on them drying it out and replacing whatever they cant dry</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stewi)</div><div class='quotemain'>Yes.

If you leave tap water on it without letting it dry out of course it will corrode. We are talking about a flood, not just wetting a bunch of shit and then waiting it out without it drying. I am an insurance adjuster, I handle this type of thing on a daily basis. Salt water floods is pretty much garanteed that your car is a total loss, but not fresh water. Ever drop your cell phone in fresh water, let it air dry and then it works? I have...

What alot of shops do with a fresh water flood car is they use shop vacs to get the water out of the carpet and what not, then they open up the dash the best they can, they open the doors of the car and they let it sit in a paint booth baking at 185 degrees to dry it out. Is there 100% success, no, there isnt 100% success in anything, but just because water got on it, doesnt mean it automatically will corrode. If you get it wet, and dont dry it, and leave it like that, then yes OVER TIME, it will corrode, but if someone is fixing it, my money is on them drying it out and replacing whatever they cant dry</div>
no one can or will usually take the time to disassemble the entire car, wire by wire to dry them out. its really almost impossible to even know what has water in it and what doesnt.
you may be an insurance adjuster, but im the one that ends up fixing these cars a year later.. and they are a total loss. All the wiring, all the electronics... complete corrosion. water has a nasty way of seeping into areas that are unseen, and thought to be sealed.
no wiring is safe.

I will have to agree with manybrews on this, ANY kind of water will allow for corrosion in a cars electronics and wiring. Any car thats been flooded you may as well write it off as a total loss. Especially if it has interior flooding.

Moisture and metal = corrosion.

Why do cars even have electrical failures? Corrosion damage from moisture.

well, looking at it from the point of view of the insurance company. It would be less expensive to dry that car because it will take some time for the corrosion to have significant effects on the car's systems. Therefore, if the car drives fine for 6, 7, 8 months or maybe a year with out any significant problems, when they do come up, they can be written off the the owner of the vehicle as things that happen when vehicles as they get older. In General, i think that's the first thing a person would thing when say, the cigarette lighter stops working, or the dome lights stop working, is that something probably got disconnected. Not necessarily attribute it to a flood a year earlier. Also, Just like Brian's example with the cellphones, just because the car was flooded, does not necessarily mean that the systems will stop working. An attempt to dry them is better than letting them corrode by leaving the water there.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kalamidad)</div><div class='quotemain'>well, looking at it from the point of view of the insurance company. Â*It would be less expensive to dry that car because it will take some time for the corrosion to have significant effects on the car's systems. Â*Therefore, if the car drives fine for 6, 7, 8 months or maybe a year with out any significant problems, when they do come up, they can be written off the the owner of the vehicle as things that happen when vehicles as they get older. Â*In General, i think that's the first thing a person would thing when say, the cigarette lighter stops working, or the dome lights stop working, is that something probably got disconnected. Â*Not necessarily attribute it to a flood a year earlier. Â* Also, Just like Brian's example with the cellphones, just because the car was flooded, does not necessarily mean that the systems will stop working. Â*An attempt to dry them is better than letting them corrode by leaving the water there.</div>

If a cellphone gets wet it will eventually fail. Doesn't matter if you take it apart and dry it out, it will fail. A car is no different, in fact it is much more difficult to recover a car from a flood. The only way you might even have a chance is to dismantle the entire car, and replace any wiring thats damp, or looks to have gotten wet.

Regardless its pretty much a lost cause.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 04LSV6

If a customer of yours had problems with their car as a result of what the shop did to it.....would you expect the customer to pay for the repairs or would that be covered by insurance?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Stewi

Yes.

If you leave tap water on it without letting it dry out of course it will corrode. We are talking about a flood, not just wetting a bunch of shit and then waiting it out without it drying. I am an insurance adjuster, I handle this type of thing on a daily basis. Salt water floods is pretty much garanteed that your car is a total loss, but not fresh water. Ever drop your cell phone in fresh water, let it air dry and then it works? I have...

What alot of shops do with a fresh water flood car is they use shop vacs to get the water out of the carpet and what not, then they open up the dash the best they can, they open the doors of the car and they let it sit in a paint booth baking at 185 degrees to dry it out. Is there 100% success, no, there isnt 100% success in anything, but just because water got on it, doesnt mean it automatically will corrode. If you get it wet, and dont dry it, and leave it like that, then yes OVER TIME, it will corrode, but if someone is fixing it, my money is on them drying it out and replacing whatever they cant dry

---

---

no, if additional damage is found or faulty repairs, the adjuster creates what is called a supplemental estimate. essentially its for additional damage discovered after the first estimate and repairs were made, i do it all the time.

and manybrews, i understand you are the one fixing it a year later and what not, but the reason is because it was half assed the first time. there are ways to do it right, my friend has a 02 S500 AMG that was flooded about 5" above the floor, his whole console and dash was taken apart, all repairs made properly, that was 4 years, ago, no problems. every incident goes on its own merits, there are no generic statements in this business that prove true on all occasions. and who ever said metal and water equals corrosion, yes your right, if your speaking of bare metal. ever notice rust builds up on cars in spots that the paint was damaged or spots where the seams werent properly sealed or welded. modern primers have a corrosive protectant in it, that when applied properly pretty much prevents all rust as long as the primer surface is never broken. anyhow, like i said, everything is case by case, i still sport a nextel i90 that i have dropped in the pool more then twice, i got the phone in 01' still works, no corrosion, fresh water, air dried.

the thing is, there is almost NO way of doing a "correct repair" thoughout the car.
the wiring is the biggest issue. You may think that the wiring is all insulated, but it is not. There are hundreds of places where the insulation is open to form splices, junctions, etc. Those exposed areas are mearly sealed with insulating tape or tubing, then covered in corregated hose. they are not waterproof, as they are not intended to be. Obviously, no manufacturer expects water in the car, so spending the money to waterproof interior wiring is an expense we dont need. That is the way its done for everyone.
The water will wick its way through the corregated hose, past the tape and tubing, and into the conductor... then wick its way throughout the entire wire if given enough time (and it doesnt take long).
there is no way to remove the water from those wires, and most wiring in a car has junctions/splices like that.
yes, you can take apart interiors and dry componants. And provided no one turned on the electronics, you MAY be okay. Turning on the electronics whilst flooded will pretty much fry everything and anything due to straight short circuits across the water.
I will stick with my original statement after dealing with cars for 15 years.. Flooded cars are awful, and a person should never purchase one without realizing there will be issues in the future.