My parents were hit very hard by Sandy and both their cars got in 18in to 2 ft of salt water, the floor inside both got soaked, and they are cars not high SUV’s.
The cars have been sitting there since the storm, only used to charge the cell phones off the battery. The cars are on the older side and don’t expect those cars to have much more of a happy life after that, but what to do, should they be started and run or should they have it towed unstarted to a shop first? Anything else?
Disable the airbag systems before you turn on the key.
SRS control modules are often mounted on the floor and once you have had cod swimming inside them they can deploy at the first turn of the key. Or at the first bump in the road.
Secondly scrap the cars.
Seriously the salt water is going to corrode everything it touches. Besides the body all the electricals that got wet are going to turn to junk.
Sorry but you will be happier in the long run.
Cars are totaled, junk them. The car’s brake system will be contaminated. Brake flulid is hydroscopic and attracts water. It will need to be completely flushed. The brake pistons probably wont work either. Complete brake job needed.
The engine oil is probably full of salt water too. And the transmision.
How much money are you willing to spend to get them back into safe running order? $1000 each? $2000?
It’s going to be one damn thing after another once you start.
They’re right. The only real answer here is to write them off.
The electrical systems alone will drive you bonkers.
when they check with their insurance company they will find the cars have been totaled. No questions/tests asked. Water in the passenger compartment-if there is any possibility that it got to the wiring-is a total.
I wouldn’t start them.
A friend got badly hurt when he started his car up after it had been flooded out by Isabel and the air bags went off.
I can’t even communicate with them right now so can’t even warn them about the airbag 