Car flooded, check engine light- what do I do?
my poor little bug… it rides low, as new bugs do.
There’s been a tropical storm and it flooded all the nearby streets.
I drove out there today and it stalled. Wouldn’t start. My friend jumped it. We got it to start, and it sounded awful but I got it to drive home. It didn’t want to accelerate past 20 mph. I let it sit up on dryer ground for several hours and now it starts up and runs pretty good
but there’s still a check engine light!
my friend opened it all up and pulled out the sodden air filter and bought it a new one. Still has a light.
Still rattles a slight bit when the engine is idling.
Should I be worried?
I might have autozone do a free diagnostic….
any other advice?
In some cars, a clogged air filter can set off a code. However, you will still have to reset it. This can be done as easily as disconnecting the battery for about a minute (erases all codes). However afterwards your car will go through a relearn procedure which is as easy as driving the car around.
In the meantime I also would also suggest that you change the engine oil and transmission fluid. It probably got contaminated with water and it would be a safe route to get that done.
As for the rattling, hopefully no serious damage is done.
How did the air filter get wet? was the water over the top of the engine?
if so you need to have several things done and/or checked. If it was mine I would not drive it have it towed to a mechanic and let him check it out. This could be expensive but there is no way to tell on the net.
It might be necessary to change all the fluids as they might be contaminated with water. and there are probably other filters besides the air filter. Call you vw dealer and ask about a car being under water (it it was).
Complete Flood-out? Change Engine Oil & Filter, Pull Dry and Clean All Plugs and Wires. If water got high enough to get into the Intake you need to check the IAC & Throttle Body for Damage, Etc.