# Flooded car won’t start **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [February 20, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227 "2025-02-20T16:27:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/1 "2025-02-20T16:27:54Z")
Well, it might crank. Probably won’t start. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/5/6/560678770b5514a8df75aea6935ba738536ab823.jpeg) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/4/2/4277050522c467c4d455fee48471b01d7abb5e15.jpeg) **strong text** ---
**Author:** ![Clueless33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Clueless33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clueless33)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/2 "2025-02-20T17:07:08Z")
😂 I think I know whose car you are trying to fix. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/3 "2025-02-20T18:23:06Z")
I know the above post was a humorous interlude, but on Dirty Jobs there was a segment on retrieving vehicles that broke through the ice. In bygone days when protecting our lakes was not a concern there were places that placed cars on the lakes then had a betting pool on when the car would sink. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 5:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/4 "2025-02-21T05:35:37Z")
I remember one of the drivers on Ice Road Truckers saying onetime, to always leave your seatbelt on while on the ice, it helps in recovery of the body… ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 1:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/5 "2025-02-21T13:55:57Z")
I was watching the show for a few minutes this morning while brushing my teeth and a driver just going onto a frozen river said to _not_ wear a seat belt when going onto the ice so that he could bail out quicker if the truck broke through the ice. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/6 "2025-02-21T15:35:20Z")
Funny thing is, after hearing that, I saw them with the door open watching and listening to and for the ice cracking… So if it broke through you def didn’t have your belt on… As far as belt vs no belt, it could have been a temp thing, at this temp and below you have next to zero % chance of surviving so keep your belt on so they can find you, and above X temp, leave it off so maybe just maybe you might make it out alive… Either way, I will never know, I’ll stay down here in the warm south where it was a warm morning of 10\*F this morning… 😂 ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/7 "2025-02-21T15:54:01Z")
Ice Road trucking job is NOT on my bucket list. I would NEVER take a car on ice. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/8 "2025-02-21T16:12:15Z")
Spent many years ice fishing driving all manner of vehicles on the ice. Chevy 3/4T with bonus cab and full bed equipped with an 8.5’ Western Pro Plow- plowing off the ice for skating, ice fishing etc. Knowing the body of water and ice conditions is key. In every facet of life there are fools and morons… ---
**Author:** ![Rainflurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cab0a1/32.png) [@Rainflurry](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rainflurry)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/9 "2025-02-21T23:29:52Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > I would NEVER take a car on ice. ![ice drags](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/f/5/f57dcc29a665fcace17c8bc6d609f157a525e940.jpeg) You just need to live somewhere colder. 😆 I used to go to snowmobile drag races like this as a kid and the parking lot was the lake (Lake Phelan, St. Paul, MN). This was in Green Bay, WI. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 2:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/10 "2025-02-22T02:51:37Z")
OK , I give up. I have no idea what those 2 photos are supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 3:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/11 "2025-02-22T03:10:51Z")
It’s a VW sedan that fell through the ice nose first. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/12 "2025-02-22T14:26:29Z")
> [@Rainflurry](#): > > You just need to live somewhere colder. I have. And a lake near me would have car ice races. NOT me. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/13 "2025-02-22T15:18:10Z")
Actually it’s a Buick. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 7:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/14 "2025-02-23T19:45:11Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > I would NEVER take a car on ice I spent a few weeks doing ABS brake and ESP development in Sweden back in the late 90s. This was all done on a frozen lake about 50 miles south of the arctic circle. Temperature was about -30 to -15 and snowed 6 of 7 nights. The test tracks were groomed every night by the graders and plow trucks and the thickness checked. If the trucks didn’t fall through, our test car wouldn’t! When spring came closer and the sun started to melt the top layer, the polished ice section would have a half inch of standing water on it. A bit spooky to drive on but the ice was still 3 feet thick! In that part of Sweden driving on the lakes 6 months of the year was normal. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/15 "2025-02-28T02:17:59Z")
![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/e/f/ef01ef69cbf193b737b786c4bddb12bf12c80a66.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 2:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/16 "2025-02-28T02:34:42Z")
It will be on craigslist soon as freshly washed inside and out… 😆 ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/17 "2025-02-28T13:58:03Z")
Is this an update on your original post? ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2025, 2:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/flooded-car-won-t-start/199227/18 "2025-02-28T14:13:19Z")
Yes. They pulled it out.