My 1998 Civic (85,000 miles) was flooded in recent storm. Insurance co replaced computer chip and flushed carburetor. What else can I do while the car is in the shop? What should I make sure the mechanic checks before releasing the car?
Your car does not have a carburetor. More information is needed. How long was the car flooded, how long was it before it was attended to and how deep was the water.
Much attention will have to be paid to all the carpeting and seats. (Don’t forget the trunk liner)
You will need to remove all from the vehicle.
Failure to do so properly will result in mold build up under the carpet which is very unpleasant and may lead to other health issues.
If the water got as high as the door handles there will be a myriad of future problems.
Myself? An 11 year old vehicle? I’d try to get the insurance co. to write it off or sell it ‘as is’ (if possible) as a salvage vehicle and go buy another used or new one.
If the water was up into the instrument panel it should have been totaled
We think the car was under water for an hour. Front seats were wet. It took insurance inspector one week to come out and he did a visual exam. Transmission was flushed 4 times and computer chip replaced. Mechanic took it for a test drive and said it sounded fine. That it was driven worries us too. This car was initially totalled by insurance company, but we wanted a second opinion since the car was in such good shape w/low mileage. Now insurance company says we must prove damage exceeds value, so tomorrow (Mon. July 28) we need to tell mechanic everything we want checked. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Insurance company initiallly totalled the car (over the phone), but we wanted a second opinion so car was towed to dealer. Yes, we were stupid. Car sat at dealer one week before inspector came out and only authorized cleaning of carpets, flush of transmission and replacement of computer chip. We desperately need to know what else should be checked before car is released. We don’t know how high the water went but seat cushions were wet.
If this car was 100% under water, all the electrical connections are now suspect, as is the dash, as mentioned. There’s no way cleaning capets will help. Doesn’t the instrument cluster have dirt in it?
How high is the water line on the seats? Were they completely covered? It seems to me that the all the seat covers need to be replaced or cleaned, but they need to be removed from the seats to clean them. An alternative is to replace all the seats. Do you have power windows? If the motors were underwater, they need to be replaced. Power door locks? Same thing. All electrical connections need to be inspected, including exterior lighting, interior lighting, AC, ignition, battery, transmision, and anything else I forgot. Make sure that the heater and AC work. What about the gauges (gas, oil, temperature, speedometer, odometer tachometer)? Do they all work? Does the radio/tape/CD work? I’ll be that the blower motor for the AC/heat still has water in it. It needs to be replaced; the bearings are wet. You’ll hate it when it starts to squeal.
I don’t want to sound mean, but why do you even want to hold onto this car? It’s 11 years old and it’s been flooded. Regardless of it’s pre-flood condition, it will never be a reliable vehicle again. You’re going to be chasing all sort of electrical gremlins, etc. I say let the insurance folks total it and walk away. You’ll be doing yourself a favor. Good luck.
When we had the car towed to dealer, insurance company no longer was willing to total it. We blew it big time.
Almost unbelievable that the mechanic got the car to run again considering the small amount of work you state was required.
You might want to consider a different insurance co. after this fiasco.
Just for giggles, ask a few other ins.cos. what they would have done under the same circumstances.
Hope you didn’t owe anything on it.