SUV hybrids have electric motors in them and my question is: "Are electric motors easier to stall out when submerged under water or more susceptible to damage from underwater submersion than gasoline or diesel motors? I.E. when fording a stream in a vehicle and the compartment with the electric motor takes on water.
No unprotected electric motor can take a dunking and keep on ticking. Gasoline, or Diesel, motors have to be protected from water intrusion, also.
Gas engines are more likely to stall out.
If you did submerge a hybrid engine while running and it didn’t short out then I would be concerned about the water that might have entered the air intake of the gasoline engine…if there is water then when that engine started up it could hydro lock.
Thank you all for your comments. I imagine if the electric motor is set lower down than the air intake for the fossil fuel engine then the electric motor would quit first and then the fossil fuel engine would simply start up automatically to pull you out of the stream or water situation (provided it has not submerged above the air intake). I don’t know this for sure but am surmising their engineers have this already worked out.
AFter drying out, I assume the electric motor would begin working again. comments?