Most people have no clue about another major risk of high water…
hydro-lock
of the engine because so many engine air intake ducts go forward and down to ingest fresh cooler air .
They look at the kick panel height and assume they can barrel right through. Then , while pushing a wake with the front bumper…whoooshK…LOCKED !
‘‘gee, I wonder what happened ?’’
And then, most of them will likely blame the manufacturer of the vehicle, rather than looking in the mirror in order to see the real source of the problem.
I agree with Ken Green about the danger of hydro locking the engine. It’s easier to do than most think. Where I used to work one of the car salesmen ran his beautiful late model Audi through a large puddle one rainy night. It wasn’t a case of flooding per se, just a big long puddle most people would instinctively slow down for. He was going like 60, though and never lifted. Even with all the splash pans under the engine compartment, the induction system was able to suck in beaucoup water and hydro lock 2 cylinders resulting in 2 bent connecting rods–I witnessed them after one of the techs had torn the engine down which was then sent to the machine shop for repair/reassembly. Thing ran like a top til a week later when the salesman hit a tree & totaled it!
He was OK but…jeez man, slow down!
We’ve all made mistakes, but looking at that video, I have to wonder why anyone would even consider trying to make it across water like that unless they’re in a canoe outfitted for white-water rafting.