skyshadow

This poor 2015 LS had only 1000 miles on it before the owner decided to test it's water fording abilities. The engine sucked up water and hydrolocked. The owner then popped open the door and flooded the cab with water. enjoy..
Kudos to my tech for keeping things so orderly.

Jabberwock

Ouch. Thanks for sharing the cautionary tale. We have been getting large amounts of rain in my area with some local flooding. I have tried to explain to my 18 yo son that he should never drive his car into a road covered with water - mostly because it is really easy to drown in a car caught in flood water. These pictures provide another reason to keep your car clear of flooded streets.

mike430

You can't fix stupid, the car maybe but the driver????

Boomer01

Wow! We've had a historic rainfall and flooding this month. Cities have received 10+ inches in a day and many are nearing 20 inches for the month of May. There has been many new stories of people getting stranded while trying to cross flooded roadways. It's never a good idea.

skyshadow

Update for everyone. The new short block is being paired up with the rest of the car. check that puppy out, in case you were curious how much aluminum is used in these motors. I also have some pics of the connecting rods to show the hydrolock. Keep in mind, these should be perfectly straight.



And they should definitely not shatter...

dfkd

These photos are some of the most beautiful carnage I've ever seen.

Thanks for sharing this.

Devh

Who's the U-boat commander.

greg3852

Wow...They shouldn't be allowed to have the car back.

LSS (Lexus Social Services) should be involved and remove the Lexus from the home. They might allow for visitation after some counseling sessions.

Kudos to your tech for tackling this job. Wow not an easy one for sure.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

If this was the 600h, how bad would the damage be-battery/electrical component wise also?

dlbuckls10

Big mistake that could have easily been prevented.

konradl

Imagine the unbelievable amount of force that was exerted to bend those rods like that.

Really surprised the car wasn't totaled by the insurance company if the motor was hydrolocked and the interior flooded. Unless the owner decided to pay for repairs out of pocket of course.

skyshadow

If it was a 600h, I'm not sure it would mess up the electrical too bad. We have a RX450h here currently that someone forded as well and it "only" has hydrolock damage to the combustion engine, the CVT and components just popped fuses.

I think the reason it was not/will not be totalled by the insurance is because it's a LS. This is a 2015, A $87k car. So $15-18k of damage in total is still MUCH less than replacing the whole car. But as of right now, the owner is paying out of pocket.

I was surprised to find out today that the owner declined having the heads inspected for damage. Guess they are just going to gamble to save $500.

skyshadow

Exactly! It's absolutely amazing. As a Mech engineer, I had to share this for the simple amazing display of physics. Water does not compress, even against forged steel and unbelievable force.

R Z

. . . and not report it to carfax or Lexus!

konradl

Had the owner gone through their insurance, the car would've been most likely totaled. They appraise them on a different level then a private shop does. Carpet alone is probably around $1,500 for this thing, which is the number they would use, rather than drying the damaged one for instance.

But hey, if the owner has 15k to fork out for his mistake, then it's a non-issue. And like you said, he probably should've spent the extra $500 for the heads.

Definitely appreciate you sharing this. It's interesting to see what happens when a bit of water enters the chamber. To think that the aluminum heads, bolts, valves etc. were stronger then the pressure of the piston rods pushing on them. I guess something has to give.