I recently got a 2021 accord which had bern in a flood. I checked the engine and had no water when i got it. It had only 5900 miles on it. I changed the oil because it looked bad, and i turned it on today after 10 days of sitting. It had bern cold, and after running it for like 10 mins i saw milky stuff at the oil cap. It was moisture. Is this normal? It did not have a lot. Do you think it will go away if i take it on Highway
water is heavier than oil so it will sink.
Warm up the car, and open your drain plug and drain out a cup or so from your oil pan. If you see less than about 1oz of water then it's probably just condensation and you're fine. Getting the engine nice and hot will help it evaporate and clear up the oil.
Will do tomorrow, I appreciate your reply.
Update: it was just condensation. No water was inside the engine.
What you are seeing is likely just condensation due to the cold, but I'm afraid that buying a flood car was a very bad idea. Even if the mechanical components are OK the electronics and wiring are very likely to give you serious problems as the retained moisture corrodes wiring, connectors, and modules, and parts of the body and chassis that retain water will rust.
Hi Chuck. The water line was very very low. Nothing was really damaged. The intake in an accord is up the grill. No water went inside the engine or cvt. It is definitely a gamble, however I made sure water did not touch any electronics. It was just a little above the bottom of the doors. I took out the carpets, washed everything. I have no lights on the dash, airbag plugs were okay. No other wires or electronics were down the carpet. Hoping for the best in the long run.
All bets are off with any salvage title car, especially flood cars. It doesn't take very high water to ruin the electronics in the car.
Unless you were there and saw how high the water got exactly, you never know how the car was sitting, at what angle, what was underwater.....just not recommended.
But good luck fixing it.
Hello. I see you are also an engineer. What electronics are we speaking about in this case? The water line was marked by the insurance company. Yes the carpet was wet, but i do not see no wires or electronics over there. Then I went under the car. Everything looks good, unles water went inside the cv axle boot, or inside wheel bearing. None of them looks ailed by the way it drives. The airbag control module seats uptop, it was not wet. The computer module, fuse box and everything is in the engine bay bone dry. The catalytic converter is also close to the engine higher then the water line. Can you please tell me anything that I am missing because i want to double check. I am not a mechanic or an engineer, just an enthusiast trying to save a buck. And i do agree with you, if water went inside electronics, that would be a mess that even a professional mechanic probably wont be able to fix.
cars will usually have some wiring harnesses routed along the bottom of the car. Wiring for things fuel pump, oxygen sensors, crash sensors, ABS sensors, temperature sensors etc.
Fortunately the oxygen sensor is also on top close to the air filter. Fuel pump wire goes again on top of the car then the isolated water goes under. I saw it when i took the seats off. But you are right, there are probably other things down there. I will do an intelligent scan tomorrow. Is there anything you would suggest looking out for?
Yes the speed sensors definitely got wet.
might be worth it to unplug the connectors and inspect them/dry them out.
I will Joe, thank you much!
May I ask how much you got it for?
It is the new facelift 2021 EX-L. Its market value is 30-33k, i got it for 18. I would never buy a car in this crazy market, but I had no choice. What do you think?
Assuming it checks out in the future, good deal. If it starts breaking down, obviously not. LOL.
I am curious, what else is noticeable from the flood damage? If there was any damage at all?
No damage at all. I do not know how they totaled the car, unless they know something I don't. It did have the check engine light on. Turned out the fuel cap was not closed. Underneath the carpet i was expecting a lot of mold, but there was not cloth under the carpet. It had styrofoam. Yes it does have a rear bumper ding, however I am planning to love with it. The car has bose stereo system, i thought the aplifiers were down the carpet but no, nothing but metal in there. Everything works fine. It has honda sensing, the big sensor under there was fine. I went to the mechanic, and also the detail shop they told me they had hundreds of similar cars, but the owners did not want to file a claim. They just cleaned them and kept running. I did the research before i bought it at the best of my knowledge. If there is something i didn't realize, shame on me lol gotta suffer consequences