ok... Today on my way home from work it was raining like a Bitch out. Standing water everywhere on the highway. Drove thru this one bit of standing water on the highway and it was a bit deeper then I thought., Car shut off right there.. good thing I was in the slow lane. Got over into the shoulder.. I was freakin out.. but then I thought it cant be too bad... waited about 45 mins and tried to start it. And nothing but what sounded like something just spinning.. highpitched spinning. Motor didnt even try to turn over.. so I got it towed home.

NOW my question.. how bad is that highpitched noise? did I lock the motor? Ive only got 13K miles on the car.. Im not doing anything till tomorrow morning.. Its going to the dealer tomorrow.. Hopefully if it is fucked the warranty will cover it.. I know its a long shot but im hoping....

feedback pls..
thanks.

 

Man that sucks. I don't know what that high pitched noise could be.

 

Consider putting your stock airbox on before it goes in.

 

Sure that high pitched screaming wasn't the fuel pump priming?

Could have hydro-locked the motor. And that wouldn't be good. About how deep was the puddle you drove through? Hopefully it's just an electrical short of some kind..

 

I was going to do that....


as far as it being the fuel pump im not sure...wouldnt know what that sounds like..

 

ok I checked the codes and this is what i got..

P0121 - Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor (TPS) range/performance problem

is it possible that the high pitched sound may be the starter spinning but not cranking the engine?

 

Just put the stock airbox on and take it in.

 

If you a spinning type noice and it's hight pitch it sounds like your starter is spinning but it's not actaully engaging into the flywheel cause you have either fried or the stater got water in it and it will not let the selonoid inside of it engage the actuator to move the shaft to the flywheel, let it dry some more and it may start working again, if it does not by the end of the day I would take it to the shop, DO NOT TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED. Just tell them it won't start.

My dad drove his cavalier through a large puddle yesterday too and I had to go replace some fuses that got blown and would not let the alternator charge the battery and he drained the battery getting to work so I had to go fix it at 11pm last night after my mom woke me up and told me what he did. Everyone avoid water as much as possible, with all the electrical crap on cars now, water messes up a lot of stuff. The system is water resistant but it's not water proof.

Oh yeah don't worry about hydro lock if that was the case you would hear the starter engage and you would just hear a thump of the engine just not turning over.

 

Stock air box is back on. its just sitting out there in the nice warm day drying up now.. Im hoping thats all it is. Thank you all...

 

It was flooding here in Houston the other day and the water was sort of high on this street I was driving down but nothing the car couldn't handle. Then out of no where (As you explain it) I ran through a really deep puddle that came up about to the bottom of my headlight.

The EXACT same thing happened to me as it did to you. The car shut off and check engine light came on. I knew it was locked up though because it continued to idle for a second after I got through the puddle. I disconnected the intake tube and started it up and it ran rough for a second but then leveled out. I read the code and got a similar code to you which was saying that the MAF sensor reading and Throttle position were not matching and out of range.

So I pulled out the air box and let the maf dry off and problem completely solved. I changed the oil just in case and everything is fine. Hopefully this is all that you are experiencing.

 

Warrenty wont cover hydro locked motos... Driver error not GM's fault.. just my .02

 

You're right. This is where insurance comes into play.

 

ok.. UPDATE..
Its at the dealer now.
They said the starter is shot. thats the noise...
and they found Water in the Oil.
I know its bad that water is in the oil but how bad?
how do I go about the insurance company and all that stuff...
IF insurance doesnt cover it then am I totally up ***** creek?

 

Is the dealer not covering it?

 

You need to call your insurance company and make a claim. They will tell you if it's covered and how much the deductable is. They will then send a rep out to the shop to inspect the car; when they get the info they need they will sign off and the work will begin after you pay your decuctable.

 

I will know more on Monday.
I just wanna get a feel of what to do worst case ya know..
I HATE dealing with this ****...
once again thank you all...

 

If you get the starter or alternator wet then you can fry 'em, and you did, so it isn't all that bad, I think you can change the oil and replace the starter and you should be fine. Water in the oil is bad if you don't know how it got there, cause the something maybe cracked or w/e.

 

UPDATE....
got the car back yesterday... Starter was shot.. it broke...
No warranty it was full of water. $300 for a new damn starter.. ****..
Engine is fine.. no noises.. no taps.. no nothing...
im just going to take it easy for a couple weeks.

Once again... Thank you ALL for your help..

 

Man that sucks man, sorry, damn should have told you to put a blow dryer to it so they would never know, that must have been a hell of a lot of water, glad your engine is ok though.

 

Glad everyting better.

 

After all it wasn't so bad, it could have been worse I suppose. I am glad to hear it is better.

 

It's too bad that these cars do so badly in wet conditions... maybe GM should do something to make the engine components a bit more water tight.

 

dude dont be sad.
thats a VERY cheap way to escape something that could have been a nightmare.

Glad your rollin again.

 

That may have been the fastest I shelled out that much cash and was happy about it...