Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
In my experience…unless all of the wiring in the floor and everything that got salt/dirty water on it was replaced it’s shot.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 shop manual says that you’re supposed to do a leak down test with air anytime HV components are opened/replaced. Hyundai expects them to be air tight, which isn’t design criteria on any civilian ICE I’m familiar with.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
Most EVs probably pretty unhappy with flooding. Most ICE too. But there are exceptions. Redirecting...
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
I wonder if the fuses all cuts off, and you dip the whole car into a tank of distilled water. Rinse, repeat.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
I think the key issue is the same as that for ICE vehicles - it’s next to impossible to find a container of rice big enough to immerse the vehicle into.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
Some EV’s are designed to be more capable than others in resisting water intrusion.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
Spoke to a rivian tech the other day. Rivians are sealed to be able to forge in 3 ft of water, which isn’t the case of most EVs. He said water would likely get into the car if water went over the hood because it could get into the ac vents. Not sure how long it would be ok to sit in standing water for days or weeks though. There is a video of an R1T that went viral because the flood water moved his truck and it seemed to be fairly submerged. He claimed it was at least drivable.
So, its actually possible a Rivian would be fine if the water stayed lower than the 3ft threshold.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
My cousin lives in a flood prone area and every year at the year end monsoon seasons his ICE car will be flooded. Eventhough the ICE is an old Vokswagen Beetle but the flood waters are very destructive. Regardless, ICE or EV, I suggest to everyone to prepare for monsoon season and move your car out of a flood prone area to a dry area. Nobody wants to be caught in flood right?
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
It depends on whether the battery is compromised.
If the EV battery maintains it’s seal, the car would experience damage similar to an ICE.
If the battery seal fails and there’s ingress, then there’s a risk of thermal runaway, especially if it’s salt water.
The reason EV’s flooding became big news was because of incidents years ago when a bunch of EV’s in Florida caught fire during floods. This was mostly caused by Teslas with defective battery seals and compromised top cases due to a design flaw that causes rust and water ingress.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
Non flooded BEVs depreciate like crazy already, no point going for flooded vehicle of any sort. Just asking for trouble.
As to how to spot flooded vehicles, some tips have already been suggested.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
It’s possible. The core battery system should be contained but flood water can certainly be damaging, particularly if it’s sea water or contaminated with sewage. It’s certainly possible an EV could be unethically resold after partial emersion, something that could damage the interior, door fittings or the like. It’s a risk in any used car purchase.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
[deleted]
Anecdotal. We can trade one-off examples all day, even with ICE vehicles. Submerging vehicles isn’t good for them.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
[deleted]
We’ve all seen that one, but it would become more interesting if someone were to find a second example.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
As long as the battery pack didn’t suffer any damage, it should be pretty solid.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
As long as the battery pack didn’t suffer any damage, it should be pretty solid.
True but since the battery pack is on the bottom and id guess no manufacturer is making batteries rated for long term submursion, id hazard all the battery packs in a flood will have taken damage
Remy said: Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
As long as the battery pack didn’t suffer any damage, it should be pretty solid.
True but since the battery pack is on the bottom and id guess no manufacturer is making batteries rated for long term submursion, id hazard all the battery packs in a flood will have taken damage
But this isn’t a terribly hard inspection. You drop the pack, bench it, pop the lid off and see what it looks like inside. If it’s pristine, you dodged a bullet, and now you have a battery pack. Too bad the rest of the car is scrap.
Lin said:
Back in the days post-Katrina, the used car market was flooded with “Katrina cars” that were basically written off by insurance companies, but then resold elsewhere, and said to be plagued by longterm electrical issues.
Very few EVs back then, and I got to thinking, how would an EV handle flooding?
My prior is that it would short out hard and be unresellable, but was wondering if it managed to stay working whether it would have longterm effects like the waterlogged ICE vehicles seemed to.
Is this a thing people who are looking to buy Used EVs need to be watchful for? Or probably not?
Thanks for reading.
As long as the battery pack didn’t suffer any damage, it should be pretty solid.
If the battery pack is damaged, and flood waters certainly can damage battery pack, then the EV is unusable. The solution will be to pre plan for the flood, which in Malaysia usually occurs at year end when monsoon season begins in Kelantan and Trengganu states. Move your precious EV vehicle like I do to a non-flood prone area, which is dry. The area should not be low area near the rivers or drains that usually overflow with rain water. Park your EV on a hill and have a nice day.