Are Cars Rainproof?

Are cars rainproof? This is a question on all car owners’ minds. Especially during the spring season as lots of rainy weather is expected. Well, we have researched the answers and their distinct reasons for you. let us get into it!

No, your car is not rainproof. Your vehicle can be water-resistant at most, but certain spaces cannot be sealed for obvious reasons. 

If a car is submerged in a body of water, for example, a river, we notice that the vehicle gradually gets filled up with water. This is because of some tiny spaces in your vehicle that either need air or create a passage for some important components to fit.

What Tiny Spaces Can Water Use to Get Into a Car?

There are several ports where water can gain passage into your vehicle. Here are two examples,

• Where the car wiring passes to the engine component
• Where your brake pedal links through to the firewall.

 These parts will shed most water that they interact with within normal usage. But when a vehicle is submerged in water, the pressure against them would be more than they were designed to manage.

The ventilation system is another notable point where water can get into your vehicle. Once your car is underwater, all these tiny spaces, though insignificant alone, fill the car quickly with water when combined with pressure from the water.

Are Car Engines Waterproof?

Your vehicle’s engine is not waterproof as air is needed for combustion. If water gets into your engine, your car will stop almost immediately. This is a fact for both diesel and gas engines. Why does this happen? Here are parts of the engine that do not have a great relationship with water

Air intake 

Once water gets into the air intake of your vehicle’s engine, it has found its way to your car’s internal combustion chamber. This puts your engine in a hydro lock, a state where your engine will not turn over because there is water in it.

A Vehicles engine that has been hydro-locked will cost lots of money and mechanical experience to fix. If the cost of fixing the car engine is more than the car’s value, the car engine is considered totaled.

Electrical components

The Car engine comprises various electrical components with various functions. For example, motors for the fan and windshield wipers, lights for various purposes, and batteries for powering electrical components.

Once water interacts with any of these electrical parts, there is a high probability of electrical shortage, which is not good for your vehicle.

How to Find Out if Water Has Entered Your Car’s Engine

When Your Car Is Running

If water gets into your vehicle’s engine while driving your vehicle, you should check for these symptoms to confirm. Loud knock noises will emanate from your engine. You will also notice problems in accelerating, and your engine will start to run roughly. This is usually followed by the car engine coming to a stop.

When Your Car Is Off

Once you suspect water has gotten into your car engine, it is best to confirm before starting the car. Why? Because there is still a slim chance to flush out the water before it can cause worse damage.

Firstly, you will need to check the air filter. If you notice a darkish area just at the top of the air filter filled with sand or debris, then water has gotten into your engine as floodwater holds a lot of silt and sand.

Secondly, you can check the intake tube. This is where the air filters are. The intake tube comes from the air intake down to the throttle body. The presence of sand or silt means water has found its way to the air intake and through to the throttle body.

Additional Tips

You can check your car’s dipstick if your oil seems a little milky. If it does, this is a sign that water has entered your engine. Also, if you notice sand or silt in your car’s coolant reservoir, this is another sign of water infiltration.

Water getting into your car engine is a not a good occurrence. Although if the water is not much, a professional can help flush it out. Therefore, it pays to monitor your engine and perform these checks when opportune.

How to Avoid Rain From Entering Your Vehicles

Park under shelter: Try to park your vehicle under shelter as much as possible. These shelters, such as your garage, help protect your vehicle against foreign elements.

Water can make its way into places that will take longer to evaporate. This increases the rate of corrosion. Keeping your vehicle sheltered will stop this from happening.

Check rubber seal: The little rubber seal that goes around the car opening help keeps foreign elements such as water, dust, and debris out of your vehicle. Slamming the door and bad car maintenances can wear out the rubber seal.

Rain repellant: A rain repellant help keep water off your windshield by taking it away quickly before it can obstruct your vision. Rain repellants are available in liquid form and are a terrific addition to your car supplies, especially during the spring season.

Car wax and Rainproof film: Coating your car in wax adds a protective layer against the weather. The wax creates a barrier between that car and rainwater, protecting the pain from rusting.

Rainproof films can also protect our glasses and side mirrors. The film creates a slippery layer that slides off rainwater almost immediately. This enables us to drive in the rain and not worry about vision.

Waterproof covers: Investing in a car cover could just solve your problems. Car covers are Waterproof and breathable. This means that water cannot get in and cause damage, but humid air can always escape.

Can I Wash My Car Engine?

We do not advise customers to wash their car engines with water every time. A car’s engine has so many electrical components that their interaction with water can cause damage.

However, there are specific situations where the car engine will need to be cleaned. An example of such a situation is an Oil or coolant leak. Not cleaning such leaks can cause problems for your vehicle’s engine.

Therefore, make sure only to clean your car’s engine when necessary and not just for cosmetic purposes.

Conclusion

Although cars were built to withstand a certain amount of rain, engines and electrical systems are not fully waterproof.

In this article we have learnt that our vehicles and their engines are not water-resistant. We have also learned how to check for water accumulation and what occurs when water gets into the engine.

Remember to attempt the steps on rainproofing your car. It will be helpful soon!