2009 Honda Fit water damage

MM11729

MEMBER
2009 HONDA FIT
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
35,000 MILES

My car wouldnt start. I had it towed to the dealership and they took my engine apart telling me there was water damage and I need a new engine. I didnt run through lake michigan and cant imagine there would be water damage due to heavy rains, enough that would damage the engine beyond repair. I feel funny telling them I want to take the car back to get a second opinion. Plus, they have my engine half apart waiting for me to contact my car insurance.
When I had it towed, before I even told them what was wrong besides that it didnt start, they immediately asked me if I went through any water. I feel they immediately wanted this to be the problem so I can go through my insurance.
Is this common for this car, that it would suck water up into the engine so easily? And I dont have the funds to keep getting it towed all over, so should I trust what they are saying?

3 Replies

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

MANY cars in the northeast part of the country had this damage during the rain storms, it requires you to drive through a large(deep) puddle, high enough to allow the intake(air) to drink from the puddle, the car would DIE right in the puddle or at least not far from it! If this happened, then it is likely, but you dont need to disassemble the engine to figure it out.

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Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 AT 4:13 PM

MM11729

MEMBER
2 POSTS

The car "put putted" for a day and died 24 hours later. I never went through a large puddle like you stated. What do you recommend I do? Keep it with the dealership or get it checked out by another mechanic?

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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 AT 8:48 AM

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

Here's the problem, if it was put putting, the air filter and or electrical system got wet, if it's due to the air filter, the engine was slowly drinking water from it, and could have damaged the engine, liquids cannot be compressed, and instead when the piston tries to compress it, you end up with damaged engine parts instead. If it's electrical, it should have sent most systems haywire. Lights accessories and so on. Honda dealer should be able to figure this out, it's pretty basic stuff! At any rate, as long as the damage is less than the book value, your insurance should cover it.

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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 AT 2:17 PM