MG4 would seem to have made it through a flooded ford

[FiferMG4]

Not that I would have attempted this, but it would seem the MG4 made it through unscathed, or do you think it will incur problems later on? ?
Fast forward to the 2 minute 7 second mark to see the MG4:

 

[OriginalBigAl]

It was a little surprising that it started floating when the water level was around the wheel arch level, maybe they are lighter than the published figures stated? The other cars seemed to keep their wheels planted to the road. One in the eye for the collapsing car park brigade.

 

[JonnyG]

Jeez ... No way woud I do that ?. I'd be interested to see how it was next day.

Just seem the news about an Edinburgh Tesla owner (also on an Electric Viking Youtube video) who is facing a £20,000 bill by Tesla for replacing a wet battery.

 

[Macadoodle]

Been through a few deep flooded bits in the last couple of days but nothing quite like that yet.
What's killing the ICE vehicles seems to be bad technique to a large extent, far too fast through the ford.
The Diesels are probably destroyed with bent con rods, water ain't compressible

The MG looked cool though, especially the mid way float, difficult to say how well SAIC has protected it against partial submergence.
I guess that the time spent in that state is a key factor. Water might start to creep where you don't want it but if you're out of it within a few seconds, relieving the inward pressure, it possibly won't be an issue.

 

[FiferMG4]

It was a little surprising that it started floating when the water level was around the wheel arch level, maybe they are lighter than the published figures stated? The other cars seemed to keep their wheels planted to the road. One in the eye for the collapsing car park brigade.

Perhaps there’s more to our MG4s than meets the eye. ?

 

[Artful]

If I was the driver of the MG4 I would check to see my rear undershield is still there as I saw an image yesterday of someone in one of the facebook groups asking what was missing - rear undershield had come off (yes the one that had warping issues).

 

[Deleted member 11291]

Wonder if the refuse vehicle driver has still got a job!

 

[siteguru]

The look on the face of the guy with the beard ... "An EV made it through? ?" ??

 

[FiferMG4]

The look on the face of the guy with the beard ... "An EV made it through? ?" ??

Yeah, he seemed dumbfounded.

 

[tsedge]

I try to avoid all fords. It's the sort of thing where it is so easy to cause damage under the car or water where it shouldn't go that it is not worth any "kudos" for driving through it. Looked like the MG4 driver didn't own that car, which is different.

 

[Artful]

I doubt the Refuse driver is still employed by Biffa. I work for Suez as a HGV Driver and would never attempt going through water deeper than about 8 inches usually just below the wheel nuts is safest and nowhere near high enough to damage anything.

 

[fnegroni]

It was a little surprising that it started floating when the water level was around the wheel arch level, maybe they are lighter than the published figures stated? The other cars seemed to keep their wheels planted to the road. One in the eye for the collapsing car park brigade.

It’s about volume not weight.
Most cars have lots of empty space and water can enter through the underbody

Pure electric platforms (the MG being one, unlike say Stellantis) have a flat battery pack at the bottom: the weight of the displaced water is then greater than the weight of the car itself.

Our cars are basically rafts. ?
And are sealed from the elements.
Obviously this isn’t an invitation to go through a Ford on purpose, but will hopefully reassure anyone who thinks they will give you an electric shock when it rains…

 

[OriginalBigAl]

It’s about volume not weight.
Most cars have lots of empty space and water can enter through the underbody

Pure electric platforms (the MG being one, unlike say Stellantis) have a flat battery pack at the bottom: the weight of the displaced water is then greater than the weight of the car itself.

Our cars are basically rafts. ?
And are sealed from the elements.
Obviously this isn’t an invitation to go through a Ford on purpose, but will hopefully reassure anyone who thinks they will give you an electric shock when it rains…

Well, thats popped my bubble, I was feeling quite buoyant until now.

 

[TheHypnoToad]

I wonder if his rear diff is now filled with water and mixed with oil?
Through the same port that the oil leaks with the overfilled oil levels?
I'd hope there is a one way valve on this port

 

[Tonych]

Wonder how much water found its way thro the door seals and heating tubes

 

[Rolfe]

I saw a still of that on Twitter the other day and was looking for the full video. It's quite scary when the car seems to float a little, but I wonder if that's actually an illusion?

They're all absolutely nuts trying that. Including the MG4 driver. The ones taking a run at it were the really stupid ones though. I was always taught (in an ICE car) to go as slowly as possible, slipping the clutch to keep the engine constantly working. I have gone through less than that in a DSG car and got away with it simply by slowing down and keeping my foot on the accelerator to achieve the same effect. But never, never take a run at it. The cars who got through seem to have taken it slowly, plus they were more suited to it, like a Land Rover.

It was interesting to see that one or two cars that seemed to get through then appeared to break down only yards beyond the ford. I saw water running out of the exhaust pipe of one of them. The later part of the video seemed to be the next day when the water level was a bit lower, and more people were managing to get through.

I thought I saw one guy lose his undertray in the video. I'd love to know the state of that MG4's undertray. If it had the warp, I'd be a bit surprised if it didn't come loose.

 

[siteguru]

The van lost its front grill trim ... is that what you were thinking of? And one of the Land Rovers seemed to have a high air intake - ideal for flood situations.

 

[Rolfe]

That's possibly what I saw. In an earlier video from a different ford, I saw a Tesla lose its front number-plate. I think if you want to try this game you need to proceed at a crawl.

 

[Rolfe]

Just seem the news about an Edinburgh Tesla owner (also on an Electric Viking Youtube video) who is facing a £20,000 bill by Tesla for replacing a wet battery.

Any link to that? I couldn't find it.

 

[Rolfe]

Can anyone enlighten me what it is about the flood water that causes the ICE cars to drown? I believed it was water being sucked into the tail-pipe, which you could prevent by never letting the engine fall into idle while driving through the water, but in another thread here a bunch of people told me that was nonsense. So what exactly is the fail point? It was slightly disconcerting to see several cars appear to make it, but then grind to a halt in obvious deep trouble shortly after emerging from the water.

How repairable is the damage? Are these cars going to be OK with a little drying-out, or are they write-offs, or what?