Small but mighty

Meet Buster the Heroic Mini... this brave little motor sat forlorn up to its poor pedals in a flooded underground car park for two days while owner Geoff joined hundreds of others in dealing with the consequences of being flooded. The plucky little car, a 1993 Mini Cooper, was eventually hauled up out of the water onto dry land. With sheets of water pouring out of its doors and wheel arches, Geoff tried the key in the ignition, and the car started first time!

"What a fantastic machine!" says Geoff. The basement car park of his apartment building in Chapelizod in Dublin had been flooded in the recent weather. "When it was hauled up the ramp and out into the daylight, I thought the poor little thing had breathed it's last. But it fired up first time. Now with a little TLC and a bit of time to dry out, Buster should have a fair few years of life in him yet!"

The AA is happy to raise it's hat to Buster and to credit Mini for the terrific quality of their product. However, Buster’s heroics should not inspire other car owners to take a risk with flood water. Although water damage will be expensive in almost any circumstances it is much more serious when the engine is running. If water is drawn into the air intake then there will be major damage. Water doesn’t compress like air does, so pistons and cylinders can be cracked and broken as they try to fire. This will certainly mean a long and costly repair and could require a reconditioned engine.

Although water damage will be expensive in almost any circumstances it is much more serious when the engine is running. The engine's air intake on many cars is low down at the front of the car and it can take just an egg cupful of water in the combustion chamber to wreck an engine. Water doesn't compress like air does and the piston in effect hits a wall, bending or breaking a con rod.

Drive fast and even if the intake's above the water level could cause water to be ingested. A feature of the recent flood event was drivers chancing their arm particularly when they have seen the car in front get through a flood successfully. Just because you see a small car in front of you make it through does not mean that your bigger and more expensive car will manage it.

The AA Rescue service was flat out for days attending to drivers in just that situation. Sadly we could do nothing about damage that had already been done, and most often the AA was simply recovering the car from the roadside and taking it away to a garage for long and expensive surgery.

Heavy Rain

If you're unlucky enough to break down in heavy rain, don't prop the bonnet open while you wait for the patrol to arrive – the engine will be more difficult to start again if the electrics are all rain-soaked. Instead, pull over to a safe and visible place and wait for help to arrive.

If you are driving in heavy rain – and don’t we all have to at some stage in this part of the North Atlantic – then keep the following in mind:

Give yourself the best chance of being able to see clearly in wet weather by renewing windsreen wipers if worn or damaged - a demonstration is available on one of the AA Patrol Podcasts
Double the distance you leave between your car and the car in front of you, as stopping distances are increased by wet roads.
If steering becomes unresponsive due to the rain, ease off the accelerator and slow down gradually.

Floods and Standing Water

Don’t try it! Is your journey worth €3,000? That's the type of bill you could face if you wreck the car’s engine. Only drive through water if you know that it's not too deep.

Remember you cannot be sure how deep a flood is... It may look like a puddle but it could conceal a lethal hazard. For example, what if a man-hole has been dislodged?

Drive slowly and steadily to avoid creating a bow wave. Allow oncoming traffic to pass first and test your brakes as soon as you can after leaving the water.

Don't try driving through fast-moving water, such as at a flooded bridge approach – your car could easily be swept away.

Driving fast through standing water is dangerous – tyres lose contact with the road and you lose steering control in what's known as 'aquaplaning'.

Watch out for standing water, trying to avoid it if you can, and adjust your speed to the conditions. If you do experience aquaplaning, hold the steering wheel lightly and lift off the throttle until the tyres regain grip.

Driving fast through standing water is inconsiderate – driving through water at speeds above a slow crawl can result in water being thrown onto pavements, soaking pedestrians or cyclists. You could face a hefty fine and between three and nine penalty points if the police believe you were driving without reasonable consideration to other road users.

Driving fast through standing water can cause expensive damage – it only takes a small quantity of water sucked into the engine to cause serious damage. All engines are affected but turbo-charged and diesel engines are most vulnerable.