Jakony Tribune. Continue Reading at - WFLA
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Across Tampa Bay, cars were submerged in flood waters, or drivers went through questionable water.
Days later, some of those cars are still ending up broken down.
At the AAA Car Care Center in Tampa, water damaged cars are coming in for inspections, and many leave, labeled total losses, said Ben Gonzalez, service manager.
Gonzalez said they’ve received more than 40 vehicles with more on the way.
“Constantly, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and we’re still getting more today,” he said.
Some were parked at houses or garages, and some drove through water they shouldn’t have.
Gonzalez said more cars could start having problems in the coming days and weeks.
“You can get some check engine lights,” he said. “You can see decreased performance of the vehicle, decreased acceleration, things like that.”
“Unfortunately it doesn’t take very much, so something I always recommend to people is if you see water when you’re driving, just turn around and avoid it because it doesn’t really take very much to get water inside your intake and ruin your engine,” he said.
Electric cars are also at risk.
During the storm, officials warned of EV batteries catching on fire at several Tampa Bay area houses. Mechanics say if your electric vehicle took on water during the storm, you should get in checked out to make sure it’s not damaged.
“Water and ion batteries do not mix. They literally explode,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.
Electric vehicles with lithium ion batteries can catch fire if the batteries short circuit and start to heat up.
While we saw fires that began during the storm surge, EVs that were submerged in saltwater can still catch fire after the water evaporates since the conductive salt is still present.
Before the storm, Gov. Ron Desantis urged EV owners to move their vehicles to higher ground.
Tampa Fire Chief Barbara Tripp warned that residents need to be careful even after the storm – and not just with vehicles.
“If you have any equipment, any scooters, any bikes, electrical bikes, electronic vehicles that have been submerged in salt water, please, please do not try to power that on because you will have issues,” she said. “They need to be serviced before you can utilize that.”
