Drove through a puddle! Help Please

[anoymousguy]

It has been raining pretty hard these last couple of days down here in sunny San Diego and on my way home I was came face to face with this good size puddle on my way home. My 2014 Altima made it through the puddle, but as we crossed it water gushed in front what appeared to be under the steering wheel. It didn't stall on me thankfully. It still sounds normal from the outside the vehicle but when I'm driving it around I can here air whoosh from underneath the steering wheel. I removed the air filter to see if it was clogged or wet but it looks brand new.



Just wondering if any of you have come across this problem before I take in to Nissan dealership and get told is something silly.

[centralcoaster33]

Hi Anoymousguy, welcome to NICO Club!

I personally haven't heard of that situation. I wonder if your car has a plastic cover on the bottom of the engine area or not. I think it should. A sort of splash guard. Even the way the firewall is, I'm not sure how water could get up and into the column and slosh around. So, I'm thinking you may have a different issue and the puddle crossing is a coincidence. I think you should try to identify the source of the noise. When does it slosh about, can you reproduce the sound, where do you hear it coming from, etc.

Wait, water literally gushed into your car? Is that what you're saying? Wet floor, wet trim, wet shoes, etc? Or water gushed around your car as you crossed the puddle?

[Ryan48093]

Hello. I'm new to forums. I'd like to follow this up as I just had the same thing happen. Water gushed into my front driver side soaking my lower jeans and carpet. I had someone take a look at it, he advised it was an insulation issue. He told me he could do and under coating and re insulate for $180. Does this sound fair?

[centralcoaster33]

Hi and welcome to NICO Club! Being such a new car, I'd take the issue to Nissan. They might have a recall on the door seal and it could be free. This does seem like an issue for a potential recall/ technical service bulletin thing and at least a warranty fix. Your car probably already has undercoating. Did they show you and explain any holes, leaks or details?

[sey]

I'd like to bump this issue as this is the same issue I have... Well, I've driven through puddles before and didn't have any issue, this past month when we were getting a lot of rain in Houston, TX I've driven through a dip on the road (specifically a commercial area through the parking lot) with a puddle of water. Then *Whoosh* water came gushing through and same as the OP, now, I'm hearing the engine noise a little louder than it used to. Seems like there's a hole now after going through the puddle. I don't know if it matters but I've got a 2014 Nissan Altima S, Sport Value + Audio package w/ remote start.

I was searching through the web for a solution and water gushing in looked like this (mind you this is a 2016 Nissan Maxima)... https://youtu.be/UUdsGikWN6o

[amc49]

Uh, if you have water coming in door bottoms or under the steering column, that is NOT a puddle people, it's gross driver incompetence. Choosing to go into water WAAAYYY too deep instead of going around it; when water is that deep the ripples on top will generally tell you but you must THINK about it. Cars under those conditions are NOT and never will be waterproof (the insulation guy was a laugh riot!), the guarding there is against light to moderate splash rather than solid bulk water, which will come into any vehicle on the planet if deep enough to get over the bottom of the car. Anything past 4 inches is too much but they apparently can't get that across in school now.

If hearing a new noise then likely a rubber seal or similar has been displaced by the water impact and more evidence of way too deep. You can see the new generation do it all day long on the weather news, 90% of the water crossings now are incompetent and they should not be doing it. Common sense went out the window when the last president showed up.

[sey]

Uh, if you have water coming in door bottoms or under the steering column, that is NOT a puddle people, it's gross driver incompetence. Choosing to go into water WAAAYYY too deep instead of going around it; when water is that deep the ripples on top will generally tell you but you must THINK about it. Cars under those conditions are NOT and never will be waterproof (the insulation guy was a laugh riot!), the guarding there is against light to moderate splash rather than solid bulk water, which will come into any vehicle on the planet if deep enough to get over the bottom of the car. Anything past 4 inches is too much but they apparently can't get that across in school now.

If hearing a new noise then likely a rubber seal or similar has been displaced by the water impact and more evidence of way too deep. You can see the new generation do it all day long on the weather news, 90% of the water crossings now are incompetent and they should not be doing it. Common sense went out the window when the last president showed up.

I don't think this is normal as I've gone through puddles before and deeper than the recent one. But yes, it might be the speed that I've went through the puddle this time around.

As far as news is concerned, most news coverage are critical or bad news due to human nature and the way people like to be entertained nowadays. Add the speed of information now compared to 10 years ago. You get incorrect facts as to your conclusion of "90% of the water crossings." And I see how you tried to connect that to the new generation which sounds like 90% of them have no common sense at all which for some reason, blamed it on the last president of not even 2 years.

I'm convinced that the newer generation is less educated, less experienced & lazier. But this is a viscous cycle, it's been going on for generations. There's just no logic to blaming the president because of the newer generation being the way they are or people making stupid mistakes.

[amc49]

Of course those that can only think illogically can come to no other conclusion.

Not normal? You went through the puddle, apparently thinking it was a normal decision to do so. it's not normal for ME because I don't tempt random chance. There was logic there as well but ignored. Even went through deeper you said, explain that choice as a logical one. You cannot even stop yourself.

[amc49]

Hey, watching the morning news just now and they show more footage like I was erroneous about (the 90%)...........LONG lines that easily appeared a 1/4 mile into the distance and 3 lanes wide on a freeway service road that as the camera swings has everybody there going through water easily 14"-18" deep and 50 foot wide, an uncountable number of vehicles. If a place floods like that people should already be pretty much aware of it to avoid the issue altogether, I drove for 35 years on freeway most of the way to a job 40 miles away and I knew things like that and never got trapped ever into going into something like that. Yet those that did so in the video did it like they do it all day long, but the cars stranded on the other side said a whole lot otherwise.

It's about being proactive BEFORE things happen, not waiting for them to happen to then react after the fact of it.

Why I so often call this lemmingworld now.

[sey]

Well, if you're driving through 3 feet of a puddle, and thought it was only 2 inches of water, what would you do? But then it wasn't only 2 inches, it was a dip on the road, a deep one.

See, I made a mistake and I wished that I didn't do it, but would you think people would have done? You're saying that people that makes mistakes have no common sense? I guess you're right, everybody else have no common sense, except you and the world revolves around you.

All I'm looking for is a solution to the problem that the OP and I have. If it's a common issue, then at least people will know about it and if someone knows of a solution, they will add value to this thread not being judgmental on the way they drive and the way people should drive...

"Hey, look at me, I'm a 35 year old experienced freeway driver, who had never made a mistake because I don't tempt random chance. And these newer generations, with less experience, you're all so stupid and no common sense at all, and just because of the last president that is."

Please review your posts, and see how judgmental and self-righteous you are. And you're still trying to prove that you're right on your "erroneous 90%." If you don't have anything else of value to add to this thread then you should stop. Thanks.

[avmmiller]

I'd like to bump this issue as this is the same issue I have... Well, I've driven through puddles before and didn't have any issue, this past month when we were getting a lot of rain in Houston, TX I've driven through a dip on the road (specifically a commercial area through the parking lot) with a puddle of water. Then *Whoosh* water came gushing through and same as the OP, now, I'm hearing the engine noise a little louder than it used to. Seems like there's a hole now after going through the puddle. I don't know if it matters but I've got a 2014 Nissan Altima S, Sport Value + Audio package w/ remote start.

I was searching through the web for a solution and water gushing in looked like this (mind you this is a 2016 Nissan Maxima)... https://youtu.be/UUdsGikWN6o

Response from one who had the same experience of water gushing onto my legs on the driver side.
I just saw your post and the same exact thing happened to me in NY on Tuesday 09/25 when we had heavy rains. I drove through a big puddle and water gushed in on my legs. The carpet was soaked and i could see the water on top of the carpet. i bought it from Hertz car sales and they sent me to an auto center they deal with. The guys told me a rubber piece had gotten loose and they put it back in. I asked "did you need to seal it and they said no, they didn't need to". After i picked up the care i still heard air coming from under the steering and i heard the engine loader than usual. I took it to my mechanic. He bent down under the steering with his iphone flash light. There is a rubber ring that looks like a coil around the steering pipe/column. it was out of place. Then he told me the needed to take a pliers and squeeze the clamp to keep it in place. That did the job. No money paid.
I'm disappointed that a little rubber ring is blocking water from coming into the care. Should be better made. This is my first Nissan. Hmm may be my last!

[amc49]

If you tune out all cars that are not waterproof to the bottom of the doorsills then you will be not driving at all. They seal the panels on the floor with sealant but in no way do they guarantee them to not leak when inundated, not any car company on earth. And thinking that little seal of yours that washed loose is the mark of a 'bad car', well you fit right in with the other guy who cannot think enough to figure out you don't drive in deep water.

You need a submarine and cannot figure it out.

Lemmingworld...................sheesh. I just drove through what was supposed to be 6 inches of rain in 2 hours and no trouble at all but I intentionally avoided a few spots. It's a developed skill, at least to some of us.

Everybody wants the cars fixed but so very often it is the driver that needs fixing way more than the cars. Like in this thread. There is NO value there of course if the person reading is not smart enough to pick it up to run with the ball. Wanting now to buy another brand car due to caving in the seals from driving too deep in water, that's utterly hilarious.