A gas powered engine, obviously floods when drove in a flooded street or water. But is an electric car or even a bike be able to safely drive without malfunctioning or breaking down?
I can’t find any posts related to this, mainly I know that it is unsafe and mostly stupid to drive any thing in a flooded street as you can’t judge what’s in there. “The danger is not your car stopping, its what the water is hiding.” But hypothetically speaking, if it was a live or die situation, can you drive an ev with water high up the car.
I assume so but I might be wrong as I feel there is nothing which can break, and all the wires and connections must be waterproof.
edit: got it, thanks everyone for the replies.
In: Technology
College answer: it depends. Depends on the vehicle, depends on the environment, depends on the driver.
The immediate concern in my mind is how waterproof the sensitive electrical components are, as well as the high-voltage systems. A short could be as minor as poor performance, component damage, or as high as a full-blown battery fire (which could supercede the threat of the water).
If the vehicle doesn’t short, then my next immediate concern is a floating vehicle. Once tires lose traction, you are probably at the whim of the water body. This is true for both ICE and EVs.
Both my vehicles are EVs. One hasn’t been exposed to significant water depth, but the other I did drive thru a water depth higher than the floorboard (Hyundai Ioniq 5). Using a slow speed, I traversed thru a flooded road section which took between 30-60sec. No issues, no damage, no worries. However, I’ve seen videos of other makes/models that experienced serious issues just going thru a small puddle or car wash.
Latest Answers