A mechanic has gone viral after issuing a PSA to drivers thinking about driving in water. With 747,400 followers, the Royalty Auto Service TikTok account is a regular on our FYPs, giving us all kinds of advice on all things automobile.
For their latest TikTok, the focus was something which, according to the account’s mechanic, “should be common sense” to any drivers worth their salt.
In the two-minute clip, the mechanic stands on the side of a road amidst torrential rain and a blown-down tree. He then points out a half-inch deep of standing water which, he claims, goes deeper. According to him, you might end up “destroying” your car if you drive fast through standing water.
This, he explains, is because the wheels suck up water and go straight to the engine. The “catastrophe” this causes your car depends on its air intake system—the lower the intake, the worse the risk of water ingress. Having an aftermarket air intake system also makes your car more vulnerable to water damage, he claims.
“You need to know when you’re going through this stuff, don’t be going through that fast,” he advised. “You will suck that water up, and [it’ll] lock that motor up, and it will not be fixable. You’ll bend a rod. You’re gonna damage your engine, catastrophe.”
@royaltyautoservice At least slow down to save some heartache! #mechaniclife #mechanicsoftiktok #hurricane #flood #tips #automotive #viral #fyp #foryou ♬ Pop beat BGM / long version(1283324) – nightbird_bgm
Is Royalty Auto Service right?
Across Quora and Reddit, there’s a pretty unanimous consensus—don’t drive your car through the water. In an online post, car insurance company AA gives several reasons why driving in standing water is bad for cars.
These include potentially hitting items hidden in the water, reduced or no braking, aquaplaning, and, as Royalty Auto Service indeed pointed out, damage to your car’s electrical systems.
In the TikTok comments section, several users also reiterated what the mechanic said about low air intake in vehicles. One pointed out that certain car brands — like Honda and Toyota — are more likely to have low air intake and are thus more susceptible to water damage.
While another noted, “Placing air intakes below the engine seems like such obviously poor design.” A third commenter added that they “learned [their] lesson” about driving through high water after they “ruined [their] car.”
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