I drove into water (i didnt know it was THAT high) and now the car won't start! It was got about as high as the top of the rim (factory issued size) and began to receded in about 15 minutes, within 45 minutes it was under the car complelely. When I tried to start it, it sounded like a popsicle stick in a fan (all agreed), a mechanic told me to turn the key & hold it for 3 seconds to see if it started. I did and after 2 seconds it died - nothing. Now it just clicks. Any ideas?

Starter?

My first initial thought too MStout (or solenoid). How hard did you hit the water? Might have got some wet stuff up in the dist area too if it splashed up in there. Need some more details.

hmm ran into water huh..well what tire was it ?was it the front driver side b/c if it was you may have hydro-locked your car and may be in the need for a new moter.see the intake on your car runs into a box located in your front left fender and if you say that the tire was submerged then ima have to guess the box was also.. hense you sucked water into your intake which is a big no no.um i would say try to take the top of the intake box off and see if there is any trace of o2.if so then you just might be out of a motor. : ( but on the plus side i have read about a guy who had removed the spark plugs and sucked as much water out as he could with a shop vac then did a few oil changes and saved his motor but i cant verify the truth behind that...so good luck..

break out the wd40 and battery charger charge the battery spray wd40 on wires and anything to do with the ignition and then give it a try. Water displacement on the 40th try.....

the starter would be my guess.... if not u probaly hydro locked it... what motor do u have?? i know the dohc's have the intake box lower thene the sohc......also if u have a cold air intake on it chances are it would suck the water up more so then a stock intake... most likley hydrolocked your motor and out a rod or to or maybe even 3 throught the block i did it to mine a few times now:(.... good luck

is there anyway to fix hydrolock? if so ,how?

Drove into over a foot of water CAI sucked it up car locked up. I let the car sit for a good week - then it started up to my surprise.

All depends you probaly dident suck water up through your intake(or u had a by pass valve installed) because when u take water in through your intake it goes into teh engine and well as u know pistions cant compress water just air so if water gets in it will break a rod.... there si no real way to fix hydrolock how ever most insurance compaines cover it.... just gotta pay your deductable

My financee had the samething happen to him. We were leaving Meijers and it was dark out, and there was a vehicle in front of us, so he "didn't see" the huge puddle. When the water hit the engine, it fried the starter and also frried the solenoid. He had to have the whole engine replaced. Thank goodness he works at a dealership and we got a huge discount. You are looking at well over a 1000 dollars, and that is only if you get a used motor. Good luck.

I'm sorry, it also locked up his pistons.

I hydrolocked my engine last December, I had to replace the engine. I went to a local junkyard and bought another engine for my 2001 SE. I paid $600.
It nly had 15,000 miles on it. I had never done anything remotely close to pulling a motor out. But I marked all of the wires. Kept all bolts and hardware in plastic bags. MAKE SURE TO LABEL EVERYTHING. It helped me out. It took me about day and a half to do by myself. Now it runs great I,m still able to hit 120 mph with no problem

If it is hydrolocked (or your not sure if it is or not) take out all the plugs, turn it over a few times. If it doesnt turn over its probably your starter or battery. If it does turn over then since the pistons are going up and down it should be pushing most of the water out if there is any. After you get the majority out, give all the cylinders a good bit of wd-40 wait a few days put plugs back in and see if it starts. Also if it wont turn over and its a manual tranny, put it in gear, and push it down the road with the plugs out. (Might look stupid but whatever works right? Hope ya get it fixed keep us updated.