Hydrolock? Don't drive in the rain!

[smiley30]

Anyone had trouble driving the Maxima in the rain (mine's a '99)? It seems the air intake is quite low, and hydrolocking the engine is common. I'd like your thoughts and comments. Am I getting treated like a woman again?

[97wvmax]

dirty air filter? intake messed up?

[smiley30]

Apparently, while driving in the rain, I got water in the engine, which cause a rod to blow, and the engine has to be replaced.

[NJMAXSELTD]

How in the world did that happen? Not only is the air intake high, it sits above the radiator and scoups air from the hood line, but there are also drain holes in the system just in case some how, some way, water gets in there it drains out. And on top of that, the air filter sits up on top of the air box leaving about 3-4 inches of space. How could water possibly get into the air scoup, travel through the intake piping, which is kind of long, then up into the air box, then fill it to the tune of 3 inches, saturate the air filter and f i n a l l y make it into the throttle body?????

Doesn't make sense. What did you drive through, 3 feet of water????

[97wvmax]

wtf?

[smiley30]

I got caught in a rainstorm.

The problem with rain in Arizona is that it doesn't happen that often. Therefore, the drains are few and far between, and cannot handle "heavy" rains. At one point, rain was coming down at a rate of 8" per hour, but we "only" got 2 inches in some parts - this is more than 25% of our annual average!

The "puddles" I was driving through at some points were up to the bottom of the car (some water did seep in). However, the car did fine through the puddles. No strange noises until it blew: I was driving in the far left lane on a dry (relatively speaking - no standing water, light rain) six lane divided main thoroughfare when my engine blew (loud bang, puff of smoke, smell of burning rubber). It clattered across 3 lanes to the closest high-ground parking lot. I turned it off and called the tow truck.

The tow truck guy figured I hit something (I don't remember hitting anything) and damaged the oil pan. I had a mechanic look at it the next day - he said the oil pan was in tact, but there was definitely a breach as there was oil missing, based on the dipstick (which came out shaped like a 'V'). He said it sounded like I probably threw a rod and it should be covered by warranty - probably a coincidence that it happened in the rain.

The Nissan dealer (lots of them have a bad reputation in Phoenix, so I had to take it 15 miles from home) said the warranty wouldn't cover damage caused by water, and he found the air filter "soaking wet". It should have been clean, as it was just replaced less than 3 months ago.

He also mentioned that the intake was in the bumper, but that's where it usually is in all kinds of cars (this does not jive with a previous post). He stated that the engine suffered from "hydrolock" that caused the engine to throw a rod.

What doesn't make sense to me is that the hydrolock I've read about prevents the engine from turning over. Mine still turned over - 40 min after the incident (for the tow truck driver) and the next day (for the mechanic).

I've called my insurance, and am waiting for their decision, but I still want to know if this makes sense, and whether the waranty should cover it. Constructive opinions appreciated. Hindsight is 20/20.