Flood water?

[Yachtsman]

The uk has suffered from severe flooding in many areas in recent years, however when confronted with a relatively shallow flood such as a swollen ford or roadside flood, I've not been unduly concerned about passing through them with my previous ice car when the water wasnt above the top of the cills.
I won't be doing the same with the m3, I suspect it may cause a short circuit of the battery.
Is there anyone more knowledgable than me re the water sealing of the batteries and whether it would be safe to pass through water as described above.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

The uk has suffered from severe flooding in many areas in recent years, however when confronted with a relatively shallow flood such as a swollen ford or roadside flood, I've not been unduly concerned about passing through them with my previous ice car when the water wasnt above the top of the cills.
I won't be doing the same with the m3, I suspect it may cause a short circuit of the battery.
Is there anyone more knowledgable than me re the water sealing of the batteries and whether it would be safe to pass through water as described above.

The battery is contained within a watertight box, under the floor of the car, plus all the HV components are also well sealed from water ingress.

Main issue with going through deep puddles is that some have reported damage to the aerodynamic cover under the front of the car. It seems that this can be prone to being damaged or torn off by the pressure of flowing water, so best to proceed as slowly as possible.

 

[OneTinyFish]

I'm following this discussion as I live on an island.

 

[tomorrowman]

The following might help allay your fears

If you want Model 3's making like a boat, there are numerous videos of this happening in China

 

[Mr Miserable]

Submarines have batteries....

 

[spon88]

Per the post above, the battery etc is supposed to be sealed so you should be OK. The aero cover under the car, certainly with earlier models, is easily destroyed if you hit flood water at any kind of speed. Quite a few posts on this. I believe Tesla are retrofitting sturdier plastic panels but not as standard i.e. you have to break it first!

A couple of months ago I got caught in a flood in the Peak District and whilst the car held up generally, the space underneath the boot got very wet. There are a couple of folks on here with similar experiences. There are a number of rubber plugs in the "sub boot" as I call it and I suspect water forced its way past those. It was easy enough to strip the boot liner out and dry it, but it's one to be aware of if you do get caught in flood water.

 

[Yachtsman]

Submarines have batteries....

Yeh but they are watertight!

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Out of interest, has anyone ever bottomed out the nature of the changes that may have been made to the front under pan?

I'm pretty sure mine has the older design, and equally sure that, as we live next to a stream that tends to flood across the lane after prolonged heavy rain, sooner or later I'm going to end up having to drive through flood water to get in and out of our drive. Knowing what to look for under the car, and whether the Tesla warranty will cover it, might be useful.

 

[GRiLLA]

There's no electrical risk, and you aren't going to kill your ICE engine by covering the exhaust.

I've heard of Aero's coming off in deep water occasionally, and sometimes the underside being an issue, keep your speed low and be lucky.

I drove through some pretty deep floods, at least a foot, on my way to my summer holiday in Scotland this year, no problem.

 

[GRiLLA]

Out of interest, has anyone ever bottomed out the nature of the changes that may have been made to the front under pan?

I thought it was more rear, and made out of that soggy cardboard stuff that ends up ripping under the wait of water. There's a new part which is plastic so doesn't care about wet.

 

[Medved_77]

I believe @Jason71 is our resident expert on this subject:

Model 3 Wading Ability

 

[Jason71]

I believe @Jason71 is our resident expert on this subject:

Model 3 Wading Ability

Ha Ha you beat me to it.
Many months later no ill effects except a bit of water in the under boot storage bin that came up from bellow via the grommets.
Still not recommending it though as plan A

 

[Jason71]

I thought it was more rear, and made out of that soggy cardboard stuff that ends up ripping under the wait of water. There's a new part which is plastic so doesn't care about wet.

It is the rear that is more of an issue. Had mine replaced in Feb. Same type though

 

[MrBadger]

I'm following this discussion as I live on an island.

If it hasn't passed you over, so do the rest of us Its just a matter of scale.

 

[OneTinyFish]

If it hasn't passed you over, so do the rest of us Its just a matter of scale.

I think we all get the rain on ones chips feeling.

#British4Ever!

 

[CMc1]

The uk has suffered from severe flooding in many areas in recent years, however when confronted with a relatively shallow flood such as a swollen ford or roadside flood, I've not been unduly concerned about passing through them with my previous ice car when the water wasnt above the top of the cills.
I won't be doing the same with the m3, I suspect it may cause a short circuit of the battery.
Is there anyone more knowledgable than me re the water sealing of the batteries and whether it would be safe to pass through water as described above.

Username checks out