I was driving back from the airport this morning and drove through a puddle of water that I couldn't see in the dark. The car immediately sputtered when I stepped on the gas - had to pull into a parking lot and shut the engine off. I started it again 5 minutes later and drove home at 40 mph/2500 rpm. I read online about hydrolocking and engines shaking after people drove through large water puddles, but I did not get any of that. The engine light didn't even turn on. What should I do? It's an Accord w/ a V6.
Hydrolocking is when the water gets sucked into the air cleaner snorkel and reaches the engine, where it goes into the cylinders with the air/fuel mixture. The piston comes up to compress the air/fuel mixture but cannot because the cylinder is filled with water. The rod bends, the piston breaks apart and you need a new engine. This did not happen to your car, or you wouldn't have driven home. Probably, some water blocked the entrance to the air going into the filter housing, but didn't reach the engine. There are a couple of plastic boxes the air goes through before it reaches the actual filter, and these are for sound deadening. They may have saved your engine in this case.
Water can get in a wiring harness plug connection, and that could conceivably cause a misfire-usually the check engine light would come on, though.
OK, maybe it could have a slightly bent valve, or a slightly bent rod, and still run enough to get home. Not something that happens often.
if you got water in your tailpipe it could have messed with the exhaust briefly, not allowing the cylinder to clear sufficiently and ******* with the combustion ratio. If so, that would be a temporary problem and as soon as the water was blown out of the tailpipe by the exhaust you would be fine. i think.
