paul246

A local JK owner just had to replaced her JK ( 2009? ) engine after it injested some water while it was being driven through a puddle at normal road speeds. This was on a paved surface.

Engine replacement bill was around $10,000. of which her insurance paid $8k, she had to pay the balance. Chrysler Canada wouldn't do a thing for her.

I did some digging around on American sites and found many similar stories. One fellow mentioned that his engine stalled ( but luckily didn't get as far as a locked condition) when he was slowly fording a shallow stream. It seemed to him that the serpentine belt was conveying stream water right up and into the air intake.

She is now going to install a snorkel to try and prevent a future occurance.

JTPhoto JK

No the JK is not susceptable to hydro locking, as a matter of fact it is probably the least likely of all vehicles to hydro lock if driven with common sense. The bottom of the serpentine belt is quite high so if you are in that much water already you must be careful. Generally water in the intake is caused by water running over the hood and fenders and that takes alot of water to hydro lock an engine. Just running through a puddle on the road won't do it unless that puddle is 1' deep and 100' long and you hit it at 50klm.. Hydro locking is not covered under warranty. There are very few people by percentage who have experienced this.

deepdiverterry

Ya...something sounds fishy (no pun intended) with hydrolocking going threw a puddle...

paul246

I agree, its hard to believe, BUT, she has a trashed engine and the paperwork to prove it.

Do a search on Google for Jeep Hydrolock and you'll see she isn't alone.

She ordered a snorkel for her new engine.

She, the owner, is also an experienced Wrangler owner, she previously owned a TJ.

JTPhoto JK

Do a search and you will find others that have hydro locked their Jeeps but the percentage is very very low and many of those were either totally submerged or in water 3-4 feet deep. It is unfortunate and I hope she gets it fixed but again you will not find another factory equipt vehicle that will handle water better.

rockrail

You would have to saturate the airfilter to the point where water enters through the other side and into the engine. Seems usually when pressed for specifics, people's "little puddles" actually mean they were submerged in a lake.

JTPhoto JK

I totally agree. I've watched that video a few times.