Hi there. This is Juan S. Fernandez, and just traded in a 03HCH for an 06. I'm in Los Angeles, but I'm natural from Spain, so excuse my English.

I had my 2003 HCH flooded once. It was parked on the street, and during a storm the water level rose above the door level, getting the water inside. This happened over night, and was gone when I got out in the morning. Initially, I did not notice anything until I saw water "rising" from the carpet. ... Further inspection, and it was ALL FULL OF WATER under the carpet.

I reported it to the insurance company, and they valued the repair over $1000, but since I had a $500 deductible, I was pretty much screwed. Repair involved dissasembling all seats (water did not touch them) and removing the carpeting. What I did is I took it all out, removed the internal carpet and rented a carped cleaning machine from Home Depot, with some carpet cleaning liquids.

Let me tell you, guys. I removed the carpeting down to the bare metal. There is not a single electronic component on the floor, and cables are routed inside sealed pipes (or almost sealed). The floor is also covered with insulating asphalt-like patches, so even the drainage caps are covered. The carpet is actually water proof and multi-layered. Has a first thick layer of a wool-like material, then the carpet base (waterproof) then the exterior material we see from above. If you spill some water on it, it will not reach the metal (unless you flood the car and the water goes above the sides of it). Water came dark dirty from the carped, and I kept cleaning until it was all clean and dry.

Flooding is a terrible thing for a car. I had flooding on another car a year before (AC drainage got plugged and water from a car wash got inside the car) and had to take it appart also. I was surprised at the quality of what I saw on the Honda. The quality of the work and the materials, and how well they held up. I had one of the kids actually "puke" on the front right side. The floor mat absorved the stuff, got like almost 3/4 inch thick. He got stuff on the right seat too. I thought it was going to ruin it. A sponge with water is all it took.

I finally assembled the car, and it was like new. Never had any problem of any kind with it. No smells, no electrical problems, no staining of the carpeting...

If you get water on it, understand that the carpet is multilayered, with the center layer water proof. If water gets underneath you need to take it out removing the carpet. You will not be able to just suck the water out from above. On the other side, if you just spill some water it cannot get down.

After 48000 miles on my 2003 HCH I decided to get on a 06, so I traded it for the new car. I got for the car more than I owed, wich I applied as downpayment for the new one.

About the water, the car will float. It's almost waterproof underneath, but water will get in if you go above the door level, specially if stopped. No passenger car is designed to get on that much water, and it isn't worth risking it. I had in Spain a Citroen BX, with a diesel engine and hydraulic suspension. I would get on rivers and flooded streets, raise the car and circle around people pulling water out of their cars with buckets... The car was old and I was young.

I will be posting comments on the new 06 vs the 03 as we go.

Juan S. Fernandez
2006 HCHII 45MPG 1000 mi

 

Thanks for the insight Juan! (Yo vive en espana por un ano, estudiano en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid.)

As for the OT, one should take the same caution with the HCH as they would a normal Civic or any other passenger car for that matter. The general rule of thumb states that you can drive through water as long as the level of said water is under that of your air intake. However, at that water level, water come quickly come flooding in through the door seals.

The deepest I've ever driven through was only about 7" - 9" or so in my Element...

 

Another rule of thumb to play it safe when driving through water especially with cars low to the ground, do not drive through water deeper than the wheel hubs, which is in the center of your wheel. It is true not to drive higher than the air filter but on most cars the air filter sits pretty high and water can damage other parts, expecially the electrical system. If water gets into the intake/air filter you will have big big problems and risk ceasing the engine. To play it safe, no High the the center of the wheel and remember to use your judgment.