EV question

[Rex R]

I'm reasonably sure that most of you have seen the photos of the would be boater with his truck parked near the middle of the boat ramp... What's going to happen when someone does that with an EV truck or in salt water?

 

[Funkworks]

I haven’t seen that particular photo but I don’t think anything would happen other than a slow leak into the cabin like any other car. There are many videos of Teslas driving in floods or being amateur-tested in deep water where a combustion engine would drown. There have also been rumours the Cybertruck might have a “boat mode” (They float).

Submarines use electric propulsion underwater, so it’s only a matter of what quality the manufacturer is willing to offer.

Here’s an article on the topic.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/motor-mythbusters-flooded-engine-electric-car/
Basically, I think it depends on the EV but few if any makers will give the green light to do it on purpose..

 

[dr wogz]

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/ig-102022.html
https://www.ctif.org/news/coast-guard-issues-safety-alert-avoid-loading-evs-salt-water-damage-ships
it is very much an issue, but something I doubt will be a daily thing. especially on the sunny shores of Kansas...

 

[bjphoenix]

I've seen videos of Tesla and Rivian battery packs being disassembled. As I remember the Rivian battery is encased in epoxy. I don't remember the Tesla battery, maybe their individual battery boxes are sealed. Of course with poor maintenance, old age, accidents, the battery cases could be breached.
The vehicles have to be sealed up enough to handle driving in rain. Driving in high water could be another issue though. If you're lucky, you drive into high water and it just kills the car just like it does with ICE, it doesn't cause a meltdown.
My father owned a garage for over 60 years, one time our area had severe flooding and he bought a lot of flooded cars from insurance companies. Clean them up and change all of the fluids, they were usually salvageable. I've heard that today if there are floods, the insurance companies sell everything for salvage, not to be driven again.

 

[cbrarick]

back in the day cars didn't have computers, the closest thing was a distributor cap.....today's cars are filled with electronics and chips, once submerged are never the same again

 

[Ez2cDave]

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/ig-102022.html
https://www.ctif.org/news/coast-guard-issues-safety-alert-avoid-loading-evs-salt-water-damage-ships
it is very much an issue, but something I doubt will be a daily thing. especially on the sunny shores of Kansas...

No, definitely not in Kansas . . . However the entire Gulf of Mexico region, much of the East Coast, and some of the Wext Coast could be at significant risk, due the Hurricane "Storm Surges".

Dave F.