[EssYouWe]

No no, I am pretty certain there is nothing to worry about. As download2live has already pointed out, a hydrolock would have seen you stranded there and then.

If the water wasn't even up to the exhaust level, there is very little risk. Do make sure you let the ASC guys know it was below exhaust levels.

In any case, if the light is on and you can still start the vehicle, it must have gone into limp mode. Just take it to the nearest ASC and have them look up the error code.

Cheers, and all the best!

[StarrySky]

Thanks everyone!

Praying to all the Gods that I know of, I started the car again a few minutes back. It still showed the "Check Engine" warning message and I think the "Injector System Failure" warning lamp was still on after starting the engine - I say "I think" because it was I switched off immediately and it was after switching off that I had this feeling that the warning lamp was still on after starting the car. I wanted to check it out, so I started the car again - and this time the warning lamp went off as it should and there was no "Check Engine" message anymore. I repeated it 2-3 more times and each time the warning lamp went off upon starting the car - and no "Check Engine" message was displayed

I spoke to the SA from Hyson Motors again and he said that now that there is no warning message, it should be safe to drive the car. But, he asked me to take the car to the nearest ASC anyway. I have decided to take the car directly to ASC tomorrow - and also that I will leave the car today in my office parking lot and only take it out tomorrow to go to the ASC.

[EssYouWe]

Arrey there would be no issues at all! You can drive it home and then take it to the ASC at your leisure. If the light is not on anymore, you shouldn't worry at all. Entering water and having a few warning lamps come on isn't uncommon.

So please relax and enjoy the drive home. Take it to the ASC and they should be able to ascertain the error codes.

[gemithomas]

Water must have made some sensor wet leading to the light. No Issues is driving the car as long as the light does not come on. While going through water logged areas make sure that you drive as slow as possible at higher rpms. You might need to be harsh on the clutch on these rare occasions. But its worth it

[EssYouWe]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

Water must have made some sensor wet leading to the light. No Issues is driving the car as long as the light does not come on. While going through water logged areas make sure that you drive as slow as possible at higher rpms. You might need to be harsh on the clutch on these rare occasions. But its worth it

Arrey riding a clutch is a strict no-no always. A fried clutch is no better than a beeping sensor (might only be worse).

There is nothing that will go very wrong with your engine even if it takes a splashing. Cars today are built to withstand at least this much abuse. Just make sure the revs are high and constant. The key is to ensure enough exhaust of gases so that no water enters your exhaust pipe. Of course in cases where the water is much higher than the exhaust pipe level, avoiding the puddle is the best alternative.

[StarrySky]

Thanks EssYouWe and gemi!

I had taken my Punto to RF Motors today. Unfortunately, I was a little late in reaching the service station (past 11:30am) and I didn't have an appointment, so the SA said he won't be able to deliver the car today. I can't really be without the car this weekend, so I said I'll be back on Monday morning. The SA said that probably some water would have splashed on the fan leading to the warning message. Even though it was late, I tried my luck at Concorde Motors as well. But, they also could not promise to deliver the car today.

In all, I drove around for nearly 40km today and there was no warning light or "Check Engine" message.

Something I noticed when I took the car out today. I had left it in my office overnight. I had parked quite close to the gate and just after I took the car out (still in 1st gear), the security guy was running towards the gate to open it. While waiting for him to open the gate, I stopped and put my car to neutral and took my foot off the clutch - and the rpm jumped to about 1200-1300 and stayed there during the few seconds I was waiting (normally car idles at around 900rpm). I put it down to a (real) cold start - the car was standing there for nearly 20h and must have been in the rain for atleast 12-14h. By the time I got back home, the car was back idling at 900rpm. Am I right in putting the behaviour seen in the morning to a cold start?

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Thanks EssYouWe and gemi!

I had taken my Punto to RF Motors today. Unfortunately, I was a little late in reaching the service station (past 11:30am) and I didn't have an appointment, so the SA said he won't be able to deliver the car today. I can't really be without the car this weekend, so I said I'll be back on Monday morning. The SA said that probably some water would have splashed on the fan leading to the warning message. Even though it was late, I tried my luck at Concorde Motors as well. But, they also could not promise to deliver the car today.

In all, I drove around for nearly 40km today and there was no warning light or "Check Engine" message.

Something I noticed when I took the car out today. I had left it in my office overnight. I had parked quite close to the gate and just after I took the car out (still in 1st gear), the security guy was running towards the gate to open it. While waiting for him to open the gate, I stopped and put my car to neutral and took my foot off the clutch - and the rpm jumped to about 1200-1300 and stayed there during the few seconds I was waiting (normally car idles at around 900rpm). I put it down to a (real) cold start - the car was standing there for nearly 20h and must have been in the rain for atleast 12-14h. By the time I got back home, the car was back idling at 900rpm. Am I right in putting the behaviour seen in the morning to a cold start?

Yes, I think your explanation is right and nothing to worry about
And as suggested by @EssYouWe, constant and high rpm is the way to go while driving thru water. No clutch riding required.
Was the AC switched on at that time? Better to switch off the AC in such scenarios.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Was the AC switched on at that time? Better to switch off the AC in such scenarios.

The AC was on. Like I said, it happened just in front of my office. There's a divider on the road and there's a break in the divider for the turn to my office. Some brilliant guys have constructed some sort of a hump(!) exactly at the break, maybe to ensure that people take the turn slowly. But the divider+hump ensures that there's always some stagnant water there when it rains heavily. It was raining the whole time when I had gone out for lunch, so there was more than the usual amount of water and it took me by surprise. At that point of time, my only thought was to put pedal to metal and pull through - switching off AC didn't cross my mind.

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

Arrey riding a clutch is a strict no-no always. A fried clutch is no better than a beeping sensor (might only be worse).

There is nothing that will go very wrong with your engine even if it takes a splashing. Cars today are built to withstand at least this much abuse. Just make sure the revs are high and constant. The key is to ensure enough exhaust of gases so that no water enters your exhaust pipe. Of course in cases where the water is much higher than the exhaust pipe level, avoiding the puddle is the best alternative.

There are times when you are not pretty sure about the depth and you might not be able to 'splash' through. In such cases its always safe to move slowly while keeping the rpms higher so as to ensure there is enough pressure from the exhausts to keep the water away. I fully agree that a beeping sensor is better than a fried clutch but unfortunately when you are dealing with water you might end up with more than just a beeping sensor.

Not that you should fry your clutch whenever you see water. But you should be ready to do that in case you get a feeling that you are going deeper than you thought. I guess there is a thread on this topic.

[StarrySky]

Today when I was coming home for lunch, a truck passed in the opposite direction and some small metal object fell off the truck on top on my Punto's bonnet, 'injuring" my Punto. The object then bounced off the bonnet. I think I should be thanking my lucky stars that it didn't hit the windshield!!

The damage:




I'm anyway going to send my Punto for 1-yr service next week/weekend, so I will get this fixed during service.

[Soccerfan]

ouch. that hurts :(. sad to see that. I once had an experience of a rubber bush from a van bouncing on the bonnet and hitting the windshield. Lucky that it was a rubber bush

[StarrySky]

I'd been to Concorde Motors, Cochin to get an estimate on the repainting. I was told that they could try repainting only a part of the left side of the bonnet. The estimate was around Rs.2000 for the job. Is that a fair estimate?

[gemithomas]

Why dont you find a good painting shop and get the job done. I think they would do the whole bonnet for that price.

[StarrySky]

Yesterday, I took my Punto to Hyson Motors, Thrissur for 1-year service. The car had run 12567km at the time of service. I had booked an appointment last week.

I opted to do the service at Hyson - because that's where I bought my Punto from. I had also got the 3K service done there. It also offered me a chance to take my Punto to the highway - it was my first trip on the highway in about 3 months.

I reached the service station by about 8:40am. The first thing I noticed is a significant increase in the number of cars at the A.S.C which had arrived for service - there were hardly any cars coming in early when I had gone for 3K service back in Oct 2010. I thought "Oops", because I was hoping to return to Cochin after service by about 4:30pm.

After a short wait of less than 5 mins, my car was assigned to an SA. It was the same guy who was the SA for 3K service as well. I had only one issue - the rear fog lamp wasn't working. The SA mentioned that it may be difficult to get the cleaning also done, because there were lot of cars. I told him that I had to go back to Cochin in the evening, so I can't leave the car here till Monday or come later for cleaning. He said he'll try his best to get it done.

Then I told him to take my approval before carrying out any work which isn't mentioned in the owner's handbook. The reason I specifically asked this was that my brother had got his Linea serviced 2 days back - and Hyson had charged him for some "engine flush" thing. Then the SA told me about Bardahl products that they used. I thought, ok - let me try it out.

I asked the SA about the charges for oil change - because last time I was charged for 4L, but the car takes only around 3.5L. He told me they use a 4L can. I said that's fine as long as they return the unused oil to me. I also asked him to reset the service reminder. I also asked him to check the wiper blades because I wasn't 100% happy with them. SA promised to return the car by 5pm.

I waited at the service centre till around 11:30am at the A.S.C when they replaced the engine oil. I returned by around 4:30pm. Finally, it was around 5:30pm that my car was returned.

- The unused oil was returned to me in the can
- Rear fog lamp replaced
- I haven't been charged for pollen filter - so I assume it hasn't been changed. The manual says replace the filter "every 15,000km" and not the standard "15k or 1-year, whichever is earlier" - so I guess it's OK.
- The car was clean on the inside. I wasn't 100% happy with the exterior. But, it was already raining and I knew that by the time I reach Cochin, the car would turn brown in colour anyway.
- I don't think the wiper blades have been changed, but visibility seemed a little better after the service (I was driving in the rain on the highway)
- The service reminder is reset. Now it shows 14909km till next service.
- Wheel alignment and tire rotation were not done (My priority was getting the car ASAP, so I had asked the SA to get it done only if time permitted)
- Total bill came to Rs.6757 (Bill would've come to about Rs.5280 without the Bardahl products).

Total service costs for 1-year ownership
At 3K: Rs.2698 (oil changed at my request)
At 12.5K: Rs. 6757 (Bardahl products used with my knowledge)

Total: Rs.9455 which translates to about Rs.0.75 per km.
(without the optional extras, it would've been about Rs.0.2 per km)

The combined FE for the trip to Thrissur and back was about 21kmpl (100% AC at 24 degrees).

[gemithomas]

Why did they remove refit the throttle body.

Ho does the car feel after service / bardahl?