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Avoiding water damage

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by jeremy rutman, Sep 13, 2022.

  1. jeremy rutman

    jeremy rutman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2021
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    Location:
    moore, oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    V
    I braked hard to avoid an errant squirrel and managed to explode 2x ~20 gallon glass water jugs into each other on my rear seat. I've got the car in full sun now w. doors/trunk open and a fan on , along with a bunch of diapers under the seats (which I have noticed are extremely hygroscopic, each sucking up abt. 2 liters and not letting go at capacity) . Are there any drain plugs or the like I can open on the bottom of the car? Did the engineers take flood damage into account and put some sort of one-way drains on the bottom?
    The car starts fine and I'd like to keep it that way, avoid mold etc. Am reading over this in the meantime: attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2015/10/96260_T-SB-0229-12.pdf
     
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
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    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Did the home builders take Tornados into account when they built in Moore, Oklahoma? The answer is the same relative to designing for 40 gallons of water in glass bottles rolling around in the back seat. Luckily it was not gasoline or the squirrel may have had to save you.

    I would get a wet dry vacuum and suck out everything. Realize the battery air intake is under the passenger seat in a v wagon. I would pull all the floor panels in the rear and get the water out paying close attention to the 12v battery well and all around the hv battery. To that end l would pull the hv battery beige cover and inspect around the blower. Watch this video as the process is different on a v wagon.



    The only error here is the 12v battery does not crank the engine. It is essential to Ready the hybrid system which then uses the high voltage battery to crank the engine.
     
    #2 rjparker, Sep 13, 2022
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2022
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
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    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Yes, there are numerous rubber plugs in the floor pan. Yes, pop those out.

    I would also raise the carpet mats away from the floor (possibly removing one or more seats to do so), and prop them that way with some blocks or something, making space for air to circulate beneath them, and at least keep the car open outdoors, or even bring in some fans. I've done that before, and it's less work than taking the carpets completely out to lay in the sun (which also works).

    If you don't act quickly enough to avoid the stink, chlorine dioxide works pretty well to recover after the fact. But avoiding the stink in the first place is best.