My Tacoma up a creek. How f*cked am I?

I was just say that companies will typically give you the run around if you were offroading. since you were on a marked road I would report it to insurance and let them decide what to do because chasing electrical gremlins is a SOB

 

Dry it out and call Vroom or Carvana.

 

Not Going to lie.



that’s sound advise assuming the codes stay away. Lol

 

Totaled. File insurance claim. Good luck.

 

B181D: Short to B+ in Passenger Side Airbag Variable Vent Hole Squid Circuit
B1823: Short in Side Squib (D Seat Side) Circuit (to +B)
B1828: Short in Side Squib (LH) Circuit (to +B)
B1833: Short in Curtain Shield Airbag (RH) Squib Circuit (to +B)
B1838: Short in Curtain Shield Airbag (LH) Squib Circuit (to +B)
B1863: Short in Knee Airbag (D Side) Squib Circuit (to +B)
B1868: Short in Knee Airbag (P Side) Squib Circuit (to +B)


These may clear if you can find the plug connectors that got wet, disconnect them then and use a hair dryer on LOW to get any moister out. Important that is is on low temp so you do not melt the insulation. At my place of employment we at times take such electrical items plugs/wiring harnesses that got wet and are causing grounds and put them in a special oven on low heat for about 36 hours to get any moister out that may have worked itself up the ends of the wire leads fixes the problem most of the time for us.

 

Also, use isopropyl alcohol to clean any electrical connection that got water on it.

 

And once you get all the electricals sorted, you probably want to inspect fluid in the diffs (not sure if you have rear breather extendo mod), transfer case and transmission for water contamination. Can't tell how low you got but if you had cab in the water, the breathers for all of those may have been under water.

Holly hell dude, that's an expensive fun time but glad you got out safely. Buy your buddy a 6pack for pulling you out. Hope you get it sorted out.

 

OP, do you have comprehensive coverage on your insurance policy?

If so, could be that you just pay your deductible, and may not even see a hit on your rates.

 

More than one. In many rural areas there are state and county roads with no bridges. Normally the water isn't high enough to do any damage, but you simply don't cross them after a heavy rain.

And to be honest based on just the pictures that water doesn't look all that deep. I've been in deeper, but kept moving and never allowed water inside the vehicle.

 

On some of the more sensitive wires (low voltage signal return etc) silicone grease can be enough to alter resistance and caught issues.

 

Mind boggling to me people think these trucks are boats .

 

Sure it sucks but when you play with fire...

Should have considered the consequences before driving a $25k+ truck thru a creek. I’d hate to know that insurance will pay even a penny to repair or replace it due to someone’s intentional negligence.

My thoughts for the OP, buy a dedicated trail rig and not use your DD.

 

Small streams and creeks can easily and quickly become swollen far beyond their typical levels due to precipitation events in the local area or even just upstream. This is not at all uncommon.

 

As long as it was a Class I, II, or III road insurance covers it. I spend a lot of time on class III roads in Vermont and had Geico cover me when I had a busted oil pan on one. Class IV roads are the ones that they won't cover.

 

Sell it ASAP

 

So, you can drive it? It always turns on?
Id drive it as is for a week or so, AFTER drying every electrical part you can. See if it clears up. If not, id be at a mechanic to give it a once over.

In the future, i learned from a similar situation (but i made it through, was just surprised by depth) to use a big ass branch to test depth of unknown waters.

 

Is that just a Vermont thing? I’d never heard of those road classifications before, wanted to get up to speed, couldn’t find anything for my state.

 

Just file the claim and be done with it. It sucks but better than tearing the truck apart and hoping you can remedy it yourself. Shit happens. I did the same with a Jeep when I was a kid. Thought I fooled my parents by drying it out and what not. Turns out about 10 gallons of water got in the fuel tank. Would not start a couple days after the "swim". I thought I was even wise changing the oil. Oh well. Thats why we have insurance right?

 

Back in my younger days, I had a 1972 FJ-55 "Iron Pig", and we use to run that thing through all sorts of deep water without giving it a second thought and never had any issues (no snorkel BTW). But then again, all the FJ-55 had was basically a battery and a starter motor and none of this high tech electronic stuff.

My advice is to not panic; to take a deep breath and continue your efforts to dry everything out for a few more days and drive it as much as you can! You might get lucky and all these issues clear on their own. If not, make a claim on your insurance and see what they say.

 

You beat me to it! I was going to say, if OP intends to try to keep or dry it out himself, Deoxit is the best bet IMO for all the connectors. Stuff like occupancy sensors under the seat might be fucked regardless, but I think most of the actual ECUs should be fairly high up under the dash.

@captawsm how high was the water on the inside? It honestly doesnt look that bad from the screen shot

$18 Hosa D5S-6 CAIG DeoxIT 5% Spray Contact Cleaner, 5 oz.

https://smile.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-DeoxIT-Contact-Cleaner/dp/B00006LVEU