MANILA, Philippines--Halloween came early for about 14,000 vehicles this year, no thanks to the two scariest typhoons to hit the country in recent years. Exactly 33 days since they left, many owners of these vehicles damaged by floods are still “trick or treating” around auto shops and car manufacturers’ casas, hoping one of them can and will do the trick of getting their cars back into running shape.

Last week, Inquirer Motoring tackled the engine ECU box, one of the most vulnerable, and expensive, key parts of a new car that would most likely be damaged in a car-submerging flood. The scary thing is, most likely, it wouldn’t be the only part that needs fixing. Here are eight of these parts shops will repair or replace to get your ride up and running in time for this weekend’s trip.

1 Electric Power Steering (for cars installed with EPS). As we all know by now, electric components and water really don’t mix. The EPS has an ECU (electronic control unit) of its own, which in turn controls an electric motor that assists the driver’s steering effort. When submerged over time, the steering wheel’s EPS motor will lose its power-assist mechanism, and may manifest at high speeds. Ferman Lao of auto tuning shop Speedlab says cars with EPS should have their EPS motors inspected or replaced if they were submerged for a considerable amount of time.
Jojo Aliganga, branch manager of Honda Manila, estimates that an EPS ECU could cost P38,000 for a CR-V, on top of another P25,000 for its motor-driven gear box.

2 ECUs of airbags and
other safety compo-
nents

Airbags do have its own ECU, which is programmed to literally detonate the airbag out of its housing and inflate the bag (all within a fraction of a second) when it senses a forceful collision. Chut Velasquez, dealer development manager of Columbia Autocar Philippines (Kia), warns that if the airbag control module is submerged in water, the triggering mechanism may no longer work.

Bobbit Mamawal, Toyota Motor Philippines vice president for customer service, urges that flooded ECUs of airbags and anti-lock brake systems and other safety functions be replaced, if not repaired, as soon as possible.

“They may malfunction at the worst possible time, leading to injuries,” he adds.

Velasquez estimates that an airbag control module of a Kia Carnival, SUV or MPV could cost P18,000.

3 Electrical wiring on the flooring. After the tires, a car’s flooring is the first point of contact with floods. Naturally, service centers are obliged to remove the carpet flooring to inspect, or at least dry out, the network of wires located there. Velasquez says dirt and water could make the insulators of these wires stick or adhere to each other and make them brittle. And once these insulators crack and the wires themselves are exposed and eventually touch one another, a short circuit may result.
4 Stick shift bushings located in the flooring. The lubricating grease for the bushings may have been diluted by dirt and water, the resulting reduction of viscosity can hasten the corrosion of internal parts.
5 Automatic transmission mechanism. Lawrence Rodriguez, auto instructor of Don Bosco Technical Institute, says A/T cars submerged in water should have their automatic transmission fluids checked or replaced, as water may render the lubricating fluids inside the mechanism useless.
6 Handbrakes/footbrakes on vehicles with drum brakes. Velasquez advises motorists to avoid applying the handbrakes in tire-deep floods. When you do, he explains that the brake linings on the car’s rear may detach from the brake shoe. This could happen to brake drum-assisted sedans with 1.6-liter engine displacements or smaller. The bigger vehicles such as SUVs, which have bigger brake drums, can handle the floodwater’s pressure, though.

“Use the engine brake instead,” Velasquez says. An alternative method is to place the vehicle on first gear when parked.

Nevertheless, mechanics will, as a routine, inspect your handbrakes and foot brakes if they know the car has been submerged in water.

7 Drum brakes and brake pads. When you manage to drive through a considerably deep flood, you would notice that your brakes might lose its grip. Experienced drivers know that to regain brake strength, they should repeatedly step on the brakes at low speed to create friction and dry out the brake drums at the rear and the brake pads in front.

It may be a different story altogether for vehicles stuck in deep floodwater for prolonged periods of time. In this case, the shop needs to inspect the drum brakes and pads manually.

8 Wiring harness and fuse box underneath the dashboard. Lao calls it the “multiplexer,” others the “body control module.” Whatever it’s called, the multiplexer is the main switchboard for most of a modern vehicle’s body electrical components. Aliganga further explains that the body control module is a switching device that distributes or regulates the voltage control required by the engine control unit.

Velasquez estimates that a wiring harness with the fuse box can cost P40,000.