Water crossing in a Countryman S ALL4...how deep can it go?

Just curious if i'd take it for some water crossing, lets say about 2ft of deep water, will it make the cross? hahaha

How deep can the CTM cross? just incase i get into some flooding situation i hope not to get into...T_T

thanks

 

I wouldn't suggest driving thru water at all, certainly not two or three feet.

But then again I'm gun-shy in this regard since I flooded out a 2003 VW Passat in about eight inches of water.

 

I know my Cooper manual warns to never go through water more than a foot deep. There may be something in yours specifying how deep you can go... but I wouldn't recommend trying it. It's not really an off-road vehicle, even with AWD.

 

You do know that they ship the car over on ship right? ;-)

 

Manual says not to go through water over 1 foot deep and then to go very slowly. There have been several reports of hydro-locking with Minis, so I would respect the manual.

 

On a rally one night everything was fine until the BMW went into the river. Everything was still fine until it hit the rock, then everything stopped. The water was up to the bottom of the windows. After we dragged it out of the river and woke up the local garage owner, it took us all night to drain and replace the fluids and get the water out of the engine, then it was back to rallying (multi-day FIA event). We kept the doors closed so the seats didn't get soggy.
YMMV

 

my CTMS says 1ft in the manual too....

where's the air intake on the CTM S all4 located? having the intake above water would lower the risk of hydro locking right?

thanks hehe

 

Bmtespar, I have a 2012 on order. I ordered mine 08/25/11 and it is due in CA at Port Hueneme on the 19th of this month (October). Just to give you a clue as to when you might expect yours.

Cooper S Countryman/light coffee/white top/white bonnet stripes/mini connected w/ nav/premium package/technology package/auto trans/heated front seats/2 part center rail/dual sun roof/Harman-Kardon sound system/Polar beige leather seats

 

At least a few inches:



I also drove through some REALLY heavy rain in Kansas, frogs jumping all over the place in front of me on the road... at least a few standing inches. Didn't go over 50MPH in that case...

The manual says a foot but I'd probably keep it to half a foot or so!

 

Good looking CM!

 

i dont know, but im going to measure the depth of my local ford and ill let you know how it goes.
BTW the intake sits behind the block, below the wind screen. its pretty high up so if the air intake is what your concerned about id say dont get it within half a foot of the top of the bonnet.

hope the all season tires help hahaha Xp

 

A foot is pretty good I think...glad someone asked this question

 

The air intake tube is next to drivers side headlamp about level w/turbo.

 

i'd be surprised if you had any trouble with 4 to 5 feet. but no more. give it a try and let us know. pics would be awesome.

 

LOL... not even with my Wrangler! Bring some life jackets! Is there a snorkel kit for the Mini?

 

+1

Just keep the windows up and the sunroof closed.

 

You would have water in the countryman before you even had to start to worry about it hydro locking. I would take my lifted Jeep Liberty through all sort of water crossing when the wife and i would go offroading. Just keep and even speed while in the water, I don't know how long the vent tubes are that MINI made for the front and rear diffs. Coming to a complete stop in water may cause some issues with it getting down those vent tubes and into the diffs

I am sure if we all listened to what the owners manual said, there would not be a large number of MINI owners that autox their cars either....

 

Yes; the engine intake is about 28-29" above road level. If you go through standing water greater than 12" there is a good chance that the forward speed of the car will cause water in the front to surge up to twice that level, which could hydro-lock your engine. If you drive through standing water, go as slowly as possible to avoid water surging.

The bottom door seals are also about 12" above road level. Better hope your door seals are good if you go over 12".

 

All the way to the bottom.

 

The Age newspaper in Australia, in their Drive section, shows how they tested the Great Wall SUV from China, which included a water crossing. Note how they improvised protection from water getting in the intake.