FLORIDA GUIDE · DELRAY BEACH, FL
Hurricane Season Car Prep
Every June, the same scramble. Here’s how to prepare your car for hurricane season — the short list that actually works to protect your car, worth doing before a storm has a name.
Where you park your car decides everything. Most hurricane car losses in Florida are flood, not wind. Higher ground wins: a parking-garage spot above the first level beats everything else. At home: garage > driveway > street — away from trees and power lines, never in a dip. Surge zone? Move the vehicle inland — a few miles is enough.
Before the storm hits:
- Fill the fuel tank — stations go dark after landfall, and if you have to evacuate, a full tank gets you clear safely without hunting for a working pump.
- Check the tires are properly inflated — and the battery tested. Evacuation traffic in August heat kills the weak ones; Florida heat already shortens battery life, and a marginal battery fails in the worst week possible.
- Wipers and windshield — you may drive hours of hard rain; sort streaking wipers and windshield chips now.
- Photograph everything — exterior, interior, odometer. Claims move faster with proof of pre-storm condition.
- Insurance card + title photos on your phone.
Pack a small car emergency kit for the season: a flashlight with spare batteries, a portable phone charger, drinking water, a basic first-aid kit, and your documents in a waterproof bag. It lives in the trunk and covers the ugly scenarios — stalled traffic, a shelter line, a closed road.
One more tip: never drive through standing water, during the storm or after it. A car can float in a foot of moving water, and water pulled into a running engine destroys it.
After the storm: if the car sat in standing water — don’t start it. Water in the intake plus a turning engine equals a destroyed engine. Tow it in, let it be inspected and dried first. And if warning lights appear in the weeks after a storm, take them seriously: moisture in connectors shows up late.
Want the battery, tires, and cooling system checked before season peaks? Book it in — it’s a normal maintenance visit, timed smartly.
Florida is our home turf.
We've serviced European cars in this climate since 1995 — heat, humidity, salt air and storm season included. Diagnosis with the price in writing before any work.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Hurricane Season Car Prep — FAQs
Where should I park my car during a hurricane?
High and away from trees, poles, and anything that can fly. A parking garage above the first level is the gold standard — it solves both flooding and debris. At home, the garage beats the driveway, the driveway beats the street, and never a low spot: most storm-total losses in Florida are flood, not wind. If your area took a surge warning, moving the car a few miles inland is worth the inconvenience.
Should I do anything to the car itself before a storm?
Fill the tank (stations lose power after storms), check the battery and tires (evacuation traffic is brutal on weak ones), and make sure wipers and A/C work — you may live in that car for hours. Photograph the car inside and out for insurance, and take photos of your mileage. Ten minutes of prep saves weeks of claims friction.
What should EV owners do before a hurricane?
Charge the electric vehicle to full before the storm hits — charging networks go down with the grid, and a full battery can also run devices for days. Then park it on higher ground, well away from any storm-surge zone: a saltwater-flooded EV battery is a fire risk that can ignite days later, and it makes the car a near-certain total loss. For an EV, where it sits matters even more than for a gas car.
Is it ever OK to drive through standing water during a storm?
No — this is the rule with no exceptions. A car can float in as little as a foot of moving water, and far less can stall the engine or get pulled into the intake and hydrolock it. If water is rising around the car, don't wait to find out how deep it gets: get out early, while you can still open the doors and reach higher ground safely. Cars are replaceable.
My car was in standing water during a storm. What now?
Don't start it. If water reached above the door sills or you suspect it entered the intake, starting the engine can hydrolock and destroy it — an insurance claim becomes engine replacement. Have it towed to a shop, where it can be inspected, dried, and checked module by module before power goes through it.