Just went to a local car wash. They have an under body spray and when they did this a lot of steam came out from under the car. The car did fine and I pulled around for them to finish the wash. When I got back in, the car started, but would not go into gear. The check engine light came on. Will not budge. I have had it towed to my dealer. Could this have anything to do with a sensor of some type with the transmission? Or was it just coincidence this happened at the car wash. Anyone ever heard of this happening before? Thanks for any feedback, advice.

 

Hi,

Shouldn't happen but does!!...quite often.

Cars are not specifically designed to be subjected to HIGH PRESSURE water sprays from the underside. Although good at removing salt this issue is the possible consequence. Vehicle undersides are nowdays designed to resist salt accumulation thru the extended use of plastic shielding.

Water and electrics...especially digital...don't mix well.

Water likely got into the (auto?) transmission electrical connection.

The garage SHOULD quickly determine the code which caused the light to come on and then get a pointer as to what has gone wrong.
They will also be able to cancel the Check Engine Light at the same time as reading the code. (Press button on diagnostics computer.

With luck a dry out MIGHT work but more likely the CEL will come back on again and you may need a new "module" (computer) etc. dependent upon the code showing.

Good Luck.

Stuart.