Car repair workshops across Calcutta saw a sharp surge in requests on Wednesday, with vehicle owners demanding urgent service after their cars were damaged by Tuesday’s torrential rain. Workshop heads said they were struggling to accommodate the influx of vehicles while trying to meet service deadlines.

The bulk of complaints involved engines that refused to start after water seeped in. In many cases, rainwater had entered through car doors, soaked floor mats, submerged seats, and in some instances, reached up to the steering wheel.

“By noon, at least 10 cars had arrived at one of our workshops with complaints of engine failure due to water seepage. It’s been hard to even answer calls — the phones haven’t stopped ringing since morning,” said Rajnish Sood, who heads two Maruti Suzuki-authorised service centres in Calcutta.

“Most of the damaged vehicles that came in were covered by insurance,” he added.

A half-submerged car in Udita Housing Complex on Wednesday

Automobile engineers explained that water entering a car engine can contaminate the oil and often leads to what is known as hydrostatic lock — a condition where piston movement inside the engine stops due to the presence of a non-compressible fluid like water in the combustion chamber.

Hundreds of vehicles parked in basements of housing complexes, garages, and on city roads were inundated as water levels rose steadily through Tuesday, following heavy overnight rain.

Police officers said they had to ensure that cars left abandoned in the middle of roads and thoroughfares across parts of north, central, and south Calcutta, as well as its suburbs, were towed to the side to facilitate vehicular movement.

“The numbers were so huge that towing charges were not slapped on the owners, unlike other days when ₹200 is charged for towing with a no-parking fine,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.

Several car owners alleged that private agencies that tow stagnant cars to workshops were demanding exorbitant amounts on Wednesday.

“Some of the agencies were demanding ₹5,000 for towing a car. The usual rate is between ₹1,500 and ₹2,000,” said an official of a car service centre.

Across car workshops in the city, the heads said almost all variants of cars, including EVs, had developed problems due to widespread inundation.

“After a point, we had to tell our customers that our workshop’s capacity is full and we can’t accommodate any more cars. Every owner who called up said that he wanted the car to be roadworthy as early as possible,” said Anirban Sinha, manager of a car workshop in Kalikapur.

“There are cars already in the queue, and we have a few days before the workshop closes for Durga Pujas,” he said.

Some workshop heads said they were listing all the callers according to the severity of their car problems and assigning dates.

“There are cars whose indicators are not showing anything. Just blank. This can happen when the engine control modules (ECM) or the body control modules (BCM) of a car develop snags,” Sinha said. “In electric cars, the battery could suffer serious damage.”

Other workshop engineers said that, due to the high volume of inquiries, they recommended that customers drain the water from the car floors after taking a photograph or recording a brief video of the car’s condition to assist with insurance claims and inspect certain components.

“We have been telling some of our customers to get the water drained from the car’s floor, remove the carpet if possible, and check the air filter to see if water has seeped in,” said Mohammd Amir, a car mechanic in a workshop in central Calcutta.

“Some cars have sensors and advanced circuits and modules controlling airbags and infotainment, located beneath the seats. If the water can be drained from the floor and seats, there’s a chance to protect these modules,” he said.

The advice from engineers and mechanics for self-checks found a few takers. Most car owners opted to call up their contacts and find a slot for immediate repairs at workshops.

“Customers have been calling up throughout the day and requesting immediate intervention. They want their cars to be ready before Durga Puja,” said Rajesh Sharma, manager, corporate sales of One Auto Private Limited. “The cars need to be towed with cranes to the workshops before engineers take a look.”

With hundreds of cars developing snags, a little over 30 per cent of app-cabs continued to remain off the roads on Wednesday. The car owners said they were clueless about when the repairs would be complete.

“Besides water seeping into engines, several cars have their steering locked. The engine valves in most have stopped working in sync with the pistons,” said Indranil Banerjee of West Bengal Online Cab Operators Guild.