Subarus are pretty amazing cars. As the owner of a beater '86 GL wagon, I'm biased, but now I have solid proof that they kick ass.


Some Finnish guy drove his '96 Subaru Legacy wagon out on the ice last winter. The ice cracked, the car sank, and it stayed under 12 feet of water until spring. When he pulled it out, it started on the first try.

This kind of stuff doesn't even happen in the movies, but after the Legacy's owner had drained the gas tank and oil reservoirs of lake water and hosed off the ECU with a can of brake parts cleaner, the thing fired right up. Surprisingly, all of the electronics worked, too.


Aside from some remnant water left in the fuel causing a lack of power, the car ran ok, too. Hooniverse reported that the guy and his friends drove it 12 miles without too much of a problem. It looks about like what you would expect a car that's sat on the bottom of a lake for a season might look, but in Finland, that's apparently pretty normal. As Hooniverse put it:

Of course, even non-submerged Subarus do not exactly have a rust-free reputation over here, but since most of them already look like they've spent time in water up to the beltline, how much worse can this one turn out to be?

Touché. The car's owner is considering putting it back on the road. After all, it passed its Ministry of Transportation inspection just before the dunking, so he might as well get his money's worth out the registration fees. (Hat tip to Kamil!)

Photo credit: Offpaista Offroad Forum