What to do if your vehicle floods

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Flooding is a common occurrence in the Houston area. If your car has fallen victim, here's what to do next.

First, if you've had to abandon your car and it was towed away, you can locate it in Houston using findmytowedcar.com or call the Harris County Tow Line at 713-308-8580.

Erica Simon has more on what to do if your car flooded.

We asked the experts at Universal Technical Institute to offer tips on what to do next.

We asked the guys who fix flooded cars to show us the mess left behind when you drive into high water

"If it got up under the seats, you might be alright to go by drying the car out. But if it gets up on the dash, you might have a problem with that car later on and you have to dry it out as fast as you can," said Charlie Ryder, an instructor at UTI.

Ryder says drivers need to start the process of drying out a car right away because if the car sits, mold can start growing, causing other problems. If the seats are saturated, start by taking those out.

Ryder says while you can dry out the inside of a car, there is one thing you should never do if your car stalls in high water: Try to restart it before draining the fluids first.

"Starting your car, if you've got water in your oil, it can destroy your engine. Same way with the transmission," he said.

Drain those fluids right away. If you aren't inclined to do that yourself, have the car towed to your mechanic. If you do not have a mechanic, do some research and find one you trust.