Toyota Repair: Toyota Corolla engine quits about 2 mins after running smoothly, fuel filler pipe, toyota corolla

Question
Hi,

I got caught visiting in Shreveport in a flood. My parked 1999 Toyota Corolla was covered with water up to the halfway mark on the front and back lights and the interior floors,and the glove compartment was filled with floodwater.
Water did not come up as far as the seat tops.

So I bailed her out and have been drying her out for the past 3 days. She starts & runs smoothly but then stalls out.
Lights indicate "check engine" and that odd symbol of a balloon next to a seated person comes on indicating "take vehicle to Toyota dealer immediately".

Do you think I can fix this problem whatever it is ?  Is it some sort of computer-sensor switch that shuts off the engine? I've jacked up the front end and when she turns over and runs she's been spitting some water (less each time, out the tailpipe.)

I'm operating on a short shoestring here and wonder if my car is totally ruined or whether, perhaps, there is a fuel injector problem or ... it seems like either the computer shuts it off or there's water in a gasoline? Can you help me with any ideas?  I guess it could be a million things but I hope not. I need to do something but I don't know what. The car has run perfectly with never a problem for 81,000 miles ...no signs of water on the oil stick ... I don't know.

Thanks very much,
Don Grabau


Answer
It doesn't sound like the water got high enough to get into the fuel filler pipe so I don't think water got into the tank. The problem is that the water may have gotten into the ECM and the airbag computer, the ECM is located just behind the glove compartment and the airbag ecu is located inside the front center console on the floorboard. The ECM can be opened and maybe it can be dried out, the airbag ecu is pretty much sealedas far as I know, if there are any screws that can be removed from it then it may be able to be opened and dried.