Florida man gets $12,000 repair bill after spilling bottle of water in his Hyundai
Published on Dec 01, 2025 at 3:09 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Dec 01, 2025 at 3:09 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
A Florida man found out the hard way that even a small water spill can cost you thousands of dollars.
We’ve all spilled something in our cars at some point, it’s almost a given if we are driving around with a drink, or stop off for food.
The owner of a Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV, however, found out that spilling water can lead to a massive repair bill.
In fact, the situation was far worse than the owner of the car could have imagined.
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What caused the spilled water in the Hyundai
Action9 reported on the story, with it turning into a nightmare for the owner.
They were driving around in Florida as normal, and simply going about their daily business.
The news reported that there was a sudden slowdown in traffic.
That caused the driver of the EV to hit the brakes suddenly to avoid any sort of collision.
What that then caused was a water bottle to spill in the backseat of the Ioniq 5.
Michael McCormick, the Florida resident, said, “A few minutes later, I started to get warnings from the car that various systems were offline.”
The water damage meant that the floor and driver’s seat harnesses needed to be replaced.
However, the nightmare was far from over.
The repair bill for the EV was huge
The repair bill came in at a staggering $11,882 for the Ioniq 5.
Amazingly, though, Hyundai refused to cover the repair under the warranty.
They claimed it wasn’t a manufacturer’s defect, so they wouldn’t insure McCormick.
Neither would his insurance firm, saying that the damage was caused by slow corrosion, not an accidental spill.
Reddit users have reported that they have had similar poor experiences regarding Hyundai warranties.
One said they had exposed harnesses that were susceptible to damage and needed to be replaced.
That repair came in at around $10,000, and the manufacturer again refused to pay up.
But a Hyundai user manual in the United States does say that the warranty does not cover water contamination.
That would explain why the company has refused to pay out in these water damage situations.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
