The car was submerged in water to the bottom or the doors, and some water even made it into the cabin. when I try to start the car the starter just clicks.

Hi. The answer is yes. It isn't the act of driving that will damage a starter. Your starter is not completely sealed. Submerging the starter in water (Deep puddle/s), engine coolant or oil leak (Leaking inside the starter motor), can stop your starter from working. Also engine heat can stop an old worn starter from operating. Other than that it is a coincidence and will need diagnostics to identify the fault. Please write back if there is anything else. Good Luck.

did you get the correct matching computer??was it running when it went in??did you dry the complete car for a week in a heated area??change oil,antifreeze and tranny and brake fluid?its a 16 year old car,if you spend more than 1000 it is not worth fixing and should just sell it for scrap,submerging a car is the worst thing you could do,it shouldve been totalled on your insurance,even if you do get it running,you will always have problems

First, open each door and give it a shake back and forth and see if you hear water sloshing. If so, check the bottom of your door. The drain holes may be plugged and not allowing water out. I have that same problem and after a big rain I check for sloshing.

if the starter was submerged in salt water it is toast replace with rebuild take yours with for core

How deep was this water..over headlight deep?
The air intake is just behind the left headlight, submerging this may cause water to be drawn into the engine. If this happens, water is not compressible, and the pistons hit, and the con rods bend which reduces the compression enough for the engine not to start.
That is, of course, the worst case scenario.
Diesel engines will start on just about any oily spray introduced to the inlet manifold..such as wd40, crc556 etc. while spinning the starter, spray same into the turbo inlet.
If the engine starts and runs even if a little roughly, you have a fuel problem.
DO NOT USE ETHER!!!
If the glow plugs are working, you will get an explosion, not combustion. It will not be a good thing........

I don't know for sure if this is it, but I had a guy that had a flooded Saturn that wouldn't start. Tried a new starter, no good. Took out the plugs and the cylinders were full of water, turned over the motor and water shot out the cylinders like a fountain!!!! Something may have shorted out and you may have a blown fuse or a main fuse.

there are none. you either have a bad heater core or your air conditioner drain hose is clogged. It should be draining above the shock on the passenger front side.

If it is just water start with the AC, if it has coolant in it then its the heater core.

submerged starter in water not good, test starter first

Hi
Easiest test is to reconnect jumper cables and switch lights on, if these work and no noise AT ALL from starter, NO clicking at all then could be the jumper cables are too light like most are. Try 2 sets of jumper cables. Ensure that the cables are correclty applied, Red to Red and the black is the last connection to a good steel part on your engine, NOT the battery.Always ensure the car being used to jump from is running at all times while cables are connected.When it starts remove this one FIRST also.

Cheers cbacer

Depending on how long it's been since it's been submerged, I'm thinking wiring is still wet. I had a car get flooded to the floorboards and it took drying out for three weeks before it would start. I used to take a hair dryer to my old Mustang....I'd even take the distributor cap off and blow it in there. Another option is to open the hood in the bright sun and let the sun dry things out for a few hours. It might take more than one day...like I said, it took 3 weeks before my car would start again.