You're probably staring at the screen, looking at that massive expanse of blue on the Los Santos map and wondering why on earth you’d spend two hours holding down the "descend" button. I get it. Hunting for submarine parts GTA V enthusiasts often ignore is basically the video game equivalent of chores. But here is the thing: if you're trying to hit that 100% completion stat, you don't really have a choice. It's one of those "Death and Taxes" situations, except with more sharks and less oxygen.
Most people think this mission is just about driving the Submersible in circles. It’s not. It’s actually a test of patience that rewards you with some of the weirdest lore in the game. You're looking for thirty pieces of a destroyed sub. Abigail Franklyn—a woman who seems a little too eager to profit off her husband's "accidental" death—is the one who sets you on this path.
The Barrier to Entry
Don't just drive out to the ocean and hope for the best. You can't even start looking for these things until you've finished the "Death at Sea" mission. You have to buy the Sonar Collections Dock in Paleto Bay. It costs $250,000. For a new player, that’s a lot of car thefts and store robberies, but it’s a prerequisite. Once you own the property, Michael (it’s usually Michael, though others can visit) meets Abigail. She’s mourning. Sorta. She wants proof of what happened to her husband's sub.
Once the mission is active, the game gives you a Submersible. It’s slow. Like, painfully slow. Imagine a toaster with propellers. That’s what you’re piloting.
The most important tool you have isn't the sub itself, though. It’s the Trackify app on your phone. If you don't use the app, you are essentially trying to find a needle in a haystack while the haystack is actively trying to drown you. The app pings. It pulses. It leads you toward those glowing white scraps of metal scattered across the Pacific floor.
Where the Submarine Parts GTA V Pieces Actually Are
The distribution of these parts isn't random. Rockstar Games loves to make you travel the entire perimeter of the map. You’ll start near the docks and wind your way clockwise or counter-clockwise. Most players start at the Sonar Collections Dock and head East.
There's a cluster of parts near the Palomino Highlands. The water there is murky. It’s annoying. You'll find parts tucked inside rock crevices and hidden behind kelp forests. One specific piece is located near a sunken cargo ship. It’s eerie down there. The sound design in GTA V really shines when you’re deep underwater; the creaking of the hull and the muffled thud of the engine create this genuine sense of claustrophobia.
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Dealing With the Deep
You aren't just looking for metal. You’re managing mechanics.
The Submersible has a depth limit. Go too deep, and the pressure starts to crush the hull. You’ll hear it before you see the health bar drop. A sharp crack echoes through your speakers. That’s your cue to surface or at least move to higher ground—or higher water, I guess.
Then there are the sharks.
Honestly, the sharks are more of a jump-scare than a real threat if you stay in the sub. But sometimes a part is stuck in a spot where the Submersible can't fit. You have to get out. You have to swim. This is where the Scuba Gear comes in. Pro tip: if you exit the Submersible, you automatically have scuba gear on. Don't worry about buying it beforehand. Just don't linger too long. A Great White in GTA V doesn't care about your completion percentage. It just wants a snack.
The Gritty Details of the Search
Let's talk about the wreckages. These thirty pieces of submarine parts GTA V tracks are scattered around some of the coolest environmental storytelling in the game. You'll pass by sunken planes, old tanks, and even a UFO if you know where to look.
The pieces themselves look like small, metallic briefcases or scraps of piping. They glow. Thank God they glow. Without that white pulse, finding them against the grey sandy floor would be impossible.
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- Some are in the shallow reefs near the airport.
- Others are tucked under the pier at Del Perro.
- The hardest ones are on the sheer underwater cliffs off the coast of Mount Gordo.
If you lose your Submersible—maybe you hit a rock too hard or a shark actually got lucky—don't panic. You can usually find a Dinghy at the Sonar Collections Dock. The Dinghy is actually better in some ways because it’s faster on the surface. You can drive to the ping on your map, dive down, grab the part, and get back up. It saves a massive amount of time compared to chugging along at 2 knots underwater.
Is the Reward Actually Worth It?
This is the part that kills people. After you find all thirty parts, you go back to Abigail.
She's at the docks. She’s waiting. You give her the evidence. You expect a massive payout, right? Maybe a rare car or a gold-plated submarine?
Nope.
She gives you 10 dollars. And a signed photo of her husband.
It is one of the most classic Rockstar Games "trolls" in history. You spend hours scouring the ocean floor for a tenner and a piece of paper. However, there is a silver lining. After she leaves, you can choose how the story ends. Michael can let her walk away, or you can... let's just say "express your frustration" with the payment. If you choose the latter, you can collect the money she's carrying, which is significantly more than 10 dollars.
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The Hidden Benefits
While the direct cash reward is an insult, the hunt itself is how you find other stuff. While searching for submarine parts GTA V players often stumble upon:
- Hidden Caches: There are briefcases of money (Hidden Packages) scattered near some of the sub parts. Some contain $10,000 to $25,000.
- Weapon Pickups: You'll find RPGs, sticky bombs, and armor sitting on sunken wrecks.
- Health and Armor: Useful if you're doing a "no-death" run and got nipped by a shark.
Basically, the submarine mission is an excuse to explore the map's "Negative Space." Most players spend 99% of their time on the asphalt. Rockstar spent a lot of time designing an underwater world that most people never see. This mission forces you to look at the coral, the shipwrecks, and the weirdness of the deep.
Strategy for Efficiency
If you want to get this over with quickly, do it in one go.
Stopping and starting is a nightmare. You lose your rhythm. You forget which quadrant of the map you've cleared. Get a podcast going, grab the Dinghy from the North side of the map, and just follow the coast.
The Trackify app is your lifeline here. Keep your phone open. The "death" of your husband's sub—as Abigail puts it—is spread out in a way that forces a full lap of the island.
If you're playing on PC, use the mouse to steer the sub; it’s much more precise than the keyboard. If you're on console, use the bumpers for fine-tuning your rotation. Precision matters when you're trying to wedge a yellow metal tube into a narrow rock formation to grab a glowing scrap.
Final Thoughts on the Hunt
Collecting all the submarine parts GTA V offers isn't about the money. It's about the "Strangers and Freaks" progression. It's about seeing the "What Lies Beneath" mission through to its cynical, hilarious end. It’s about that 100% checkmark on your Social Club profile.
Don't expect a parade. Expect a long, quiet swim and a lady who really doesn't care about your efforts. But that's Los Santos for you. It's a city built on broken dreams and underwater debris.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check your Map: Ensure you have purchased the Sonar Collections Dock ($250,000) as Michael.
- Get the Right Vehicle: Use the Dinghy for travel between distant parts and the Submersible only for deep-sea diving in clusters.
- Enable Trackify: Open your in-game phone and launch the app the moment you get into the water; it is not automatic.
- Save Frequently: If your sub gets stuck or destroyed, you don't want to lose the progress of the last five parts you found.
- Decision Time: Prepare your reaction for Abigail’s "reward"—decide ahead of time if you’re going to let her leave or if you’re going to reclaim your "commission" from her.