Water Leaking in Car
82If you have water leaking in your car, you need to have this repaired quickly because of the many serious problems it can cause. If the water sits for too long in a cars carpet, mold can start to grow and this can cause repertory problems. Other problems water cause are corrosion to pin connectors, computer failures, sensor failures, rust, bad smells and high humidity inside the car causing you windows to fog up.
The number one cause of a water leak in a car is the poor installation of a windshield. If you have had a windshield replaced recently, it is very possible this is the cause of your water leak in your car. I'm not trying to disrespect windshield replacement companies, it's just that some companies hire people who just don't care, they will cut out the old windshield and slap in the new one without proper preparation.
You can always tell the professional installers from the people who just don't care. If a professional replaces the windshield is will take a minimum of an hour, this will give them ample time to remove the moldings, cut the windshield out trim the old urethane so the new windshield sits flat, touch up any scratches in the paint from the removal process, prime the glass with a primer and install a nice bead on new urethane.
If your professional replaces the glass in 15 minutes, this may be the cause of your water leak in your car, and even worst, the windshield will not be installed properly, and in the event of a car crash, you could be thrown through the windshield and severely injured. I'm not trying to scare you, just enlightening you on the facts, I am good friends with a guy who owns his own windshield repair company and I see and hear the horror stories, so I write to you from my experiences.
Body Brushable Seam Sealer
 | Amazon Price: $26.99 |
![Brushable Seam Sealer Quart-Gray [PRICE is per CAN]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21gxCh154yL._SL75_.jpg) | Amazon Price: $30.23 |
Other causes of water leaking in your car
Water leaks are hard to pinpoint, but once you find exactly where the water is coming in, then it's a matter of getting to it and repairing it. Body seams are the second major cause water leaking in your car. Seams that have not been properly sealed at the factory, or seams that have been opened from a car accident, will usually cause the mystery water leak, finding the point of entry is half the battle.
Poorly installed aftermarket accessories are another major cause of water leaking in your car. Anything from a sunroof to a roof rack system, if it is not installed properly with the right sealer, they will cause a water leak in a car. If you have a factory installed sunroof, check the drains. Sunroofs leak, that's why a factory installed sunroof has a tray built into the assembly with 4 drains, one in each corner of the sunroof. Sometimes these drain tubes become disconnected or clogged and will cause water to leak into the car. Locating the drains and checking them for proper drainage can take some time because they are usually buried in fenders and body panels, but it's time well spent. A short cut to locating the drains is to fill the sunroof tray with water and watch where it drains to, it will usually spill out in the front and in the rear of the rocker panels.
Check you air conditioner drain, if you haven't had any rain and you have water leaking onto the passenger's floor, check your air conditioner drain or evaporator drain, it may be clogged or disconnected. Debris gets sucked into the evaporator from outside and occasionally will clog the drain tube. If the evaporator is filling up with water, eventually it will leak into the car. A temporary quick fix for this problem is blowing compressed air into the drain tube located under the car, but eventually you will have to remove the evaporator and clean the debris.
Water testing your car for leaks
Finding the point of entry is the first step, you need to physically see where the water is coming in the car. Remember that water will trail along a panel or a seams, so it very important you actually see the water entering the car. When you water test your car, start at a low point and work your way up to the roof. If the water is leaking at the bottom of the windshield there is no need to go any higher with the water test until you fix the low leak first.
Signs of a water leak
Having a wet carpet is not the only sign of water leaking in a car. A little common sense can go a long way when looking for a water leak. If you have an idea of where the water is leaking into the car, check for water marks, stains, or even signs of rust. Take a close look at connectors for corrosion and check brackets for rust spots; you will be amazed what you will find when you look for it, I have always said, "a mechanics best tools are not found in their tool box, they are found in their heads".
I hope this has given you some insight on water leaks and a few ideas on where to start looking. If you have any questions about water leaking in a car, leave it in the comment box below and I will answer it asap.
Please do me a favor?
I need to ask you for a favor, if you found this information useful, please vote the article up, if you know someone who would benefit from this information, share it on Facebook or Twitter, it's easy, and I would really appreciate it. Just push the "Like" button or "Tweet" button at the top of the page. Thank you for all your help :)
CommentsLoading...
Hi Shaz, Do you know if it's an aftermarket sunroof? A factory installed sunroof will have a drip pan, if you slide the sunroof open all the way and look around the edge, there should be a tray that sits below the sunroof seal (see the pictures above)If there is water sitting in that tray after it rains, it's a good indication your sunroof drains are clogged.
Contrary to popular belief, all factory installed sunroofs leak, that's why they install a drip tray with drains. If the drains are clogged, just blow some compressed air through them gently, the rear drains will be a lot harder to reach, if you can reach them at all, but at least you can clear the front drains.
If you have any more questions, I'll be right here :)
Hi,
Thank you for the tips on water leaks. I have a 2008 volvo S40 which I have had for about a month. In the past week or so i have noticed when i get in the car it smells like wet towels that have been sitting and that the windows had condensation on the inside. I checked the around and didn't see any water because I have a sunroof. But then i felt my back passenger floor mat and it was soaked with water. Its the only mat and I ripped it out immediately. Now this only started happening about 2 weeks ago when it started raining. I don't t think its the sun roof or windows only because I would assume more then that mat would be wet. Any suggestions?
Hi Loren, The funny thing about water is it runs down hill to the lowest point. The water leak could be coming from up front and only making a small path to the back floor area and then it pools up. I would check the front carpet closely on the floor pan edges(near the center console and near the floor where it meets the rocker panel) This is usually where water would travel from the front to the back.
If that looks OK, check the trunk for signs of moisture, possible under the back glass, water could trail down into the rear seat area from the trunk, also the trunk is where the sunroof drains are routed, usually near the rear fenders. If there is moisture in the trunk your might want to investigate those two items.
Basically you need to find the trail of water leading to the source, like following a stream to the lake. You will have to feel the carpet and find the direction the water is coming from and that will guide you in the right direction.
I know you just bought the car, but is there any possible way to find out if the windshield or rear glass has been changed or if the car has been in an accident? These are common sources of water leaks, glass seals and body seams that have not been sealed properly after an accident, if everything is OK, check the rear sunroof drains.
I hope this give you some good ideas, let me know what you find, I would really appreciate it. Take care.
recently i purchased a peugeot 406 hdi when it rains heavily the passenger side carpet gets soaked i brought it to my local garage where they could not locate the leak but drilled two holes underneath the car to try and solve it for a while i thought it actually worked but the other day after a heavy downpour it was back again it seems to be coming in near the speaker on the door or under the seal on the door can you help me please with this problem thanks
Hello Vicki, One way to find out how the water is getting in is to water test the car, if you use a garden hose and place it on the roof so the water is running down the door, you can get inside the car on the drivers side with a flashlight and see if that is where the water is coming in, I don't think it is but anything is possible.
If the water is coming in through the door, it means someone removed the plastic door liner behind the inside door panel. Water does get inside car doors but then it drains out the bottom of the door via drain holes, the liner is there to keep water inside the door so the inner door panel does not get wet.
Has the windshield been replaced? Does the car have a sunroof? If the water is not coming in through the door, pull back the carpet on the passengers side and see if you find a trail of water coming from somewhere under the dash area, put the garden hose on your roof again and let the water flow down the windshield, check the inside of the car for water pooling on the passengers floor.
Chasing a water leak can be tricky but it's not impossible. Drilling holes in the floor should not be an option, but most mechanics do not want to spend the time to chase leaks. Sometimes I would spend days chasing leaks, but I always found them.
There is a company in the US that's called The Water Doctor, they specialize in finding and fixing water leaks in cars. Maybe there is a company near you that does the same. Let me know what you decide to do, if you need any more help, you know where to find me :)
hello,
I have a little clio and the sunroof was dripping slightly from the seal.My boyfriend got a new seal and then sealed up the drain holes to the sunroof.It stopped the dripping for a while. Then after a few weeks i got into my car to notice puddles in my drivers foot well. The inside roof on the drivers side was also wet. Ive removed the silicone from the sunroof that he used to block the drainage holes.Then cleaned and dried my car. Im just wondering if the sunroof would cause puddles on the drivers side of the car? Or could it be a more serious problem? I have been reading about the heater core. How will i know if it is the sunroof or the heater core? As i dont want to leave it to long in case it makes the problem worse.
Hi Maxine, blocking the drain holes in the sunroof tray would prevent the water from draining, it would pool up until it overflowed, like in your situation. A sunroof is not water tight, that's why the tray has drain holes, the drain holes have tubes attached to them and the water will actually drain into the bottom of the front fenders between the drivers door and the front wheel.
If your heater core was leaking, the windows would fog up very quickly as soon as you started the engine, and it would be very difficult to clear them with the defogger. Also, if your heater core leaks, you will smell antifreeze or coolant, coolant has a sweet smell like candy, and I'm sure you would notice it.
I think what happened is your sunroof tray filled up with water and then overflowed onto the headliner, then down the A pillar near the windshield and onto your drivers side floor. Let me know if I answered your question, and if you have any more questions, I'm right here :)
Thank you so much for taking the time not only to read my worries but make a comment. Really appreciated!!! Hoping its the sunroof. My windows do fog up on the inside but soon clear with the heaters on. No sweet smell, just a smell of damp from the water.
THANKS again :):):)
Hi Maxine, yes, your windows will fog up because of the moisture on the carpet, if you want to speed the drying process of your carpet, wet vac the carpet at a local gas station and then let you car idle in your driveway for about an hour with the heat on high and the windows cracked slightly, if you have 5 minutes read this other article I wrote http://eddiecarrara.hubpages.com/hub/clearfoggedca
If you don't smell sweet candy inside your car, I'm 99.9% sure it's not your heater core. Thanks for commenting, and If you have any other questions, just ask :) Glad to help.
Cheers again its been very useful. :)
I have a 2001 VW Passat and I noticed that it seemed like if I drove through a puddle I would get water inside of my car. For a while I noticed it was mainly on the passenger's side of the car. It was never usually a serious amount of water and I always dried it out. After Hurricane Irene hit I noticed I had a lot of water in my back seat on the driver's side. I sopped up as much as I could and dried the car as best as I could. Problem is that every time I went in there was another puddle of water. My windows always had fog inside of them from the carpet being wet, and I always heard sloshing in the back seat even if I sopped the water up. I started having electrical problems, and brought the car to my mechanic to see if he could target the location of the water leak and fix a different issue I had with the steering. He took a look at it and said I had water everywhere in my car. I specifically remember him saying there was water in the dashboard. I brought it to a body shop, and the guy said that the sunroof drains were clear, that it could have been the windshield because he noticed rust on the top edge and there's what looks like bubbled up urethane on the inside of the windshield. It has rained since and the water hasn't seemed to get worse (it's started actually drying out and there's no more puddle)and I've checked the edges of the windshield for water and I don't feel any.
I'm just wondering if you've got any ideas where this could be coming from. I got the car used and didn't even really know the windshield had been changed until the body shop told me. The other windows are all original though. I live in an apartment so I don't have a hose to even attempt to test and see where the water is coming from, and I don't even know where I can go to get someone to test it for me. Any info would be extremely helpful. I understand if you're flabbergasted. It seems everyone I've talked to has been. :)
Hi Dom,
With all the information you have given me, I would have to say your windshield is leaking. You have rust at the top edge, there is water in the dash, and your windshield has been replaced. Sounds to me like the person who put in your windshield, didn't do a good job.
Usually a windshield will leak at the top or at the sides, but you can't see the leak because the water is trailing down the pillar behind the interior molding.
It sounds like you don't have enough money to have the windshield replaced so the only suggestion I have is to use a tube of sealer and seal the windshield from the outside, around the rubber seal. It's not really a good repair, but it's a temporary repair. If you want to water test it, you could use gallon jugs to dump over the windshield slowly, you have a large leak, it shouldn't be that hard to locate, you just need to find the stream and follow it.
If you have insurance, you might want to call them and ask if they will cover the damage it's caused, they just might. Or you could call a reputable glass company and ask them how much it would cost to pull your windshield and replace the gasket only, it will save you a few bucks not having to buy a windshield.
If you have any more questions you know where to find me, let me know what you decide to do. There are a lot of good people out in the world that are willing to help, you just have to keep asking till you find them. take care for now, I'll be waiting to hear how you made out :)
Hello I am having a problem with water leaking in my truck the ceiling is always wet to the touch from hard rain I do have a sun roof the question is where do I go to get it fixed. Help please.
Hi Denise,
Does tour truck have a pop-up sunroof or a sliding sunroof? If you have a sliding sunroof, the drains might be clogged with debris and you may just need some compressed air and a nozzle to blow them out.
If you have a pop-up sunroof, you may need to bring it to a windshield repair facility or call someone who replaces windshields, I think they can help you. Let me know how you make out or if you have any more questions, take care for now Denise :)
hi vicki here i posted a message 3 months ago about a leak in my passenger footwell on my 02 plate 406 hdi thankyou for responding to my message it was a great help i got in touch with peugeot garage in salford where they advised me it would cost me £89 an hour just to detect the leak as you could imagine i declined that but instead my boyfreind took your advise and tried to locate the leak after an hour or two he removed the passenger sunvisor and the handle above the door thus being able to peel back the roof cloth then he filled the sunroof tray with water the water started immediately pouring in looking in under the roof cloth he noticed he could see two little streams of light coming through there were two pot rivets through the sunroof hey presto there was our problem the water had been coming through these two rivets after a heavy downpour put some silicone in these rivets and touch wood not leaked since thanks again for your feedback and i hope my bit has helped you or someone else in the same situation thankgod didnt have to pay peugeot £89 an hour to look at it or drink tea ha
Hi Vicki, WOW, that's awesome, that's all it takes is a little investigating to find the point of entry, but if you just follow the path of water, eventually you will find the source. I want to thank you for coming back to give me that update, it really helps me in my quest to advise people on what to do for common automotive problems, plus, like you said, it helps other readers with similar problems. Thanks again Vicki, take care.
thanks again all the best vicki
Hi Eddie
I have owned a honda civic for 11 years
its a 4 door civic- NO Sunroof
I just sold the car
and the genleman who purchased said- after washing the car 2 times, he found the drivers side- carpets soaking wet
It only happens when he washes the CAR- the car never did that prior-
and their is no water in trunk or any where else
never been accidented-
What do you recommend?
Help dont want to spend a lot of money
Honda sais they can do a water test 95$ an hour
to figure out where its coming from
and that it can take 30 min or 2 hours
HELPPPPPPPPP
Hi Christine,
Does your civic have an antenna right over the driver's door? Have you ever had the windshield replaced in the car? I'll wait to hear back from you.
Hi Eddie- Thank you for your prompt reply no antenna and windshield never replaced-
Can't wait to hear back from you Eddie- THANKS SO MUCH
Hi Christine,
I wonder if he had the windshield replaced,lol. Are you going to try to find the leak yourself? The problem with this situation is there is no obvious reason for the leak, so it is either a windshield seal, or a body seam. The water is leaking in without force, like a splash from a tire or a car wash, so it's leaking in slowly through a seam or seal.
If the floor is soaked it should be easy to locate the point of entry just by putting a hose on the vehicle, starting from the bottom and working your way up to the roof. That's about all I can help you with, so I hope you can find the leak. Let me know if I can help in any other way, and when you find the leak, if you have time could you come back and let me know what it was? Thanks Christine, take care for now :)
Hi Eddie
I will let you know right away- He just bought the car from me last week- he did not replace the windshield
I will coach him through your suggestions
if it's a seam and we locate the problem
Who should we go see after to fix it?
Christine :)
Hi Christine,
If it's a body seam, and you can see the water coming in,you can buy a can of 3M Brushable Seam Sealer found at most auto parts stores and you can also find it on amazon, there should be a link for it in the article somewhere, just dry the area well and apply it with a small paint brush or spatula, it's the best sealer to use for those types of issues, it goes on like paste and last forever, it's what car manufacturers us to seal all the body seams on a car before it's painted.
If you don't want to do it yourself, find a mechanic who is willing to tackle the job. Let me know if you have any other questions, and let me know how you make out, thanks Christine and good luck :)
Hi Ediie
I have a 2000 Nissan Quest, front passenger side carpet and insulation under it is completely soaked. I haven't used my AC in 2012, because it's still pretty cold Here in NYC. I don't see any holes or something like that under passenger front side. Where the water could come from???
Hi Andy,
Because the blower motor assembly is on that side, I would do a water test with the blower motor on high and the air intake lever or button in the fresh air position. Spray water on the passengers side windshield with the blower on for about 3 minutes, then look at the blower motor assemble housing for signs of water or dripping, look at the seam on the blower motor housing.
Second possible cause: Has the windshield ever been replaced? I'll wait to hear back from you Andy, take care for now.
I have a 2006 dodge charger with water leaking in the headliner. I tested the drain holes and the water seems to be running out okay but when i poured the water directly onto the closed sunroof water built up in the inside of the headliner and when I removed the weather stripping all the water ran out onto the seats and carpet. Is there something that should be inside the headliner to prevent the water from going all over the place? What can be done to detect exactly where the water is coming from in this case?
Hi Jameshia,
Did you check all 4 drains?
Water should drain pretty quickly and some might stay up in the tray. The tray should catch the water but it should drain.I'm not sure which seal you removed to release the water?
Is the water in the tray or is it behind the headliner? If it'
s behind the headliner, try to pull down the headliner and look up there with a flashlight to see if you can find the point of entry.
Let me know what you find.
It's behind the headliner not the trays that lead to the drains for the sunroof. I removed the seal that holds the headliner up to the sunroof opening of the car. I can see the water drip from below the car from all 4 drains, but when I poured it over the entire sunroof you can see where it goes down behind the sunroof glass and seems like it rests in the headliner until it either drips to the seats and floor or you pull the headliner down and it all comes a splashing. I am wondering if there is a hole or something in the back drain tubes or is the leak coming from the actual sunroof glass and stripping not meeting the body of the car properly. I am going to pull it down again tomorrow and use a flashlight to see exactly where it is filling from. Thanks
Hi Jameshia,
Take a close look at the drain tube itself, make sure the tube is connected to the sunroof tray properly and make sure the tube itself doesn't have a split in it.
Hell Eddie,
I have a 2002 Honda Accord. Whenever it rains i get a leak coming from the sunroof. Any idea what it could be? My sunroof slides open and also pops up. Thanks
Hi Bill,
Could you give me a little more detail, like is it filling up the sunroof drip tray and leaking in over the edge of the tray, or is it getting the headliner wet in the corners of the sunroof? Give me more detail and I'll have a better answer ;)
Sure Ed.. That's actually exactly what its doing. The tray fills up and drips over the top right corner. My trunk also fills up with water but i'm guessing, from reading previous posts, the drain popped out from the back. Thanks again.
Hi Bill,
I believe you have 2 separate problems, 1. the drains in the sunroof tray are blocked, just use some compressed air to gently blow out the debris, 2. I believe the tail light gaskets are leaking in your trunk, it is a very common trunk leak for the 02 accord. Just run water over the tail lights, then take the tail light covers off inside the trunk, and with a flashlight, look at the gasket, you should see water pooling up. To fix it, remove the tail lights and use silicone sealer on both sides of the foam gasket and re install. Let me know if this helps Bill, I'm curious about the trunk leak, thanks.
Great, I'll get debris out. The trunk problem sounds about right. A few months ago, I noticed what seemed to be a truck, hit my car causing a deep dent on my passenger side tail light. The hit cracked my tail light and continued a little passed it. There's a little gap between the tail light and that part. I'll check it out and let you know. Thanks again eddie
Sure Bill, and thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
shaz 3 months ago
thankyou very useful our car has a sunroof and water leaked onto my 4yr old in the back of the car from above the door do you think its the seal only a few drips were coming throught the front visor too help please only had the car 2wks 2nd hand a 1.6 golf