Wet Rear (dare you to read on)

[USAFbuckeye]

Ok, now that I got ya...

I was opening the left side access panel to store my tow bar only to find water collecting and the carpet soaking wet. Has anyone else experienced this? I took the car to the dealer and they couldn't find anything . In fact they said there aren't any drains going back there so the only way water can get in is by wading in deep water or by power washing the undercarriage. I don't by either explanation. I've seen photos of people taping their plastic fender pieces, but I thought that was for other reasons.

Anyway, love to hear any thoughts or experiences.

 

[davez26]

A/C drains clogged?

If I remember right the rear A/C lines and condensor sit in the left rear. Moisture condensing has to go somewhere, via drains.

That's my thought.

 

[USAFbuckeye]

That's a good thought, however, I do not have rear A/C. The dealer says that the plastic fender molding is leaking through the attachment points, but that it's not getting on the carpet-even though the carpet was wet when I brought it to the dealership...

 

[nwoods]

Did you store any water back there recently? Maybe a leaking ice chest or cooler?

 

[USAFbuckeye]

Nope, not transporting water either. Maybe one of my kids poured a water bottle down the side vent or something. I'm waiting for another hard rain to see if it happens again. The dealer claimed to have put it their car wash for 30 min and noted no leaks...

 

[USAFbuckeye]

Just an update to the post:

Turns out the wet rear carpet was caused by both rear sunroof drains being clogged. I found this out the hard way (found the carpet wet again after a hard rain).

My wife was helping me to diagnose the problem by running a hose over the sunroof to see what was leaking and where. All of the sudden two water falls appeared from the 2d and 3d row b-pillars. I pulled the headliner down (very easy btw), and removed the 3d row storage system to reveal the rear sunroof drains (just fwd of the rear wheels). The reason they were clogged was because the plastic tubing was not seated correctly causing the flimsy rubber drain to pinch itself nearly closed. No water was able to move so when the drains backed up, the water had no where else to go except over the sunroof bracket.

I pulled the tubing out from both sides to be sure they were clear and also removed both drains. I performed the same "****** clip" procedure the dealer (what was LR thinking by putting a restricting mechanism on a fluid drain?) had on my front drains for added protection. On the reinstall I started with the drains, made sure the tubbing was properly seated and not pinched, then re-routed the tubbing and connected it to the sunroof.

I spent the remaining days drying out the carpets, which was not easy but necessary!

So far so good! No more water as of today. Waiting for more rains to come to prove the work. If it continues to leak I may just set it on fire...

 

[Teffyc]

Thats good to hear since I found a similar problem yesterday morning after a hard rain. My driver side rear door sill was soaked like as if someone had spilled a water bottle into it. I will look into the drain solution and will report back. Incindently, this on my 06 lr3. Thanks.

 

[USAFbuckeye]

Good luck, it took me several weeks of troubleshooting to figure out what was happening