A few weeks ago I washed my car and shortly thereafter found a small pond in my trunk in the spot where the jack is kept. After doing a little bit of research on this and other sites, I determined that I should check a number of places that people identify as common areas that leak. Those areas are:
-The antenna's rubber grommet
-The tailight seals
-The sunroof drains (specfically where the drain tube meets the vent in the trunk)
I checked each of these areas and found them all to be fine with no water coming in from any of them. I finally submitted to the fact that my rear window seal was most likely the culprit but something just didn't make sense; the seal was soft and really didn't seem like it was capable of letting in water.
I finally diverted my attention away from the usual suspects and to the window molding that clips onto the body behind the rear windows. I noticed that the top of it was a bit loose and could easily be pushed in and out. I removed the molding to find a completely destroyed plastic clip:
I imagine that a combination of time and perhaps the previous owner taking the car to a mechanical car wash destroyed the clip. The broken plastic was hard and brittle. The small foam piece that forms a seal with the body was flatter than a sheet of paper; clearly neither of these pieces were doing their respective jobs.
I ordered three new clips with the foam o-rings at the dealership in addition to a new piece of weatherstripping which is supposed to along the molding where it meets the body.
Voila! Dry trunk? Almost.....
It soon began to rain again and low and behold, more water in the trunk! After spending a bit more time figuring out the entry point I finally pinpointed the last place the water was leaking; the antenna itself.
Since the antennas on these cars are prone to failure and the factory antennas are not particularly inexpensive, many people opt to take the Pep Boys route and get the generic cheapy antenna. The problem with the one used in my car was that it was just a tiny bit too small for the factory hole and water was actually coming in through the sides.
To test my theory, I jammed a bathtub plug in the hole, and let loose a massive stream of water for a good 30 seconds. The trunk was dry as a bone. :pimp:
In short; if you are experiencing trunk leaks but all of the usual places aren't letting water in, check the rear window moldings and see if you're antenna has been replaced with a generic model. Hope this helps some folks.
-The antenna's rubber grommet
-The tailight seals
-The sunroof drains (specfically where the drain tube meets the vent in the trunk)
I checked each of these areas and found them all to be fine with no water coming in from any of them. I finally submitted to the fact that my rear window seal was most likely the culprit but something just didn't make sense; the seal was soft and really didn't seem like it was capable of letting in water.
I finally diverted my attention away from the usual suspects and to the window molding that clips onto the body behind the rear windows. I noticed that the top of it was a bit loose and could easily be pushed in and out. I removed the molding to find a completely destroyed plastic clip:
I imagine that a combination of time and perhaps the previous owner taking the car to a mechanical car wash destroyed the clip. The broken plastic was hard and brittle. The small foam piece that forms a seal with the body was flatter than a sheet of paper; clearly neither of these pieces were doing their respective jobs.
I ordered three new clips with the foam o-rings at the dealership in addition to a new piece of weatherstripping which is supposed to along the molding where it meets the body.
Voila! Dry trunk? Almost.....
It soon began to rain again and low and behold, more water in the trunk! After spending a bit more time figuring out the entry point I finally pinpointed the last place the water was leaking; the antenna itself.
Since the antennas on these cars are prone to failure and the factory antennas are not particularly inexpensive, many people opt to take the Pep Boys route and get the generic cheapy antenna. The problem with the one used in my car was that it was just a tiny bit too small for the factory hole and water was actually coming in through the sides.
To test my theory, I jammed a bathtub plug in the hole, and let loose a massive stream of water for a good 30 seconds. The trunk was dry as a bone. :pimp:
In short; if you are experiencing trunk leaks but all of the usual places aren't letting water in, check the rear window moldings and see if you're antenna has been replaced with a generic model. Hope this helps some folks.
Comment