Alright, this may be a long story, so sorry for rambling.

I got my mini Cooper countryman all4s last September. I love it. This spring I noticed I had water leaking in the passenger front door. Took it to the dealer. Found out the vapor barrier wasnt connected right. Got it fixed. Still had water coming in, took it back, apparently the vapor barrier was letting water through. Got a new vapor barrier put in.

But I still have water coming in. I had water coming in passenger back door, got that fixed, I guess a grommet was missing or gone bad.

But the front passenger door is still letting in water. I took it to a different shop. They said the door was sealed fine. Vapor barrier was doing it's job, etc. He said his mechanic did some research and found that it's very common, water is traveling around the door, and pooling up on top of the seal (in picture) and pooling up enough that it leaks in. But this problem doesn't exist on any other door. Please please please, does anyone have a solution?

 

I couldn't add pictures to original post, had to make Reply

 

If it has history at the dealer for that problem, bring it back. The leak is likely to either be: vapor barrier, sealant, or plastic clip gasket. If they've been in that panel and it still leaks it should be their problem to deal with. It's not complicated, so demand that they repair it properly, because you've been there twice already! Talk to the service manager. Dealers should NOT have comebacks for such a simple problem. Is it still under warranty?

 

I bought it used. It's not under original warranty, but I got an extended warranty. They said extended warranty wouldn't cover it. They've replaced the vapor barrier and said they checked everything else.

The dealer said the previous owners had the problem, and said the vapor barrier came detached back then. But the previous owners didn't take it in after that. But I had a second repair shop look at it and they didn't find anything. It only happens when there's constant rain. Doesn't happen going through a car wash. I've sprayed it down with a hose for several minutes without it leaking in. So it must take a very long constant heavy rain.

 

Ah I see. Difficult to duplicate and out of warranty. And it's true, extended warranty does not cover water leaks. That's gonna be tough.

It's possible that the vapor barrier was one of two leak sources. They may have seen XXX amount of water leak, and after replacing it they see nothing. The secondary source may only be leaking x amount. Hope that makes sense.

I'd have a talk with the same service writer you dealt with the first time at the dealer. Explain that it's difficult to duplicate the leak, and the leak they originally found may have been a larger secondary source because it's still leaking. Remind them that you've already paid for water diag and the first repair was not satisfactory. You could even request that the shop foreman take a look at it. If they say they're going to need money for diag again, ask to talk to the service manager about their comeback policy. Just try to give them the benefit of the doubt at this point, because we can't say for sure it isn't a complex issue.

 

Well fortunately, I haven't had to pay yet. Well I spent 40 bucks taking it to the other shop to see if they could figure it out.

But at the dealer I've been taking it to, the deviser manager wasn't going to charge me because it was repaired incorrectly the last time they fixed the vapor barrier. I was supposed to pay for the new vapor barrier when they replaced it, they paid labor. But I didn't get charged for new vapor barrier. Haha all in way I've been lucky. But I have a feeling they're not going to keep doing this for free. And I'm finding it frustrating as well. But the deciding factor is that it needs a long time in the rain to do it.

So I'm hoping people might have suggestions as to what to tell them to look at. They've said vapor barrier is good. They've checked grommets.

Maybe I could just put a couple small holes in the seal, where the water is pooling, to let it drain outside? That's the only thing I can think of.

 

I'd look just underneath the door panel when you duplicate the leak. See if you can notice a water trail from the panel. Also, follow the pool up the seal on the body side. Remember that it will always come from a source parallel or higher than the trail it leaves. I wouldn't be surprised if the side mirror seal is the source. Make sure to visually inspect the mirror area for water trails as well.

You can focus your water testing on the vapor barrier/mirror seal by keeping a stream right at the window. Depending where you live this may not be very economical (referring to the California drought) but drenching the seals is the only way to find leaks. Let us know if you find anything. Take pictures if you find either fresh or old traces of water trails!

 

Have you used the passenger door when you noticed the leaking? In my situation, I saw something similar. Took it to the dealer, they re-aligned the seal or something (would need to look at paperwork at home), but the problem still exist.

Then I noticed if I drive the car through heavy rain for example, I watch that passenger door, nothing leaks through. However, if I use that door in the rain, open it, then shut it, I will notice water dripping exactly like your picture above. Otherwise the seal is good. Odd, yes...best answer, no...

 

The other day I had a leak and that's what I did. I began looking at the door seal to see if the seal was wet. I looked along the whole seal and the only place I found wet was along the bottom valley.

Here's a thing I forgot to put in my original post. It seems it only leaks in if it's raining moderately for an extended period. For instance, just a little while ago it was just down pouring, for a good 10-15 minutes. No leak. Not even a small puddle. But if it rains at a fairly constant rate, that's when it leaks. I don't understand why that would be the case.

The mirror is attached to the door, and mechanic said any water that got in through the mirror should be caught by the vapor barrier

 

Using it during the rainy day? No not unless I'm looking at the leak. Using it before rain or the day before rain..possibly. It's hard to remember something that specific. My roommate is the only one that usually sits passenger seat and that isn't all that often. But it has leaked after sitting for several days (I go out of town a few days a week for work.