I love this car, but here is the second problem with it in a matter of weeks. It's raining today. I thought maybe I left my drivers side window open a crack b/c my floormat is all wet. No, my dashboard is leaking, right near the door. Anyone have any insight as to why?

 

I'm wondering if the cowl vents are blocked with crap (leaves, twigs, baby mice) and water is running inside the car.

What year car? It's always important to at least list your year/make/model in your signature.

 

Thanks for that. She is a 2004 MCS, with about 44k.

 

Do you have the sunroof? If you do, it is not uncommon that a sunroof drainage line becomes clogged or unplugged. Easy fix. Just search this site for the fix.

 

Yes, we do. So, the sunroof drainage line would leak from under the dash? Hopefully that's all it is.

 

it could leak from the edge of the kick panel i think, most cars with sunroofs have 2 drains and if they clog up, then you will get water in the car.

 

Here are some possibilities for footwell moisture, drawn from NAM posts -

1. There is a drain tube coming from the a/c evap housing that leads out through the firewall . The purpose of this is to drain condensation to outside of the vehicle . If clogged or kinked it can cause water in the passenger footwell;

2. Open the hood, on the drivers side on the firewall about 4-6 inches down from the windshield is a little clearish/white plastic plug. See if it's still in place.

3. The sunroof drain runs from the sunroof down to the ground by running INSIDE the car. For part of the drainage pathway, the drain is metal tubing - from outside to inside the car. Inside the vehicle, the water is carrried by a section of rubber tubing out to the bottom of the vehicle. There are at least three drains, maybe four. There is a drain for your front sunroof on both the passenger and driver's sides. Apparently, there is also a drain for the rear moonroof (one post describes water around the battery). I have no idea where the rear drain tube is located nor where it runs.

The drain tubes can get clogged by debris, the rubber can get pinched, or the metal and rubber tubing can become disconnected. A leak on the passenger side can be expensive causing significant electrical problems.

For the front sunroof, the joint between the metal sunroof tube and plastic drain tube is located above the driver's and passenger's side doors. (there is one drain on each side) The connection is sandwiched between the metal roof and the inside cloth "ceiling" material (the material above your head when you are sitting in the drivers seat.) The connection is somewhere near the window possibly as far back as the A-Pillar (the large structure between the front seat and the rear seats.) The rubber tubing continues down through the A-pillar - a leak can spring anywhere along this drainage pathway. To repair, the A-pillar must be removed, the drain tube replaced and A-pillar re-fitted without crushing the drain tube again.

4. Check the rubber around the steering column that runs through the floor. If your car ever had the subfram pulled from it, is rubber boot is certain to be detached from the floor causing a major leak. There are two sides to the boot, one for the inside of the vehicle and one for the outside of the vehicle.

 

ever had the windshield replaced? could be a bad seal job... seen that many times

 

OK, we did some investigating. there are two drains one on the drivers side of the car, one under the sunroof, and one at the front of the gutter (right before it curves around the windshield). We poured some water on them, and they both ended up in the car (front). There is something amiss with the front rubber in the upper left corner (looking at the driver's window from outside). The passenger side drains down and out the way it's supposed to.

so, now how to fix the leak. I'm guessing the plastic piece (that makes the corner from the side to the windshield) needs to come off, and it sounds like some tubing or rubber need replacing.

any thoughts?

thanks

 

It is a cheap replacement for the pillar caps - just use new clips to reattach. Once off you should be able to access the tubing. It is not likely to need replacement. More often it becomes detached from the drain itself or was pinched by the pillar cap.

 

Thank you for the information. Upon further review, it seems the drain is attached to the metal at the top by the ceiling. Not sure about anywhere else yet.