So I have been having water problems I the trunk of my 2002 r50, and I'm pretty sure I narrowed that down to the latch. But as of yesterday my driver side floorboard is soaked, I plan on ripping it all apart soon, but does anyone else who has had these problems know where I should start looking to solve it? I don't have a sunroof.

 

2 areas. The gasket seal on the back of the latch. They dry out. You can order a new one. Also the seal on the back of the 3rd brake light. Just get some silicone and seal that up. To keep my car from frying I drilled a drain hole in my battery compartment. When I discovered my leak last year it was full to the top.

 

I feel like I have the rear problem under control, I tookthe carpet out and popped the drain hole, gonna seal it up somehow, I have to figure out the issue on my drivers side floor now, and that is much harder to get to, and has many more possibilities.

 

Lots of inside leaks could be a cause of clogged sunroof drains. Others have been a clogged AC drain under the car and sometimes if the water inside is in fact coolant, could be a core issue. Start by attempting to trace the source of the leak. Check all seals on the door, windsheild, sunroof, etc. Make sure it isn't wet up by the headliner.

 

I ended up taking out the carpet today after work, and only sacrificed the plastic clip keeping the accelerator in place. Going out wait and see where I spot water coming from. The foam in the driver side in front of the seat and behind the seat was completely drenched. Behind the passenger seat was wet too.



Seems to be maybe coming from these black panels/seals, I will see how it goes for the next couple days while the carpet dries.

 

Water in the trunk seems to be coming from the passenger side in the wall.





Driver side floorboard water seems to be coming out of these seams, not sure what is below that. Anything dealing with a/c is out of the question, it only happens in the rain. If anyone can tell me what is under these black-blue seams that would be helpful. Going to spray rust stop and seal cracks with some type of sealant.

 

Interesting. Maybe pop off that interior side in the trunk and have someone spray at that area with a pressure washer to see if you can watch where it's entering from. Same goes for the driver side floorboard, but have someone spray from underneath. Maybe it's a seam issue. You could try using Flex Seal, Rustoleum sealant or something else like these, but I'd be interested first to see how/why the water is going in for sure before spraying things.

 

Sounds like what I had in mind. Will post when I find anything out.

 

Problem area in trunk. Seems to be these seals. Can't see bottom because of r50 exhaust though.





Problem area on driver side, same type seals. Water leaking down through these wrinkles, so I can only assume it can get up it.





Everything above the floor in the trunk is dry.

It is odd that these are all failing. But I will find every spot on the car that looks like this, seal it up good, and lay down a plastic sheet and make sure it doesn't leak again before putting my carpet back in.

I have a nice little shopping list to patch this up. Rust inhibitor, silicone, flex seal, plastic sheets, and cleaning supplies, so good luck me.

 

Great! Glad you finally tracked down the source. Be sure to take lots of pictures and a process of what you do so that if someone else has your issue and they stumble upon this thread it's useful to them. Good luck!

 

I found that water is still leaking into the doors from the rain gutter, the driver side one has a tear in it.
by the a pillar. I took both gutters off to find that the foam on the driver side that guides the water to the a pillar is destroyed, and both drain plugs are clogged. One of them even went missing (detached from a pillar top molding) so there is no longer anything to guide the water to the a pillar and drain it properly. I am at a loss as to what I want to do about it, could replace both molding strips, but that doesn't solve my problem with the foam water guides.what part do I have to buy that includes those foam pieces that go behind the a pillar?










There is a piece that attaches to the corner molding over the a pillar that drains the water into the foam channel behind the a pillar, I would need this and the a pillar molding with the drain hole to properly fix the driver side.

Whoever bothers to read all this, thank you. And whoever can help in anyway, I owe you big time. For ridding me of this headache.

 

This video should help you with your sunroof gutters. This video shows the rain gutters and a demonstration of how water channels down and out of the vehicle. Hope this helps you or others.

 

I don't have a sunroof, it is the gutter on the molding along the outside of the roof, mainly the a pillar corner section.

 

Gotcha, well I hope it helps others with sun roofs.

 

So I think I may have finally fixed my water issue, the trunk was fixed a while back by seam sealing the floor. The doors were a different story. In short form, I had to replace the two side roof moldings and the foam spacer between the a pillar and its plastic cover. I may make a video showing all of what happened to help other people, because I know I can't be the only one with this problem and I couldn't find the right information myself.

 

I've got a similar problem I'm hoping for advice on. I recently discovered the mat behind my driver's seat was soaking wet and haven't been able to determine the source. I've had a leak previously from the sunroof where the water was draining into the boot, found and fixed. This time the only wet spot is behind my seat. The headliner, front driver's side floorboard, and everywhere else is dry (so far, knock on wood), so I'm thinking perhaps a jammed drain. I'm hesitant to start pulling trim until I have a better idea where I should be looking. So, two questions, is there a drain running down the b pillar by the seatbelt anchor, and where does it drain out to underneath the car? Northern CA is experiencing a good amount of rain these days, so any help or suggestions are much appreciated! Sheldon Cooper is a 2003 Mini Cooper S. Thank you!

 

The b pillar seems to not be a drain, to me it seems like the whole gutter design on the edges of the roof are to make most of the water that runs off the side of the roof (90-98%) drains down the A pillar (towards the front of it, not into the door jamb.) In my 02, the new foam insulation piece that i ordered (its in my last picture) was different from the old one i found on the passenger side, which makes me wonder if they changed the part in later models. i would be curious to find out what yours looks like, Although the r53 a pillar design is slightly different too i think. Honestly, the way i found my problems was taking the whole carpet out, its a few hour job the first time you do it, but after that you can put it in or out in about 90 minutes. without taking it out you wont know if the water is coming from the bottom, the doors, or both. i drove my mini without the carpet for 2 weeks while fixing it and didn't regret it.


To break it down... i think the first thing to do... is to open your doors and take out the rubber seal around the door.


after that, pour water slowly (so it doesn't overfill and run over into the car) into the roof molding gutter, letting it drain into the a pillar pinhole (if it is not clogged). Put a few cups of water through the gutter and see if it is draining properly (should be by the hinge of the door, not in the door jamb at all.) also look where the rubber sat, by the screws that hold in the molding, and he screws that hold in the a pillar cover. Any wetness around here is bad.




Anywhere i made yellow should be dry (with the a pillar cover on, and under the screws for the molding should be dry too. basically the rubber door seal shouldn't be able to get wet. because the channel in the rubber that holds it to the door, is the water's ticket into your carpet.

My first problem was pretty obvious. My roof molding was damaged and left a gaping hole into this spot right before the drain hole.





It looked like this...





It should look like this





and drain here (silicone doesnt work!) haha



If you don't have any problems here, you need to take your carpet out and ride in the rain to see where the water comes from. don't put the carpet back in until you have no water on rainy days. This will give you time to dry it out anyway, and probably find out that its in more than one section like i did. (only the driver side floor was wet on top). Check the seams on the floor that look like this. (where the paint color meets the unknown black material)







this is on the driver floorboard, the water seemed to come through that seam (this is what was happening in my trunk)





I used Urethane Seam Sealer to fill the gaps





I was paranoid and a bit frustrated so i seam sealed everything.





EVERYTHING

All i can say is when you take apart the plastic things be careful

Good luck, i hope you solve it and found new love in your mini like i did!

Post pictures of what you find and i hope i can help more.

 

This is awesome khai, thank you! I remember the roof molding/windshield trim piece being out of whack this summer, so that might be a good place to start. I'm waiting for a break in the weather to coincide with some time off to check things out and I'll let you know what I find. Keeping my fingers crossed it's not beyond my meager fix-it skills

 

It shouldn't be that bad, just a little frustrating if it is your only car. I don't think there are many other ways for it to leak so good luck!