Is it normal to open and close the hatchback over and over again after a rainstorm and have water pouring out everytime? Its like the water is getting caught up inside it and only opening and closing it several times gets it all out....

 

Where is the water pouring out from? Top or bottom?

 

The first time I opened it, it seemed like from everywhere. Then I opened and closed it like 10 times and it kept coming out of the hole directly at the bottom of the hatch. There is a small square hole there for drainage I guess.

 

that would sound correct. i know that i have a lead in my third brake light when it gets really wet..

 

Well I started with the rear hatchback brake light, I removed it and cleaned the surfaces. Then I globbed on Dieletric Silicone Grease on the rubber gasket and reattached it, hopefully that was the source of the leak. Only other spot I can think of would be the spoiler, but I really dont want to take that off, I believe they use some unknown sealant on it. I remember when my Pontiac Grand Prix spoiler leaked, it was a pain to fix the mess undeneath it. I need some more rain so I can get a better look at what the problem is.

 

So far, so good! Its raining out and I've been checking the car, and so far no water pouring out. I think my fix worked!

 

Probably was the third brake lite. I had the same problem, although not as serious. That little wienie gasket thingy they use is not the most confidence-inspiring waterproofing I've ever seen. I, too, did the dielectric grease thing and added a length of very thin vynil tubing around the light before re-installing.
Here in the 'other Washington', rain is pretty much a given, so it was tested immediately and frequently. 3+ months later, no leaks. I'm a happy camper.

 

Ok, its raining like hell here and I dont think the third brake light is the culprit, or the spoiler. The only thing left has to be the rear window seal or something, because the water is coming out in buckets. Anyone have any idea or experienced this large amount of water coming out of the hatch when they open it? It pours out the hole at the bottom and when lifted comes out of the panelling on the door. I could actually hear it sloshing around before I went and checked it out. It quite a sever leak where ever it is....

 

Have you cleaned out the hole? I had sloshing as well, and took a metal dental pick (the ones used in the dental office) and picked out some gunk. I'm assuming my hole was plugged as I have not had sloshing since. Sometimes though, it does leak into the back of my hatch... still trying to find the source of the leak...

 

Where is this drain hole that you cleaned out? I have the same problem and couldn't find a drain hole. I'm tempted to drill a couple of drain holes in the bottom inside of the hatch to allow it to drain if I can't find the source of the leaks.

 

The drain hole is right above the latch on the hatch.

There are two grab handles in the bottom inside of the hatch, in between those (in the middle of the hatch) is this latch mechanism. Then above it (when the hatch is lifted up), you'll see a little rectangular hole. This is what was all gooped up and I unplugged mine. If this doesn't help, I'll take a photo.

 

Beware of drilling. The holes you drill will expose bare metal and be very likely to cause rust problems.

 

I was trying to take a pic to show you that my MCS doesn't have a drain hole and the flash lit up the area enough that I was able to spot it. I was expecting a larger hole. It was, as you described, full of road gunk. Once I unplugged it I put the hatch down and it finished draining.

One problem I see is that my car sits on a slight angle in my driveway so unless I drive after a rain the water will sit there for a while. I'm also concerned about what will happen in the spring when we get melting snow and rain followed by freezing nights.

 

The problem is the high brake light gasket. It becomes detached in places and moves out of position very slightly, letting water into the hatch. If the water cannot reach the center drain hole at the bottom of the hatch, or th ehole is plugged with goop, it stays and runs out into the trunk area when you open the hatch by running down the attachment arms. The practical fix is to remove the brake light, clean the housing and gasket as well as the hatch contact area, and use some tiny dots of super glue or similar to reattach the gasket to the light housing in the right position. I did this years ago and it will solve the problem.

 

Good! I wouldn't worry about the freezing/thawing issue. My car sat outside of the garage this past winter as my wife's G35 had the garage

 

I believe the rubber gasket for the truck is stopping mine from draining, so I assume a design change happened? Or something isnt right...

 

I wanted to update everyone on this, it turned out to be the hatch handle that was leaking. I figured it out because it finally really got soaked and the trunk release failed to work. I took it off dried it next to the space heater in the house, then reattached it after soaking the gasket in Dielectric Grease. Not a very good design, especially since the trunk release is an electrically operated one.