Water leaks

[Bill Bourne]

Has anyone had any serious water leaks?

We had some heavy rain here the other night, and the next day I had at least a gallon of water in the drivers side back seat foot well. Later on I also found a bunch of water inside the rocker panel on that side.
All the windows and doors were shut tight.

The only thing I could find that was different from the passenger side was that the piece of weather stripping on the front edge of the rear door was pulled away from the glass creating a small pocket. I'm wondering weather this could have channeled water to the inside of the cab somehow.

[stefan]

Yes it did- I had the same thing on my 03 when I first washed it- I had a small stick caught in between the window and the stripping- It let in a TON (not a gallon but a nice puddles worth) of water-

[Pow]

Had a similar problem on mine this summer but couldn't find anything interfering with the window gaskets. After some searching around NASIOC for a bit I determined my problem was with the sunroof. These sunroofs are not perfectly watertight. If you examine closely you will see that there are channels on all sides (rear is tough to see but it's there) to drain the water to two outlets in the front corners. They are designed knowing that they leak. My driveway is on a slope and at the time of the heavy rain I was parked facing up. This was enough to ether level out or direct the side channels to the rear, dumping all water from the imperfectly sealed sunroof into the interior. I make it a point now to always park facing downhill if possible. I sure want to keep water out of it now as I just installed an amp under the driver seat which would be ruined in another Baja flood.

-Pow

[stefan]

Good to know about the sunroof!!!! Thanks for the info!

[Bill Bourne]

I'm still getting water in my drivers side rocker panel.

If I pop the plastic fasteners that hold the plastic cover on below the doors, I get a stream of water coming out of several of the holes.

Can't figure oout how its getting in there.

[stefan]

Ever have the windshield replaced???? Perhaps a faulty seal there?

[blubaja03]

I replace windshields for a living. And believe me, we're not perfect:( There is a chance of leaking. But you said it was leaking in your back seat area? It most likely is the weatherstripping around the door. You have to jam it back in there. Gently:)

Just out of curiosity, check on the front windsheild. The glass Subaru uses up front is manufactured by "Carlex". They also make some glass for Nissan. Look for their name on the drivers side bottom corner. If it says something else(aside from Nippon-another brand Subaru uses) it was most likely replaced. Even if you had bought your car brand new, there is still a chance it had been replaced. Or still..the robots at the factory are not prefect either. We have done reseals for BRAND NEW CARS every now and then, for leaks.
Good luck:)

[Bill Bourne]

All the glass seems to be Carlex.

We had a lot of rain last night and the floor in the back is still dry.

What I can't understand is how water is getting into the rocker panel on the driver side and not the passenger side.

When I had the back seat out and the plastic threshholds off in order to peel back the carpet and suck out the water, I found two sticky plastic covers over access holes in the rocker panel. When I peeled these back and looked inside there was a ton of water in there. I'm trying to figure out how its getting in there.

Back before I found the wet floor the first time I remember hearing water sloshing around, but thought it was just water in the bed after some heavy rain. The noise seemd to go away after driving to or from work.

I wonder if the Ziebart rustproofing could have plugged something up?

[blubaja03]

You'd better take it to the dealer and have them do a thorough once over. You shouldn't be having those kinds of leaks.

[Highlander]

In reading this thread, Bill, did you take it to the dealership for this problem?
My driver side floor and rear seat behind the driver floor are both soaking wet and can't see where it's coming from. I always hear the same sloshing after rains or carwashing. It sounds like a lot of water?? Is this also creating rust problems?
How/where do you "pop out the plastic fasteners" (without snapping off- breaking) or pop door panels to drain?
I'll try checking the sunroof and seals this weekend.
I've had the car new for almost a year and a half - anyone know if this is this covered under warranty?

[Pow]

I don't think you should have any water in your door, I'm fairly certain that car doors are designed to drain should water get in them as the outside seal between the door panel (not frame) and the window will not always prevent water from getting inside.

The sloshing I had heard on my Baja seemed to be coming from the body/frame. My suspicion is that water was running from inside the sunroof, down the B-pillar and then left with nowhere to go... except fro when there was too much and it ran into the driver side rear floor.

I still think there is merit to my "parked on a slope" theory. I think it was stated earlier in this thread that there are drain hoses at the front two corners of the sunroof. Look around the sunroof with it open and you'll find that there is a channel running across the front and up the sides, with a slope to drain to the front. There is an additional channel that is harder to see along the back of the sunroof, but this doesn't appear to attach to the side channels. Rather any water that collects here will run to the edges of this rear channel and drain down to the side channels and out the front. There wasn't anything on the side channels to stop water from running out the rear, which would be a problem if you were parked on a slope that would put the side channels at parallel or angled to the back. Out of curiosity would you find the water in the back after you had left the Baja parked on an upslope in the rain? This is what I had found happening to me, although the rain had to be heavy. I since traded in that '03 for an '06 (but too late to get a turbo! damn!) and I've been making a point to park facing downhill whenever possible. No problems yet...

Can't explain post carwash sloshing though, other than that once the sloshing started for me it never seemed to go away.

-Pow

[Pow]

BTW guys, I was out in the Baja while it was parked in my driveway during a heavy rain and I thought to check around the sunroof. Reached up and ran my fingers around the gasket, sure enough there was water. So confirmed that the sunroofs are not watertight. If you've got clogged drains at the front of the sunroof gutters or are parked on enough of a slope to level or tip back the side gutters during a heavy rain, expect there to be some internal water leakage.

-Pow

[mbaksic]

Pow,
Almost all sunroofs leak a bit of water, that is the way they are designed to work. All of it should end up draining out through the drainage troughs and through the drains. But you are right, if a drain is plugged, you will have water runnin in the car somewhere.
Mike

[Evanism]

For those who have heard water sloshing, I had a 2004 outback in the family that had water collecting in the rocker panels. The drain was clogged with debris and you could hear water running back and forth just under the door (driver's side). Driving or parking up-hill allowed the water to drain until I unblocked the drain. Of course this was from normal drain paths, not unexpected leaks, but it seems to fit the description of one of the problems.