Water Leaking in my car, anyone else?

Hi Guys,

My car was at the dealer today for the airbag sensor recall, while it was there I asked them to track down a water leak. They spent most of the day looking but so far have not found it. It's going back tomorrow.

Has anyone else who lives in a wet climate had an issue with water?

The carpet and underlay on the drivers side is soaked, completely. I noticed it last winter but figured it was my kids spilling water. This winter I have been watching for it and as soon as the weather turned wet, the problem started again.

If anyone has had any experience with this please share. My dealer is not getting anywhere.

thanks

Pete

It's not your heater core leaking is it?

Perhaps the windscreen around the edge?

Or check for any rubber bungs that are loose or popped out.


See if you can trace the water from the bottom up and find the highest point that you can detect water. You carpet - foot well could be soaked but the water could be entering from much higher up.

I live in a subtropical climate that can have huge rainfall over summer wet season and I haven't noticed any water in the car after driving in very wet conditions.

Kurt

MR BEAN lives outdoors in soggy Seattle, and even with our recent freeze/thaw cycles interrupted by torrential rain, he remains as tight as a drum.

Kind of sounds like a rubber grommet is out of place. Lots of stuff goes through the firewall right there.

Actually there are several areas I would look at. First, confirm the carpet is only wet in the footwell area by lifting it up and feeling the pad for dampness. Make sure it isn't wet up higher (like the area in the very front of the carpet by the pedals). There are several holes through the floor on the drivers side. Check the boot where the steering shaft goes through the floor between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal. To the right of the accelerator there is a small plug in the floor where the wires for the power steering system go through the floor. There is a main harness that goes through the firewall right in the center of the car. You would have to open the hood and look in the area behind the battery to see it and be sure the plug is in place. There is a seal where the brake pedal rod goes through the firewall. Under the drivers seat, there is a rubber boot that seals the HV disconnect switch access to the battery pack. Other then that there are only a couple of plugs in the floor and the sealant along the various seams between the floor pans and the rocker panels, floor pans and wheel wheels, and the joint in the floor where there is an overlapped section of floorpan on the drivers side. The other possibility is a leak up high (like the windshield pillar) running down the hollow pillar and ending up on the drivers side floor. It makes a difference in trying to isolate the problem if the problem is worse after driving the car (tire spray) or sitting in rain (overhead leaks draining to the floor). I know its hard to do in an I-MiEV because of the one piece carpet but the only way to pin this down might be to remove the entire carpet to actually find where the water is running into the floorpan. You have to remove the console, both front seats and the rear seat bottom along with the door sills to do this, but it can be done. The carpet backing wicks everything up and masks what's really going on. Best of luck!

Siai47, thanks for popping in EVery now n then to share wisdom gleaned from your dissection and modification of i-MiEVs. I'd appreciate a occasional link to whatEVer your current automotive adventures are!
Merry Christmas,
Jay

Thank you all for chiming in. I appreciate my fellow wet weather drivers sharing their experiences, looks like my leak is just a fluke.

My car has spent 3 days now with the dealer. Good think I work 2 km from my local Mitsubishi shop. I was going to share this thread with my dealer, but it looks like they found the problem. Actually they farmed the work out to an auto glass shop and they found a leak in the front window seal. Unfortunately they broke the windshield while removing it. Apparently a small rock chip at the edge of the glass went undetected and caused the window to split when they lifted it out.

My dealer and Mitsubishi have been excellent with this problem. They are going to give me a loaner Mirage until the window is repaired next week.

Hopefully that solves the problem.

thanks again

Pete