Anyone ever had water in the spare tire well??

[MagneticGrayIndy]

So after reading a bunch of stuff about the Prius, and even though I've owned for two years now, I went digging around in the storage/spare tire area last week and found almost an inch of water in the well!!.. I dried it out, put it all back to together and thought... huh? Odd thing, nothing above the well was wet or looked like it had ever been wet. And the plastic bag with the never used spare tire hold down cables.. was wet on the inside!

I don't live in New Orleans.. and the car is ALWAYS garaged. So I thought I'd just keep an eye on it. Today, I went through an automatic car wash and pulled around to vacumn and wipe off any excess water... Pulled the storage area apart to check for water and found 1/4 inch of water AGAIN!

Again, nothing above the area was wet and the two drain plugs in the bottom were tightly sealed.. WTF???? Anyone had this problem? I'll call the dealerhip tomorrow and let them look at it.

[racerbob]

Taillights, rear wiper grommet, or hatch opening gasket are possible leak areas.

[zsnark]

Hi.

I had this problem in my pre-Prius auto. The problem was with dried out tail-light seals. You'll want to get this fixed or you'll eventually get mold (or something) and/or your car might smell in the winter. Besides, you won't want to bail out the back of your car after each car wash or downpour!

[Rokeby]

Your problem sounds like "Stump the Chump" on NPR's Car Talk.

Originally Posted by MagneticGrayIndy

... I went digging around in the storage/spare tire area last week and
found almost an inch of water in the well!!..

...Today, I went through an automatic car wash and pulled around to
vacumn and wipe off any excess water... Pulled the storage area apart
to check for water and found 1/4 inch of water AGAIN!

Again, nothing above the area was wet..

As I understand it, the HV battery is cooled by air drawn by a smallish fan
through the grill on the pax side of the rear seat. (My understanding gets a
little fuzzy here.) That same air is exhausted through a vent in one of the
rear wheel wells. So there's a strong probability that there's some plastic
duct work in there too.

I'm suspecting that pieces of the ductwork have come loose and are at least
partially disconnected. Two possible sources of the water. First, water forced
into the wheel well vent during the car wash. Second -- but it would seem
unlikely -- humidity laden air from the pax compartment condensing on the
cooler metal work in the tire well.

OK, if I win the T-shirt, I'd like size XL, with the red background to match
my Barcelona red beauty.

[patsparks]

First remove the spare tyre and check there are no grommets missing from the spare wheel well.
Get a garden hose after you have removed all the rear tub and cargo area floor then climb in the back with a torch and watch while someone pours water over the closed hatch and tail lights and watch for water flow.

Do not ignore this, it will cause rust in all sorts of places including the roof of the car because there is moisture in the car all the time. Water vapour will condense on the inside of the roof if there is a pool of water in the spare wheel well. It will also cause window fogging.

Water leaks into the rear of a car normally only happen after poor crash repairs.
Do you have a towbar on the car?

[MagneticGrayIndy]

Hmmmm... Since nothing above the spare tire well was wet (even after the car wash).. I even pulled off that big plastic piece where the "handle" is to pull down the hatch (dry as can be).. then I'm thinking it can't be from the hatch. I'm leaning more towards Rokeby's idea only becuase the water is low ... we'll see what the dealer has to say.

Also.. two weeks after we bought it someone backed into the left tailight in a parking garage.. so I really suspect that the repair shop didn't fix something properly then, like maybe they left off a seal/gasket around the tailight. In fact.. the first time I noticed the water, there was also a bit of water to the left of the spare tire well under that tiny storage bin....

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by MagneticGrayIndy

...so I really suspect that the repair shop didn't fix something properly then, like maybe they left off a seal/gasket around the tailight. In fact.. the first time I noticed the water, there was also a bit of water to the left of the spare tire well under that tiny storage bin....

That is the most likely answer. Why not take your car back to the body shop and have them fix it for you at no charge? Usually these auto repair jobs have a workmanship warranty.

[ravenmaniac]

Originally Posted by patsparks

First remove the spare tyre and check there are no grommets missing from the spare wheel well.
Get a garden hose after you have removed all the rear tub and cargo area floor then climb in the back with a torch and watch while someone pours water over the closed hatch and tail lights and watch for water flow.

Do not ignore this, it will cause rust in all sorts of places including the roof of the car because there is moisture in the car all the time. Water vapour will condense on the inside of the roof if there is a pool of water in the spare wheel well. It will also cause window fogging.

Water leaks into the rear of a car normally only happen after poor crash repairs.
Do you have a towbar on the car?

A torch in the car while someone pours water in???? What will that achieve? Are you trying to weld something back together in the process? Yeah, I know, you mean a flashlight.....but that's not what we call them in the States...LOL!

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by ravenmaniac

A torch in the car while someone pours water in???? What will that achieve? Are you trying to weld something back together in the process? Yeah, I know, you mean a flashlight.....but that's not what we call them in the States...LOL!

Well it's time you start using the right names for things then.
It would be best if you use a torch which doesn't flash, well not flash all the time.

Looks like MagneticGrayIndy has found the answer anyway.

[MagneticGrayIndy]

so took the car to the dealer today and they couldn't see anything till the service manager crawled in the back with a "torch"! while they ran a hose over it. (come to think of it, it would have been nice if they washed it afterwards... anyway)

found a leaking body seam?? just under top lip of bumper cover: caulked it, let it dry and retested. They think they've fixed the problem.. I hope it wasn't normal bathroom caulk! I'll let it cure for a couple of days then run it back through a high pressure car wash to see if that fixed the problem.