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Water intrusion above the 12V battery bay??? Help!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Ashyukun, Oct 28, 2014.

  1. Ashyukun

    Ashyukun Junior Member

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    Lexington, KY
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
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    N/A
    So when I got home this evening I decided to tackle something that I was concerned about- the state of the HV battery fan. As I took apart the back right of the interior to get to it, I noticed that there was moisture on the inside of some of the trim pieces where I wouldn't have expected it- but I discounted it because of how much moisture had been in the car after having it detailed.

    As I got further in though, to my annoyance it started to rain, and I had to stop (since I was working in the driveway). When it let up a bit and I went back out, I was dumbfounded to find a lot of water splashed over the 12V battery. At first I thought it was from the lift gate being open when I had been working on things, but it was no longer raining and there was still water dripping down. After getting a towel to put over things to catch the water, I tried to track back where the water was coming from, and found that it was dripping from a formed hole on the underside of the upper 'sill' (along the side of the glass in the lift gate) from inside the body from sources unknown (well, I know the water was coming from the rain, but not how it was getting into the car...)

    I managed to get a picture of the hole- you can see if you look close a droplet of water on the left side of it.

    Where the heck is this water coming from? How is it getting into the body? And how do I stop it so it doesn't cause a short or worse? IMG_4735.jpg
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    people have found weld problems in the rain gutter welds, the hatch hinges and the roof seems. the result is always rain water in the 12v battery area and spare tyre.
     
  3. m.wynn

    m.wynn Senior Member

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    Check out posts 49, 58 & 60 of this thread: Water leak...into spare tire area etc | Page 3 | PriusChat

    I believe PC member anti-gas's recommendation of flowable silicone and pre-cleaning the cracked areas with alcohol is key to making this repair hold up for any length of time. I bought this stuff at Autozone for $6: Sealants : Permatex® Flowable Silicone Windshield & Glass Sealer

    Best of luck.
     
  4. Ashyukun

    Ashyukun Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2014
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    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
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    N/A
    Yikes! Those pictures of the cracks are ridiculous. I guess that I need to pull off the roof trim and see if I can find the cracks on mine and try and seal them up. I wonder, would using some kind of expanding foam sealant be even better than just the silicone sealant? If there's a way to feed it into the crack it would help seal it up on the inside too.
     
    Brenz likes this.