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07 Prius leaking rain water from passenger floor vent

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Clairity, Oct 1, 2010.

  1. Clairity

    Clairity Junior Member

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    Hi All - Obviously I'm new here... I lurked for a while when I was trying to decide which car to buy and found this forum very helpful. I love my car, but unfortunately, now I have a problem with it... Here's my story

    I bought a used 07 Prius from a Toyota dealership in early July. It is a former lease vehicle, and it sat on the lot from ~mid-May until when I bought it.

    It was a dry summer here in New England, and there was no heavy rain for my first couple of weeks that I had the car. After those two weeks, a large blunt object flew out of a pickup truck in front of me (at highway speed), smashed the windshield and punched a hole in the passenger cowl vent cover (plastic grill thing between the windshield and the windshield wipers). I had to get one of those traveling autoglass places to come replace my windshield while I was at work. While he was installing it, the guy took both cowl vent covers off and pulled a large wad of...something out from under them. It looked like a rat's nest...a mix of fiberglass insulation and pine needles/leaves, dust etc.

    Day after windshield replacement we had a heavy rain while I was driving. I noticed wet spots on the passenger side carpets. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was dripping out of the floor vent on the passenger side. I assumed that the water was getting in the hole in the cowl vent cover. I covered the hole with duct tape as a temporary fix (it was 2 weeks before my wedding so I didn't have the time or the requisite $300 to get the part replaced right away). We had a torrential day long storm (while I was driving...the water doesn't seem to come in when it's parked) and I ended up with pools of water forming on the floor...a steady stream from that floor vent. I assumed that the duct tape wasn't a good fix.

    As soon as I got back from my honeymoon, I explained the problem to my Toyota dealer's service dept. They told me that if I got the part replaced, the leak would stop. I ponied up the $300 and got it replaced. We had our first really heavy, prolonged rainstorm since the replacement yesterday. There is a puddle of water on the passenger side floor. I am beyond frustrated.

    At this point, I'm questioning if the collision with the road debris had anything to do with it. Maybe they just sold me a leaky car and due to the dry weather, I didn't realize. Or, is there something under the cowl vent that could have been jarred loose? Could the mess of insulation that the glass guy pulled out have anything to do with it? I appreciate any insight you might have because this is slowly ruining my car. I am able to get most of the water out (the sham-wow might actually be the best invention ever) but a stale wet smell remains...
     
    #1 Clairity, Oct 1, 2010
  2. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

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    I know just how annoying this all is - my last car had a leaky sunroof. You really need to get the water out from under the carpeting on the floors or eventually it will start to smell. I used to pull out the carpeting and lift the insulation and stuff towels into the space to get most of the water out. I'd then keep the carpet and insulation propped up for a couple of days to let air in and then finally spray some Lysol in the space before putting it all back. It worked pretty well.

    I think that you might be on to something when you mention the big ball of junk pulled out of the car - water needs to drain from the windshield and then down just in front of the car's firewall. Typically there are a few drain holes that allow water thru. I wonder if there is another mess of stuff trapped in there. If so you can test by pouring a small amount of water on various parts of the windshield and then duck down and see the water drain below the car.

    You mention that this only seems to happen when you are driving - this is a bit strange as I would think it would be the other way around. When driving do you happen to have the AC on? If so it could be the drain on the AC is plugged up and the condensation is backing up.

    If neither of the above I'd recommend that you also look at the new windshield - I would imagine that it could be the source of the leak.

    Good luck.
     
    #2 stevemcelroy, Oct 1, 2010
  3. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    My guess is the lower seal on the windshield also
    Look under the hood, water on the engine block is a big no-no,
    The plugs are in a precarious position and if water gets on them it will cause no end of trouble.
     
    #3 ursle, Oct 1, 2010
  4. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    If your AC was running it could be the drain is clogged.
     
    #4 firepa63, Oct 1, 2010
  5. Clairity

    Clairity Junior Member

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    It's def not the A/C. I had that thought too at first but it's been going on for long enough now that I'm 100% sure that I only get the water in when a) it's raining hard and b) the car is moving not parked. I've had the A/C on high when it's not raining and there's no water. I've tried turning the A/C off when it is raining and it keeps leaking. And it's a lot of water...like buckets full if the rain is torrential and prolonged.

    There's got to be a leak somewhere. I'm going to take a look at the windshield seals and when I take it in will ask them to look for anything being clogged by debris.
     
    #5 Clairity, Oct 1, 2010
  6. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Did you check the holes that drain the water from the bottom of the windshield. Use a garden hose and watch to make sure it is draining below the car. Check for a area where the fresh air enters the climate system for a small hole that will let mice to enter and build nests. Also pull the heater filters out and check that area. You have to lower the glove box to access the filters. It shows how to in your manual. Good luck and let us know what caused the leak. H
     
    #6 Hal W, Oct 1, 2010
  7. Clairity

    Clairity Junior Member

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    Toyota agreed with you guys who said it was an AC issue. They said that the AC drain was clogged with debris and they unclogged it. They said they sprayed water all over the front end after the unclog and couldn't find a true leak.

    I remain skeptical... I mean, I'm not crazy - this was only happening during rainstorms. Our wedding was in Chicago, and we drove the Prius 950 miles on two 90 degree days to get there, AC on blast. Not a drop of water in the car. On the way home, it poured and we literally had to stop every 200 miles or so to bail water out. My 20 mile commute in the rain last Fri resulted in 1.3 liters of water on the floor (I measured!)

    The good news, I suppose, is that it's going to be a very rainy week this week so I should be able to figure out in short order if the unclogging solved the problem. I hope it did!

    If it didn't, I'm going to jam a big water bottle under the leak and see if I can get Click and Clack to help me out...
     
    #7 Clairity, Oct 4, 2010
  8. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    I suppose that maybe the air intake drain was clogged and the dealer just generically named it A/C drain.

    If the problem still exists then I would check the integrity and the seal of the metal cowl tray by removing the wiper arms and the plastic cowl cover first. Also check the windshield seal but I don't know how other than spraying water. Good luck! :)
     
    #8 2009Prius, Oct 5, 2010
  9. acc3141

    acc3141 New Member

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    I have the same problem in my 05. Leaks heavily when it rains - parked or driving - obviously not related to AC use. Strongly suspect some drain somewhere is clogged. I suppose if that ac drain is ALSO used to drain rainwater coming in thru the vents then possibly its related. Will be checking this out over the next few days. Would really like to fix this... Will update... I must say I am very surprized (and disappointed) that the service guys are unable to say "Oh, sure, we know what causes that..." Surely this is fairly common.
     
    #9 acc3141, Oct 3, 2012
  10. Bud J

    Bud J New Member

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    '04 Prius I've removed the black cover below the windshield wipers. This is where rain would end up IF it leaked through. It had dust in it, no water here. After it rains something fills up with water cause you can sometimes hear it sloshing when backing up fast. Then on hills up or down it pours out around the black plastic on the left side of the F. passenger compartment.
    I blew out the AC drain hose then sucked with a shop Vac. Some moisture but not much. So I know it's not the windshield gasket and not the cowling under the wipers. So what is it???
     
    #10 Bud J, Aug 25, 2013
  11. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    This is awful.

    I gather from your post it never rained and then the windshield & cowl was smashed. Here's what I would do.
    Take it to an independent mechanic and have them take the cowl off for a good look at it. Its not to bad you mark the wiper arms and pull them off and bunch of clips for the cowl. It's just wrenching there.

    Have them look closely at the water vent system as it may be damaged. If not evident then with a hose and controlled water fill up that cowl vent system. Should have strong stream of water behind both front tires. Watch for water ingress inside.

    Not alot of good windshield replacement company's out there. Alot of fly by night's doing it now. Could be a bad seal on the bottom of the windshield or the bottom body area was bent where it meets the windshield and there's a gap at the bottom of the windshield. Body not meeting window properly.
    That would be a bear to fix properly.

    Btw, pull up rear hatch cover and check the spare tire. Pull the spare tire out. Usually any water in the cabin ends up there too as its the lowest point in the car. Clean that up or the car will start to stink.
     
    #11 edthefox5, Aug 25, 2013
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