Anyone ever had water in the spare tire well??

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

 

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!

 

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

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.

 

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?

 

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.

 

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.

 

Its most likely the tail lights. If you open the hatch you can quickly see all the water runs down the hatch valley right over the tail light seam. Slightest leak there and you have water in wheel well. I bet if you pull all the panels away from the back of the damaged lamp you'll see a water trail below that light.
Last 3 Nissan's I've owned all started leaking around the lens for some reason. I now preempt that on all cars I've owned by running a bead...a small very nice bead of clear caulk across the seam of the light assy in the hatch valley.Let it dry before closing hatch & problem solved. Good luck.

 

I have the exact same problem. Water pooled in the spare tire well, but no water damage (staining) to the carpet or surrounding areas. Quite a mystery. Will look thru the rest of the posts to see if a solution was mentioned that makes sense to try. My best guess thus far is related to water drainage from the roofline. Have considered cutting a slot in the drainage plugs in the meantime.

 

Did you manage to track it down?
I am having the same problem, see http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/84852-mildew-under-rear-passenger-carpet-2.html#post1285597
Thanks!