Lexus ES350: Water in trunk

[MaximaGuy]

We had some rains over this week but nothing out of the ordinary but there was water in the spare wheel area and no water in the carpets in the trunk.
Anyone seen such a leak where carpets are dry and water inside the sparte wheel area.
Pl. chime in..

 

[bdcardinal]

We had some rains over this week but nothing out of the ordinary but there was water in the spare wheel area and no water in the carpets in the trunk.
Anyone seen such a leak where carpets are dry and water inside the sparte wheel area.
Pl. chime in..

Happened on my mom's 2014 Fusion. There are little rubber bumpers in next to the truck lid hinges that trap leaves and the water pools up.

 

[wag123]

We had some rains over this week but nothing out of the ordinary but there was water in the spare wheel area and no water in the carpets in the trunk.
Anyone seen such a leak where carpets are dry and water inside the sparte wheel area.
Pl. chime in..

I have experienced water collecting in the spare tire area on several of my Toyota products over the years and they all have turned out to be a leak in the tail light to body seal.

 

[dubber09]

Does it have sunroof?
Sunroof water drain hose/s may be instructed, don't know your car but often there are two hoses going thru trunk and out the rear wheel well. You can try using compressed air to blow into sunroof drain holes.
I had to unclip trunk liner in daughter's Acura and remove the hoses from fender, cut the tip a little to make opening little larger. No more water in trunk.

 

[JimPghPA]

We had some rains over this week but nothing out of the ordinary but there was water in the spare wheel area and no water in the carpets in the trunk.
Anyone seen such a leak where carpets are dry and water inside the sparte wheel area.
Pl. chime in..

Model, year, and trim level?

Vehicles are 3D jigsaw puzzles of stamped sheet-metal, spot-welded together. Spotwelding is not a continous weld, so seam-sealer is used to prevent water getting past those joints. Seam-sealer degrades over time and let's water in.

Lights also can let water in where sockets, wires, clips, and screws compromise the area.

Sometimes, there are rubber plugs in stamped holes in metal, for options the vehicle does not have, and those rubber plugs degrade and let water past. A product called "right stuff" is good for resealing those rubber plugs.

Repair seams with seam-sealer. Not silicon that makes it impossable to paint, and also does not last as long.

Watch YouTube videos about vehicle water leaks.

 

[74DartSport]

Saw the title was expecting someone with a Toyota complaining about overpriced fluids.

 

[MaximaGuy]

Mine is a 2011 Lexus ES350 and it has a sunroof and checked the drains on it they are clear. I will follow the tunk lid to the lights and find the culprit.

 

[edyvw]

Saw the title was expecting someone with a Toyota complaining about overpriced fluids.

I was about to say what is Lexus water?

 

[MaximaGuy]

Fixed the title... sorry typo on my end

 

[edyvw]

Fixed the title... sorry typo on my end

No worries, but we just could not help ourselves

 

[f355spider]

Probably leaking past the seals on the tail lights. If it has been there a while the carpet dried out, but the pooling is still there.
The quick and dirty fix is to simply tighten the fasteners on all the tail lights. The better plan is to remove them all, and clean the mating surfaces, then reinstall and snug up the fasteners. Just be careful, it is easy to overtighten and crack the housings or break the studs loose. You could even consider new foam seals...they are usually not expensive. I have replaced them on a Honda, Toyota and BMW over the years.

 

[JimPghPA]

Remove the spare and dry that area, then sprinkle something that will show that it got wet such as baking soda, flower, or baking powder all around in the spare tire area. Then wait for it to get rained on or hit it with a water from a hose. That should show you exactly where it is coming in to that area. You will probably have to find the first entry area that is higher than that and seal that first. Test the spare tire area again without sealing the seams in the spare tire area, to be sure you stopped the first entry point.

If it's a roof seam, remove the seam sealer of the roof, dry it, put a small amount of a good epoxy in the seam line and let it dry. Then put new seam sealer on it.

If it's an external seam, it is wise to do all the external seams because if one failed, the others are likely to leak soon.

NAPA and other auto parts stores and Amazon sell seam sealer.

After you stop the first entry of water, let the vehicle dry between the walls where the water ran to the spare tire area, then after you verify water can't get in the first entry point, use water and rags to clean away all the powder, dry it and seal the seams in the spare tire area. Depending on how it looks, you might have to first remove the old seam sealer in the spare area before adding more.

 

[JimPghPA]

Now that I know it's a car, not an suv, I know it has a car type trunk lid.

Out 2001 Impala (car) trunk had water getting in if parked facing downhill. The slope of the sides beside the trunk were less than the slope of the hill we live on. So water would accumulate in the forward corners of the runoff section, and the gasket was no longer good enough to stop it from getting in the trunk.

Because it was only front wheel drive we always parked it facing down-hill in the winter so it was easier to get moving in snow.

So I installed 1 inch ID fittings modified to be flush with that area and 1 inch clear hardware flexae tube to carry the water through the trunk and out by the back of the back tire. It worked to stop water getting in the trunk, thogh over the years I once had reseal those fittings where they touched the metal.

 

[andrew_j]

Taillight assembly not properly seated after replacement one case and also minor accident where hit deer head and it’s spinning body caught taillight bouncing along (fur in it) to tweak body slightly.

Current Tiguan was aftermarket taillight assembly clearly not spec. Returned it promptly and paid 4x price happily for VW part.

 

[kschachn]

Current Tiguan was aftermarket taillight assembly clearly not spec. Returned it promptly and paid 4x price happily for VW part.

If you ever have to buy another one you might want to check around. My wife backed into a trash can with our Tiguan and broke the right rear outside assembly. Aftermarket (Depo) was $94 plus shipping from Rock Auto (CAPA is $110), and the dealer was $143 (no shipping). We were leaving on a trip and I wanted to replace it sooner rather than later so I bought the dealer part. But either way it wasn't anywhere near 4X compared to an aftermarket.

 

[andrew_j]

If you ever have to buy another one you might want to check around. My wife backed into a trash can with our Tiguan and broke the right rear outside assembly. Aftermarket (Depo) was $94 plus shipping from Rock Auto (CAPA is $110), and the dealer was $143 (no shipping). We were leaving on a trip and I wanted to replace it sooner rather than later so I bought the dealer part. But either way it wasn't anywhere near 4X compared to an aftermarket.

Not sure this is what I bought for $60 first try from flea bay aftermarket and 2nd time VW dealer : https://parts.reydelvw.com/p/Volkswagen__/Tail-Light-Assembly/70108256/5NN945095A.html

 

[Enthusiast]

So this is a widespread problem? I thought it was because someone did shotty work on my former ES350.