Hey all, last year during the short by sweet rain season in SoCal I noticed the inside of my 2018 Fit was being to smell a bit mildewy. We had a lot of rain last year and upon investigation found water pooling behind the drivers seat in the rear passenger footwell. I removed the door panels and re-sealed the plastic membrane that is supposed to keep water out. Problem solved, or so I thought.

We recently had a storm come through and I opened the door to a familiar smell yesterday, so something else might be leaking now. I checked and the carpet is all dry.

What else is could be leaking? What have other found? I've searched and only came across the sunroof tubes, but I have a Sport model and do not have a sunroof.

I'm fairly mechanically apt so I'm not afraid to rip my interior out to fix this issue, but hope it doesn't come down to this.

 

In the midcycle redesign (2018 models and going forward), I've seen an increased propensity for door leaks. Rain/moisture is getting into the doors, but not getting out.

Any chance you can locate the smell to any door rather than the interior?

If your interior carpet is dry, that's the first place I'd start.

Second place would be the spare tire well. If any moisture gets in there - like rain runoff from a hatch being opened - it can't easily find a way out.

 

I'll pop each panel off and take a whiff and see if I can determine if that's the issue. I resealed them all last year, but who knows. I just had the spare tire out the other week, but I'll double check again.

Unfortunately my Fit stays outside both and home and at work, so any time we get a storm, it gets the brunt of it. I need to say, that this doesn't happen when I wash it.

Thanks for the advice though!

 

poking out the drain holes in the bottom of the doors may not be a bad idea

 

I'll have to check that thanks! Man, if that's the issue I'm gonna feel real silly.

 

Have you figure out the water leak? My 2019 Honda Fit has water leaking issue too. All 4 carpets are wet but not find any water. I think my situation is water is under the carpet.

 

No, I checked the door holes as spoken about earlier and that didn't help. We are currently having a pretty gnarly storm here in SoCal so my Fit has a giant tarp over it because I kept putting off buying a real car cover.

A few weeks ago during another storm, I had damp rear carpets after I had resealed all the plastic membranes on all four doors. My only guess at this point is the window and or door rubber seals have failed. But to me, if that was the case, I'd hear a lot of wind noise too. I dunno. Between the leaks and other issues I feel like my time as a Fit owner are coming to an end.

 

I have an older (2010) Fit, but had similar issues after having the doors apart to do sound deadening work a few years ago.

When you had your doors apart your probably noticed all the access holes. The GE8 Fit rear windows are not flat along the bottom edge but come to an abbreviated point in the middle. Maybe yours are the same. If you spray water on the rear windows with the inner panels removed (aside: the window sweeps never seal out all water and aren't meant to; if they did you wouldn't be able to raise or lower the windows) you'll notice that when it reaches the bottom edge a lot of it wicks to the center and then drops from there. On the GE8 Fit at least, this "drop point" is located right over one of the access holes... bad design. Even if you get the plastic liner reattached perfectly (probably requiring you to clean off the old butyl strip and apply new), it will never be a great seal against water in this situation and you'll get water in the rear floorboard.

So, what do do? I used quality duct tape to seal off the problematic access hole from the inside of the door panel by reaching in through one of the other access holes. I started at the bottom of the hole and used overlapping strips like the shingles on a roof. If I need the access hole again, I can easily remove the tape, but for the past several years I haven't had water intrusion through the back doors.

I have Weathertech floor liners but keep a sheet of newspaper under them in each floor board. I check this newspaper regularly. If it's damp (hasn't been so far) I'll know I have water getting in. Bonus: if I ever get stranded I have some comics to read.

 

On the Sport models the water is coming from in between the door and door panel. There are videos on youtube fixing the issue with tape. The factory adhesion comes undone after some time and needs to be retaped shut.

It can also seep in through the taillight gaskets once they dry out. Common problem with these cars. Our Sport does the same.

 

My 2019 Honda Fit has water leak too. Three weeks ago, water mark was found on the headliner on both driver and passenger side, the dealer fixed the leak by clear out any debris near the sunroof drain tube. Last week, water leak again and all carpets are wet. I think it might be caused by the door trim where the vapor barrier in the door is not securely glue. My biggest concern is once water has entered inside the car (under the carpet). There will be smell in the summer and possible with mold due to water and moisture inside the car. Drying out is no use. You really should remove the whole carpet. However, water can leak again. This car has a poor design and many Fit owners have water leak issue. I am really thinking if I should get rid of it even I enjoy driving the car. I came from a 2010 Honda Fit for 15 years. Until my car got totaled, then I purchased a 2019 Fit. Two days after owning the car, water leak is found under the carpet. It is very difficult to let go of this car since I can't find another car that can substitute my Fit. The next car that I might consider is the new Prius, but it costs so much more! The Fit is much smaller and I really like the interior.