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Sorry if this is the wrong site to post about this car, but as far as I know, the Honda Airwave shares a lot of the same parts/chassis with the first gen honda fit?
Anyway, this Honda Airwave is my mate's car and it's been leaking through the bottom of the doors in the rain. It's so bad, that the front seat flooring is absolutely soaked. Multiple times it has been like a 5cms deep puddle.
It took me a long time to figure out the problem, but I found that the issue is due to water leaking into the plastic door panel lining and looking through the plastic at the bottom. It seems to happen in all of the doors. Parking the car on a hill, with the front facing down, seems to avoid the issue, so just running dehumidifiers in that position for now (I have no garage and my mate's on a long holiday).
Here's some photos showing the issue.
When spraying the water through the window seal (just with the shower setting on my hose and not super directly) the water for some reason finds its way into the internals of the door. It seems to bounce around and then that white plastic lining lets it through, but surely it shouldn't get there in the first place? The drain holes on the bottom of the door seem to still work.
Any ideas? Is this an issue with any Honda Fits as well? I'm at a loss on how to solve this and I don't know why it has become an issue just now.
Water gets inside the doors of every vehicle. That is why there are drains at the bottom of every door.
Ideally the window sweeps (the black rubber bits that "sweep" the window as it goes up and down) minimize the amount of water entering, so take a look to see if those are dry, cracked, or perished. They are easy and relatively cheap to replace.
Once water is inside the door, it has to get to the bottom drains. The plastic inner liner shown in your pictures is supposed to keep the water from getting inside the car as it moves down towards the drains, but in your case the liner integrity has failed. The most likely failure point is the black "glue" that holds the plastic liner to the door. I believe it's some sort of butyl rubber. This glue can weaken or fail because of age (e.g., a 20-year-old car), cold/heat cycles, and/or because the inner liner has been removed and replaced.
I can't speak specifically to your 2006 vehicle, but on my 2010 Fit Sport I discovered that the orientation of the bottom of the window glass of the front doors, where it was attached to the window regulator, lined up perfectly above an access hole in the inner door panel. After removing and replacing the plastic liner on my Fit to add sound deadening material inside the doors, which weakened the glue of the plastic liner, I had a really bad leak as water dripping from the bottom of the window glass could fall through that hole, move past the compromised plastic liner glue, and enter my car.
How to fix it:
1) Get everything dry.
2) Check the window sweeps as indicated above.
3) Remove the plastic liner and figure out the most likely point of water entry through the inner door structure. You may find that there's one (or a few) problematic entry point(s). You can test this by spraying water on the window (with the door open) and seeing how it moves through the inner door structure. I taped over the problematic entry point in my inner door structure, from the inside of the door panel, which solved my leak issues (parking in a garage also helps!).
4) Replace the "glue" that holds the plastic liner to the inner door panel to renew the original moisture barrier. Any auto parts store should have a product that will work for this if you explain the problem you're having.
Water gets inside the doors of every vehicle. That is why there are drains at the bottom of every door.
Ideally the window sweeps (the black rubber bits that "sweep" the window as it goes up and down) minimize the amount of water entering, so take a look to see if those are dry, cracked, or perished. They are easy and relatively cheap to replace.
Once water is inside the door, it has to get to the bottom drains. The plastic inner liner shown in your pictures is supposed to keep the water from getting inside the car as it moves down towards the drains, but in your case the liner integrity has failed. The most likely failure point is the black "glue" that holds the plastic liner to the door. I believe it's some sort of butyl rubber. This glue can weaken or fail because of age (e.g., a 20-year-old car), cold/heat cycles, and/or because the inner liner has been removed and replaced.
I can't speak specifically to your 2006 vehicle, but on my 2010 Fit Sport I discovered that the orientation of the bottom of the window glass of the front doors, where it was attached to the window regulator, lined up perfectly above an access hole in the inner door panel. After removing and replacing the plastic liner on my Fit to add sound deadening material inside the doors, which weakened the glue of the plastic liner, I had a really bad leak as water dripping from the bottom of the window glass could fall through that hole, move past the compromised plastic liner glue, and enter my car.
How to fix it:
1) Get everything dry.
2) Check the window sweeps as indicated above.
3) Remove the plastic liner and figure out the most likely point of water entry through the inner door structure. You may find that there's one (or a few) problematic entry point(s). You can test this by spraying water on the window (with the door open) and seeing how it moves through the inner door structure. I taped over the problematic entry point in my inner door structure, from the inside of the door panel, which solved my leak issues (parking in a garage also helps!).
4) Replace the "glue" that holds the plastic liner to the inner door panel to renew the original moisture barrier. Any auto parts store should have a product that will work for this if you explain the problem you're having.
When my local mechanic had the door taken apart, I could see the large hole you're talking about. When water entered the window seal, it would bounce through the hole and into the plastic liner as you say. I don't know why the hole/s are so big in the door?
But those ideas give me hope, thank you! Maybe I can do it, otherwise I'll get a panelbeater to do it.
The holes are necessary to allow access inside the door, both during initial assembly of the inner door mechanisms (e.g., door latch and lock, window tracks and regulator) as well as to allow later repair/replacement of those parts.
Your mechanic should be able to source new sealant/glue for the plastic liner to reattach it properly. Alternatively, if the liner is torn it should be possible to purchase or make a new one and then reattach/seal that to the door.
As I said above, since you're dealing with a 20-year-old car take a careful look at the window sweeps. Some water will always get in (especially in a hard rain event) but the sweeps should keep a lot of it out. If they're dry or cracked replacing them will help your situation.
Looks like part of the issue could be your moisture barrier isn't doing its job. You can fix that with more butyl tape. You can buy it in bulk rolls. Applying is easy, but removing the old stuff is a pain in the ass and requires a heat gun and a lot of patience.
Looks like part of the issue could be your moisture barrier isn't doing its job. You can fix that with more butyl tape. You can buy it in bulk rolls. Applying is easy, but removing the old stuff is a pain in the ass and requires a heat gun and a lot of patience.
But the water shouldn't be getting to the moisture barrier in the first place right? Because the water will just sit there otherwise.
As I said above, since you're dealing with a 20-year-old car take a careful look at the window sweeps. Some water will always get in (especially in a hard rain event) but the sweeps should keep a lot of it out. If they're dry or cracked replacing them will help your situation.
The mechanic I saw stated that the window sweeps look like they've shrunk. The edges of the window sweep don't fully reach the end of the window frame and thus leave like a 1-2cm gap where water can flow in unabated. Is that normal? Seems to be a problem on all the windows.
I can contact Honda to see if they still make/sell these window sweeps.
The mechanic I saw stated that the window sweeps look like they've shrunk. The edges of the window sweep don't fully reach the end of the window frame and thus leave like a 1-2cm gap where water can flow in unabated. Is that normal? Seems to be a problem on all the windows.
I can contact Honda to see if they still make/sell these window sweeps.
I just remembered the correct terminology. You want to search for "door belt molding." At least here in the US, a quick search shows that the part is still available for a 2007 Fit (the first year sold here), so I suspect you can still get the part for a 2006 Honda.
But the water shouldn't be getting to the moisture barrier in the first place right? Because the water will just sit there otherwise.
Not to the degree yours is, imo. I still think that weather seal needs to be fixed.
However, as you said in your other post, you probably do need new window trim. That trim is never 100% waterproof, but it should definitely keep the majority of water out of the inside of your door.
So I would first replace that trim piece, and then think about resealing the interior moisture barrier.
Hey, recent proud owner of a Honda Jazz/fit here!
Since i've bought the car my main concern has been water leaks, i believe these are a major weak point on these cars, my 1st gen fit has it's door belt moldings dry and very cracked, i been searching for replacement and i really appreciate the link that you shared 😊 though, the price is a bit out of budget for me, it's still just a 20 year old daily you know? does anyone know of more afordable options? and perhaps EU market?
Hey, recent proud owner of a Honda Jazz/fit here!
Since i've bought the car my main concern has been water leaks, i believe these are a major weak point on these cars, my 1st gen fit has it's door belt moldings dry and very cracked, i been searching for replacement and i really appreciate the link that you shared 😊 though, the price is a bit out of budget for me, it's still just a 20 year old daily you know? does anyone know of more afordable options? and perhaps EU market?
Thanks in adavance!
Once you have your part number you can of course search the entirety of the Internets, which might reveal a better deal. It's also worth contacting a dealership parts department directly - sometimes they have good prices. Before getting my Fit a few years ago I replace the door belt moldings on a two door 2007 Toyota Yaris hatchback for <$20 with parts directly from the Toyota dealership. The other obvious option is to search junkyards and scrapyards. You might find nothing or you might find a good deal.
Wow that is actually a pretty good deal! i've always been a bit sceptical towards dealerships because of general past exepriences from my pears, but this is great, i might search the area.
