We're just finishing up winter here in Buffalo, and for the past week, the temperatures have been above freezing. Yesterday, when I got into my car, it smelled like wet running shoes after being worn barefoot... I thought it was the hiking boots I had in there, so I took them into my house last night. When I started my car this morning, the smell was still there, and just as strong as before. I proceeded to check for possible sources and noticed that the flooring below the rear seats was wet. No puddles, just wet. Any ideas?

The only thing I noticed out of place was the passenger-side roof molding was pulled up in the front. Other than that, all seals, etc. look good.

 

Also check spare tire well. Im getting water in my 07 somehow.

 

for the rear seat area i think others have mentioned the plastic weather barrier under the rear door panel on being well sealed as a cause.

 

Can't recall 100% but I think I had 3 out of 4 plastic barriers with my doors leaking. Search the forums b/c I think leaks in the back were usually noted as coming from the antenna area usually.

I did the back thinking it would solve it and after the next rounds of summer rain(ty Florida) I noticed my driver side had leaked and bled into the backseats!
To fix it I literally got waterproof duct tape and taped over the door area. Not the "cleanest" mod but it got the job done.

Clean/suction your carpets b/c mold would be baaaaaad! I used a wet/dry shopvac, left a fan on high overnight, and then got lucky that there did not appear to be mold.

Good luck!

 

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...tml#post681878

Start here, ^^^^ then read the whole Topic.

Water into the interior from the door panels is commonplace. We got ours fixed under warranty as a result of these posts (often the problem is not noticed for a while).

No reoccurrence once fixed properly (yes I have been checking) .

 

Upon further inspection, I discovered over an inch of water in the spare tire well (thanks fitfreak 07 for the info)... Call Honda USA and a local Honda dealer, both indicated that I would be responsible for all diagnostics and repairs due to the car being out of warranty (by 4 months, and it only has 25k on it!) So now I have to have a leak test done to identify where the water is coming from, then fix the leak, then have the interior cleaned...

 

3 years or 36,000 miles. no reason to get mad. warranty is up when warranty is up. shitty situation but clearly not honda's fault for wanting to charge you when it should no longer be free for a tech to diagnose, repair, and clean your car.

 

Not mad, just frustrated by the whole situation... Based on the amount of surface rust in the spare tire well, the problem has been there for a while.

 

Just discovered water in my spare well too.... would love to know what you find out! I won't have time to do anything for a week, stupid busy at work right now.....

 

Quick update... found two points in the spare tire well where water is entering. Appears to be occurring between sections of the sheet metal that make the well. I have contacted Honda and they will not cover the repairs, as the car is 5 months out of warranty. The most frustrating part is the signs of rust that are already showing in the area. It might be time to trade her in/ sell her and cut my losses... I have not idea how to repair the problem, and I'm afraid to see how much it would cost to have a dealer or body shop do the repairs.

 

I guess after 3/36 is up it's perfectly normal for a Honda to leak and rust where body panels are welded together. "No reason to get mad". Oh and spare tire wells always fill up with water after the warranty is up.

 

Got pics?????



If you are only interested in sealing the water out, go to an auto-body supply and get a caulking tube of seam sealer. First paint with an epoxy product such as POR-15 (Paints Over Rust), then clean and seal both inside and outside.

Seam sealer (unlike RTV) will NOT collect moisture under the repair. Ever used RTV on your home bathub and found it moldy after a year or two???? That's what I'm talking about.

 

i bought the rust proof package when i bought mine. it was the only package i bought from honda. =D i'm sure as hell glad in the investment now that you brought all these issues up.

 

Here's an interesting twist... as the spring temperatures rose, the leaking stopped. I'm thinking temps in the 30s and 40s are prime time for the leaking to occur. Any higher and the metal expansion seals the holes...

 

Duct sealer mastic is your answer.
This is what is used in HVAC systems to seal duct work from leaking air. It's water based and is applied with a brush once it sets up no more leaks! It's like the seamsealer used from the factory just more user friendly.
Big Mike GLWR
PS it's CHeaP too

Check this:
Duct Mastic Sealant 1 Gallon Generic on eBay!

 

Just wanted to bump this.

After almost 5 years (this nov.) my car is now leaking into the spare tire. Found out after the fact when i went to rotate tires and the funk hit me immediately after lifting up my spare tire cover.

I'm going back and re-caulking/re-butyl'ing the doors when I upgrade my speakers sometime next week even though it's only 1 that is messing up. I figure I should fix as much as I can and call it quits.

As for my trunk it's leaking in.... well let's just say I don't know. I did the baby powder/baking soda leak check and depending on the car angle I can see 4 different places it could be leaking in (2 on each side) or it's 1 entry point and following the path of least resistance.

And here i thought Friday was going to be a beach day

@JavaRob, did you get your leak resolved?

@Big Mike, does that stuff really work? Cuz I'm just going to paint my whole hatch with it if I have to...

 

Yes Kracky it will stop the leak just clean the surface really good so it has something to bite & stick to. It's brush on and I ment for this to be used UNDER the car where the seamsealer is from the factory!!
GLWR
Big Mike

 

Well that was interesting



Took apart the passenger side in the hatch (seriously, this car is easily disassembled) and had the wife spray the car. It's leaking down the roof track and goes into the plastic trim/weatherproofing around the whole hatch.

So I lifted it up, wiped it all nice and clean and dry and threw on some automotive waterproof sealant. Pressed that weatherstrip back down and then just to over compensate, sealed the weatherstrip on top as well on the left and the right. Just to double check, I also removed the rear tail light to double check there as well but all is good for that area!!!

Going to let this sit for 3 hours to cure, close it up and test it again. Hopefully at that time it will be good to go but I'll keep the panels off until then.

FYI if you do the baking powder/baby powder leak test...vacuum it up. If i get pulled over there's a good chance they will not believe a word out of my mouth...it looks sketchy to say the least.

 

damn I thought I was the only one having this problem. This is the second or third time this has happen to me. My back seat carpet was wet to but not the spare tire area. I just took a couple of towels and placed them there and let the windows down a bit so it can air out. I LOVE honda and all but them hondas are crap.

 

Thanks to all who have responded... I know, it's ben a while. It looks like it's only happening when the temps are around 40-45 F and raining... As soon as the temps are over 50, the leaks disappear. I just make sure I have towels in the spare tire well. That seems to work pretty well. I'm more concerned about the front hood and roof... the clear coat is peeling off!