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Water in the drivers footwell ???

25K views 42 replies 18 participants last post by  gman1868 
#1 ·
well after a long trip down to North Carolina, a few days of goofing off down there, and a long trip back to ohio ( about 10.5 hours each way) I was vacuuming the sand out when I pulled my driver floor mat and found the floor board to be soaked! it was water,, no chemical smell or slippery feel.. just unusual.. Im taking it to the dealer this week to have other issues checked on but has this happened to anyone else?

its an 09 E under the 36,000 still
 
#2 ·
There is a post below on this subject. I have the same problem too. Please share with the rest of us what the dealer finds. I suspect the radio antenna grommet is dislodged/missing on the passengers side inner fender well. Checking this requires a lot of dismantling of the mud shielding on the inner fender area. The other suspect area is the cabin filter housing .It has a big drain hole and tube in the bottom and can plug with leaves.Mine is clear and still leaks behind the a/c evaporator .The leak seems to enter high up of the firewall behind the a/c evaporator. I am reluctant to tear any more apart until I get some feedback from others. It is an annoying problem -the sale water stinks,it rusts the floor and who knows what happens if the water gets in to the electronics behind the dash or the wiring on the floor beneath the carpet.I actually drilled a couple of drain holes in the floor at the low points.
Please keep us posted.
 
#7 ·
jarheadoo7 said:
I stopped in the dealer today have an appt monday.. they are gonna look at the rattling tailgate glass as well.. ill post up after we figure it out.
I know we've been in contact through messaging but please post with any updates as you look into this issue. PM if there are any details you would like me to look into personally.

Cory
 
#10 ·
If you google this issue you'll find other examples of this fault.There are floods on either the driver & passenger side. Frustrating because none specify a specific fault found. Using a garden hose to try to trace the problem is inconclusive because the water seems to take a circuitous route into the cabin.On the passenger side ,one probable route is via the fresh air intake to the a/c evaporator. I have cleared the drain but it still leaks badly.
Please let us know what Ford suggest as a cure for the leaks on either side.
 
#11 ·
when I took the truck in on Monday the carpet was nearly dry... i bet if you didnt know it was soaked a week ago and felt the carpet you wouldnt even think the carpet was dry..

SO..doubt they did anything to fix a dry carpet :shrug:

but it has been 3 days and I have not heard from the dealer yet :mad:
 
#12 ·
called today.. they are still awaiting a part to fix my A/C issue... :roll: and "a plastic piece like a barrier in the front that is allowing water to get in" which is causing the driver floor wetness.. when i asked to clarify the remedy.. i was told " a plastic piece toward the front like a barrier was broken".... i will pry when I call tomorrow some more..

also... an update for the rust.. i said.. did you check out the rust i mentioned?? :pause: ehhh it will probally have to go to the body shop..we dont have one here it will most likely go to parma..

Ok! well check it out and ill call tomorrow for an update..I replied.

:yes: progress is progress :shades:
 
#13 ·
The diagnosis of "a plastic piece" makes sense perhaps.Please try to get a part number,then I can tell you exactly what it is and more important, where it is.
When you lift the hood ,you'll notice there is a large plastic rain deflector that runs the full width of the truck - just under the windshield.Was this cracked/broken? If you remove it you'll notice a variety a places that water could accumulate beneath it.One of the larger ones is the air intake for the a/c. That huge cavity( which may have the cabin air filter in it) has a drain tube at the bottom to prevent water puddling and leaking in to the cabin via the evaporator. This is all on the passenger side so it does not fit your scenario exactly ! Hence the need for the part number of the piece your Ford dealer have replaced or fitted.
Whatever, as soon as you can ,flood the windshield with a garden hose to check their work.
 
#14 ·
I've been following this thread and decided to register and stop lurking...so Hello everybody!
I don't mean to hijack, I just want to share my story with water in the driver's footwell.

I have a 2009 Escape Limited with the Moon and Tune. It was fresh off a two year lease when I purchased it in February 2011. I immediately noticed water leaking in from the A pillar near the windshield. It would drip onto the dash, run down over the vent, drip onto the headlight controls and drip onto the driver side floor mat. This happened in car washes, light drizzles, heavy rain, parked or moving.
I took it in to the dealer (still under the 3 yr 36k), the diagnoses was a clogged sun roof drain. The dropped the headliner, and in the process of unclogging the drain, noticed the connection between the drain and the drain tube was loose, so they zip tied it, water tested, and put everything back together.

The dealer showed where the sunroof drains were and recommended that I visually check them periodically if I open the sunroof often.

I haven't noticed any more leaks. But over the past couple months, I've still noticed a small puddle in the all weather floor mat on the driver side. I assumed I was dragging in snow that later melted and didn't evaporate or thought it was just rain falling from my shoes or pants.
Last weekend, June 11, I planned on cleaning the Escape, when I removed the all weather mat to vacuum the carpet, I realized the entire drivers side carpet was soaking wet. I looked under the dash and there is rust on the parking brake and release!

Took it back to the dealer, they thought maybe a gap in the firewall or a clogged drain near the wipers was the culprit. After pulling the dash, headliner and carpet, they noticed the windshield was an aftermarket windshield without the Ford logo in the corner. They pulled the gasket off the windshield and discovered a 6" void in the sealant on the driver's side. The dealer's conclusion is during the lease the windshield must have cracked, chipped, or been otherwise damaged and the lessee had a glass company replace the windshield, without making an insurance claim or notifying the dealership. The replacement was done improperly, leading to the water in the foot well.

The fix was removing the windshield, cleaning all the sealant off the glass and frame and reinstalling the windshield. Since the windshield was aftermarket, they wouldn't honor the bumper to bumper warranty and charged $94 for the repair. I've had the Escape back for two days now, but haven't tested it in a car wash or with the hose. I want the sealant to have a chance to dry and cure.

The dealer determined the rust was superficial and since the leak was not a manufacturer's defect, nothing would be done about the parking brake or release.
I've not had any problems with the headlights or any electronics, so I'm not sure what path the water was taking from the void in the windshield to the floor. I really hope this is the fix for my problem though.

Hopefully your Escape was fixed and is dry as to be expected!
If the 'plastic piece' doesn't fix your issue. Might ask them to check the windshield sealant.
 
#15 ·
Thank you for emerging from the Lurkers Cave to give us your very helpful story.
The difficulty in applying your experience to other trucks suffering the same problem is that the gap(s) in the windshield sealant are probably out of sight? It seems your gap was between the rubber seal and the body,not between the rubber seal and the windshield itself ?
In my case ,you can hear the rain water trickling down somewhere near the A pillar when you go around a curve. So presumably the leak eventually puddles somewhere in the dash/firewall area and then overflows into the cabinand eventually reaches the carpet. My windshield is a non-Ford replacement like yours. I am sure it is possible to seal a non-OEM shield just as well as a Ford one.
I am still interested in hearing about the other case mentioned earlier in this thread where the diagnosis was a missing plastic shield.Once we get a part number for that plastic shield we may be able to finally help all the others with this problem.If you google this issue there seem to be plenty of people who could benefit from the knowledge. Thanks for your contribution.
 
#17 ·
I'm sorry it didn't fix the problem.It seems like we are on our own if the Dealer can't find the leak?
Let's try a new idea.
Suppose the water gets inside the hollow portion of the A pillar and trickles down to the dash and then on to your pedal & carpet. The question would be can you find wetness inside the A Pillar and where is it entering the pillar? Is it possible the sealed seams on the roof of your truck are leaking? On my truck(2005)there is a seam on each side of the outside of the roof panel where it is attached to the side of the truck.The seam is filled with sealant and a plastic trim strip on top. I pulled out the trim and found quite a few gaps in the sealant beneath where the trim strip fits. I sealed them with silicone and replaced the trim. It may have reduced the leakage but it did not stop it. Others may advise on how to remove the trim strip without causing damage.
Let us know what your think or find. Good Luck!
 
#18 ·
I haven't had leak issues with my Escape, but I recently picked up an old BMW that had leak issues that were never addressed by the PO :cuss:

Some things I would suggest looking at from my experience:
  • Hood seal. Mine was bad and letting water in and it found a way into the cabin around a gasket. The Escape (04 anyway) is built a bit different so I don't know if this is applicable.[/*]
  • If you have a sunroof, open it and pour water down the drain on the side of the wet floor board.[/*]
  • Door seals.[/*]

Before looking for the leak, I would suggest pulling the carpet back and take the kick panel off. That should make it a bit easier to find where the water is coming out which may help find where it comes in.

If you have a strong stomach, you can see what uncorrected leaks look like here. That car had a full (seemingly decent) interior, then I found wet carpets :(
 
#19 ·
Picked my car back up from the dealer.
Their diagnoses is not the sunroof. They poured water directly into the drains of the sunroof. They laid a hose on the roof of the car and let it run over the sunroof.

They didn't see any cracks in the plastic vents / drains under the windshield wipers and under the hood. They said a hole or crack here would probably result in water everywhere.

The dealer was able to recreate the leak and again determined it to be bad windshield sealing.
The windshield was removed again, cleaned and resealed. They said it's important to leave the windows cracked and to not slam the doors for the first couple of days, until the sealant completely sets up. If the windows are all up and the doors are slammed shut, the air pressure can force the newly installed windshield to pop up and break the seal. This sounds logical to me. I don't slam doors, but I could see a swift door close causing an air pressure spike.

Since leaving windows cracked probably isn't the best idea in some of the neighborhoods I visit, I've been popping the rear glass open, gently closing the driver door, then gently closing the rear glass. We'll see if it holds this time. More rain is in the forecast!
 
#21 ·
wow very interesting experience with the windshield...

mine isnt noticeable at all.. I cant visually see water on top of my mat..i also have an all weather mat.. and I can not hear water in the A pillar..

my carpet is just wet... I haven't checked it lately due to the fact I am moving into a new house so I have been driving a loaner truck..

BUT the magic plastic piece is still on back order.. im going to call the dealer today to see what they tell me.. its going on 6 weeks now.. thats a pretty stiff back order.
 
#24 ·
I have a Mazda Tribute 2004, RHD in Australia, so the car was leaking rain water to the floor of the passenger seat. When I bought the car, I was offered an alarm system, so City Mazda here in Adelaide installed the alarm and their cables were passed from the steering column towards the engine bay through a factory oval hole behind the front left fender. It must have had a blind grommet, but the dodgy mechanics did remove the blind grommet and push the cables through the oval hole without installing a wire grommet around the cables to water seal the hole. I just notice this rain water leak two weeks ago, and it took me a couple of days to find that out. I have to remove the whole carpet, front and rear seats, seat belts, all the plastic trim that secures the carpet and several plastic plugs. Adelaide is a city with no so many rainy days around the year, so if I was in Melbourne I would have found this out few years ago. For sure it was being getting rain water in, but simply I am not in the passenger seat too often to notice.

You have to remove the water splash plastic shield on top of the front left wheel, so you can see the steel sheet that divides the engine bay from the car cabin. To fix the rain leak, it cost AUS$1.00 for the grommet, which I could not find any in oval shape, but a 5/8" round blind grommet did the trick after cutting it and pushing it around the wire conduit, duct tape around the plastic wire conduit and AUS$ 7.95 for a black silicon tube to water seal it properly.

Hope this helps you to find where your car is leaking rain water into the cabin.
 
#26 ·
jarheadoo7 said:
thanks.. im still waiting to hear from the dealer.. going on 6 weeks...now.. :wall:
Has your dealer told you when the parts are expected to come in? Please let me know if you'd like my help with this. From previous messages, I already have your Escape's VIN, so all I would need via PM is your approximate mileage and dealer name. Please let me know.

Cory
 
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