Optimi

Water accumlates in my car, on the driver side, when it rains. It isn't a heck of a lot, but enough to leave the car smelling moldy afterwards. Water appears to be seeping in through the bottom somehow, as there is no water on the rubber mat itself, only underneath it. Looking for any advice on what it might be?

Contrary to the better advice of my father, I brought it in to a dealer, who couldn't find anything with the first $100/hour, and wanted another hour to rip out the carpet... to which I said, no thanks.

At roughly ten years old, and 191K on it already, I am wondering whether I should look into selling the car used or on a trade-in. It still performs amazingly, and I can get over 700K/hwy on a fuel tank. I figure it has at least a 100K left in it, but I am just not sure if all these problems are worth it. So any advice on this front is appreciated too.

Thanks.

lazlong

Check to see if the drain tube has become undone. It's in the driver's side pillar. Look under the dash at the pillar.

Here's a pic I took awhile ago of the driver's side tube:


Sorry about the fuzzy pic, crappy phone cam. And sorry about the angle, it's hard to get your head and a camera under the dash together.

Optimi

Thanks. This is useful. I will check it out in short order.


In the meantime, this is what the leaks looks like. Perhaps the pattern might give an indication of the leak source.

lazlong

Yeah, that's the drain tube leaking. You have 4 total- 2 up front, 2 in back (just pull back the side covers in the trunk).

Optimi

Sorry lazlong, but I need a bit of guidance to find these tubes... It is not clear from the picture.

We soaked the car with a hose for a good hour, and nothing showed up inside the car. It appears to alone happen when it rains.

When we removed the carpet, we noticed a cap leading to the sub-frame was a bit loose, and there was water residue in the sub-frame. Do you think it is possible that water could have backed-up through that cap?

lazlong

I don't think that cap is the problem but, maybe.

To find the drain tube:


See the kick panel with the hood release and the pocket with switches.


Look above and kind of in front of(front of the car) the kick panel.


In the last pic you can see the top of the kick panel that you see in the other two pics below my hand. And that electrical above my hand is behind the pocket and switches. I'm pointing at the tube, it's running down the frame.

Laz's tip 'o the week: Don't solder with flip-flops on.

Optimi

Haha, thanks for the tip Laz.

Does your car happen to have a moonroof by any chance (that might be the moonroof button in the pictures)? From looking at the Civic manual, it appears that only the model with the moonroof has this drain tube, but I could be wrong.

I will check it out when I get back to the car.

lazlong

Yes, moonroof.

They should all have a drain tube. If you bought used somebody may have removed it at sometime.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Nice sandals mon

Optimi

Yea, I for sure don't have that drain tube.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Do you have a moonroof?

lazlong

^^ LX doesn't have a moonroof.

@ optimi: I'm stumped right now, I'll get back to ya.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Laz I'm pretty sure that's a moonroof drain and he won't have it unless he has a moonroof. Look underneath the car for any kind of floor damage you might see. Also check to make sure the plastic door panels are intact... I'm stumped too... Remove the kickplate to see if there is any moister underneath it. I'm betting it has something to do with your floor though If you really can't find it you may have to remove the carpet to see where it's coming from.

MarkoPollo

I agree that it's probably coming in through the floor. Maybe try leaving your car under a sprinkler for a few hours and see if you get the water. If you get the wet, its a leak issue, if it stays dry its probablly coming through the bottom.

It could be a tiny hole in the floor and the moisture seeps in when your tire kicks up the rain. Also check your wheel-well i had a leaky GTI that had a hole in the rear passenger wheel-well and it took months to figure it out.

MarkoPollo

give us the update hommie.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

if its summer and youre using a/c, the vent tube could be clogged and backing up into the cabin. check under the car and if you dont see water coming out when the a/c is on, the tube is clogged.