Wet carpet issue '06 Highlander - has anyone had this?

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omni550

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I know we've got a few Highlander owners here and I'm wondering if any of you have run into a similar wet carpet issue. Or has anyone else here experienced something similar with a different vehicle? I sure could use some help.

I apologize for the length of this post, but I've tried to be as complete as possible describing the symptoms and the things I've checked out so far. Intermittent problems are the most difficult to diagnose, imho.

My '06 Toyota Highlander has 132K miles on it. I'm the only driver. It is typically kept garaged. I keep rubber floor mats on top of the carpet as the car is used in Michigan (snow and rain at times). Last winter and this winter, the vehicle has been in Florida for the snowbird season where it is also kept in a garage. I use the climate control system 100% of the time when driving. I never drive with the windows down nor with the moon roof open.

Recently I've had water in the passenger compartment*, but can't figure out where it's coming from. I've done some searching online and have investigated the following items today (which I've found on forums or YouTube as being contributors to wet carpet issues):

1) A/C evap tube. After pulling loose the upper edge of the carpet on the passenger-side foot well, I located this tube and squeezed it along the short length I could reach. I could see water dripping onto the ground out of the tube end underneath the firewall area, creating a puddle about 8" in diameter.
2) 4 drain holes in the corners of the moon roof. I opened the moon roof and slowly poured water into the channel in general vicinity of these drain holes, and pretty soon, the water was dripping on the garage floor from behind the front tires and (after I bounced the rear end of the vehicle up and down a bit), the back corners of the vehicle.
3) cowl area beneath the windshield. I had the hood open and poured water into the grilled areas of the cowl, and watched as water soon dripped out from the same general area as in #2 behind the front tires

Assuming that seeing that water is traveling through these drip tubes means that they are functioning as designed, I've now exhausted the things that have been posted online as the major culprits for causing wet carpeting in other vehicles.

*Here's a quick rundown of the times I've noticed water in the passenger compartment. (As I am not usually in contact with the carpet directly nor am I often on the passenger side, there may have been moisture inside at other times and I simply was not aware of it.)

In October (in Ohio, on a sunny fall day), I drove for about 3 hours on the highway. As I was sitting on the exit ramp of the highway, I felt a single drop of water on the instep of my right foot. I thought I'd imagined it, but I reached down and could feel a tiny wet spot on my sock. I could not see any other easily visible signs of water -- on my foot or the driver's side rubber floor mat.

In November (on a nice day in Michigan), I had the front passenger door open and was placing something on the front seat, only to look down and see water (not much, maybe 1/4 cup) glistening in the ribs of the rubber floor mat. I was initially perplexed as to where this may have come from but then thought perhaps I'd spilled a bottle of drinking water onto the floor somehow. It evaporated in the next day or so. A few weeks later, I was taking my vehicle to the dealer for service and was going to mention this water on the passenger-side floor mat issue. As I was driving to the dealer, for whatever reason, I reached down and adjusted the driver's floor mat. And as I grabbed the corner of the mat (which was bone dry on top), my fingers could feel that the carpet (and back of the mat) beneath the rubber mat was damp. I mentioned this issue to the service guy as part of the write up. When my vehicle service was completed, the service guy said the mechanic had blown out the a/c drain line as that sometimes gets plugged and doesn't allow the water condensate to drain.

This past weekend (in Florida, on another nice day), again, after shopping I was putting something on the front passenger seat only to look down and see a bunch of water on the rubber floor mat. When I got back to my place, I decided to do a bit of checking. I felt the carpet beneath the passenger side floor mat and it was slightly damp. However, when I looked at the driver's side -- the rubber mat was dry-- but as I lifted the mat up, the carpet beneath it was soaked.

I decided to check the rear floorboard area. The rubber mats were dry, but the carpeting was damp underneath. One of the (tan-colored) rear mats had an area of whiteness, covering about 10-20% of the area of the backside, indicating that it had been damp for some time. I somehow got the sense that the rear carpet dampness might have been due to wicking from the front, as the front carpeting was considerable wetter.

I took all the rubber mats out to let them dry and to let the carpeting dry out also. Then I used a wet-dry vac to vacuum out the front carpet. There was approx. 1 cup+ of water in the vac that I was able to vacuum up. There's still quite a bit of water left in the padding. I opened up the moon roof for ventilation and put a box fan on the front seat which I angled towards the front foot wells to try to dry out the carpet and the padding underneath. I ran that for the last 24 hours and the top of the carpeting is starting to dry out. I'll let it run a bit longer.

It's been extremely dry here in Florida since I arrived in early December. We did have a rainy day (I think it was the first one since I arrived) a week ago Saturday and I was out driving in the rain, running various errands.


-----------

Incidental random notes:

  • All service work has been done by a dealer,. As I was planning on keeping the vehicle for a long time, I've had all the required items serviced at Toyota's suggested service intervals/mileages.

  • The only repair (due to failing performance) has been a transmission replacement (under warranty) at 60,000 miles. Replacement/wearout items have been replaced as needed.

  • This car was t-boned on the driver's side front corner 5 years ago. The repairs were done by a Toyota dealer.

  • The windshield was replaced (due to a large crack), roughly 6 years ago.

-------

What seems a bit odd to me, and is hopefully a clue -- the water on the passenger side seems to show up ON the rubber mat (with some dampness of the carpet beneath the mat), whereas on the driver's side, the rubber mat is bone dry, and there's a ton of water BENEATH the mat. There's a huge console between the driver's side and passenger side, for those unfamiliar with this model.

I'm running out of ideas of things to check out. :confused: Any suggestions?

omni

-----------------

PS: A couple of additional items I found online that seem to be "one offs" that had contributed to wet carpeting (NOTE: I was checking Toyotas of all vintages and models, as well as some other makes and models):

  • welds on the D-pillar starting to pull apart (I checked, mine seem OK),
  • a leaking gasket around a rear liftgate window (My vehicle doesn't have a gasket around the window, as the window is fixed in place. I did note that the "rubber" on my vehicle seems to be in decent shape due to being garaged (out of the sun),
  • a leak from the top of a door that was somehow running onto the back seat floorboards (I haven't checked this one out, as the bulk of the moisture seems to be in the front floorboard sections).
  • water running off the windshield into the cowling (in the area between the windshield and the grille in the cowling and, if the vehicle design has an unobstructed heater port facing upwards (the ones I've seen online are ports that look to be about 4" square), the water enters this port and apparently emerges inside the vehicle). This may be a function of having a lot of debris (leaves, pine needles, etc.) that has collected in that area, and thus it forces heavy rains to flow outside the area that the engineers had planned for rain runoff/diversion. (I haven't explored this one specifically, yet. Hoping that keeping my vehicle garaged has reduced the opportunity for having all sorts of debris collecting under the cowl.)
 
I'm not a mechanic nor do I play one on TV. I read your write up and I don’t think I saw this item listed as reviewed. Assuming that the t-bone didn’t affect this vehicle in some mysterious way I suggest the following.
Under the car near the front there is a drain tube associated with the hvac system. These can become blocked by crap coming from the cowling. Go to your local mechanic and have him blow it out. If it’s blocked, once cleared water will flow out. Also when parked after a long trip water will accumulate under the car if this is clear.
I suggest this because you mentioned that you have the AC on all the time.
If you are hearing water slosh inside the vehicle it could be the heater core that’s bad. That’s a dealer job, have them inspect it.
Good Luck
 
Also not a mechanic. But you really need a sleuth for this one anyway. My guess is a windshield leak. I had a similar problem years ago with a different make of vehicle that I could never figure out. Would have wet mats from time to time. I had to replace the windshield at one point subsequently, and that fixed the problem. There was no obvious source of the leak.

Since the windshield has been replaced, that would add to my suspicion.

Do you have an old school antenna attached to front of vehicle? You might check that grommet.

Since you run the AC all the time, you might also check the hoses from the AC where they enter the cabin. If they have lost their insulation or it is cracked, could be getting accumulating condensation on them that drips. I would definitely get a flashlight and carefully search underneath your dash from the locations you have seen drips, upward.

My guess is if it were heater core you would be getting some odors from that through your A/C system.

You may want to check too, do you have mold under the carpet? Definitely want to address.

Good luck and let us know what you find.
 
I'd doublecheck that A/C drain tube. I've seen this problem in three different cars (although not my 2004 Highlander), and it's always been a clogged drain tube. Every single time. An easy check is to put an extension tube on it and run that into a bottle or something. If it fills up, there's the problem.
 
I had this type of problem before, but mine was a crack in the underbody floor panel so the carpet got wet, but never on top of a rubber mat.

Any water on the passenger mat, has to fall onto it, all the wetness under mats front and back could be coming from nearly anywhere as it can migrate a long way between the metal floor and the carpet.

Next time you water on the rubber mat, use a flashlight , or feel up under the dash to see if anything is wet.

Of course you didn't say how often you wash the vehicle, do you go through car washes ?
 
I'm also suspicious of the AC condensate. If the drain hose is clear, perhaps the case gasket is leaking such that some water drains out the hose and some water leaks out another path as the water is sloshed back and forth as you drive.
 
I had this problem with my 2010 Ford F150. The roof antenna was leaking around the seal and running down inside the cab on the passenger side and wetting the rug. Does your vehicle have a roof antenna?
 
travelover said:
I'm also suspicious of the AC condensate. If the drain hose is clear, perhaps the case gasket is leaking such that some water drains out the hose and some water leaks out another path as the water is sloshed back and forth as you drive.
Click to expand...

Same here. My Scion was making a tat-tat-tat noise every time I made a sharp left turn and the passenger carpet was always wet - more so in hot/humid weather when the AC was on full blast. Also had noticed that there was very little to no telltale condensate "puddle" on the ground after parking.

Located the condensate drain hose and found a clog. Drain "catch pan" was full of water, causing the spinning fan blades to dig into it when I made a hard turn and the water sloshed higher on that one side.
 
Thanks for the speedy replies, thoughts, and suggestions. :greetings10:

In response:

This vehicle does not have an external antenna.

The t-bone accident (luckily the damage was localized to the area in front of the tires) and the windshield replacement were both quite a while ago. Not to dismiss them as possible contributors but the 'water in the cabin' issue is fairly recent, to the best of my knowledge.

I've not noticed any in-cabin odors (from carpeting or heater issues). I'm sure if the carpeting doesn't get dried-out quickly, I probably will. :nonono:

The car has not been run thru a car wash lately as I have a kayak carrier installed on the roof rack. The last wash was in late November when it was in for service at the dealership.

Items to revisit/investigate further:

1. A/C drain tube - several people commented on this as the probable problem.

I'm a bit unclear on what harley means by, "An easy check is to put an extension tube on it and run that into a bottle or something. If it fills up, there's the problem." Am I to put a hose on the terminal end of the hose beneath the vehicle and run the A/C and collect the condensate...or am I to disconnect the hose inside the cabin and run it into a container while running the engine & A/C? And how is it a problem if it fills up? (I'm guessing he meant it's a problem if it does not fill up...as the condensate would then be going elsewhere in the cabin, no?)

Yesterday, with the engine off, I squeezed and jiggled the short section of tubing that I could access beneath the carpet in the cabin. This caused about 1 cup of water (which was resting within various bends and horizontal runs in the tubing) to drain out onto the garage floor. The drained water looks like the typical crystal-clear condensate, nothing that looks like it might have been clogging the tubing came out.

2. A/C hoses into cabin -- check insulation, any evidence of dripping water

3. A/C case gasket which might be allowing water to slosh out while driving (in addition to the water draining out of the hose)

4. As has been noted, in the passenger-side foot well, water has to be coming from somewhere above to be collecting on the rubber mat. The water in the carpeting itself may be coming from anywhere in the frontal area of the cabin to allow for the soaked carpet beneath the mat on the driver's side....might be the same source as the water on the pass.-side mat, just falling off the mat and being wicked...or a separate source entirely.

Lower-priority, as it is less probable and also involves some disassembly:
5. There's still something with the cowling that might need checking out...involves taking off wiper arms and removing the cowling...A) to see if the heater might have a large unobstructed upward-facing port that would allow for water ingress if rainwater is being channeled (due to debris-build-up beneath the cowling) into it via unconventional routes
OR
B) to examine if there might be leakage along bottom edge of windshield.
OR
C) any other obstructions not visible when cowling is in place.

I'll report back on my findings.

omni
 
Just my thinking.... but the water should drain out completely... so squeezing out water seems to be an issue... see about cleaning it out and if you can put some bleach down it...
 
I didn't have much time today to dedicate to further investigation.

As it was nice and sunny today, in the mid-afternoon it finally occurred to me to pull the vehicle out of the garage and park it in the sun, hoping to use the sun load to heat up the cabin and help drive some of the moisture out of the carpet.

While I was doing that, I snapped a few photos.

Back when I used to work on my rather old cars from the 60s and 70s they didn't have A/C, so I'm a newbie with A/C parts, etc.

Here's a shot of the area between firewall and shifter (I removed an access panel on both sides) from the foot-well of the passenger side, then one from the driver's side.

In the first photo from the passenger-side, I've marked the A/C drain hose with a red arrow and label. It looks worse in the photo than in real life due to my squeezing and jiggling which left marks on the exterior. It's really not as banged-up as it appears.

One thing I noticed right away was all the condensation on the outside of that white plastic box (above the drain hose). It's hard to tell if the drain hose is connected to that box or not. I'd have to snap a few more pix. Initially, I was sort of brushing the moisture off that white plastic box, trying to see if it would be replenished (by a leak, possibly). It finally occurred to me that it might be condensation as the vehicle has been sitting in a shaded garage for 2 days, with a fan blowing on the damp carpeting for the past 36-48 hours putting a lot of moisture into the air. (And I'm guessing that line of 'something inside' midway up the box is showing a level of something -- water:confused: I dunno.) I left a little moisture on the outside for the photo and have marked it with blue arrows. I noticed that there was was even moisture on that "leg", so the water there may have run down from the box, I suppose? There's also a rusty metal bracket at the bottom of that foot (into which the (now-removed) access cover clips). During my quick inspection from both foot-well areas, this rust is the only super-obvious evidence of the long-term presence of water (on or nearby).

The second photo is a similar view from the driver's side foot-well. I've labeled the end of the console. The other end of that white plastic box I commented on above is marked with a red arrow. The pink dot is at the top of the accelerator.

Question: Does anyone know what that is that appears to be inside the white plastic box? Is it water or is it something else that is part of the A/C system? If it's condensate-water, does the fact that the box appears to be about half-full that indicate that it is not draining-- that there's some restriction/blockage keeping it in the box?


omni
 

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I have never had this problem but it seems a common issue for folks, similar to the drain pipe on fridges getting clogged.

I think you have a plug at where the drain hose attaches to white plastic reservoir, or in the hose itself.

Can you pull the hose off the reservoir and blow through it , plus use a short wire/ plastic drain cleaner snake, or similar thing to reach inside about 3 inches into the plastic to wiggle and break up a clump of dirt/leaves ?

I think when you pull off the hose, a bunch of water will spill out so be ready to catch that with a large empty container (yohurt/ice-cream). If a bunch of water does spill out, it means the plug is in the hose.
 
Sunset,

In my first post, I mentioned jiggling and squeezing the A/C drain line within the cabin area which resulted in about a cup's worth of crystal clear water dripping onto the garage floor.

I further visually inspected the exit portion of the drain (as the dripping water helped me figure out where is was beneath the vehicle) which appeared debris-free.

I also had noted that when I took it in to the dealer for service in late November and mentioned the water on the passenger-side floor mat and moisture beneath the driver's side mat, the service tech reported that the mechanic had blown out the a/c line. Perhaps, if there had been an obstruction near the exit, and he merely inserted the end of an air hose, he possibly could have driven a blockage further upstream...but how then was I able to get about a cup of crystal clear water to drain out? Or possibly now the hose is only partially blocked, and my mechanical manipulation of the short section of the hose that was accessible to me caused water to escape past a blockage? Dunno.

I'll check the A/C hose further tomorrow.

omni
 
I'd pull the hose off if you can and really thoroughly blow it out as well as peek into the case where it attaches to see if a leaf or something is floating around. I have a little wet vac and it is great for sucking out soggy dead things like what might be lurking at the bottom of the case.
 
travelover said:
I'm also suspicious of the AC condensate. If the drain hose is clear, perhaps the case gasket is leaking such that some water drains out the hose and some water leaks out another path as the water is sloshed back and forth as you drive.
Click to expand...

Yes, for our car. It was puddling like a puppy on the passengers' side mat (fortunately a hard rubber tray type). We could hear the sloshing when we turned left (the only time, but every time). When we took it in for other sevice, they used an air compressor to blow out the drain, no charge, and problem solved. They said a door gasket issue could cause it but it hadn't rained in a couple of weeks.
 
Sorry for the delay in responding. I've had a bad cold and didn't feel up to messing with this.

In the meantime:


  • I've been parking the vehicle out in the sun, getting the carpet and padding dried out
  • During the limited driving I've done in the past week, I've not used the A/C climate control system...instead keeping windows or moonroof ajar for "cool-th". ;)
  • Yesterday, my vehicle was parked outside during a 5-10 minute monsoon-like downpour, which I hoped might be a test for any windshield or cowling-related leaks...but I discovered no evidence of water in the cabin area. Since this was a short, static test I've not completely eliminated either of those as a possible cause.
  • After this^ downpour, I tried making some parking-lot turns at ~15-20 mph to the left and to the right, hoping to induce a water event, but no water was evident.
  • Today, I finally tried removing the A/C drain hose. I had positioned a large beach towel right beneath the in-cabin hose/plastic 'box' juncture as I was expecting a juggernaut of water. Instead, I only got a few drops of water which dripped out. I took a small screwdriver and tried poking through the drain-hole (to which the drain hose had been attached) into the plastic 'box' expecting to possibly dislodge an errant leaf or other debris blocking the hole. Instead I encountered a plastic "wall" (another portion of the plastic box, possibly a designed channel, vane, or something) about an inch inside the drain hole....no debris, nothing. I also spotted a few drops of water on the ground beneath the exit portion of the drain hose the vehicle after I removed the A/C hose. I blew through the drain hose with a straw (as I couldn't contort myself to get my head any closer) and it seemed to be clear of any blockage.

    Not sure what my "next steps" are. Watchful waiting:confused:?

    I put the rubber mats back in the vehicle, and am planning to use the A/C climate control system 100% of the time as I usually do.

    omni
    ​
 
Service tech couldn't find anything....

After 3 hours at the dealership today, the service tech (supposedly their best diagnostician) had 'nothing'. He ran the car for 30 minutes and saw plenty of condensate running out of the A/C drain hose. I'm not sure what else he checked, but I had given the service adviser and the mechanic/technician a full rundown of my attempts to diagnose the root cause.

Of course, they first assumed it was a blocked A/C hose, as that is a very common occurrence. I did ask what is typically the cause of a blocked hose. It's not debris build-up from driving or leaves, etc., but rather insects who build webs/nests. The service guy said these insects are quite industrious and can build a something which causes the drain to 'clog' in less than an hour. :nonono:

The service adviser personally hates unresolved issues and is quite interested in trying to figure out the cause of the water. He gave me his card and told me to call him directly when I do finally have a 'water event'.

I'm now trying to induce the appearance of water on the passenger side mat. I'm placing a large sheet of paper in the entire footwell area in an effort to give x-y coordinates when I finally see evidence of water from 'on high'. I think I'll also tuck some paper towels underneath the driver's side rubber mat, leaving some of the toweling extending past the mat's perimeter, as that, hopefully, will indicate moisture beneath the mat by wicking it. I will be running the climate control system full-time.

------

The service advisor told me of an unusual occurrence. He'd seen a car that was brought in with "water in the interior" as the complaint. The root cause ended-up being a lightning strike that no one was aware of. Apparently, lightning hit the vehicle just beneath the windshield creating a perfectly round hole about an 1/8" in diameter in the sheet metal of the firewall. It didn't affect the electronics or anything else...it just left a small hole that allowed water intrusion. :eek:

-----

To be continued......

omni
 
You may have two different things going on.
-- The dampness under the rear mats could just be condensation because you've got an impermeable rubber mat on top. FL is wet, and anytime the air between the mat and the sheet metal of the floor sees a surface that is below the dewpoint (that surface could be the cooler sheetmetal of the floor or the cooler underside of the rubber mat), then water will condense out and get something wet. There's not much airflow under there, and air in FL is already holding a lot of moisture, so it might not dry out before the next event condensation event. Over time, it builds up wetness. I've had this happen before, and the best answer is to put something between the carpet and the rubber mat so air can get in there and dry things out. Something like that bumpy rubber non-slip shelf liner material might work.
-- The "dampness from above"-- I still suspect the AC system. Your paper test is a good idea, a dark-colored and absorbent paper towel would probably give your the best chance of seeing and locating where the water is coming from.

Mechanics hate problems like this. I'm not saying yours is blowing you off, but they prefer jobs that they can crank through the bays in a hurry, and make maximum use of their expensive mechanics. They probably hope you'll figure this out yourself, or take it to somebody else.
 
Let's check the windshield seal....

I'm still puzzling about the water on top of the rubber mat on the passenger side. And although it's been quite dry lately, I had been driving a lot on a rainy day in the not-so-distant past.

As I had previously mentioned, I had the windshield replaced (turns out it was in 2012). Two years later, I had a stone chip repaired**. Both jobs were done by Safelite. The replacement windshield was covered by a lifetime warranty.

I just called Safelite and asked if the gasket material might develop a leak after some time. They said that it is a possibility and they'd be happy to come out and check the seal. So I've got that scheduled for Monday. :)


** The stone chip was a small one, smack-dab in the center of the windshield where it wasn't in front of either the driver or the passenger. I had opted to have the chip repaired (my thinking being that I was keeping a large sheet of glass out of a landfill, and I was saving my insurance company some money...and thereby helping keep premiums lower) instead of having the entire windshield replaced. This may have been a false economy. The claims person today, upon reviewing my records, specifically stated that due to the chip repair, the windshield was no longer warrantied if it needed to be removed. I then asked him "Oh, so I made the wrong choice in opting for a chip repair rather than windshield replacement?" He said,"I didn't say that." But when I asked him "If I'd had a new windshield installed instead of having the chip replaced, I'd have complete lifetime warranty coverage, including windshield removal, if needed?" And he reluctantly said, "Yes". Lesson learned.:facepalm:

To be continued....

omni
 
samclem said:
You may have two different things going on.
-- The dampness under the rear mats could just be condensation because you've got an impermeable rubber mat on top. FL is wet, and anytime the air between the mat and the sheet metal of the floor sees a surface that is below the dewpoint (that surface could be the cooler sheetmetal of the floor or the cooler underside of the rubber mat), then water will condense out and get something wet. There's not much airflow under there, and air in FL is already holding a lot of moisture, so it might not dry out before the next event condensation event. Over time, it builds up wetness. I've had this happen before, and the best answer is to put something between the carpet and the rubber mat so air can get in there and dry things out. Something like that bumpy rubber non-slip shelf liner material might work.
-- The "dampness from above"-- I still suspect the AC system. Your paper test is a good idea, a dark-colored and absorbent paper towel would probably give your the best chance of seeing and locating where the water is coming from.

Mechanics hate problems like this. I'm not saying yours is blowing you off, but they prefer jobs that they can crank through the bays in a hurry, and make maximum use of their expensive mechanics. They probably hope you'll figure this out yourself, or take it to somebody else.
Click to expand...

I agree that there may be more than one contributing factor to the damp/wet carpeting.

Actually, I didn't feel "blown off' by the mechanic at all. He and the service adviser both respectfully listened to me. (I'm a female and a retired engineer....and quite sensitized to being 'dismissed' :mad:). We discussed my troubleshooting attempts and other possible contributors that hadn't been checked out yet. The service adviser gave me the option of getting a loaner and leaving the vehicle for a few more mechanics to examine. Without water present, I figured it's tougher to make a diagnosis, so I opted to try to create a water event on my own and then return to the dealership with, hopefully, a bit more information.

I'll remove the rear mats as they only seem to be along for the ride, atm. I'll keep the front mats in place, as I intend to use them as part of my experimentation (as I described in a post above, time-stamped 4:08pm today).

To be continued....

omni
 
I had a Highlander 2002 model with moon roof. It was garaged off and on, when I could get past the kids' cars.

In 2014 I sold this car to brother for a very low price. One day he asked me if I had ever had leaks. When it rained, his seat was wet. I don't know what caused his problem, but I found in searching that there are many ways water can get in. I think his problem was caused by old gaskets deteriorating around the door. There also are weep holes in places you're not expecting. Besides the moon roof, there are holes under roof racks, and these possibly could be rusted, clogged, etc.
 
Got a new windshield....

We had a chilly weekend so I was out driving around with the heater on for a while, and then, as it warmed up outside, the A/C. No evidence of wet carpet or water on the pass. side rubber mat (now covered by a sheet of paper to better locate any water dripping from above).

I had a mobile windshield service tech come to my condo on Monday. I described the wet carpet symptoms. His immediate response was "the drains in the moon roof". As he scampered back to his truck to get a bottle of water, I mentioned that I'd already tried this and all 4 drains drained perfectly. He poured water into the track of the moon roof and saw that the drains are working just fine.

He noted that there's no indication of water leaks on the headliner around the windshield. He also mentioned that if the windshield was leaking along the bottom portion of the glass, I'd hear a very annoying loud whistle while driving at higher speeds, and I never have. As he started pulling off the trim strip around the windshield, I asked it they might have better equipment to test for leaks at their shop and he said "absolutely".

So I took it in to the shop today. As I explained the wet carpet and wet rubber mat situation to the service tech..he immediately said "moon roof". I said it's been checked twice and all 4 drains are working fine.

I said I'd hate to replace a windshield if it really doesn't need to be replaced and threw it open to any ideas he might have. I mentioned that I hadn't done an exterior spray test yet, so he volunteered to get another tech to sit inside the cabin while he aggressively sprayed the exterior. He said they didn't see evidence of water*.

He then suggested that he replace the windshield (after verifying that it would be covered by warranty, at no expense to me). So he replaced the windshield. He said that he looked for possible signs of leaking as he was removing the old glass but didn't see anything obvious.

So now I have a shiny new windshield.
---

*I just went out to check on the carpet. The carpet beneath the rubber mat on the driver's side footwell is damp, not soaked. The carpet feels dry on the passenger side. There's no evidence of water on the pass.-side rubber mat nor on the paper I placed on top of the mat.

Not sure what caused the damp carpet on the drivers side...might it have been from the' hose water spray test' at the windshield shop or something else (such as extended driving while using climate control system -- heater and A/C)?

I'll park in the sun tomorrow and get the carpet dried out again.

I can do another hose spray test now that I have a new windshield ....to see if I can get water intrusion on the driver's side carpet again.

omni
 
Good luck. Had a small leak and a cracked windshield on my truck. I used the mobil service also and the tech said the leak was not from the windshield. I knew it wasn't from the crack but thought maybe the bottom portion that was not visible was the cause but the tech said no and suggested the frame around the windshield was probably deformed and they would have to destroy the brand new windshield to fix it. I had him replace it anyway and no more leaks in 10 months.
 
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