Water In Rear Floorboard Behind Drivers Seat

Glamma

New Member
Jan 28, 2017
3
0
1
Tupelo, MS
I seem to have a leak in my 2014 mustang convertible. I am getting water behind the drivers seat after it rains. If I park my car nose down- no water... but once I drive it or car is on flat surface the water starts to leak from somewhere and accumulate in the rear corner of floor closest to backseat and the "hump" only in the corner.. I popped the rear seats up and they are dry as a bone. has anyone out there had this problem or can u point me in the direction I need to go to figure this out? Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
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I seem to have a leak in my 2014 mustang convertible. I am getting water behind the drivers seat after it rains. If I park my car nose down- no water... but once I drive it or car is on flat surface the water starts to leak from somewhere and accumulate in the rear corner of floor closest to backseat and the "hump" only in the corner.. I popped the rear seats up and they are dry as a bone. has anyone out there had this problem or can u point me in the direction I need to go to figure this out? Any help would be greatly appreciated
I seem to have a similar problem with my 2014 convertible. It began in the summer of 2016. Initially, I heard water sloshing around behind me. I didn't know where the water was or where it was coming from. In time, the rear seat floorboard became saturated, first the driver's side and then the passenger side. I considered the possibility that I had an opening under the car that was allowing water to enter when going through puddles. I went to a body shop and they ruled that out. They referred me to a convertible top specialist. In July, the top specialist told me that the point where the top meets the side body panels, behind the rear seat side windows, isn't a completely tight fit and that water enters these cars there during heavy rains. He demonstrated this by pouring water in this area while holding his hand against the side of the top. The water enters a well on each side of the car and is supposed to drain out through drain holes that are there for that purpose. During his demonstration, the water didn't drain out onto the ground but stayed in the car. They removed the rear seat and all of the rear passenger area trim pieces to get access to those wells. Once they cleared the drain holes, gallons of water drained out onto the ground under the car on each side. The problem returned in November so I took it to a local Ford dealer, believing that these cars had a serious design flaw. He charged me $165.00 to diagnose the problem and, within minutes, determined that drain holes under the front cowl were clogged. According to the service writer, the water was accumulating in that area, overflowing, traveling under the car somehow, and building up in the rear seat area. Miraculously, it did this most of the time without getting the carpeting wet. He charged me about $400.00, including the diagnostic fee, to clear out the front drains. After about a month or so, my area was hit with heavy rains again and the water is once again sloshing around behind me. I have another appointment with the convertible top specialist to tear the back seat area up again and clean out the drain holes. He indicated that this isn't a rare problem with convertibles that are parked outside. Leaves and other debris enter these wells along with the water. Coincidentally, the Ford dealer stated that, if I have water entering the car in this manner, I have serious and expensive body panel issues that won't be covered under warranty. He seemed to feel that the convertible top specialist didn't know what he was talking about. I'm inclined to think that he was already setting the stage for another major repair bill, this time much higher than the $400.00 that didn't solve the problem anyway. The first visit to the convertible top specialist set me back $250.00. I'm sure I'll be paying that again this week when he fixes it again. Including the $400.00 to Ford, I'll be out a total of $900.00 and I still won't have a permanent solution. I guess this is one of those better ideas that Ford used to talk about in their ads.
 
You have given me some interesting clues to investigate. I keep my car in a garage but I have only owned it for 3 months. It is my only ride so it does get parked outside when I am at work. I am gonna have my front cowl checked just to make sure it's clean. I have never heard any water sloshing but I will turn down the radio more often and listen. I wish you luck and please post if you finally get a solution. I am thinking to remove my scuff plate and interior panel myself and roll the carpet back in an effort to determine where the water is coming from... this is extremely frustrating. I love my car and I have wanted one for a long time and this is totally ruining my experience, not to mention I have to make a nice payment every month... good luck with yours, I will post if I get resolution
 
My car's back in the shop now so I should find out how it went later on today. In the meantime, however, the people at the shop explained a common problem that they get. It seems that most repair shops, including dealerships, put cars on lifts for oil changes. When cars are raised to drain out the oil, the arms on the lifting mechanisms are positioned where they crush the drain tubes on convertibles. In many cases, they can easily be straightened out and opened up. Whether this is the case or the drain tubes are being blocked by leaves and other debris, it strikes me that this is a design flaw. I had understood that a Ford rep monitored posts on Stangnet. Maybe we'll hear an official opinion on the issue.
 
thanks for the info, I will check that out, i am convinced that my water is coming from the front and draining back. as long as my car is parked nose down, its fine but as soon as its level or inclined (and its raining) water tries to pool. My leak is not bad but i fear it will become worse and it shouldn't be leaking anyway... I am going to have my front cowl drains checked just so i can rule that out. Its supposed to rain this week so i am going to do some serious experiments before i take it anywhere. I go a recommendation in my local area of someone who kinda specializes in convertibles, etc... I will be interested to know what your guys find out.
 
I got the car back today. No surprises. The passenger side was okay but the driver's side drain was blocked with debris like leaves and dirt. There was no damage from any repair shop lift mechanisms. The cleanup was compounded slightly because of the cold temperatures here in New Jersey. Once the water backed up, it began to freeze. There was still water in there that hadn't yet frozen, on top of the block of ice. That's what I heard sloshing around. The mechanic said that they had to keep the car inside their heated garage overnight to melt the ice, flushing it with hot water for good measure. Since it was only on the driver's side, I was only out $200 instead of the $250 it cost me back in July for both sides. It still means that I've spent $850 over a period of seven months for the privilege of driving a car without water inside the back seat area. If it happens one more time it will clearly indicate to me that there is a serious design flaw in the drain situation. My Ford dealer has already made it clear that they're not going to consider that as a possibility and that I will pay dearly if I take it back to them again.
 
I had the same issue on my 2015 Mustang Convertible. I took it in about 2 years ago and they charged me $165 to clear my drain lines. 14 months later and the problem started up again. This is my 5th Mustang Convertible since ‘99. Never had that problem on any other Mustang. It has flooded about 5 times in the last year. I just wet vac out. Luckily no smelling. Seems like a waste of money to keep paying them to clear it out. Looking to trade my car in soon anyhow for the 2020. Hopefully I will have better luck with the new one. Any luck on your issues??
 
Same issue for me on my 2016 convertible. Lots of water collecting in the rear passenger (ie left) footwell and under the passenger seat when it rained. Poked around and found a couple of things worth registering:

1. Drain holes underneath, which can be cleared with a wire coathanger or similar - see picture. One on each side about a foot in from the rear wheel.

2. There is a flap of material attached to the outer fabric top, directly behind the rear quarter window, beside the back of the rear seat. Lift up the inner fabric top to get to it. In my case, on the leaking side, this flap was hanging around on the inside of the of the car and I could see that water had coming in over it. The flap needs to on the outside of the lower fabric hood lining so that it guides rainwater out and into the gap between the body panels and eventually out of the drain hole above. The picture shows it back in the right place.

I am hoping this has solved it... now waiting for the rain.
 

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Same issue for me on my 2016 convertible. Lots of water collecting in the rear passenger (ie left) footwell and under the passenger seat when it rained. Poked around and found a couple of things worth registering:

1. Drain holes underneath, which can be cleared with a wire coathanger or similar - see picture. One on each side about a foot in from the rear wheel.

2. There is a flap of material attached to the outer fabric top, directly behind the rear quarter window, beside the back of the rear seat. Lift up the inner fabric top to get to it. In my case, on the leaking side, this flap was hanging around on the inside of the of the car and I could see that water had coming in over it. The flap needs to on the outside of the lower fabric hood lining so that it guides rainwater out and into the gap between the body panels and eventually out of the drain hole above. The picture shows it back in the right place.

I am hoping this has solved it... now waiting for the rain.
Hey Kev, did it solve it ? Similar problem on my 2017 convertible and trying to figure where to start. Feels like blocked drain holes somewhere!
 
You guys with drain hole issues on convertibles...

It isn't a Ford thing, it's a convertible thing. It also extends to some degree to sun rooves.

You need a small shop vac, come gorilla tape, and a 4 to 6-foot length of clear, reinforced rubber tubing. Shop air and poking things down in the holes are recipes for drain tube destruction. They will not tolerate either of these methods well and I bet you can guess how broken drain tubes will present themselves.

Attach the clear hose to the end of the shop vac hose... Suck and blow, sometimes you gotta do both; You should be able to figure out the rest.

If your drain tubes are already broken well... You have some work and/or a repair bill in your future.

If they are not:
Use the shop vac method
--and--
don't park under trees
if your car sits outside it should have a cover
clean out any chine coves debris before entering car washes

Do periodic inspections to ensure that the rain flap is properly positioned into the drain/chine cove inside the body of the car. If it is not then the water will dump into portions of the body that do not have drain holes and are not intended to route roof water.
 
Hey Kev, did it solve it ? Similar problem on my 2017 convertible and trying to figure where to start. Feels like blocked drain holes somewhere!
Hi Nik, yes it seems to have fixed it. We have have a few serious downpours in the last couple of weeks and it has stayed completely dry. I don't think it was anything to do with the drain holes in the end - mine did not seem to be particularly blocked. The key was making sure that that flap of material on the inside of the hood is in the right place to keep the rain out of the cockpit.
 
Hi Nik, yes it seems to have fixed it. We have have a few serious downpours in the last couple of weeks and it has stayed completely dry. I don't think it was anything to do with the drain holes in the end - mine did not seem to be particularly blocked. The key was making sure that that flap of material on the inside of the hood is in the right place to keep the rain out of the cockpit.

Glad you got it sorted. Found the "flap" and both looked like they falling outside of the cabin so time to check the drainholes. Difficult to tell from the close photo. Did you mean here ...
S550Underbelly2.png

Thanks to eleanor5oh on the "other" forum for the photo BTW.
 
Glad you got it sorted. Found the "flap" and both looked like they falling outside of the cabin so time to check the drainholes. Difficult to tell from the close photo. Did you mean here ...
S550Underbelly2.png

Thanks to eleanor5oh on the "other" forum for the photo BTW.
Yes that looks like it... and you can see another one about a foot to the left... My, what a nice clean car !