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Interior & ExteriorDiscussions about the interior, and exterior of your vehicle.
This is a discussion thread titled "Hatch leaks water (Sequoia)", within the Interior & Exterior forum, part of the Technical & Vehicle Assistance Forums category.
I just replied after typing for 30 minutes and system crashed. I lost everything I typed. If you have not solved the water leak issue -- reply to me and I'll describe the problem and fix.
Hi. I have been having the same problem. At first I thought It was because of the open rear window during our latest southern ca rain storms. It turns out that it is coming from underneath the gasket. I pulled out all my seats, carpets, and rear trim to problem solve this. Last week, when it rained, I took a flash light, crawled into the car from the inside and noticed that water was pooling near the bottom of the seal. I opened the hatch and looked for outside penetration but I did not notice any. The only water that was present was either coming through the gasket from underneath or working its way around the seal.
I just removed the entire seal. I bought black weatherstrip glue from Pep Boys and squeezed a little on the bottom metal rail and inside the entire seal. I carefully reattached it. I still haven't tested it but I am suspecting that a hose will not be enough. I will have to wait for the next downpour.
Symptoms - when vacuming the real cargo area carpet, I noticed dampness in the rear driver-side corner of the vehicle (by the storage compartment). People mentioned to me that there was a moldy smell in my car however my sense of smell is not the best. When I lifted the carpet in that area, the insulation under the carpet in that area was drenched. I never noticed the dampness becuase I have a cargo mat over the OEM carpet.
Multiple Solutions
I took the vehicle to the Toyota Dealer at least 4 - 5 times and they never found anything when doing the water tests??? After searching and talking to many people the possiblilites / potential solutions were:
1. There are plastic plugs under the storage area and the rear air conditioning unit. You could be missing a plug. It has been known that Toyota has forgotten to put one in. The water would come from the bottom up.
2. The plugs need a silicon sealant because there might not be a perfect fit.
3. The weather strip for the rear hatch door has to be replaced if it is worn
4. The drain ports on the bottom of your hatch door - (3 or 4 small holes ) are clogged.
5. Side windows might be leaking and the water runs behind the side body plastic molding inside the car and seeps onto the carpet. You would have to do a water test while the side paneling is removed.
______
My solution / problem / fix
After 6 - 7 water tests we realized that the water was rolling down the hatch window into the body cavity of the door as it is suppose to. If you take the rear hatch door plastic molding panel ( inside the car ) off you will notice that there is an access panel which is screwed to the door. This panel gives you access to internal window mechanism. When we took the panel off ( at Toyota -- PS This was a joint venture !!! ) we noticed that the weather stripping between the access panel and the metal door was compressed and failed to make a water tight seal. The water would seep between the door and the access panel to the cavity between the rear access panel and the plastic molding l panel , further seep onto the floor board plastic molding and onto the carpet. This would happen especially when the car is on a downhill incline ( parked downhill or travelling downhill ). After re-sealing with new weather stripping and doing another water test - it still leaked. But not from there.
The new discovery was that the access panel has plastic clips attached to it - and these clips hold wires and whatever else. The clips that clip onto the access plan are not waterproof. Water was also seeping from there. We sealed all the locations that water could potentially seep through this access panel into the cavity between the access and plastic molding. PROBLEM SOLVED (the last time I checked.
Both I and my Toyota dealer felt that it was just an extremely poor design from Toyota. I do not know if this access panel has been redesigned in the newer models. This problem took approx 6 months to fix.
It is still raining in southern CA. I thought I had my leak problem solved but I noticed water pooling in the valley of the seal. Once the valley overflows, the water seeps under the carpet and wicks it up deep into the cabin. I'm drying it out now.
Here is what I have found now. Based on Nikos post, I found the culprit right away. It is coming form the same panel access door. I found closed cell foam tape at home depot and used that to double up on the sealing. This tape is terrible because it is porous, to some degree, and acts like a sponge. Once it soaks up enough water, it lets it out and rips along the body panel past the plastic trim pieces and into the lower valley of the seal.
I'm going to follow Nikos advice and use silicone this time. I don't think I will have to access that panel for a long time after this.
You have to un-bolt the access panel off the rear hatch cargo door of your Sequoia. Inspect the gasket weather strip that was originally placed there by Toyota. In my case the weather strip was misaligned and compressed which was only one source of the leak(s). The dealer had a weather strip material that was on a roll. It was approximately 1/4 inch in diameter, flexible, black tar, which had a stickiness to it. We cut out the portion that was damaged and molded this black tar weather strip in its place.
Re-install the access panel back onto the Hatch Door and bolted it down.
Then they used a black tar like silicon to seal all the areas on the access panel which water could potential seep through. (Primarily where the clip harnesses are located) They also used this black tar like silicon to seal the bottom half of the access panel / cargo hatch door seam.
As a side note - make sure that the seep / drainage hole on the bottom of the cargo hatch door is clean.
I wish I got the name of the materials the dealer used. I can tell you that the weather stripping can probably be found at Home Depot. Make sure it is soft and sticky enough to provide a water proof seal. The black tar like silicone substance came out from a tube that you place in a putty gun (much like the putty guns that you use for sealing bathroom or kitchen tiles, etc.) I think you can problably also find this material in Home Depot. I did take pictures of all this and reported the problem to Toyota. I'll try to dig them up and I'll try to post them.
In order to avoid further aggrevation, allow the silicon to cure based on curing time. Don't bother to put back all the paneling. Have someone hose down the rear cargo window of the hatch while you are on the inside of the vehicle inspecting the access panel for any leaks. To really ensure the access panel is indeed water proof - do the water test with vehicle while parked on a downhill incline and an uphill incline. The downhill is more important as the water will be running right onto the access panel.
I finally fixed the mess. I even did a little CSI number and figured out what caused the leak.
History: My sequoia made a noticeable click everytime the rear window was rolled down. I took it in for warranty work. I ended up taking it to 3 dealers here in Los Angeles and not one of them solved the problem.
I figured out what happened on my last venture into the rear panel. On each of those bolted on metal panels, there are several plastic clips that hold part of the panel in. There are, of course, metal bolts also. I saw the rubber gasket material which is attached to the back of each plastic clip around the holes. At first, I thought these were just glued on. I didn't realize until after that there were clips in those spots. One of the mechanics never replaced the clips and left the holes wide open. As you can see, I was pissed. I went to the dealer and had to buy new plastic clips. The problem is I can't prove which dealer did the damage. Anyways, to replace the gasket, I went to home depot and used the foam underlayment that they use for hard wood flooring. They were kind enough to give me a 1 ft/1ft square piece. I cut 1 inch/1 inch square and pierced the clips into the foam. Now, with the new seals that I put in (see prior post) and the foam clips, NO MORE LEAKS. Oh, I also used silicone, as NIKOS pointed out, to seal each clip that is attached to wire harnesses.
In another area, my right rear door was leaking. I was dumbfounded why only one door would have the same type of leak as the rear hatch. I went back into my paper work and I remembered that I had warranty work done on that window because it wasn't closing right. It turns out, after opening the door panel, that they left a couple of panel clips off. After replacing those clips with the foam padding, I do not have any more leaks. It has been raining in southern california this week and I am finally relieved.
I'm going to write a letter to Toyota headquarters in Torrance and also to the three dealers that worked on the car.
Thanks yall. NIKOS, most of all!
NOTE to TOYOTA Dealers: These clips are critical to the moisture barrier system. Do NOT throw them away. Replace them if they break or crack. By all means, do not just throw them away. Please inform all technicians to not be so negligent.
Got to love the Dealers !!! Mine forgot to replace one of the side internal body moldings. Its no big deal but it is the lack of attention to detail. I promised to post pictures of my work and never got to it. Sorry. However, I guess better late than never. Maybe it helps someone else.
Regards
Nick
PS = Sorry everyone. My .jpg picture files are over the size limit to post on this forum. If anyone wants copies to view, just send me a personal message. I'll send them directly to your e-mail.
Quote:
Originally Posted by toinkdesign
I noticed a wet spot on my 2003 Sequoia same problem as jam3.
Can you please descride to me how to fix it?
Many Thanks
toinkdesign
(Toronto, Canada)
Dear Toinkdesign
Below is a post that I had sent over a year ago with regards to the problem:
___________________
I have a 2001 Sequoia - no sunroof.
Symptoms - when vacuming the real cargo area carpet, I noticed dampness in the rear driver-side corner of the vehicle (by the storage compartment). People mentioned to me that there was a moldy smell in my car however my sense of smell is not the best. When I lifted the carpet in that area, the insulation under the carpet in that area was drenched. I never noticed the dampness becuase I have a cargo mat over the OEM carpet.
Multiple Solutions
I took the vehicle to the Toyota Dealer at least 4 - 5 times and they never found anything when doing the water tests??? After searching and talking to many people the possiblilites / potential solutions were:
1. There are plastic plugs under the storage area and the rear air conditioning unit. You could be missing a plug. It has been known that Toyota has forgotten to put one in. The water would come from the bottom up.
2. The plugs need a silicon sealant because there might not be a perfect fit.
3. The weather strip for the rear hatch door has to be replaced if it is worn
4. The drain ports on the bottom of your hatch door - (3 or 4 small holes ) are clogged.
5. Side windows might be leaking and the water runs behind the side body plastic molding inside the car and seeps onto the carpet. You would have to do a water test while the side paneling is removed.
______
My solution / problem / fix
After 6 - 7 water tests we realized that the water was rolling down the hatch window into the body cavity of the door as it is suppose to. If you take the rear hatch door plastic molding panel ( inside the car ) off you will notice that there is an access panel which is screwed to the door. This panel gives you access to internal window mechanism. When we took the panel off ( at Toyota -- PS This was a joint venture !!! ) we noticed that the weather stripping between the access panel and the metal door was compressed and failed to make a water tight seal. The water would seep between the door and the access panel to the cavity between the rear access panel and the plastic molding l panel , further seep onto the floor board plastic molding and onto the carpet. This would happen especially when the car is on a downhill incline ( parked downhill or travelling downhill ). After re-sealing with new weather stripping and doing another water test - it still leaked. But not from there.
The new discovery was that the access panel has plastic clips attached to it - and these clips hold wires and whatever else. The clips that clip onto the access plan are not waterproof. Water was also seeping from there. We sealed all the locations that water could potentially seep through this access panel into the cavity between the access and plastic molding. PROBLEM SOLVED (the last time I checked.
Both I and my Toyota dealer felt that it was just an extremely poor design from Toyota. I do not know if this access panel has been redesigned in the newer models. This problem took approx 6 months to fix.
_______________________
Ultimately how I fixed the problem (assumming you have the same problem) and I have been dry for 2- 3 years is:
1. Took the rear panel off,
2. Take the black metal plate off that has some wire harnesses
3. Take the small oval plate off also,
4. I cut industrial grade plactic to the exact match of both holes and taped it onto the metal door. Make sure that the plastic is secured tightly so it does not interfer with moving parts
5. On the rear of both panels, I lined the contact point with black tar weather stripping. You can find it at a Home Depot -- it comes in rolls.
6. I teflon coated all the screws
7. I siliconed all the white plastic clips on the access plates
8. Panel Everything UP.
9. Before you put on you rear panel have someone hose down the rear door of the truck and also hose down the rear window so water gets inside the door cavity. While this is going on someone should be on the inside of the truck watching for a potential leak. If you really what to do an extreme test - park the car on a downhill. Do this will ensure that water is running along the access panel that you waterproofed.
(I tried attaching photos but I can not figure it out. If you send me your personal e-mail, I can forward you pictures.)
I am having a similar problem with my '03 Sequoia. Did you do the work yourself or seek the help of a dealer? I would need to have someone else do the work...any suggestions?
thank you to all...now this explains why my rear carpet is wet i couldnt figure it out til i read this post.Now that the weather is gonna get better soon when i fix my leaky problem i'll be taking pics and hoprfully be able to post.This is my second Toyota truck and very happy with it up til the water leak...you would think toyota would do a recall on this.
water leak fixed thanks for the info went to a autobody shop supplier and bought the 3M tar strip panel sealers and they worked awsome leak free and i had my buddy lots of water before and after this and man why didnt they just use this to begin with.
Nikos ant all,
Great detective work! I have the same problem with my 2002 Sequoia and plan on following your fixes. Before I start ripping my interior apart, can you tell me the best way to remove the inside plastic rear hatch door and molding? I see no screws and assume it pops off with hidden clips, but some inside knowledge would be appreciated so I don't break anything.
Thanks in advance,
TQue
Nikos,
Great detective work! I have the same problem with my 2002 Sequoia and plan on following the cumulative fix described in the thread. Before I start ripping my interior apart, can you tell me the best way to remove the inside plastic rear hatch door and molding? I see no screws and assume it pops off with hidden clips, but some inside knowledge would be appreciated so I don't break anything.
Hatch leaks water
Sequoia - Rear Hatch Water Leaks
Linear Mode
