A slightly different water issue

[nelmo]

I've read all the other threads on water ingress and I don't seem to have quite the same thing - I cannot see any obvious leaks, my carpets seem dry BUT my windows (all of them), nav screen, sunroof, are dripping.

I haven't gone as far as removing the rear tray and looking for the bungs or puddles of water but the fact that all my windows (windscreen and sunroof are the worst) get covered suggests it isn't a leak from one point? Or does it? I dunno...

It actually looks like condensation but I'm not dogging in the car 🙂 so I can't imagine it's just that...

I've looked at the sunroof drain holes and they look clear at the top, although I'm not sure where they come out, so maybe blocked at the other end?

Any ideas?

 

[nelmo]

Ah interesting, I just read the thread 'Titanic' and someone suggested the heater matrix drain as a possible source of water. My heater hasn't been working well recently (I was literally about to put another post up about that), so maybe the 2 issues are linked? Will check later...

[royoftherovers]

Clogged filter behind the glovebox? Look in your Handbook.

[nelmo]

Filter a bit clogged up but dry? I cleared it out and, car has been sat undriven for a week (great time for the Battery to die 😕) and the condensation has returned (after I dried it all up). 

Carpets dry so maybe there is a puddle in the boot? Urgh, I'll have to take it all apart... 

[nelmo]

Took the boot apart and found a nice puddle in the left rear section. After staring at it for a while (and with the heavy snow we've got, I had a convenient stream of water), I saw the drip coming from under the side bodywork. I couldn't face trying to take all that off but I can only assume it is coming through the seam just above the left door strut. 

I've bought some sealant but no point putting it on now - I'll have to wait until the snow/rain stops and its all dry. 

Weirdly, I've been think about changing the car recently - I've always said I'd change when things start going wrong and with this leak and the heater not working, now seems the time. Obviously, it will be an RX450 - seen a potential option which is a good price and from a dealer which is strange, I normally buy privately. Obviously, he is going to screw me on the p/x but I'll see what I can do (sadly, I'm rubbish at haggling). 

 

[Mauler]

On 2/7/2021 at 1:34 PM, nelmo said:

Took the boot apart and found a nice puddle in the left rear section. After staring at it for a while (and with the heavy snow we've got, I had a convenient stream of water), I saw the drip coming from under the side bodywork. I couldn't face trying to take all that off but I can only assume it is coming through the seam just above the left door strut. 

I've bought some sealant but no point putting it on now - I'll have to wait until the snow/rain stops and its all dry. 

Weirdly, I've been think about changing the car recently - I've always said I'd change when things start going wrong and with this leak and the heater not working, now seems the time. Obviously, it will be an RX450 - seen a potential option which is a good price and from a dealer which is strange, I normally buy privately. Obviously, he is going to screw me on the p/x but I'll see what I can do (sadly, I'm rubbish at haggling). 

 

I've been going over this scrote-ache for the last few months - it turns out that my '07 400h that I got last year was cheap because it doubles as a water carrier!  So far I have replaced the boot seal/rubber as it was a bit mullered, sealed the upper panel seams leading down from the rear roof-rail fixings & as of yesterday put some sealant around the holes where the plastic trim fixes next to the rear light clusers.  I had leaks on both sides originally, but after 3 hours, a socket set, screwdriver & 2 litres of water in a bottle I'm sure that I've nailed the passenger side and will keep an eye on the driver's side.  I want it to rain now so I can go and see if I finally can take towels out of the back of my luxury car and put my damn boot back together! 😄

[nelmo]

I've put sealant on but I doubt it will stop the leak. However,  got a solution - dehumidifiers.

Bought a 5 pack of one-use dehumidifiers for about £7 and one reusable one. Got 2 of the one-use things in the car,  one in the boot,  the other in the centre console, with the reusable one on the dash.  Since I put them in,  no condensation on the windows,  which is all I care about.

I've decided not to change the car,  it's just too good to give away for the £2k the dealer will give me as part-ex. A bit of water I can live with 😉

[m4rkw]

If you were considering trading it in, presumably you could afford to have someone look at it and fix it for you? If so I would highly recommend Russell Birch of Toyotec in Red Hill - www.toyotec.co.uk

You may be able to live with water but if it gets into anything electrical it will start to corrode it and cause more problems.

[nelmo]

Yes, true, I should do. I've been to Toyotec before and he was good - I wanted him to just check the suspension bushes because I had an MOT advisory but he was honest enough to say they were OK, which was nice.

However, he seemed a little annoyed that I had 3 different brands of tyre on the car, which was a strange reaction IMO. Sure, mention it, but I felt like he thought I was some sort of mechanical simpleton for doing that (I was going to tell him about the kit car in my garage that I built myself but I shouldn't have had to). If you're racing (as he does) and need to get 0.5sec off your lap time, tyres are important but, on the road, I have never noticed any difference between tyre brands or felt any difference when mixed. I have since replaced all 4 tyres for the same brand and, surprise, surprise, it feels no different to when I had 3 brands on - it's just a marketing ploy by tyre companies IMO. 

[m4rkw]

3 hours ago, nelmo said:

I have since replaced all 4 tyres for the same brand and, surprise, surprise, it feels no different to when I had 3 brands on - it's just a marketing ploy by tyre companies IMO. 

Well you wouldn't, because you're comparing two situations where (i'm guessing) all the tyres had plenty of grip. It's the sketchy situations where stuff like that matters, like when aquaplaning at 70mph or when you lose grip for some other reason. An imbalance side to side can stress suspension components and wear them out faster. I think there are good reasons to at least keep them matched on the same axle.

[m4rkw]

Also if your car is 4wd then you want to keep the tread depth and patterns as similar as possible across all four wheels, so rotate tyres regularly. The reason it's more important on 4wd cars is that the wheels are locked together, so if there's a significant difference then one wheel wants to turn faster than another and that difference has to go somewhere - it can tear up a differential.

[nelmo]

I'll bow to your superior knowledge, although I still think these are all exceptional scenarios; if its raining hard enough to risk aqua-planing, I wouldn't be doing 70mph and I've driven on a grassy field but I'll never be anywhere worse than that (not on purpose, at least). If I get a puncture in one tyre (which is how I ended up with 3 brands), I'm far too miserly to spend £150 to replace a perfectly good tyre just to keep them matched 😁

[ColinBarber]

19 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

Also if your car is 4wd then you want to keep the tread depth and patterns as similar as possible across all four wheels, so rotate tyres regularly. The reason it's more important on 4wd cars is that the wheels are locked together, so if there's a significant difference then one wheel wants to turn faster than another and that difference has to go somewhere - it can tear up a differential.

Not a concern on a 400h. There is no mechanical connection to the rear wheels, they are purely driven by an independent electric motor.

[m4rkw]

Just now, ColinBarber said:

Not a concern on a 400h. There is no mechanical connection to the rear wheels, they are purely driven by an independent electric motor.

Ah okay.