Water ingress again

[jdlexus]

When I bought my rx400h I checked very carefully for wet carpets every where.all were bone dry 👍

Now they are all wet front driver side and the boot space where it's running down the side onto the boot floor 💦💦

[Baldguy]

A very common issue with the early RX's and I've just gone through all this on my newly purchased 2007 RX 350, I also had damp front mats and water getting into the boot running down both rear roof sides staining the trim.

The first thing to do is the sunroof drains and one of the main culprits for these issues, 2 drains holes at the front and 2 at the back... the front are easier which you can see at the front of the sunroof rails when open, the rears are hidden within the roof and the rear panels of the car need to be removed as the drain tubes are more than likely kinked/crimped as many and I have found which leads to the backing up of water and leaking into the side trims and into the floor area - to clear these blow some air gently down the holes (front) or I used an old curtain wire that fits perfectly... test when done putting some water down the holes and it should come out just behind the front wheel.

The second are the roof rail mountings, very easy to remove the rails and seal around the mountings with silicon sealant

The third are the roof body seams at the back of the roof rails going down towards the boot hatch

The fourth are the tailgate strut mounts, seal all round these with silicon

The fifth are around the rear lights

The sixth are the body seams behind the rear bumper

This all sound scary but are very easy to do and the main culprits are the sunroof drains, roof rail mountings and rear lights... I sealed 1 - 5 on the list with clear silicon sealant and so far its all dry even after all this rain we've had recently.

More than happy to talk on the phone if needed.

Cheers and good luck!

[Baldguy]

One thing i forgot that i did too is to make sure the Air con condensor drain tube is clear that runs from behind the bottom of the dashboard and out under the car by the gearbox, these can block and dump water into the (uk) drivers side footwell... 

[m4rkw]

Great advice there, if you would prefer to have it taken care of professionally I highly recommend Russell Birch at Toyotec in Redhill, see here for details of the work that was done on mine recently: 

They fixed several leaks, many of them in the places that @Baldguy mentioned, and the car now stays bone dry in heavy rain.

 

[jdlexus]

Thanks for your help.when I get a dry day I will start with checking the sun roof drains.then also where it's coming in around the rear door.the rear lights have some condensation in them so once I find how to remove them I will fit new gaskets if they have or use some sealent.

I've seen the previous posts on how to clear sun roof drains so hopefully this will work.

[m4rkw]

Also FWIW the garage I used said the best thing to seal leaks with (especially around the bodywork) is windscreen sealant because it stays supple for longer.

[Baldguy]

1 hour ago, jdlexus said:

Thanks for your help.when I get a dry day I will start with checking the sun roof drains.then also where it's coming in around the rear door.the rear lights have some condensation in them so once I find how to remove them I will fit new gaskets if they have or use some sealent.

I've seen the previous posts on how to clear sun roof drains so hopefully this will work.

All the information i needed for everything I've done on my RX since getting it in February i got from this Forum and also a Facebook group..... very helpful people within both groups...

[jdlexus]

Thanks everyone there is a lot of good information from knowledgeable people on this forum will let you know when I have sorted this out 

[Greisingel]

Know this one all too well (pun intended). I used LSX to seal all the rear seams, hinge plates and bolts, light areas. It has worked. But I got the dreaded P0AA6 followed by a specific 3-digit identifier code.

It was a swimming pool. Removed all the rear to bare metal chassis and drained water – clear out the rubber bungs. And I also put in a couple of silicate dehumidifiers (which filled up fast). And I put in a heater for a couple of hours (Econ 7, mind)

After dry out I unhitched Battery neg pole and reset so I could drive the car. I drove it full heat for an hour and the warning stayed off.

No problems since then. Touch (dry) wood

[jdlexus]

It seems that the boot space is leaking from the roof rails any suggestions on how to seal around it.

can you only get to the bolts from inside or can you remove the plastic cover on the outside to access the bolts to seal around it

[Bluemarlin]

I believe you can get to it on the outside. Here's a link with some pictures and instructions:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-2nd-gen-2004-2009/454203-roof-rack-removal-procedure.html

[jdlexus]

Well getting really stressed now.the rear passenger floor is soaked I think it is blocked sun roof drains.

Will have to remove the carpet to dry out an seal the sun roof completely 

[m4rkw]

Could be sunroof drains, could also be that yours, like mine of very similar age, had the seals between the bodywork start to break down and leak due to age. Don't know if you had a chance to glance at the photos the garage took on my thread but there were lots of leak points all around the back of the car that collectively LED to very wet carpets.

Hope you get it sorted anyway

Mark

[jdlexus]

Thanks to everyone for the response.

I can't really want to put it into a garage and have the expense of having all the interior taken out.

I have watched numerous videos on YouTube and tried the trick of pushing strimmer line down the front drain hole it whent down quite a long way but stopped where I imagine it exits in the engine bay.i couldn't find the rear drain but by then I had enough of fiddling around in the drizzle.i did find the passenger side rubber seal was not fixed in place pushed into place as best I could.

If it still leaks I will seal it up as I don't use sun roofs anyway.i will continue to post any success

Thanks John 

[hughseh]

A quick question for those that have used silicone to seal the roof rails, does that mean once sealed, they won't be removed ever? Ditto any other parts that are siliconed e.g. the rear lights? Also, where is the exact point of ingress, is it the bolt holes or somewhere else that lets in the water?

[Tomtit]

If you need to remove the roof rails in the future you will be able to cut through the silicone with a Stanley knife or similar.