Yaris Hatch Leak Finally Fixed

[Yari$]

I've had issues with my 2008 Yaris leaking in the hatch area when it rains. The water would run down both pillars on the sides of the hatch, often coming out of the two vents behind the taillights, and eventually making its way to the spare tire area. After reading several posts here and trying various things over the last few months, I think I finally have solved the issue. It was a frustrating process, so I thought I'd share my experience in case it could help anyone else going through the same thing.

The areas I checked were:

-Taillight Gaskets
-Underbody Drain Plugs
-Hatch Weatherstripping
-Rear Window Weatherstripping
-Antenna Seal
-Electrical Cable Grommet going to the hatch
-Rear Windshield Washer Tube Grommet
-Top Corners of Hatch at end of drip rails

I had little luck trying to trace back the drips, even after soaking with the hose or on a rainy day, even when I could see the water coming in. The problem is that the drips were coming from behind a sheet metal pocket on both pillars of the hatch, which completely hid the leak trail from view. But at least I had a rough idea where to start.

I did a quick check for missing drain plugs in the back area, but it all looked good. Also, I knew the leak in my case was higher up.

I removed the rear child seat belt assembly and carefully pulled down the headliner. The antenna and surrounding headliner looked totally dry.

I checked from inside the hatch under the area where the two grommets are that route the electrical wiring and windshield washer to the hatch. These also turned up clean and dry.

Then I checked the rear window seals by removing the plastic panels surrounding them (pulled off easily for the most part). These also turned up dry.

The taillights were not wet at the moment, but did show a small residue trail leading down from the main opening. This indicated that it likely leaked at one point. From what I gather here, this is fairly common. I removed the taillights, put permatex ultra black on both side of the gasket where it contacted the taillight and the body, rerouted the top cable to be on the inside of the car for ease of removal later (as recommended by someone else on the forum), and screwed them back in place. This didn't fix the main leak, but I have not seen water or leak trails come back on either taillight.

The hatch weatherstripping was one of the main sources of leaking. I noticed it was lifted slightly at the top corners. I contemplated buying a new one, but wasn't sure this would solidly fix the problem or that it wouldn't develop again later. I wasn't sure if the problem was with the weatherstripping, the mating portion around the opening, or just a troublesome design. I ended up applying a thick bead of ultra black to the outer base surface of the weatherstripping all the way around (up to the taillights). This ended up fixing the leak on the drivers side, but not the one on the passenger side.

Next I checked out the top corners of the hatch, right where the drip rail ends and dumps off all the water toward the back of the car. I ended up finding some hairline cracks there. It sort of looked like factory sealant between maybe what were originally separate panels. Whatever it was, these cracks were the culprit. I ran another bead of ultra black (stuff in the pressurized can is nice to work with) from the end of both drip rails down to the top corners of the weatherstripping. I followed what looked to me like sealant lines underneath the paint, making sure to cover the cracks. And sure enough, the car is now bone dry, no leaks! It has rained at least 6 or 7 times since then, and I have yet to see a drop.

I hope that this info can help someone else with the same issue, as I dealt with a musty smelling car for several years, unable to pinpoint the leak.

[jra]

Thanks for your post. Our 15 model Yaris hasn't leaked yet, knock on wood, but our 03 Echo sedan started leaking in the trunk when it was about two years old and we never could fix it.

[CoryM]

Thanks for posting. I too have a water leak and those cracks in the drip rails in my roof. I didn't think they were large enough to cause a water leak, but I think it's time to reseal them.
Cheers.

[poohbears helper]

Took my inner panels off during a miserable, prolonged, cold rain storm here in Northern Idaho, and your description is nearly identical to my issues.

I found 4 leak areas, and will travel down your road of investigation, always sort of looking over my shoulder in trepidation as I try to figure out the clips... each pop so far has done the right thing, not yet broken any, but I have not yet gotten into the upper ones where the seat belts are, nor have I opened the head liner.

I may skip those based on your findings and seal up the areas you spoke of first, in hopes I won't have to go there. I know my seal around the door is not sealed well any more. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write out your process, the parts that you relate regarding what you investigated that did *not* yield problems are as valuable as knowing what did. Thank you ever so much!

I discovered that I'm also missing what is called the Rear Bumper Side Seal (Left hand) Part Number:#52592-52220, which covers over the bumper interior area right behind the rear wheel. That seal must have been jettisoned when someone prior to me replaced the bumper, and it prevents a lot of slop and mud from getting into the rear bumper area, so I'm hoping that replacing that will help. I'm seeing a lot of places under the rear bumper that might also want to be sealed.... especially on the side where I believe there was a prior impact, but I'm not sure how much to do. I don't want to trap water inside between two panels, so am feeling a bit cautious about how much to do there. Any advice would be welcome with that.