Water leak in Hatch - Page 2 - Toyota Yaris Forums

El Kapitan · 02-19-2015, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikerice

I changed out my Tail light gaskets and I still have leak inside my spare tire. I gave up. I just pulled the drain plug and leave it open. Water drains out from there now so i no longer worry about hitting the brakes too hard and water rushing to the front of the car.

My car is now in the garage, but I may tackle this mystery after I get it back on the road.

my car leaks from somewhere up high. not the tail lights. i'm still trying to find it but the water stains behind the paneling start well above the tail lights. this could be the case with yours too. i sealed the weather stripping, the strut connections for the hatch, the wiring gromet rubber, the windshild fluid gromet. all that's left is the antenna and the area where the hinges of the hatch are connected to the top of the car. if sealing these last areas works, i'll post back.

tforkner · 03-11-2015, 03:24 PM

Well, I took out my tail light, and it looked like the foam gasket is not doing its job. I cleaned off the metal sealing surface of the car and coated it with a thin film of oil. I used blue RTV on both sides of the foam gasket and put the whole assembly back. Now to wait for rain to see if my labors are fruitful-

CoryM · 05-02-2015, 09:34 PM

So I found my, and probably other's, water leak.

The lip under the hatch-seal has a gap in it along it's length. So any water that gets under the hatch-seal will enter the gap, then come out just above the tail-lights and drip inside the car. There is a LOT of water that gets above the hatch as the entire roof drains into it. Also, the hatch-seal has shrunk and pulled away from the upper corners very slightly.

So the plan is to get new hatch-seal, then fill the gap, and apply sealer to the seam circled. Toyota puts a dum-dum sealer inside the OE seals (which sucks), so it's going to be a bit of a pain. The good news is it can be done w/o pulling any panels.

Cheers.

JennyR. · 01-11-2016, 08:35 AM

hey, i'm having the same problem with water leaking above the tail lights, i took out the tail lights, clean everything and seal it back, but i'm still getting water in. what you did here, did it work? And what did you use to seal everything?

-thanks

CoryM · 01-12-2016, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennyR.

hey, i'm having the same problem with water leaking above the tail lights, i took out the tail lights, clean everything and seal it back, but i'm still getting water in. what you did here, did it work? And what did you use to seal everything?

-thanks

I tried stuffing the seams, and inside the old weatherstrip, with dum-dum and had no improvement. I will be ordering a new hatch seal this week and will update when I have results. If that doesn't fix it, I will be removing all rear interior panels and spending some time diagnosing this leak. Water leaks suck.

Out of curiosity: how many people who are having leaks park with their car pointed uphill? Mine started to show leaks as soon as I started to park uphill instead of on flat ground.

Cheers.

bgkz25 · 01-13-2016, 08:42 AM

I had that problem before I keep finding puddle of water inside the trunk flooring. I did water leak tests during hard rain around the weatherstrip area and noticed that it was leaking on the side area of the hatch.
I pulled the weatherstrip and press (press direction-red arrow in my attached illustration) the welt so that the inner rubber flange of the weatrherstrip will grip the body tightly.

uploadfromtaptalk1452692350965.jpg

invader166 · 01-13-2016, 02:13 PM

Could it not simply be a case of not closing the hatch properly? I know on my car, if I don't slam the hatch hard enough, it won't completely close, and you can still wiggle it out a bit. When it's closed properly, it's solid and doesn't move at all.

Just my thoughts on it.

fiveagainstone · 01-16-2016, 10:18 PM

Had the Toyota dealership try to find this leak...they failed.

I get water just above the left front pillar between the windshield and the driver's window from the felt part of the plastic molding...drips on my left leg after a heavy rain...in addition to the spare tire well and the rear passenger floor carpet. Smells super funky if i don't put it in the garage and dry it all out with towels. Looks like just replacing the rubber seals is not cutting it...

So if someone for sure finds it(a solid solution), or if crimping the metal under the hatch seal does the trick, PLEASE let us know what you did and if it finally took care of the leaks!

CoryM · 01-20-2016, 11:51 PM

I replaced my hatch seal last night. The old seal if I held the hatch release button down, the weight of the hatch would pretty much close hatch. Now I have to slam it to get it to latch. I am cautiously optimistic that this will fix the leak. I will wait for a heavy rain or two (in this area, that's a week

) and update then.

Cheers.

bgkz25 · 01-21-2016, 05:13 AM

Hope it fix it. Don't wait for the rain though, just drive through a car wash ☺.

CoryM · 01-23-2016, 09:08 PM

So had a couple wet days and a decent rain-storm and....... still dry. I'll watch it for a bit longer before I say 100%, but it definitely fixed the main leak. If there is still a water-leak, it's probably a second one.

So for people starting out, I'd say step one is inspect your tail-lights carefully. Then check for water leaking under the hatch seal (between seal and body). If so, replace hatch weatherstrip. It's only about $100 and can be done in 15min at home.

Cheers.

JennyR. · 02-03-2016, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoryM

I tried stuffing the seams, and inside the old weatherstrip, with dum-dum and had no improvement. I will be ordering a new hatch seal this week and will update when I have results. If that doesn't fix it, I will be removing all rear interior panels and spending some time diagnosing this leak. Water leaks suck.

Out of curiosity: how many people who are having leaks park with their car pointed uphill? Mine started to show leaks as soon as I started to park uphill instead of on flat ground.

Cheers.

Thanks for the pictures and info. It helped out a lot.

This is how my boyfriend got mine fixed :

So we found out I actually had two leaks. One coming from the tail lights and the other coming from the weather strip. To fix the one by the tail lights. He had to remove everything and clean it. After that, he Silicone the gasket on the tail lights side and on the gasket side. The other leak, he had to pull out the weather strip and clean off all the black stuff from inside and outside of it. He made sure the surface was nice and clean. He then put a bead of silicone around where the weather strip goes on. He then put back on the weather strip and Put 4 tapes where the leaks were to hold it tight in place until it drys. After it dried he remove the tapes and make sure it was alined properly with the hatch. We then test it out by using a hose and so far I've had no more water coming in.

ilikerice · 02-05-2016, 11:43 AM

This is awesome and great information. I will try to do this to mine.

I can never get it to leak in a car wash or just running water over the hatch area where water would run. It only happens when it rains.. Don't know why.

ANywho, thanks for this

invader166 · 02-05-2016, 01:30 PM

Quote:

...he Silicone the gasket on the tail lights side and on the gasket side...

Really not sure about this...

What happens if you, for whatever reason, need to take out the tail-lights? Say, changing a burned out lightbulb...

When I changed out my original tail-light bulbs for LED lights, i found it very usefull to take the entire light out, giving me more working room, rather then fishing around in the hatch, pulling connectors out, but that's just me.

Woudn't it be just as effective to glue some weather tape around the sealing points of the tail-light gasket?

nortonfb · 02-05-2016, 05:38 PM

Silicon should just peel off. If it's stubborn, a little dental floss goes a long way.

CoryM · 02-05-2016, 10:26 PM

So I am still occasionally getting a single drop or two, which is much better than before, but still annoying. Only happens occasionally, even if it's been raining heavy it may show nothing. I'll update when I find this last little leak. I haven't sealed my tails, so hopefully that's all it is.

BTW, a neat thing you can do with silicone is use parchment paper or similar, run your bead, very lightly snug the taillight into place, wait to dry. Then remove the taillight, and the parchment paper will pull off. You now have a custom gasket.

If you don't use adhesive silicone, you should be able to pull the tails off anyhow. You can also use dum-dum.

Cheers.

tforkner · 02-07-2016, 11:14 PM

My previously mentioned tail light fix seems to have worked. At least for now-

David C · 10-03-2016, 12:49 PM

I too have a water leak in the rear of my 2007 HB, that I noticed after removing the rear bench seat. When I'm parked with the car pointing downhill (which happens often since my street is an significant incline, so is my yard and sidewalk entrance), water gets in from both sides down to the location of the rear seat bolts (which i also why they were rusted in there big time dammit). I didn't notice moisture or rust in the spare tire well at all, and like someone mentioned, it seems to be coming from the rear axle strut area. I was doing some mods in the rear of my car yesterday, parked in front of my yard with the front of the car pointing downhill, and water was coming in from both sides at the same rate. Today is sunny and dry, so I'll pull out the organizer bins in the spare tire area and see if I can trace the leak. It used to drain by the safety pin-hole of the rear seat, which is why it never became a more serious problem, but still that's bad for rust issues IMO.

01-13-2016, 02:13 PM	#25
invader166 Pumpman Drives: 2019 Kia Soul EV Base Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Langley, BC Posts: 434	Could it not simply be a case of not closing the hatch properly? I know on my car, if I don't slam the hatch hard enough, it won't completely close, and you can still wiggle it out a bit. When it's closed properly, it's solid and doesn't move at all. Just my thoughts on it. __________________ "I would rather loose by a mile in a car I built myself, then win by an inch in a car that was built for me." - Moog

02-05-2016, 11:43 AM	#31
ilikerice Drives: 2010 black yaris Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: savannah, ga Posts: 2,868	This is awesome and great information. I will try to do this to mine. I can never get it to leak in a car wash or just running water over the hatch area where water would run. It only happens when it rains.. Don't know why. ANywho, thanks for this __________________ -Derrick- "Racing is important to men who do it well. When you're racing... It's life. Anything that happens before or after, is just waiting."

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03-11-2015, 03:24 PM	#20
tforkner Drives: 08 liftback 5 speed Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: georgia Posts: 20	Well, I took out my tail light, and it looked like the foam gasket is not doing its job. I cleaned off the metal sealing surface of the car and coated it with a thin film of oil. I used blue RTV on both sides of the foam gasket and put the whole assembly back. Now to wait for rain to see if my labors are fruitful-

01-11-2016, 08:35 AM	#22
JennyR. Drives: 07 Toyota Yaris 5speed Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: new york Posts: 2	hey, i'm having the same problem with water leaking above the tail lights, i took out the tail lights, clean everything and seal it back, but i'm still getting water in. what you did here, did it work? And what did you use to seal everything? -thanks

01-13-2016, 08:42 AM	#24
bgkz25 Drives: 2006 Toyota Vitz 1.5Li Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Auckland Posts: 29	I had that problem before I keep finding puddle of water inside the trunk flooring. I did water leak tests during hard rain around the weatherstrip area and noticed that it was leaking on the side area of the hatch. I pulled the weatherstrip and press (press direction-red arrow in my attached illustration) the welt so that the inner rubber flange of the weatrherstrip will grip the body tightly. uploadfromtaptalk1452692350965.jpg

01-16-2016, 10:18 PM	#26
fiveagainstone I've made a post! Drives: 2008 Silver Yaris Hatchback Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Stokesdale, NC Posts: 1	Had the Toyota dealership try to find this leak...they failed. I get water just above the left front pillar between the windshield and the driver's window from the felt part of the plastic molding...drips on my left leg after a heavy rain...in addition to the spare tire well and the rear passenger floor carpet. Smells super funky if i don't put it in the garage and dry it all out with towels. Looks like just replacing the rubber seals is not cutting it... So if someone for sure finds it(a solid solution), or if crimping the metal under the hatch seal does the trick, PLEASE let us know what you did and if it finally took care of the leaks!

01-20-2016, 11:51 PM	#27
CoryM Drives: 2009 5-door, 5-speed Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: White Rock BC Posts: 687	I replaced my hatch seal last night. The old seal if I held the hatch release button down, the weight of the hatch would pretty much close hatch. Now I have to slam it to get it to latch. I am cautiously optimistic that this will fix the leak. I will wait for a heavy rain or two (in this area, that's a week ) and update then. Cheers.

01-21-2016, 05:13 AM	#28
bgkz25 Drives: 2006 Toyota Vitz 1.5Li Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Auckland Posts: 29	Hope it fix it. Don't wait for the rain though, just drive through a car wash ☺.

01-23-2016, 09:08 PM	#29
CoryM Drives: 2009 5-door, 5-speed Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: White Rock BC Posts: 687	So had a couple wet days and a decent rain-storm and....... still dry. I'll watch it for a bit longer before I say 100%, but it definitely fixed the main leak. If there is still a water-leak, it's probably a second one. So for people starting out, I'd say step one is inspect your tail-lights carefully. Then check for water leaking under the hatch seal (between seal and body). If so, replace hatch weatherstrip. It's only about $100 and can be done in 15min at home. Cheers.

02-05-2016, 05:38 PM	#33
nortonfb Drives: 2007 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: motown Posts: 339	Silicon should just peel off. If it's stubborn, a little dental floss goes a long way.

02-05-2016, 10:26 PM	#34
CoryM Drives: 2009 5-door, 5-speed Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: White Rock BC Posts: 687	So I am still occasionally getting a single drop or two, which is much better than before, but still annoying. Only happens occasionally, even if it's been raining heavy it may show nothing. I'll update when I find this last little leak. I haven't sealed my tails, so hopefully that's all it is. BTW, a neat thing you can do with silicone is use parchment paper or similar, run your bead, very lightly snug the taillight into place, wait to dry. Then remove the taillight, and the parchment paper will pull off. You now have a custom gasket. If you don't use adhesive silicone, you should be able to pull the tails off anyhow. You can also use dum-dum. Cheers.

02-07-2016, 11:14 PM	#35
tforkner Drives: 08 liftback 5 speed Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: georgia Posts: 20	My previously mentioned tail light fix seems to have worked. At least for now-

10-03-2016, 12:49 PM	#36
David C Drives: White '07 3dr LB Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Montreal Posts: 480	I too have a water leak in the rear of my 2007 HB, that I noticed after removing the rear bench seat. When I'm parked with the car pointing downhill (which happens often since my street is an significant incline, so is my yard and sidewalk entrance), water gets in from both sides down to the location of the rear seat bolts (which i also why they were rusted in there big time dammit). I didn't notice moisture or rust in the spare tire well at all, and like someone mentioned, it seems to be coming from the rear axle strut area. I was doing some mods in the rear of my car yesterday, parked in front of my yard with the front of the car pointing downhill, and water was coming in from both sides at the same rate. Today is sunny and dry, so I'll pull out the organizer bins in the spare tire area and see if I can trace the leak. It used to drain by the safety pin-hole of the rear seat, which is why it never became a more serious problem, but still that's bad for rust issues IMO.