Wet Carpet

My '96 Legacy GT wagon has had a water problem that is getting worse. There is a leak somewhere, so that when the car sits in the rain the carpet gets very wet. Has anyone else had wet carpets when it rains, and solved the problem? The water winds up primarily in the rear footwell on the driver's side. The carpet gets totally soaked and the water is deeper than the thickness of the carpet so there is a visible puddle. It continues forward under the driver's seat. Sometimes the driver's carpet in front of the seat is a little damp, but this is very minor compared to the problem in the rear. I've searched the forum without finding a problem quite like mine. Others have had wet carpet from a blocked air conditioner drain or a hole in the floor, which is not what's happening here. I can't find any sign of a leak. After a rainstorm, when the carpet is wet, there is no wetness on the inside of the car anywhere near the window seals or door jams. I've tried using a garden hose on the cowl vents, all around the doors and windows, and on the roof around the luggage rack mounting points. None of this has resulted in water in the car.

Im guessing its your windshield. When they get old sometimes the seals around them begin to leak.

My leak is on the front driver side door. No clue where it is coming from.... My first suspicion is the windshield being sort of rusted up top on the. Just a guess

Thanks. When I tried the garden hose tests, I didn't focus on the windshield seals, so I'll try that. I did have the windshield replaced in 4/2009, but the problem may have been happening prior to that. It does seem as though a windshield leak would make the front carpet much wetter than it is. Usually the front carpet is dry, but the rear is wet. Maybe there's some path for the water to travel from the windshield that lets it run to the back while bypassing the front well.

You'd be surprised. I had a Isuzu Impulse that had rusted out water drainage holes on the corners of the sun roof and that translated into a waterfall on my arms (when I'd brake and the collection of water in the frame of the SR) via the B- pillar on the automatic belts! IT was always so shocking when it did happen.

There is a vent that comes out of the floor under the drivers seat.. I would check and see if there is any water coming out of that from some point more forward on the car that could be letting water into the vents

 

I don't really know if this is possible, but it's the first thing that came to my mind from the way you described the problem

I've had the same problem and Im %100 sure its coming from the bottom of the door... look and see if your skirt has a gap by the door.... The water will pour in there and then seep into the car via the door..... I finally solved the problem when I drove through a retarded storm that dumped and I watched it all go down.... Seal that shit up...

Well, I'm pretty sure I found the problem and have it fixed. The first big test was last night when we had a big downpour. The carpet is still dry today.

 

I took it back to the place that installed the windshield, thinking that was probably the cause. Their installer checked it out pretty thoroughly, and showed me that the windshield was not leaking.

 

However, he found that a piece of weatherstripping on the leading edge of the driver's door had come loose and was no longer doing its job. The resulting gap was very close to and just above the spot where a door hinge goes into the body. Water was going in this hole and finding its way to the interior and a path to where it could accumulate under the seat and in the rear footwell. All we had to do was manipulate the weatherstripping back where it was supposed to be and pop it into place.

 

Thanks to everyone who offered advice.

sunroof?

 

the sunroof drain tubes have been known to pull away from the drain pan. and then leak.

sunroof?

 

the sunroof drain tubes have been known to pull away from the drain pan. and then leak.

 

^^^ This is your problem!

opps guess reading>than me lol!