Possible Mk3 Boot Leak?

[DampFocusOwner]

Just wanted to say a big thanks to the contributors in this thread. Discovered my 63 plate mkIII Focus had damp front and rear passenger foot wells. Took to local garage and they’ve booked me in for next week after a lot of tutting and teeth sucking and “oh it could be all kinds of issues, nightmare etc”

Anyway after discovering this thread I’ve just released the rubber grommet and got absolutely soaked! Have dried out the boot and spare tire cavity and will start the process of taking the bumper off and re-sealing the filters this weekend.

Massive thanks! 

[Paul Surrey Ford Focus]

At time of service my Ford dealer 'health check' advised "Water leak into car from rear. Recommend rear bumper removal and check for leaks. Remove carpet to d - Required: £1050.00"

In hindsight the car had been misting up if parked in the rain, plus on inspection I can see water in the boot-tyre well and it is damp left hand rear footwell that I had not noticed as the front were dry. A Google search directed me to this excellent thread; I removed LH side bung as referenced many times and water has indeed come out. Looking at the informative video (click) I thought I'd give it a go myself but then noticed a second video about a year later advising it didn't work (click). In the second video he has just removed the bung and left it open, I assume to let the water run through even though it's now exposed from below of course.

I am reluctant to give it a go myself as the initial video looked like a job well done to me yet it still failed, in addition if I was to pay the dealer £1050.00 I would fear they would be no more successful and it would also only be a temporary yet expensive fix! I wonder if anyone else has simply removed the bung permanently and if so found it a viable work around?

[Paul Surrey Ford Focus]

On 4/30/2018 at 1:47 PM, RustyToad said:

Many thanks to Wes10 and others for diagnosing and suggesting how to fix this problem. I had a bad case of it, with litres of water sloshing about in the spare wheel well and many more which had run forward and saturated the upholstry and underfloor sound insulation inside the car.

Here is a short video detailing exactly how I fixed it. No new info in here that's not already in this thread, but hopefully it will help some who are trying to sort this (common) problem.

 

 

Great posts by Wes and Rusty Toad. 

In your second video Andrew did leaving the "bung open" prove to be an effective work around?

I have no intention of paying a dealer £1050.00 that's for sure but it may be a a few weeks before I can attempt the repair as described in your initial video. That said if removing the bung and soaked padding as I have done as per second video (which I assume is the horizontal padding not that up the side) and that simply lets water pass through from above and in it out again from below proves to be more than a temporary work around then I may just promote it into a longer term one, especially as your initial video looked good yet still proved unsuccessful, I fear my attempt and even a dealer's may end up with the same result, especially knowing my luck I will end up breaking more than I fix!

I assume it would depend on just how much gets in from below when driving in the wet, so yes I'd be vert interested to see if you have found since November when that second video was published.

[MrSmit]

Hi all,

I also had water in the boot of my ford focus 2011 MK3 station wagon. I found it to be a cracked seal in the roof rail gutter, so I had the headliner taken down to disassemble the roof rails.

One question left: does the station wagon focus also have these vents OR is it only the normal focus? As I could not find them on my car from looking underneath it. 

 

Thanks

[HPFruity]

Hi guys, I have a very similar sounding problem.

(13 Plate Focus 1.6 Automatic)

I noticed a few months ago that the passenger foot well (front and back) carpets were soaked.  Car misting up all the time, even struggling to demist with the aircon (which seems to last only 12 months compared to my C-Max which lasted years)

I have a dog crate in the boot so never look underneath the tray, but I did one day and there was water by the spare wheel.

Evans Halshaw (spit) have quoted £650 just to do a water test and then obviously there's any further work needed to resolve it.

Without scrolling through the entire thread which woiuld take some time, what should I be looking for?  The carpets are dry at the moment, I'll check the boot later as the crate isn't in.  Pull out the grommets and see if water comes out?  If so, it's a bumper issue?

I'm trying to get a local garage that I trust to give me a price for doing the work but obviously I need to tell them exactly what it is.  Is anyone able to help me as I'm not partcularly mechanically minded, but by 'eck I'm not giving Evans Halshaw best part of a bag of sand!

 

Thanks :)

[sussamb]

Yes, pull out the bungs underneath the car, if water pours out you've found the issue. If you read the guide it's not difficult to do it yourself, took me a couple of hours.

[HPFruity]

Cheers, I am booked in at a bodyshop to do the work, less than £100 is a bonus for me!  Be nice to get this issue resolved!

[Ed Warner]

Hi there,

Another similar story with a MK3 Focus, left my car for 2 weeks outside back in October, I realised water sloshing about on return from holidays. Footwells were soaked and there was mould in the spare wheel well.

I took it to a reconditioning garage in Chemlsford and they confirmed what I was already sure of, the rubber around air vents on the rear bumper had gone off and water leaked into the boot. They replaced and sealed vents and sealed tail lights and cleaned the interior. Apparently is a recurring issue with MK3 Focus.

I managed to claim everything through the insurance but it was over a grand in repairs, not funny at all.

Great thread here, it helped me identify the problem thanks all.

[Sctieco]

It will be coming in from behind the bumper there are two cents one in each side they leak in fill up with water and end up in the boot there is a grommet under the car pull that out pull the insulation out through the grommet hole sorted 

[Nastazo]

My mk3 focus Estate is leaking rainwater in from the roof somewhere. It's coming out of the vent on the rear offside pillar and dripping onto the parcel shelf. Has anyone seen this before? 

[F0CUE]

Is it easy enough to put the bumper back on yourself or does it require 2 people? I have noticed my wheel well is slightly wet. 

[Swandog]

Thanks to the OP for the thread, and to the guy that did the video a few pages ago, can't remember your name! Had the exact same symptoms on wifeys car, pulled the bungs on both sides, got wet...  Took it all apart and dried everything, sealed the vents, sorted. 

The only issue was when I removed the rear bumper to find the car has had a knock at some point, the vent was in bits and the hole not the right shape! Out with a hammer and a quick paint strip and prime/paint, fit new vent, sorted. No wetness in the car any more. To get it dry I ended up trying water traps, which didn't do much good, so the carpet came up and the sponge part underneath getting removed to wring out and dry..  Left a heater in it for a couple of days on low heat, seemed to do the trick. All in all, car in bots for a week, probably 8-10 hours work, but I've saved a good bit of cash.

Poor design Ford!

Father in law has a mk3.5, did they change the design or will he experience the same issue?

 

 

[Scojototo]

had the same problem, just took out the grommets and got the wet and dry vac out and used that on all the footwells, took out just under a litre of water, put the heaters full blast for 30 mins, seemed to dry really good, had nothing since thats been 3 months, will get round to sealing the vents at some point, 

[Habzii]

Hi Wes. I think I have the same issue in my 2012 1.6 ecoboost titainium x. Smells damp and front and rear carpets are soaked! Just purchased the car. The trader said they will get it fixed. I had a look at the boot area and noticed it to be wet. Have you faced this again or has it completely cured the issue. I am thinking to back the car but only if This issue is on going. Your help will be much appreciated. 

[Habzii]

On 3/6/2020 at 9:46 AM, DampFocusOwner said:

Just wanted to say a big thanks to the contributors in this thread. Discovered my 63 plate mkIII Focus had damp front and rear passenger foot wells. Took to local garage and they’ve booked me in for next week after a lot of tutting and teeth sucking and “oh it could be all kinds of issues, nightmare etc”

Anyway after discovering this thread I’ve just released the rubber grommet and got absolutely soaked! Have dried out the boot and spare tire cavity and will start the process of taking the bumper off and re-sealing the filters this weekend.

Massive thanks! 

Any signs of leaks occurring again? 

[amacksco]

I would use silicon grease (an electrical product used to help make plastics slide across each other completely inert for plastic use unlike mineral grease which tends to attack plastic surfaces making them soft and sticvking to each other. for rubber seals there is silicon oil used for radio controlled car dampers used on door seals stops them being frozen to the door frame or furniture spray wax like pledge or supermarket own brand but not mr sheen.

[Morty1977]

Is this a problem in a MK3.5 focus?

[JPW]

I've just been through this mess. Been noticing condensation and a musty smell recently which became worse quite quickly and found this thread.

Same problem, spare wheel cavity full of water, sides of boot trim saturated, mould growth etc. Passenger footwells soaked and found its way all over the place. Tried a wet vac but it wouldn't get enough out, and the carpet underlay/sound proof material was so sodden.

Having removed the bumper and removed all the water behind the vents, and resealed everything with silicon, the carpet had to come out. Pain in the...

Anyhow, needs must. Rear and front seats removed, trims removed and carpet / underlay removed. Not nice. Took more than 24 hours of wet vac, towels, heater etc to remove as much water and moisture as possible. Not easy to remove water from foam underlay when it's basically a big sponge!

All back together now, no more condensation every time I get in and the smell is subsiding.

Thanks for everyone who's contributed to the thread!

 

 

[JordRob]

Hi,

Yet another victim of the boot leak. Have probably had this for over a year now, but just noticed the problem when I decided to investigate the heavy condensation and water underneath the rear seats when I laid them flat. 
 

2011 zetec Tdci. I’ve completed the repair, but am now having trouble attaching the rear bumper. I believe I also have mud guards, as it doesn’t look like any of the videos posted on YouTube. I’ve also got three bolts on each side and a small screw in the bottom far corner. 
 

I’ve attached the top two out of three screws with no issues. But the bottom one I just can’t re attach. The bolt doesn’t seem long enough to go through the material and then into the recess. It was so many hours ago that I took the bumper off, I can’t remember exactly where the bottom bolt was situated and if it was in that recess. 
 

The bottom bolt does not seem to be in the same place either. The videos on YouTube show the bolt to be much more flush that what is possible if the bolt does indeed screw into the recess. 

 

Photos attached for viewing. I eventually gave up trying when it just got too dark out. 
 

Have I attached wrong? Or do I just need to persevere? 
 

Thanks 

[JPW]

@JordRob I just did this (see post above) and also have mud flaps - two screws do indeed go through the mud flap in to the holes - it is a tight squeeze but they do go. I found the issue I had was getting the right angle to screw in at.

I remember (I think!) one of the screws doesn't attach through the mud flap, but the framing around it. I will try and take a picture and post back if you're still stuck.

[JordRob]

Thanks @JPW

Going to give it another go on my lunch break and will report back if I’m still having troubles. 
 

Really appreciate the reply. Great forum and thread. 

[JordRob]

Well I gave it another go and I just don’t see myself being able to screw it back in. 
 

Should be safe enough to drive it a mile to the local garage for a mechanic to do it in 5 minutes. Just hate the feeling of being defeated. 
 

I just want this back on securely, so I can focus on trying to dry out the passenger side footwells. I don’t have a garage, and the weather forecast for the next week is classic UK weather. 

Got some small dehumidifiers in at the moment but they don’t seem to have done much. Doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to get a wet vacuum on it anytime soon with the impending rain and lack of garage.

I’ve attached three pictures to highlight the problem I’m having. 
 

Picture 1 - where the bolt needs to go. Can screw this is in after spending 5 minutes with the angle. But only with the material pushed out of the way. 

Picture 2 - the bolt sitting on top of the material in front of the recess. I just can’t seem to push the bolt and material far enough into the recess and at the correct angle to be able to screw it. 

Picture 3 - shows recess and a fourth hole in the corner. A hole in the the material has a metal plate on it and lines up with this fourth hole and with which I have a small screw to go through. Although, it doesn’t seem to stay together and the screw sharp end I can feel through the other side. Is this correct?

[TomsFocus]

Doesn't the material slip in behind the mudflap?  You'll probably have to hold the flap to get the angle right, it'll have too much flex if you're just pushing on it from the front.

In answer to the question though, it'll be fine to drive like that if you want to go to the garage.

[Morty1977]

Is the boot leak an issue on the mk3.5?

[JordRob]

@TomsFocus

Got my brother to have a look and he confirmed I was being an idiot and the material slips behind the mud flap. You can even see the outline where the flap has sat on the material prior to removing the bumper. 

It’s now secure and I can focus on trying to get the inside dry. Thanks to everyone for the help.