Possible Mk3 Boot Leak?

[JPW]

Brill, good news @JordRob

[Saphira]

Hi all,

I noticed my car was flooded the other day. Removed all the seats and carpet and underlay. Think we found the problem  and fixed it, fingers crossed. But I have a problem. Getting the foam dry. Everytime I think its dry and touch it water starts pouring from it. Does it really need to go back under the carpet? Thanks guys.

[JPW]

@Saphira Yes, I had the same. I used a combination of a wet vac/dry vac, paper towels/kitchen roll and sponges. Just have to keep at it, and it does dry out. I then used the hair drier over the lot several times and put it near a radiator.

You could just buy some carpet underlay and put that under the footwells etc and use that, but it won't have the shape as it's a moulded price...

 

[PeckUK]

Just about to do the same fix on my 2011 Ti 1.6. Took about 2.5 litres of water out of the rear footwells with a wet/dry vac this afternoon. I've had the grommets pulled, and not replaced alone with the sound deadening material for about 5 weeks now, but I still had an indoor pond after all last nights rain.

Suspect that it is coming in through the light cluster now having been the vents previously. Intended to take the bumper off this weekend, but the forecast looks terrible, so will leave til next week. I've covered the car for now to avoid any further ingress.

A few mentioning the weld seams under the gutters as a potential source. Anything I should look out for to indicate this?

[JPW]

Strange, with no grommets in that bottom cavity where the vents are, surely the water will come out even if its leaking from the light cluster...

[JordRob]

@PeckUK

I fear I have water coming through the light cluster as well now! 
 

Sealed the air vents over two weeks ago now and left the bungs out. Had the interior out for a week drying inside next to the radiator. ***** foam is still holding a little water in the polystyrene ridge. But is generally dry enough to put back in now. 
 

Too wet out to try and put the interior back in today. But lifted the boot interior up and found a small wet patch in the left corner. Soaked it up. Will see what it’s like in a few days after this period of heavy rain. I’ve taken the taillight off, but can’t see where it would be leaking in. 
 

Don’t mind doing the work, but it’s just a nightmare trying to achieve anything in the UK over winter! Been without the car for over two weeks now. At least we are in lockdown and thankfully I can work from home! 
 

Do let me know if you find the leak in the rail cluster, as I may be suffering from the same problem. Cheers. 

[Jeff c]

Hi guys I had a titanium x 14 plate there are 2 seals under the bumper they are very flimsy a nd do not seal properly there is an upgrade from ford

I  had them replaced cist of 200 quid and solved my daughter and friend had same problem and now all sorted.

[Jeff c]

Hi guys I had a titanium x 14 plate there are 2 seals under the bumper they are very flimsy a nd do not seal properly there is an upgrade from ford

I  had them replaced cist of 200 quid and solved my daughter and friend had same problem and now all sorted.

[Jeff c]

Just to add this leak is nothing to do with rear lights its the vent seals under the bumper.

[Chad!]

I'm interested in this topic because I too have a leak from somewhere that appears to be coming from the left side as you look in the boot. I thought it was coming through the light cluster, so I sealed that. But it's still letting loads of water in when we have rain (a lot at the moment). I thought the vents behind the bumper originally, but the water appears to be coming from higher up than the light cluster. Where the hell could it be coming from?  I can see water droplets on the metal work and plastic under where the parcel shelf sits. Boot seal looks good. I can only imagine that maybe it's the rear quarter light window or something?  

Anybody had this and solved it??  I'd really appreciate advice/ideas. 

 

Chad. 

[JPW]

Hi @Chad!

Do you have any water resting in the spare wheel cavity or just on the inside carpet/parcel shelf?

[Chad!]

9 minutes ago, JPW said:

Hi @Chad!

Do you have any water resting in the spare wheel cavity or just on the inside carpet/parcel shelf?

Yup. Had about a pint under the spare wheel the other day. It's the vertical side carpet that's getting wet. But it seemed like there was water drops on the velcro strap on that left hand side too. As soon as weather permits, I will be having a look at the vents behind the bumper to see if that's the cause. But there does appear to be signs of water from higher up on the inside of the body panel. VERY frustrating. And a nightmare at this time of year. 

[JPW]

The problem is that once water is sitting in the tyre well it condenses everywhere as there is no ventilation when the car is locked up and doors/boot closed. So it gets everywhere, on the metal work and anything cold/damp.

Have you checked if its the air vents behind the bumper yet? I would say it's likely. My vertical carpet was soaked too due to this same problem.

You can simply remove the rubber grommets under the back bumper to confirm, without having to do anything else.

Thanks

[Chad!]

1 minute ago, JPW said:

The problem is that once water is sitting in the tyre well it condenses everywhere as there is no ventilation when the car is locked up and doors/boot closed. So it gets everywhere, on the metal work and anything cold/damp.

Have you checked if its the air vents behind the bumper yet? I would say it's likely. My vertical carpet was soaked too due to this same problem.

You can simply remove the rubber grommets under the back bumper to confirm, without having to do anything else.

Thanks

You think it could just be condensation making it 'appear' to be coming from somewhere else?  I've only recently noticed the issue, so as soon as the weather is ok-ish, I'll be able to spend some time on it. Firstly I'll take out that bung and check for water. If there is any, which either way I'm sure there will be, I'll remove the bumper and take the vents out to silicon them as so many others have had to do. It ruins what's otherwise a nice car. When the temperature changes, the amount of condensation on the windows is like someone's sprayed a hose in the car. Awful. 

[JPW]

This is exactly the same as most of us have had. I couldn't get in the car without it taking 10 minutes to clear the windows of condensation and wetness. Just felt damp all the time until I realised it was water in the tyre well and then came across this problem like most others.

I am pretty sure it will be the vents. Yes, condensation will end up on every surface until the interior is dried out fully. Mine is back to normal now after removing the bumper, siliconing around the four vents and removing the water from the vent cavity. I made a hole in the bungs too just in case any water makes its way back in.

Has it made its way to your passenger footwell carpet yet? Every time you drive, the water will make its way to the footwells as water swashes around until its fixed...

Good luck

[Chad!]

Not that I've noticed. I have seen a little bit under the back seat, but nothing major yet. I just popped out to the car and pushed that little bung into the car. Couldn't remove it as it'd been fitted from inside. Plenty of water started running out though...  Looks like I've got a job to do when the weather warms up a little. I daren't do it now cause of brittle plastics etc. But with the bung effectively removed, hopefully it'll stop the build-up now. Might still have condensation on windows for a while, but hopefully the problem won't escalate to wet floors all through through the car. Sheesh. Cars eh. I can't believe how many people are having this problem and there's never been a recall. 

Thanks for the help. 

[PeckUK]

On 1/28/2021 at 5:37 PM, JPW said:

Strange, with no grommets in that bottom cavity where the vents are, surely the water will come out even if its leaking from the light cluster...

It would have a different route into the car if leaking from the cluster, coming in higher and then behind the panel, until it meets the side carpet, both sides are soaked. 

I did take both clusters off and the N/S one had a puckered rubber grommet around one of the screws, so its probably coming in there. I'm also suspicious of the mounting for the tailgate gas struts on the body. Theres a lot of crud around them, which has washed out of the gutters, so I'l going to clean there too and then give it a bead of silicone around the mounting.

Basically I'll start from the top down and seal or grease anything I spot that might be a potential cause. I actually think I have ingress in multiple places. 

[PeckUK]

3 hours ago, Jeff c said:

Just to add this leak is nothing to do with rear lights its the vent seals under the bumper.

Its probably not the vents for me @Jeff c as I've pulled both plugs where the water collects via the vents. Any water going in there now, should drain straight back out.

[fidmille]

Hi everyone.

Focus MK3 owner.

For months I have been experiencing moisture problems within the vehicle. Intense musty smell, new baby seat with mouldy spots after 2 months, wet rear passenger mat. I noticed water in the spare wheel area.
My ford garage is in bad faith and says they have never seen this problem before! They offer to charge me 150€ excluding repair to look for a leak.
I took it to an independent garage who returned the vehicle 4 hours later without looking too much and says "it may be a seal problem".

And then I come across this subject. I try to fix this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJpgZorpULM
Which saves me from having to remove the bumper.
Is it enough?

A lot of water has fallen to the ground.
With the humidity, my parking aid broke down. I have the message :
Parking Aid Malfunction service Required. I don't know where this system goes. Maybe it was in the water? The garage tells me that I'll have to change the central computer and that it's going to cost me an arm...
I will try to connect an OBD2 module with the software forscan. Maybe it's the sensors? And maybe with the fix tried this afternoon, the system will reanimate itself... I hope...

[Saphira]

@JPWJPWi I did end up buying sound deading pads. The worked a treat in the car. The foam is still drying but the pads have worked a treat in the car. I did end up finding the leak was the vents in the end but all patched up and hopefully that the end of it.

 

Thank you for this threat it has been a huge money and life saver. I do recommend buying the Haynes manual also for the car, it was great help to me when taking my car apart.

[Gaskell71]

Do the water leaking issues effect all MK3 Focus's or just the preface lifted models. 

[JPW]

All models inc facelift I believe.

[JPW]

@Saphira brilliant, well done!

[antward91]

Found a leak in my mk 3 getting to the rear passenger footwell, via the plastic trim along the sill, assumed it was  door seal until tonight.

I put my hand up inside the boot lining, where the light is in the boot above the arch , and found the white foam up there to be soaked.

Think now its getting in around the light/boot and making its way down the sill to the footwell ( car is parked on a steep incline)

Any idea where the water would be getting in?

Thinking the light cluster or above?

[Typhoonf2]

Add me to the list. I was quite lucky in that I needed to get the locking wheel nut out of the boot and noticed a small amount of water there. So I resealed the vents with silicone and touch wood that should be the end of the problem.