vsekvsek

I just discovered a water leak on the rear pasenger side. There was like a 2 full inches there. I have to park on a hill and not sure if its being channeled there somehow. I for the life of me cannot find where its leaking. It almost like its somehow coming from the floor somehow. Theres no spots anywhere else in the entire car thats wet. Just the one spot where the right side passenger would put there feet. Has anyone else had this problem or offer suggestions on how to track down this weirdness?

destroir

I'm having the same issue, but on the driver's side, not 2 inches, but a soaked carpet. Find anything on this?

theheist

Yeah, I'm having the same problem, water coming up through the carpet on the front passenger floor. I've ripped upthe carpet, and seems to be coming from under the black foam stuff that is stuck to the inside of the firewall.
About to go to the dealers now and see what can be done about it. Did anyone have any ideas/solutions?
Cheers,
Craig

sea-scooby

That's what you get when you live in the fine town of rainy North Bend WA!

What year/model do you have? Do you have a moonroof?

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05 Forester X A/T (hers)
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TECH MOD

HI! i had this happen on my 98s Forester on the passenger side ,after much searching ,i found the leak was coming in from the top windshield seal, i pulled back the carpet on passenger side mostly right front passenger side ,then took hose and sprayed windshield on full and then watched wear the water drained along headliner to pillar down pillar to the floor, i had to take top windshield seal off and recaulk with a good black silicone sealant and that solved my leak, anyways that may not be your problem but that gives you a place to look, there is another possiblility i think it has to do with plugged drain channels that run down the middle pillar and rear i can't remember if that applied to sunroof Foresters or all. Anyways hope that helps your Leaky Subiemarines.

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01 Silver LTD MT5/HI-FLO/ 98 S MT5

theheist

Thanks mate, thats awesome, I'll go and have a look at what you suggested. The car doesn't have a sunroof (01 Limited, White, upgraded suspension), but it might just be the windshield issue. Its raining heaps in North Queensland (Australia) with a foot of rain in the last 24hrs, so its sort of a big problem!
I went to the dealer, and there are no service people there cause its a Saturday, and the parts person had no idea, and had never heard of it. I'll hose the car again, now with the carpet off it might show up better. Hope it isn't coming under the insulation on the firewall, as that stuff looks nasty to replace.
Cheers

Kevin

If you've been in any deep water lookie here:
Rear footwell leaks - potential cure?

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theheist

I wish it was that easy. Are those holes there for a reason? Just wondering about blocking them up, why are they there in the first place?
Think I might have worked it out last night. Could be that the rubber that stops water entering the engine bay at the base of the windscreen is dead. It seems very limp, and water goes underneath it easily and into the engine bay, in particular on the passenger side. It goes over the windscreen wiper motor, and keeps going down the firewall. Obviously if I replace that rubber, it will stop the water entering the engine bay, but then I will need to find what is broken inside the engine bay that is letting the water through the firewall. I looked at a number of the rubber bits I could see from the top, and none seemed to be the problem, so I will have to look harder.
Cheers

Buddur

Today I found a soaked back passenger floor while cleaning out the car. Man was there alot of water. There was even some water on the floor up front. And reading this thread makes me wonder since I just had my front windshield replaced and now the upper corners of the molding have gaps.
New Window and Cowl Assembly Fit?

This sucks! The floor was never wet before the widow was replaced. So I need to silicone calk the gaps, eh?

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victor

Hello out there, I own a 98 forester and when I was looking for answers as to why I have water sitting on the bottom of the drivers side floor aslo travelling to the back rear floor drivers side. With some of the advice that I had read.I recaulked the side of the window then ,dryed out the carpet and the foam underneath.Blow dryer for about an hour. I did remove the windshield trim cut out some of the old caulking. I hope this works because like you this drives me cazy. I'll let you know how it goes . Thanks Victor

victor

Well here' what I did and so far no more leak! First I did recaulked the drivers side window ,but felt there was still a problem. Then if you look between the drivers side door and the front drivers side fender, you can see where the wires come in from the engine compartment. they go through two different rubber gromets . I was able to pull back the cover which is over the wheel (tire) and caulk the $%^%^&&out of it ,also the other one which is located just below or above the hinge. We have had alot of rain and NO WET CARPET. Hope this helps Victor

Kristine

Hi --

I am having the same problem with my 98 Forester. Never had the problem before. Did you find out what your problem was? I just had the windshield replace a couple of months ago. Had been noticing a real musty smell in the car. Didn't have much rain until the past few weeks. and it is soaked on the passenger side.

Gnat

Hi. I am also having the same problem in my 2005 Forester. Yes I have a Moonroof. I looked underneath and saw the holes and was surprised that they don't have plugs in them like my Volvo used to have. I figured they were there for a reason--maybe to allow drainage but then I wondered if water was getting up through them as I had that problem with my old volvo when a plug was knocked out. My carpet is soaked and my car has been smelling musty even when I have not had the dogs in it. I put a towel in today and it soaked up a fair amt of water. It was not raining that much today but we had a lot of rain last night. I also park on a hill and I thought that initially the problem was due to run off from the driver's side mat but it is not as the mat is dry and the floor is still soaked.

It sounds though from the other posters that the water is running along and leaking. I will try pointing my car in the other direction in the driveway until I can get my car to the dealer!

I bought an extended warrenty when I got the car from the dealer a few months ago. Not sure if this is covered but I plan to take it in. I did notice a musty smell shortly after I got the car but I haven't noticed the wet carpet until recently.

I will keep you all posted. Thanks for your reports/hints. I love my subbie but I am very annoyed with this leak. One of the reasons I bought a newer car as so I wouldn't have to deal with problems like this for a while. A 4 year old car should not leak like this!

Gnat

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2005 2.5X MT Red

Slade

Having front right passenger leak under the rug in the padding. Subaru did a water test and couldn't find it. Its molding under there but I want to solve the problem before I replace the mats. I also got my windshield replaced. That seems to be a common theme. Windshields have been replaced on many of the replies. Hmm...Any news or comments from anyone?

oneHOARDER

I am having the same issue sodden carpet on the drivers side front and rear of my 98 turbo. The source of my leak doesn't seem to have been covered here yet so I hope this helps.

After stripping the carpet and moldings and turning the hose loose on the car I discovered a leak at the base of the A pillar on the drivers side and water pooling in the middle of the car. The water was running down the wiring and into the drivers floor well. Closer inspection revealed that the rubber covering the wires running from the car to the drivers door had perished allowing water to enter the covering between the chassis and the door and run directly into the vehicle.

I re-wrapped the wiring between the door and am hoping that has solved the problem.

The pooling in the middle of the vehicle I am hoping stemmed from the same leak. After removing the sound deadening the water appeared to be coming from the seam of the crossbar under the drivers seat.

Now I need to get the stench out of my carpets.