Water Leak | Page 47 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Just got a call, they're keeping it for the weekend. The reason I was given was that they wanted to make sure the paint and everything was good and dry before I drive it.
 



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Just got a call, they're keeping it for the weekend. The reason I was given was that they wanted to make sure the paint and everything was good and dry before I drive it.

If you haven't yet, I'd highly recommend you checking the spare tire compartment. No telling how long this leak has been going on and the last thing you want is carpet that has been saturated and started to mold.
 






spare tire SPA

Found a puddle under my spare tire when I saw water dripping down the 3rd row seat belts. We had a lot of heavy rain here this last week in Miami and I just happened to have the rear hatch open. My god what a friggen mess. I called the dealer and made an appointment for Monday. Will let you all know how it goes. Anyone what to give me a couple of pointers before I get there ??
 






Fixed for now

$412 later the leak is fixed for now. This time the service department had to take my car to the Ford body shop. It was leaking at the seam where the bolts hold the lift gate in place. Water was also coming in at the wiring harness for the lift gate.
 






If you have the moonroof, check the seal at the rear fixed glass. The seal on mine had detached and dropped into roof causing leak. While under warranty, replaced entire rear glass.
 






Well my service adviser at Ford dealer ship called called to inform me that his LEAK Dr that they bring in every Tuesday looked at my EX and said that my power liftgate is crooked. He did not want to go any further until I had the liftgate repaired. WTF !!!! Most EX's came from the factory with crooked liftgates if I have read these forums correctly. He did not even go up and look at the roof rail seams.... I HATE FORD, I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FORD.

48 pages of complaints of water leaks from the roof is not enough for FORD to do something, I will find another brand. Maybe a Subaru or Hyundai has better quality control and better customer service.
 






I don't believe there have been many reports by people about a liftgate being crooked. Is yours operating correctly (opening/closing fine)? I also fail to see how this would have anything to do with the water leak. If the lift gate is crooked as they say, water would still get into the channel and run down the frame to the bumper. It would not make it's way through the roof rack holes into the headliner and down the seatbelt.

Obviously I'm not there but I'd be very suspect of that response.
 






Well my service adviser at Ford dealer ship called called to inform me that his LEAK Dr that they bring in every Tuesday looked at my EX and said that my power liftgate is crooked. He did not want to go any further until I had the liftgate repaired. WTF !!!! Most EX's came from the factory with crooked liftgates if I have read these forums correctly. He did not even go up and look at the roof rail seams.... I HATE FORD, I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FORD.

48 pages of complaints of water leaks from the roof is not enough for FORD to do something, I will find another brand. Maybe a Subaru or Hyundai has better quality control and better customer service.
There are posts here where the liftgates have been realigned, either by the member or the dealer. Depending on what exactly is involved in aligning it properly, the tech may have had a point in waiting until after the 'gate' is aligned correctly if it may affect the area where he has to work. 45 pages does not mean 45 complaints. If you check the thread it will likely show that 2/3 or more are replies/suggestions etc. Just align the liftgate or have the dealer do it and then have the leak doctor guy do his thing. BTW, the roof rack on the 2016 model has been redesigned.

Peter
 






There are posts here where the liftgates have been realigned, either by the member or the dealer. Depending on what exactly is involved in aligning it properly, the tech may have had a point in waiting until after the 'gate' is aligned correctly if it may affect the area where he has to work. 45 pages does not mean 45 complaints. If you check the thread it will likely show that 2/3 or more are replies/suggestions etc. Just align the liftgate or have the dealer do it and then have the leak doctor guy do his thing. BTW, the roof rack on the 2016 model has been redesigned.

Peter

WOW there are PLENTY of complaints just on this blog for Ford to have done the right thing, How many are on others or haven't noticed or had the problem yet ? Any one with this problem should contact a lemon law attorney, Even if you are not at the point yet to win a outright lemon law case yet you have a good case at a diminished value settlement. Either way Ford is responsible for your attorney fees. Ford keeps continuing my case and throwing money at us to drop it, last offer was $13,000 to keep the vehicle and drop the case, not gonna happen as we are taking it all the way as this has just been one of MANY major problems with ours.
 






WOW there are PLENTY of complaints just on this blog for Ford to have done the right thing, How many are on others or haven't noticed or had the problem yet ? Any one with this problem should contact a lemon law attorney, Even if you are not at the point yet to win a outright lemon law case yet you have a good case at a diminished value settlement. Either way Ford is responsible for your attorney fees. Ford keeps continuing my case and throwing money at us to drop it, last offer was $13,000 to keep the vehicle and drop the case, not gonna happen as we are taking it all the way as this has just been one of MANY major problems with ours.
There are quite a few owners who only discovered the 'water in the well' issue after reading this thread so I would guess that there are many owners out there who may have the problem but may not be aware of it yet.

Peter
 






UPDATE::
After dropping mine off last Thursday, and told I would get it back the next day, they called and said that it would be Monday instead. I picked it up on Monday, and they told me that instead of just resealing it, they decided to clamp the hinges, tack weld them, and then reseal them, as well as repaint. It rained Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday. I'm happy to report, that it's nice and dry. I'm pleased with the job they did.
 






The easiest leak to fix is the left and right rear rubber plugs just on the sides of the lift gate frame at the top. The next common leak seems ;) to be at the seams above the plugs on the section of the roof that dips down right at the corners is where the sealer cracks ( I soaped the roof with a liquid soap/water mix and blew compressed air from the inside with the rear inner 1/4 trim removed and watched for bubbles), one way to find a leak is to let a garden hose run on the roof aimed at where the leaks might be and sit in the car with a light with the panels removed. I fixed those leaks but made a new leak when I removed the roof rack, turns out the sealer they used shifts and opens up spots for water to enter, so leave them alone and that's another reason why the people finding the leaks make new ones. I'm going to assume using the roof rack for their intended purpose further weakens the sealer especially at highway speeds and over bumps and rough roads.
Looks like ford used a black flexible non drying sealer for mating the panels together that are spot welded, then a harder pink coloured seam sealer on top then it was finished off with a flexible sealer and then painted, yes it it all failed.

Even if you find and fix one leak another may open up at a later date, if Ford were to fix this properly I'm going to guess it would cost thousands per vehicle, removal of all the old sealer and re application and painting of the roof. Replacing any destroyed carpeting, seat frames, air bag equipment etc. and rental vehicles while your Explorer is in the shop for maybe a week or so, I really hope it doesn't take for a non functional air bag or rear seat belt retractor contaminated with water for someone to open up their eyes, this problem is only getting worse. I've had a few Explorers and have driven/worked on almost every model/body style.. should have bought that 4Runner
 






WOW there are PLENTY of complaints just on this blog for Ford to have done the right thing, How many are on others or haven't noticed or had the problem yet ?

My take is between this and the hood paint bubble issue, there are lot more people out there who have these problems and don't notice. Most car owners are not on top of their cars and hardly ever clean them. The insides of the cars of some people I know have so much trash, fast food wrappers in them it amazes me. People who frequent car forums are generally on top of their cars and will pick-up drips on 3rd row seat belts or the sign of a bubble on the hood.
 






My take is between this and the hood paint bubble issue, there are lot more people out there who have these problems and don't notice. Most car owners are not on top of their cars and hardly ever clean them. The insides of the cars of some people I know have so much trash, fast food wrappers in them it amazes me. People who frequent car forums are generally on top of their cars and will pick-up drips on 3rd row seat belts or the sign of a bubble on the hood.
Interesting choice of words "on top of their cars" seeing as we are dealing with roof leaks.:D
PS, it's a slow day here.;)
 






Interesting choice of words "on top of their cars" seeing as we are dealing with roof leaks.:D
PS, it's a slow day here.;)

Here are some of the other major problems we have had with our new explorer that others may want to look out for.

Roof leak 3 times and still a moisture issue inside the vehicle as we have to scrape a 1/4 inch of ice on the INSIDE of the windows in the winter
-Sync screen goes blank at least once a week
-hood needed repainted
-power steering needed replaced
-3 door panels needed replaced because of separating near the handles
-brake system needed replaced
-trim and seals around front windows needed replaced
-many other smaller issues
 






Hello All.

Just recently bought a '13 Limited about a month ago. Love it. I've done plenty of reading here, just to know what to look out for. Looks like it was made early in the model year (mid '12) and has about 38k miles.

It rained the other day on the way into work, and for the better part of the morning. once it let up, I went out to check the back for leaks. Sure enough, passenger side 3rd row seatbelt was wet, and a few drips on the mat. Checked the spare tire well, looked/felt dry.

Hopefully, this weekend I'll get the roof rack off and replace the rubber washers, re-seal it. Going to do both sides, just because.

Upon further inspection, it looks as though someone (dealer?) sealed the ends of the channels on either side where the roof meets the back. So at some point, I suspect the original owner found a leak. Can't help but wonder if it was someone on here.

Looks to be a very well taken care of vehicle, so I suspect the leak was noticed early and quickly taken care of. No complaints other than a smoker smell (but no burns), that is slowly diminishing.
 






Hello All.

Just recently bought a '13 Limited about a month ago. Love it. I've done plenty of reading here, just to know what to look out for. Looks like it was made early in the model year (mid '12) and has about 38k miles.

It rained the other day on the way into work, and for the better part of the morning. once it let up, I went out to check the back for leaks. Sure enough, passenger side 3rd row seatbelt was wet, and a few drips on the mat. Checked the spare tire well, looked/felt dry.

Hopefully, this weekend I'll get the roof rack off and replace the rubber washers, re-seal it. Going to do both sides, just because.

Upon further inspection, it looks as though someone (dealer?) sealed the ends of the channels on either side where the roof meets the back. So at some point, I suspect the original owner found a leak. Can't help but wonder if it was someone on here.

Looks to be a very well taken care of vehicle, so I suspect the leak was noticed early and quickly taken care of. No complaints other than a smoker smell (but no burns), that is slowly diminishing.
Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
If you really want to find out when your Explorer was built you can pull up the Window Sticker by using the VIN. There are a couple links in the following thread that may or may not work;
https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=308458
If they don't work read this one;https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=436375
For some reason changes were made recently and now some members can and others can not get the links to work. Good luck with the water seal project.:thumbsup: BTW if you are successful in pulling up the 'Sticker', the build date is in the lower right corner.

Peter
 






I bought my 14 XLT about 3 weeks ago. The first night I had it home in the garage I went through it familiarizing myself with everything and found the mat under the spare tire damp. I removed the spare tire cleaned and dried the area and let the mat dry. I checked all over the back of the XLT and nothing was wet. I rechecked a few nights ago and found the mat damp again, but could not find anything else wet. This was after a 5 hour trip in temps under 20 degrees and as low as 5 degrees. At one point my windshield washers froze driving over Vail Pass.

I believe my issue is condensation. The bottom of the spare tire area is not insulated and that metal gets cold. The heat from inside contacting that cold metal may be causing condensation.
 






Took off both luggage rack rails. Looks like somebody had goobered them up before (particularly the rear bolts).

I cleaned up everything, added new rubber washers, teflon tape on all the bolts, and re-siliconed the holes. It should be nice and tight now. I'll just have to wait and see when it rains next.

On a side note, I know I've seen mention of some dealer that frequent the forum that sell parts. Anyone know where I can find those names? Or willing to give a recommendation?

I cracked one of the cover pieces (it will still work), but I'd like to get a new one.

Thanks
 



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Took off both luggage rack rails. Looks like somebody had goobered them up before (particularly the rear bolts).

I cleaned up everything, added new rubber washers, teflon tape on all the bolts, and re-siliconed the holes. It should be nice and tight now. I'll just have to wait and see when it rains next.

On a side note, I know I've seen mention of some dealer that frequent the forum that sell parts. Anyone know where I can find those names? Or willing to give a recommendation?

I cracked one of the cover pieces (it will still work), but I'd like to get a new one.

Thanks
The vendors that are forum members are listed under the Vendors tab near the top left of the page. I'm guess that you may be referring to Benny of Levittown Ford Super Center.
See this post; https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2891087&postcount=1

Peter
 






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