Water Leak

[hdjoe88]

Just noticed today in my 2013 Explorer Sport when cleaning out the cargo area, that I had about 3" of water in the spare tire compartment and some of the carpet was wet. It rained very heavily yesterday.

Also, my front driver's door lock does not always lock automatically or when pressing "lock" on the key fob, and my sunroof suddenly will not open.

Guess I'm off to the dealership for repairs.

This is very disappointing. Before owning this car, I owned an Infiniti FX35 for 9 years and never had any major issues with it. I was going to buy another one, but I said no, I like the looks of the Sport and I read a lot of good things about how Ford has improved their quality.

Back in the day, FORD used to stand for "Found On Road Dead" or "Fix Or Repair Daily." I took a chance on buying one, hoping their quality had improved, but I guess not.

This very, very disappointing. I mean, a water leak?! Come on! That's car building ten commandments #1 - Thou shall not build a car that allows water into the interior.

I had a 2013 Explorer XLT until 2 weeks ago. It was my first (and last) Ford. I really liked it until I had to have the panoramic glass replaced due to rattling. Then the leak started, coming in from the driver's side rear. I found this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgZ5qYFzPOw

I wasn't going to go through all the PITA of mutliple fixes. Bye, bye Ford.

 

[blwnsmoke]

I had a 2013 Explorer XLT until 2 weeks ago. It was my first (and last) Ford. I really liked it until I had to have the panoramic glass replaced due to rattling. Then the leak started, coming in from the driver's side rear. I found this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgZ5qYFzPOw

I wasn't going to go through all the PITA of mutliple fixes. Bye, bye Ford.

Bye bye.

 

[Luke1975]

Here in Virginia we just had 2 rain and snow storms back to back. There was ice still on the roof but melting so every stop and start water would roll off on to the windows. When I went to put groceries in the back I noticed water rolling down the 3rd row seat belt and the plastic panels and speaker grill in the back right corner of the Explorer. I have about 40,000 miles on my 2011 Limited. I looked at my extended warranty and it says water leaks aren't covered. Since this seems to be a known issue how much do you think it will cost to get fixed?

Here is an update on my 2011 Explorer water leak. Crystal sent a private message that my case was forwarded to a regional customer service manager.
I had the roof repaired at Harrisonburg Ford in VA. They don't do this type of repair so they had Water Doctors do the repair. As many have said on this forum it will take many tries to get this fixed and all of you are correct. After the repair I still have a leak.
Anna Marie the Ford regional manger said Ford would pay $75 of the $145 bill for the first attempt at repairing it.
See Water Dr. ticket and same leak picture below.

 

[peterk9]

Here is an update on my 2011 Explorer water leak. Crystal sent a private message that my case was forwarded to a regional customer service manager.
I had the roof repaired at Harrisonburg Ford in VA. They don't do this type of repair so they had Water Doctors do the repair. As many have said on this forum it will take many tries to get this fixed and all of you are correct. After the repair I still have a leak.
Anna Marie the Ford regional manger said Ford would pay $75 of the $145 bill for the first attempt at repairing it.

With a 1 year guaranty Water Doctors isn't going to make any money on this one. I see their HQ is in London, Ontario. That is where I grew up.
Good luck.

Peter

 

[Candacelee]

They( the water drs) were also called to repair mine too. The roof racks were not the problem. They ( the roof rails) were also broke after they had their chance to repair this problem!! Another ford dealership found that for me!! Nice!! Call atty!!!

 

[TxTom]

Since this water issue has been around for years, and obviously Ford reads these comments, wouldn't it be great if the Ford Service rep could find out within Ford manufacturing if the problem has been/is being addressed, and a fix or fixes have been/will be applied at the factory? We'd like to know if the solution is just case-by-case at the dealer, or if the're enough warranty submissions to economically justify a factor manufacturing fix, or a component re-design. Are current units off the production line susceptible to this issue? I plan to be a 2014/2015 Explorer owner.

 

[fjc2]

I just traded my water leak for a new Jeep Cherokee.

I know 2 people with those that have had leak problems - that quickly dropped off my list of consideration for that reason. Good luck with yours.

 

[hdjoe88]

I know 2 people with those that have had leak problems - that quickly dropped off my list of consideration for that reason. Good luck with yours.

I believe the problem is in having the large panoramic glass roof. I think there is too much flexing because of the large hole in the roof. When I had the leak repaired the service writer told me some of the drain holes "weren't lined up." I had to have the large panel replaced due to a severe rattle and then my leak started. I have neither a sun roof or panoramic panel in my Cherokee. Prior to my Explorer I never had any roof leak.

 

[fjc2]

I believe the problem is in having the large panoramic glass roof. I think there is too much flexing because of the large hole in the roof. When I had the leak repaired the service writer told me some of the drain holes "weren't lined up." I had to have the large panel replaced due to a severe rattle and then my leak started. I have neither a sun roof or panoramic panel in my Cherokee. Prior to my Explorer I never had any roof leak.

I've never been a fan of sun/moon roofs (and subsequently panoramic roofs) - I tend to rarely open them, don't like the loss of headroom that they cause in some models, and the increased chance of leaks. Didn't order one in my Explorer Sport (less than 2 weeks from build date now!), so hopefully I'm avoiding these leak issues.

 

[Motoarzan]

Are the leaks all on those with a sunroof and can confirm that's where the water can potentially come in or are there some who don't have the sunroof yet still have leaks meaning it's coming in on an poorly sealed weld seem.
Sorry, I wasn't about to read 300+ posts to see if this had already been answered.

 

[peterk9]

I've never been a fan of sun/moon roofs (and subsequently panoramic roofs) - I tend to rarely open them, don't like the loss of headroom that they cause in some models, and the increased chance of leaks. Didn't order one in my Explorer Sport (less than 2 weeks from build date now!), so hopefully I'm avoiding these leak issues.

I think more leaks were attributed to leaking seams than the moonroof. I have had 4 vehicles with moonroof and never had an issue. Personally I love them and would not order a vehicle without one.

Peter

 

[toddp]

Are the leaks all on those with a sunroof and can confirm that's where the water can potentially come in or are there some who don't have the sunroof yet still have leaks meaning it's coming in on an poorly sealed weld seem.
Sorry, I wasn't about to read 300+ posts to see if this had already been answered.

I don't have a sunroof and both my leaks came from welds that cracked, one leak a year after the other which shows there is too much flex going on and cracking the welds. Do not worry though, they will through some sticky black roofing patch on your vehicle and call it a factory authorized fix haha.

 

[peterk9]

Are the leaks all on those with a sunroof and can confirm that's where the water can potentially come in or are there some who don't have the sunroof yet still have leaks meaning it's coming in on an poorly sealed weld seem.
Sorry, I wasn't about to read 300+ posts to see if this had already been answered.

As I posted in my other reply above, the moonroof has seldom been the cause of the water leak. There are more instances of bad seams or seals where the roof rails attach to the body.

Peter

 

[sapper41]

Hey all I'm a Ford master tech n I perform these types of water leak repairs daily. They can be very difficult to reproduce at times, or to pinpoint "root source" due to fact liquid that runs and we want to be least invasive to your vehicle that we can..My first night here cause I got my first explorer this evening with this concern to diag tomorrow 3rd row belt leak n fills spare tire dwell, and perfectly honest we sell many and this my first ever hearing of this concern, and I do all our water leak repairs. This one has no vista or sunroof, so exp tells me will be seam leak, i see many customers stating dealer sealed seam, but if leak is from roof rack boot or seal area above they only fixing spot where they see intrusion into vehicle interior will still leak into body and eventually make it inside somewhere else possibly..key is to find root entry point of water..I can seal a seam and watch water leak in another spot further down seam or elsewhere.. Put your finger in one hole it squirts out another..Happy to help anyone who needs it..

 

[TxTom]

"sapper41" thanks for joining the discussion…plz advise the year Explorer, and what you find to be the source of water intrusion, once you have gotten into it.

 

[Motoarzan]

Seems a lot of people who come in with these leaks never get it fixed permanently and have to keep coming back again and again.
Wouldn't it make sense instead of wasting hours and hours of time and labor trying to "pin point" a leak....to simply take down and out the entire headliner and apply the sealing material along "all seams" and "All" potential entry points across the "entire" roof of the vehicle and be done with it.
I mean, the cost is in the labor taking the headliner down and diagnosis not the extra few tubes of sealant gunk.

 

[LukerDooker]

The lifetime of roof flexing and the water drain design of this car probably will work against any fix, for the life of the car.
The entire roof, roof rail system, and window edges have many water channels, with many entry points to the inside edge of the body, doors, and rear hatch, and the water can pitch forward and back with movement of the car.
Its essentially designed to leak unless the assembly is top notch in each particular car...horrible...

 

[walterhudson]

Are the leaks all on those with a sunroof and can confirm that's where the water can potentially come in or are there some who don't have the sunroof yet still have leaks meaning it's coming in on an poorly sealed weld seem.
Sorry, I wasn't about to read 300+ posts to see if this had already been answered.

Took delivery of my new Sport three days ago with no sunroof. Brought it to car wash today and when I stopped at the first traffic light a good amount of water dripped down from the middle front headliner near the rearview mirror and soaked the console. So much for workmanship and quality control.

 

[Candacelee]

They took the headliner out and reseamed with sealant! Guess what?? Leaked again on other side also! Nice! Great FORD quality!! Hope the new design for a new Explorer will be better! Hmmmm!!

 

[fjc2]

Are these all leaking around the roof rails? Would a small bead of silicone around each rail connection point on the roof be preventative?

(yeah, I know, shouldn't have to do that on a new vehicle, just asking the question).