Water Leak

[imbett]

re water leak

I'm taking our Explorer in for this today. I noticed water coming down the inside of the drivers side cargo area window. Found that the carpet all around the cargo area was wet and starting to grow mold and mildew, and when I opened up the spare tire compartment there was nearly 3" of water in the spare tire well.

This situation is very bad and I hope you get this repaired ASAP Very sorry for you and hope I never have this problem > PLEASE KEEP US UP TO DATE ON HOW FORD REPAIRS THIS

 

[royski]

If you look at post 29 in the thread http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307130 , you'll see I had the whole rear glass panel replaced. We just had a bad down pour and I was out in it. Came home and was getting some things out of the back and noticed water and water marks on the (inside) left side. The water was coming from where the headliner meets the plastic at the bottom of the rear side window. Called the dealer, going in (again) on Monday. This is my first Ford and I'm starting to get pretty disappointed with the build quality. It's a little over a year old with 13,000 miles.

That is basically where mine was leaking. Ended up being the area where the rood racks attach to the roof. The dealership told me the gasket was in pretty bad shape so they replaced it and used a sealant as per what Ford recommended. I drove the car home today is pretty heavy rain and so far, so good.

 

[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?

 

[peterk9]

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?

The issue here as I see it is, how many times will you have to take it in to get it fixed? Many members have had to take their Explorer in several times before the leak was finally fixed. The water doesn't always seem to be penetrating from the same spot. You may be one of the lucky ones, otherwise I would guess you'll be going back a few times. I'd speak with the service manager first and explain this problem and see how they plan to handle it, cost wise, if you have to take back several times. Get it in writing if you can.
Also before taking it in, it may be a good idea to contact the Ford rep (FordService) on here and see if she can do anything to assist with this issue since it is a known problem.
Good luck.

Peter

 

[FordService]

...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?

Hi Luke1975,

Make an appointment at your dealership so they can check this out; they'll also be able to provide you with an estimate for any needed repairs. If you need my assistance, send me your information in a PM and I'll research ways to help. Please include your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and servicing dealership in your message.

Crystal

 

[royski]

I am glad to report that after 3 storms, the fix appears to have worked on mine. Apparently it was a bad gasket/bushing at one of the roof rack attachment points.

 

[hdjoe88]

Roof leak

Just got mine back from the dealer after 2 days. Service manager stated there were some drain holes "clogged" and one was "out of alignment." This is 2 months after the rear moon roof panel was completely replaced. I'm thinking that vehicles that have these big vista type roofs just can't take the flexing and torque from every day use. My wife had the older style Cadillac SRX that had a large moveable roof panel and although it never leaked it rattled and creaked. Especially in the winter. It's one of the reasons she traded in.

 

[Ted22]

I don't know if this qualifies as a "quality issue". Let's use rough estimate figures here.. .If Ford sells 100,000 explorers a year and there have been 3 model years (2011,12,13).. let's say they have sold 250,000 explorers to date.

If 30 people from this board complain about a roof leak problem, that's roughly .01% (1/100th of 1 percent) that are experiencing the problem. Let's say that 10x that number are experiencing that problem and haven't complained on this board... that's .1% (1/10th of 1 percent)... that still seems like a fairly insignificant number of vehicles experiencing an issue.

If you were talking about My Ford Touch, I'd agree, that's a definite quality issue, even the A-Pillars, or roof noise issue, but leaky roof is not a common problem that a lot of explorer drivers have been experiencing. I'm pretty sure you can be confident in purchasing an explorer, with the exception of the My Ford Touch system. However the issues with that system are software based, and SHOULD be worked out over time (though it's been 3 model years and we still have issues, albeit far less than the original software exhibited)

The problem with message boards, is that most people on them found the board by searching for a problem they were having. So you will see a high percentage of users experiencing the problem, but a message board is not indicative of real world figures in relation to the issue. (that's not to say that there aren't real world problems with the explorer).

Very well said!

 

[Candacelee]

How many people truly know about this site for this particular problem. Secondly, you have to know you have the problem before you search for info about it. I inform everyone about it and will continue to also. Can't just be a select few.. Shouldn't have this problem AT ALL!! Shame on FORD!

 

[virtual]

I don't know if this qualifies as a "quality issue". Let's use rough estimate figures here.. .If Ford sells 100,000 explorers a year and there have been 3 model years (2011,12,13).. let's say they have sold 250,000 explorers to date.

If 30 people from this board complain about a roof leak problem, that's roughly .01% (1/100th of 1 percent) that are experiencing the problem. Let's say that 10x that number are experiencing that problem and haven't complained on this board... that's .1% (1/10th of 1 percent)... that still seems like a fairly insignificant number of vehicles experiencing an issue.

If you were talking about My Ford Touch, I'd agree, that's a definite quality issue, even the A-Pillars, or roof noise issue, but leaky roof is not a common problem that a lot of explorer drivers have been experiencing. I'm pretty sure you can be confident in purchasing an explorer, with the exception of the My Ford Touch system. However the issues with that system are software based, and SHOULD be worked out over time (though it's been 3 model years and we still have issues, albeit far less than the original software exhibited)

The problem with message boards, is that most people on them found the board by searching for a problem they were having. So you will see a high percentage of users experiencing the problem, but a message board is not indicative of real world figures in relation to the issue. (that's not to say that there aren't real world problems with the explorer).

There are definitely some truisms in the above statement. It's not possible to know how widespread the problem is based on the complaints on a message board. It's also true that in general people tend to post negative things rather than positive things, so "the good" is often under reported.

That said, I'm not sure what the above has to do with the problem? Wide-spread or not a water leak is not a trivial issue and is something that needs to be fixed for free and in a timely manner for every vehicle that has the problem, with minimum inconvenience to anyone who bought the car not expecting that it would leak. There are some issues for which there should be zero tolerance. I don't think anyone would ever want to be in a boat that might have a leak!

This issue probably doesn't get as much general attention because it's not necessarily seen as a safety issue, but that doesn't mean it's o.k. to say that it's acceptable to have even 0.1% of the cars have leaks in them. Just as an example, my son is VERY allergic to mold and mildew with exposure causing him extreme respiratory distress that can end him up in hospital, and potentially worse if its not quickly treated. If there's a leak in my truck that leads to mold and mildew forming, and Ford is not able to do anything about it, and that leads to issues with my son's health then you can only imagine where that's going to end up. Fortunately, as far as I know, I'm not one of the unfortunate owners who has experienced a leaking problem, but I'm grateful that this thread made me aware of the potential problem as one more thing to know to check for should my son's health ever take a turn for the worse. As you can imagine, trouble shooting cause and effect relationships for these types of health issues can be difficult so it's important to be able to find the cause of his distress and minimize his exposure going forward.

 

[13Sport]

Uhh why are people quoting a post from sept of 2012? In context I was replying to someone at that time worried about purchasing an explorer due to "loads of quality issues". In context what I wrote makes complete sense, I'm in no way downplaying the severity of this particular issue for the population experiencing it.

 

[rdaugherty73]

My car is leaking in the rear driver side window as well. I have made an appointment with the dealer, but it seems this is a defective part on the vehicle. Am I going to have to pay for this even though this seems like a design defect? My spare tire well was full of water and now my car smells like mold and mildew. I didn't think to look until today to see if this was a problem with the car. I found where the leak was coming in by checking out this forum and now of course it is raining again in Atlanta so I could see exactly where the water is coming in.

 

[peterk9]

My car is leaking in the rear driver side window as well. I have made an appointment with the dealer, but it seems this is a defective part on the vehicle. Am I going to have to pay for this even though this seems like a design defect? My spare tire well was full of water and now my car smells like mold and mildew. I didn't think to look until today to see if this was a problem with the car. I found where the leak was coming in by checking out this forum and now of course it is raining again in Atlanta so I could see exactly where the water is coming in.

Welcome to the Forum rdaugherty73. :wavey:
This should be covered under your factory warranty if it is still in force. I don't recall anyone having to pay for the repair. If you read through the thread, you will also see that some members have had to make several trips to the dealer to get finally get the repair done correctly. A few have had the leak caused by the moonroof, some by the fastened part of the roof rail and others had body seams repaired. The Ford ESP does not cover 'water leaks'.
Good luck.

Peter

 

[virtual]

Uhh why are people quoting a post from sept of 2012? In context I was replying to someone at that time worried about purchasing an explorer due to "loads of quality issues". In context what I wrote makes complete sense, I'm in no way downplaying the severity of this particular issue for the population experiencing it.

Ahhh... Because I can't overly be accused of actually paying attention to what's in front of my eyes. I just saw ted's response to your post, which when read in isolation seemed to downplay the leak issue, so I thought I'd try and counter balance that. It never occurred to me to check the date of the post that I was following up on since I assumed it was recent.

You should see me trying to find the mayo in the fridge.. Just because it's right in front of me doesn't mean I'll actually see it :scratch:

 

[rdaugherty73]

Welcome to the Forum rdaugherty73. :wavey:
This should be covered under your factory warranty if it is still in force. I don't recall anyone having to pay for the repair. If you read through the thread, you will also see that some members have had to make several trips to the dealer to get finally get the repair done correctly. A few have had the leak caused by the moonroof, some by the fastened part of the roof rail and others had body seams repaired. The Ford ESP does not cover 'water leaks'.
Good luck.

Peter

Peter - we are out of factory warranty - over 36,000 miles. When I spoke to two dealerships yesterday they said we would have to pay - as they are guessing our extended warranty won't cover a water leak. I think it is crazy that so many people are having difficulties with the same issue and yet we are having to pay for a defective build. Any clue as to who to contact next to get Ford to pay for the repair?

 

[hdjoe88]

Water Leak solved

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

 

[peterk9]

Peter - we are out of factory warranty - over 36,000 miles. When I spoke to two dealerships yesterday they said we would have to pay - as they are guessing our extended warranty won't cover a water leak. I think it is crazy that so many people are having difficulties with the same issue and yet we are having to pay for a defective build. Any clue as to who to contact next to get Ford to pay for the repair?

If you are in the States You can contact Crystal (FordService) a Ford customer service rep and ask her how to go about opening a case file, or whatever they call it. It may not help but I would guess this condition existed well before your warranty ran out given what you described in your initial post. That is the only thing I can think of outside of starting any legal action. You can use this link if you wish to contact her;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=157968
Include your name, daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealership info in your message.

I am sure that there are likely many others who have the problem but are not aware of it.

Peter

 

[LukerDooker]

...and introducing... at 4900 miles

a go*dam* leak...

from the left rear top speaker down to 3rd row belt.

case is set up and now for finding time to go the the dealership.
horrible.





maybe its not a speaker, it really does look like a type of shower head...

 

[BobbyTony]

Our occasional leak in Calgary has turned into a bit of a waterfall in Victoria with the winter rains. It's not enough for me to care too much about getting it fixed, but will certainly go get it documented in a case file.

Of course this is one of those issues that people have to find, so you'll never know how many people have the issue.

 

[RFJ]

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.