passenger side footwell leak

[Joel H]

My drain was repaired, and just came loose again (I'm guessing). I have not looked, but the floor is wet again.

The factory instructions indicate to but the hose on from the engine side of the firewall, so it may be that placing it back in place from the inside just doesn't work long-term.

What a hassle! Love that GM warranty answer -- what garbage.

[brownieone]

I have now joined the leaking passenger-side footwell club. Will take it in and see if our Saab Secure plan does it's thing ($100 deductible).

[brownieone]

I have now joined the leaking passenger-side footwell club. Will take it in and see if our Saab Secure plan does it's thing ($100 deductible).

The plot thickens ... another heavy rain storm, but no wet footwell with this downpout. Like last time, the 9-4X was parked and not moving when the rain hit. Not sure of the angle of rain for either storm ... for those of you who had this issue and got it fixed, where was the water coming in from?

[kanundrum]

The Issue is The Sunroof Channels get jammed with junk (The Passenger side channel near the A Pillar) is the main culprit

[Joel H]

The plot thickens ... another heavy rain storm, but no wet footwell with this downpout. Like last time, the 9-4X was parked and not moving when the rain hit. Not sure of the angle of rain for either storm ... for those of you who had this issue and got it fixed, where was the water coming in from?

The problem in my car wasn't near the sun roof, but rather at the other end of the hose that goes down the A-pillar to the firewall. The hose came loose where it goes into the firewall -- you might be able to see it by taking out the glove box -- there is some kind of heater motor behind there that blocks easy access. The directions on replacing the hose say to insert a new one from outside the firewall (take off the cover under the wipers), but you don't really see anything by looking here. You can pour water down the passenger front side drain (open sunroof and you can see it) to see if anything comes out below on to the floor.

[Joel H]

The problem in my car wasn't near the sun roof, but rather at the other end of the hose that goes down the A-pillar to the firewall. The hose came loose where it goes into the firewall -- you might be able to see it by taking out the glove box -- there is some kind of heater motor behind there that blocks easy access. The directions on replacing the hose say to insert a new one from outside the firewall (take off the cover under the wipers), but you don't really see anything by looking here. You can pour water down the passenger front side drain (open sunroof and you can see it) to see if anything comes out below on to the floor.

I did the fix on this hose going through the firewall that got my floor soaked -- just had our first hard rain in Seattle so the time had come. The best way to access is to remove the inside A-panel that has the speaker -- it's a little tricky but just pops off. Next remove the tray inside the glove box (same as when you change the interior air filter). Then remove the panel under the wipers and pop open the access door by the passenger side. Here's a picture of the grommet (#3 in my early post diagram) that comes loose.


I believe that there was a plastic clip -- that broke -- that held this grommet in place since I found half on each side (the first on inside the car when I did the first fix which dealer finished and the second inside the firewall which I found today). When the dealer "fixed" it they tried to pop the rubber grommet back in and it worked for a while. Today I added another slightly larger hose to extend the hose all the way through the firewall -- clamped it together with a small hose clamp. From outside the firewall you can reach up and to the far left and extend a finger through the hole the grommet passed through. Inside the car you can reach through the back of the glove box and touch the hole -- the hose can be removed up along the A-pillar and reinserted. Tried pushing the grommet back through but didn't think it would hold and it is very hard to access fully. Putting the extended hose through or inserting a new hose from the outside is much easier.


You could replace the entire hose -- and I even had the same size -- but that means loosening the headliner and making sure to have a good connection at the sunroof.
Hope this works.

[jeffgtx]

Hi joel,
could you show a picture of what you mean by "the panel under the wipers"?

[Joel H]

Hi joel,
could you show a picture of what you mean by "the panel under the wipers"?

I'm traveling so can not take a picture, but it's the large black plastic part that goes all the way across the car along the bottom of the windshield Some fasteners are removed under the hood and with the wipers off--I used a small puller to release them after taking off the nuts and marking location with a marker on the windshield. Once that large piece is off you see a small access panel where the line drains in the upper left

[jeffgtx]

thanks for the reply. so you have to take a few bits off inside the car and this panel off under the hood to fix this?

my leak came back and we no longer live near the dealer that did the first repair so i am going to try and do it myself.

I'm traveling so can not take a picture, but it's the large black plastic part that goes all the way across the car along the bottom of the windshield Some fasteners are removed under the hood and with the wipers off--I used a small puller to release them after taking off the nuts and marking location with a marker on the windshield. Once that large piece is off you see a small access panel where the line drains in the upper left

[Joel H]

thanks for the reply. so you have to take a few bits off inside the car and this panel off under the hood to fix this?

my leak came back and we no longer live near the dealer that did the first repair so i am going to try and do it myself.

Yes, you might be able to do it without the access from the outside, but it really isn't too hard to remove the wipers and the panel below. Just make sure you clip it under all the clips on the bottom of the windshield when you reinstall--I carelessly missed one and had to do it over. On the inside the speaker wire has to be disconnected after the trim is partially removed from A-pillar and the clip toward the top is supposed to be replaced--you could have a dealer do this some time later if desired. Mine has not leaked a drop, and I'm in Seattle and park outside, since I added the short extension to to hose and slipped it through the firewall. Prior to that the foor would get fully soaked in no time.