Ask the Car People.SM


Toyota Sienna Water Leaks

122 messages,  Last post on Apr 16, 2013 at 10:31 AM

You are in the Toyota Sienna Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Sienna, Auto Body, Van

    

Messages Page 10 of 13

#83 of 122 Re: is the leak still a problem on newer models? [doggrandma] by my4monkeys

Sep 10, 2012 (4:12 pm)

Replying to: doggrandma (Nov 03, 2009 11:38 am)
RUN as fast as you can from a TOYOTA! Especially a Sienna.

#84 of 122 Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna by yinzermama

Apr 16, 2013 (10:31 am)

#85 of 122 Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna by yinzermama

May 03, 2011 (1:52 pm)

I've tried to find an answer to this - but I'm either coming up with mystery leaks or references to a 2011 recall, nothing concrete.
 
I am seriously about to lose my flipping mind over my van.
 
I'll try to make a long story short. Last summer I had the van open in the driveway to vacuum it out. My son was aiming a squirt gun at the back of the van - door open. I noticed water in the back - where the 3rd row folds into - and I asked him what he was thinking and made him put the squirt gun away. A few days pass and it isn't drying out. And it smells. I decide the water must be leaking in from rain, and my son had nothing to do with it. Take it to the dealer and they say that there are leaves and stuff in the crack/seal of the rear lift gate and that is the problem. It doesn't seem very plausible to me but I don't really have a lot to argue against here. Clean that out, figure that's it, but the smell remains. I try lysol, alcohol, sun - can't get the smell away. My solution is to keep the third row down so at least I can't smell it.
 
Just had a baby a few weeks ago and now we need to use the rear row. Opened it up and it is VERY wet underneath and smells like an open grave. I go to an independant mechanic and say find the leak - they find it but say since the car is so new, I should go to the dealer. Back to the dealer - this time they find the leak and say it has something to do with a floor seal recall and MAYBE that spare tire recall? The paper work says "floor seals replaced during open recall." Is this the spare tire recall??? I asked if they would cover getting the mildew taken care of since this was a recall issue. They told me to call main Toyota - after some back and forth the dealer agreed to clean it. When I went to go pick it up they were making vague references to "You must have left a window open."
 
It still stinks. I am now trying to get the dealer to replace the carpet. The customer relations lady is saying this has nothing to do with the recall, this is not our fault, we did everything we can. I told her I had paperwork stating floor seals were replaced and the leak should now be fixed. She was like, OH. Can you fax that over to me?
 
All I know is, the water was coming from UNDERNEATH my car. All winter. I did NOT leave a window open (under my car?). The car smells so bad that anything left in it for any length of time needs to be washed. I can't leave my stroller in the back or it stinks - even being in there a few hours, it will smell a little. There's no way I could take this car anywhere like on a road trip where things would have to be left in the van overnight. I don't even feel like it's safe to be driving my kids in this van.
 
Has anyone else had this problem? What exactly is the floor seal recall? And does it pertain to the 2008? Because I am just waiting for their response to be, this paper work doesn't matter, the recall doesn't pertain to your vehicle, this is a mistake.
 
Worst case scenerio I guess we pay out of pocket to replace the carpet but I don't feel like we should have to do this when the van was leaking from underneath due to no fault of ours.

#86 of 122 Re: Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna [yinzermama] by fibber2

Jun 02, 2011 (6:14 am)

Replying to: yinzermama (May 03, 2011 1:52 pm)
I was reading thru a recall notice, and happened to remember the question you posted last month. The floor seal kit is P/N 04000-41145, and is part of the spare tire winch recall. But it is not what you think - it is a set of sponge rubber blocks that help to reduce the amount of salty water that make it up onto the spare tire assembly under the vehicle. It's purpose is to reduce rust to the carrier that sits under the middle seats.

#87 of 122 Re: Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna [fibber2] by yinzermama

Jun 02, 2011 (6:45 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jun 02, 2011 6:14 am)
Hey - thank you for answering! This is actually bad news for me as that means I STILL don't know why my car is leaking. So a week after faxing the paper work showing "floor seals replaced during open recall. This should correct water intrusion" as well as the paper work saying I had the van in last summer for a leak and they couldn't find one I got a phone call and the lady said it was not their fault, they can't replace the carpet, I had to call Toyota. Five minutes later they called back and said they would replace the carpet. NO idea why. So the carpet has been replaced. I asked that they be sure the leak is fixed while the carpet was out - and my van no longer smells - but now I wonder what if it WAS another issue? I know for sure the water was coming from underneath. I did not leave a window open. It seems to be OK now but I don't have the 3rd row folded down so any moisture would dry faster if anything was coming in.
 
So at this point ... I don't know what to do. Maybe I should take it to another dealer and have it tested for leaks???
 
The lady at my dealership did say these seals have nothing to do with water leaking in but that was NOT what the service people told me. Hence my confusion. I really don't want a mildewy car again - it was SO gross!!!
 
Maybe I should sell it while it smells good and be rid of it? LOL Only problem is we have an 8 seater and I HATE the redesign of the 8 seater so I would want a used one... which could put me right back where I am.

#88 of 122 Re: Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna [yinzermama] by fibber2

Jun 03, 2011 (5:34 am)

Replying to: yinzermama (Jun 02, 2011 6:45 am)
Glad I could help (a little bit...). I understand your frustration. Leaks can drive you crazy, and can be so difficult to trace.
 
There are a few plastic plugs in the underbody that lead into the seat well area and into the rear quarter panels. If you look at some of the hitch instructions, they show places where you can route the wiring in from outside. I'd start by making sure they are intact.
 
Next, when it rains, open up the jack door (right side) and make sure that area is dry. It could be a roof leak that finds it's way down thru the "C" or "D" pillar and into the lower body structure. It is possible to remove the large plastic interior piece on the left side to check that side as well.
 
You will also find the rear AC unit is in the right wall, and there is a condensation drain hose that runs by the jack holder that could be disconnected or leaking.
 
Any of these could back up water into the interior.

#89 of 122 Re: Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna [fibber2] by yinzermama

Jun 04, 2011 (5:52 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jun 03, 2011 5:34 am)
Thank you so much! I will look into those areas. I am inclined to think the AC is not involved because of how this got so much worse over the winter when I was not using the AC but who knows. Those things sound easy enough to look into. I am also going to take it to another Toyota dealer and have them give it a once over just for reassurance. And in the back of my head I still think "sell the car and run!!!!!!" Trying to come up with some answers to this problem it just seems I came up with stories of SO many mystery water leaks in the Sienna. Coming from the spare tire issue which covered such a LONG period of time, it seemed logical to blame that, but maybe, maybe not. I absolutely love the design of this van vs. the captain's chair models (I like how all 3 middle seats are really reasonable seats and can hold a car seat) but I don't like this mystery leak issue.

#90 of 122 Re: Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna [yinzermama] by fibber2

Jun 04, 2011 (7:02 am)

Replying to: yinzermama (Jun 04, 2011 5:52 am)
With just two kids, we've held to the 7 seat models. But hey, that's why they've been smart enough to build both.
 
As far as selling the van, you really need to weigh out all your other positive experiences with it, plus the $$ hit of a short sale. But agree, replacing the carpet is worthless unless you can find and fix the underlying cause - because it will just come back again.
 
Please, let us know what you find. This way we all advance our body of knowledge. That's the best way of thanking this board for assisting you!

#91 of 122 Re: Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna [fibber2] by wickster72

Jun 18, 2011 (8:49 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jun 04, 2011 7:02 am)
I had the same problem. The rear window on the drivers side had the wrong window seal installed at the factory. Water was leaking around the window onto the floor. Open your rear windows and look at the rubber seal. Mine was drooping and folded under. I hope this helps.

#92 of 122 Re: Water leaks and floor seals recall issue on 2008 Sienna [wickster72] by yinzermama

Oct 06, 2011 (12:13 pm)

Replying to: wickster72 (Jun 18, 2011 8:49 am)
Update to say after the carpet was replaced it started leaking again. Called another dealer who referred us to a guy called the water doctor. He found the seal around the back was leaking at the bottom - very common - how did they miss this??? sealed that up and gave a one year guarantee. Month later, water again, starting to smell - he came back, carpet was SOAKED, found one of the plastic plugs (grommets) in the underside of the well area was either poorly sealed or never sealed. This is where the whole leak originated - HOW did the dealership miss this??? So over a year later, having been without my car on something like 5 occasions, having carpet replaced, having the dealership TWICE indicate the leak was in some way my fault - I am back at square one, with mildewed smelly carpet. But I THINK the leak is finally fixed. Now I am trying to decide whether or not it is worth the time and effort to even let the dealership know how big a boo boo they made and why they have lost us as customers. We are just one family but we are a two toyota family.
 
What a mess!!!

Messages Page 10 of 13

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement