Backseat Flooding

I just Purchased a 2011 Leaf last week, We've had about 5 inches of rain since then, and i noticed that my back floor is soaked. Took it to the dealership today to check it out. They're only answer for me was that I either drove it in High water(which I did not) or left my window down. When I asked if it was possible for water to get in any other way they basically laughed me out of the building. Has anyone ever heard of the backseat being soaked for no reason? I read that sometimes the driver side can become wet from the AC but we've been pretty cool here and both front floor carpets are pretty dry.

If it rained hard enough, and the door(s) was ajar or the window(s) slightly open, rain could have found its way in. When it rains sideways all it takes is 1/2 an inch of open window to get things wet.

I kept everything sealed. And no other part of my backseat is wet. Just the carpet and mats. They're not just day they're soaking.

I am not aware of any water leakage issues except for some early 2013's (which also had the AC coil drain hose not properly routed) with leaky windshields. As you said the front floor carpeting is dry so that is not going to be the case here.

Since you say the back seat itself is not wet but just the floor (so the water is not coming from above), the culprit will have to be some opening in the floor. I would look at the emergency battery cutoff cover; it's the panel located in the middle of the hump in the back seat footwell. Pull this cover off and there should be another metal cover below it; check to see that cover is secure. That is the only place in the floor of the rear seat area I could think of where water could easily enter if not sealed properly.

I would also test the weatherstripping on the lower edges of the doors by spraying a garden hose at it (you may want to sit in the car while someone else does this).

RonDawg said:

Since you say the back seat itself is not wet but just the floor (so the water is not coming from above), the culprit will have to be some opening in the floor.

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Not necessarily. It could be coming from higher up, even the roof. It just depends on what path the water takes. It can run underneath some trim panels all the way to the floor.

If it were me, I'd get inside the car and have somebody use a garden hose with a sprayer and spray the car all over, especially in various cracks of the exterior. Then I'd watch for leakage. If I didn't see any, but could tell that the floor got wet, I'd pull off some of the interior trim panels and repeat the test again.

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Here's what I'm doing today. I have pulled out the seat and have begun to dry it up with a wetvac, heat gun, and towels. Then I'll go to a car wash and sit in the back to see what happens.

I've had this happen on older cars due to tears in the weatherstripping around doors or clogged drain tubes for the sunroof. If your leaf has a Sunroof, that's the first place I'd have the dealer check.

Has the vehicle been in a crash, or had glass replaced?

No there is no sunroof, nor has it been wrecked (to my knowledge ) I think it's a clogged drain tube from the ac vent.

jag89 said:

No there is no sunroof, nor has it been wrecked (to my knowledge ) I think it's a clogged drain tube from the ac vent.

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So you were running the A/C a lot? It would have been helpful to mention that, if you were.

Was it on the seat or the floor? In the picture it looks like the seat was pulled out? If it is the seat the A/C couldn't have done that, if it's on the floor it would have had to have run from the front to the back, which is possible, but then the front would be wet as well. No kids with water bottles in the back

No I was not running it at all. But I just suspect it's that drain because my brothers mustang had the exact same problem. I still haven't figured out how it happened.

jag89 said:

I think it's a clogged drain tube from the ac vent.

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If that was the case, the front footwell carpet should be soaked as well, as the coil resides in the dash.

I'm going to go with damaged or missing weatherstripping on one of the rear doors.

RonDawg said:

I'm going to go with damaged or missing weatherstripping on one of the rear doors.

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My bet is on the rear hatch door. If the area around it is not cleaned out and/or the weather stripping damaged I can bet water will be coming in there and following gravity to the lowest level of the car. +1 to the garden hose test with the back seat out.

I bought a used 2015 SV and recently I found the waist area of the left rear seat becomes soaking wet after heavy rain! (circled area on the picture)

I’m very sure I didn’t not leave any door or window open, and if that’s the case the whole left rear seat would be wet not just the waist area. The floor is dry, the back of the back seat is dry, the trunk is dry.

It’s driving me nuts cuz the water seems to be coming from nowhere! (I don’t have any water bottle or container left on the car as well)

Is there any pipe going under the seat? How hard it is to remove the seat and take a look? Any instruction with pics?

Thanks a lot

I suggest that you look very carefully at the left rear door weatherstripping and the window seal along the top edge of that door. The shape of the door puts the top edge directly above the seat so water getting past the weatherstripping could drip straight down to the area you circled on the rear seat. There are no pipes in the vicinity on a 2015. The 2011 and 2012 models had coolant lines running through the center of the car to the onboard charger which was located behind the rear seat. 2013 and later cars have the onboard charger in the front of the car (part of the stack that contains the electric motor, inverter, and DC-DC converter in addition to the charger).

Maybe this is related?
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=27939