1996 Corolla water in trunk after wash

[mcmerulla]

So the past two times I've washed my car, I've opened the trunk lid to discover water that had leaked in and dripped onto the cargo mat. The second time (this past week), there was substantially more, so I ripped everything out--cargo mat, liners, spare tire, to discover a small puddle of water sitting there...as well as some rust. Ugh. Wanting to get to the bottom of this, I folded down my rear seats, placed the hose on top of my car facing the rear, left it on so that the water trickled down the rear window through the trunk gutters, then climbed in with a flashlight and observed. Water was coming in from 3 places:



I took chalk and drew three arrows where the water was streaming in from. The third one is difficult to see due to the flash, but it is below the trunk latch, in the middle.

Now, the thing is...the only time I've noticed water in the trunk is when I wash my car. Rainstorms, etc...and there's nothing. Perhaps the volume of water during these washes is simply too much...and the excess water is overflowing in the trunk gutter? I've read up on some of the archives...seems like the trunk gasket or tail light gaskets could be at fault. Some also mentioned the trunk vents...what are these exactly? New trunk gasket at the dealer goes for about $50, so the investment would be well-worth it...if that's the problem. Not sure if the tail light gaskets can be purchased separately though.

Anyone have any ideas? My car has 284,000 miles on it now, so it wouldn't be surprising to find that the gaskets are simply worn out and in need of replacement by this time. Thanks for the help!

[CJCride]

Originally Posted by mcmerulla

So the past two times I've washed my car, I've opened the trunk lid to discover water that had leaked in and dripped onto the cargo mat. The second time (this past week), there was substantially more, so I ripped everything out--cargo mat, liners, spare tire, to discover a small puddle of water sitting there...as well as some rust. Ugh. Wanting to get to the bottom of this, I folded down my rear seats, placed the hose on top of my car facing the rear, left it on so that the water trickled down the rear window through the trunk gutters, then climbed in with a flashlight and observed. Water was coming in from 3 places:



I took chalk and drew three arrows where the water was streaming in from. The third one is difficult to see due to the flash, but it is below the trunk latch, in the middle.

Now, the thing is...the only time I've noticed water in the trunk is when I wash my car. Rainstorms, etc...and there's nothing. Perhaps the volume of water during these washes is simply too much...and the excess water is overflowing in the trunk gutter? I've read up on some of the archives...seems like the trunk gasket or tail light gaskets could be at fault. Some also mentioned the trunk vents...what are these exactly? New trunk gasket at the dealer goes for about $50, so the investment would be well-worth it...if that's the problem. Not sure if the tail light gaskets can be purchased separately though.

Anyone have any ideas? My car has 284,000 miles on it now, so it wouldn't be surprising to find that the gaskets are simply worn out and in need of replacement by this time. Thanks for the help!

Solved on nice ole Nissan by removing the leaky taillight assembly and adding automotive silicone sealer to the gasket, it did it!
I notice you have some collision damage this may have misaligned the gasket mating surfaces.

[TI-CAVA]

also it can vbe the vent in the trunk... gasket may be worn-off like in mine...

must remove the bumper to re-gasket the situation