[toyotafan1994]

I’ve been following water inside my car and I cannot find the cause. The pictures are behind both the driver and passenger seat. Can someone please help? Thank you

 

[osgoodconklin]

Hmm. Is it happening when it rains but the vehicle is not moving, i.e. sitting parked? Is the headliner above those areas damp? I would start by drying it out really good. Then put some dry paper/paper towels/tissue down on top of those spots. Then soak the top of the vehicle with a hose and to see if it is dripping down from above. If it gets wet still by pouring water on the top but the paper isn't wet, I'd look to see if there is a break in the weatherstripping that is allowing water to channel down the sides and under those trim pieces into the carpet.

 

[ronthehammer1966]

Osgoodconklin is providing a good path to locate the leak. My only addition is to clean out the sun roof drains. I would blow the sunroof drain lines from underneath the car instead of from the top of the car down. I have to do that periodically to my older BMW’s.

 

[toyotafan1994]

Hmm. Is it happening when it rains but the vehicle is not moving, i.e. sitting parked? Is the headliner above those areas damp? I would start by drying it out really good. Then put some dry paper/paper towels/tissue down on top of those spots. Then soak the top of the vehicle with a hose and to see if it is dripping down from above. If it gets wet still by pouring water on the top but the paper isn't wet, I'd look to see if there is a break in the weatherstripping that is allowing water to channel down the sides and under those trim pieces into the carpet.

Thank you for your input. I sat in the car and sprayed it with a hose and didn’t see any water come in through the doors seals. Also, the headliner is completely dry. I also took off the rear bumper to see if the plugs were missing and they were there. The front driver side was wet as well. I guess the next steps are to remove trim.

 

[Tarsun2]

if the headline is not wet, its probably not the sunroof drains.

BUT, toyota runs the sunroof drains into the frame rail and then out the bottom.

look where you put the jack under the car and look at the pinch welds. youll notice small gaps every so often. those are the drains. if they clog, the water backs up and onto the carpet where your right toes would be (sitting passenger side) and left toes (drivers side).

this is what i did and it works like a charm.

 

[osgoodconklin]

I should have asked if you had a sunroof. Great suggesions above.

 

[toyotafan1994]

if the headline is not wet, its probably not the sunroof drains.

BUT, toyota runs the sunroof drains into the frame rail and then out the bottom.

look where you put the jack under the car and look at the pinch welds. youll notice small gaps every so often. those are the drains. if they clog, the water backs up and onto the carpet where your right toes would be (sitting passenger side) and left toes (drivers side).

this is what i did and it works like a charm.

Dumb question. Will this apply if I do not have a sunroof?

 

[osgoodconklin]

If you don't have a sun roof, do you have a roof rack? Maybe an aftermarket rack that someone before you installed themselves poorly? Did both leaks start at the same time approximately?
-I'd try the paper trick overnight after doing a few soaks of the top part of the vehicle in a row waiting in between or even better leaving it outside during a rain event. I had a small leak in another car I had. It was very difficult to find because it took several minutes for it to build up enough to drip but by the morning the seat was very wet. The headliner wasn't wet because the underside of it was watertight. The water would just eventually build up to a point where it slowly slide down the mirror. It may take a lot of water pooling up somewhere to get to the point it leaks. Like gradually overfilling a glass. Once it gets too below the rim, it stops overflowing until it is overfilled again. Even a slow drip can put out a lot of water over a period of hours.
-The only other thing I could think of in your case is if it happened while you were driving on wet roads. Maybe there are small rust holes in the floor pan. I think this is unlikely but just throwing it out there.

 

[osgoodconklin]

Also, is this happening all the time when it rains or just one time? I ask because we had an all day heavy rain event where I live this week which is rare so I hadn't seen what I'm about to describe before. When I opened the rear door built up water came pouring down over the top of the weatherstripping and landed right where the water is in your pictures on the floor in the middle. I have no leaks or build up of crud around the door seal. It was just a freak thing because we had so much rain.

 

[Tarsun2]

this would not apply if you dont have a sunroof.

i had a leak from the front of the headliner in a rav4. Only when driving.... Had to spray the hose at the windshield parallel to the ground to get it to leak.

could be roof rack mounts/covers, could be weather stripping, could be window trim allowing water to pool in the door and eventually overflow into the floor.

its NOT hard to pull the carpet back. follow the video where he pulls the carpet back. take a look. there will be a big rubber plug in the floor on both sides. maybe yours is missing...?

if its also coming in the back, id imagine its coming in top side.

 

[arrow_cap]

If this also happens when it's not raining, it could be the outlet hose from your HVAC that got disconnected or clogged. Not sure where it is on the 1st gen, but on the 2nd it on the passenger tucked in under the carpets by the center dash. Others here may have better instructions specifically for the 1st gen.

 

[CaptAFR]

I had this issue with my 2004 Highlander and I had also assumed it was coming from my sunroof until I found these videos on Youtube:

 

[Tarsun2]

good call on the AC lines.

ill have to get under there and take a look. see if my 13HL is the same. wouldnt hurt to run a brush through.

 

[RichardC300]

I've had this happen once during really heavy rain and never again. It must have been an isolated incident. I could never find the location of the leak, but it may have been the door seal, because water just poured in for a second after I opened the driver door (wasn't raining when I parked). It didn't do it when I opened the driver rear door to check. I checked the sunroof drains, and they were draining normally. Still a mystery.

 

[toyotafan1994]

So it happens every time it rains. It’s this one spot that’s the wettest. The middle part on the front seat.

 

[Tarsun2]

take the kick panel and door sill trim off. pull the carpet back and dry that thing out.


might have to get a hose and see where its leaking from.

 

[toyotafan1994]

Did some digging. Both sides were full with water, about 3 inches. Where would this come from?

 

[toyotafan1994]

Did some digging. Both sides were full with water, about 3 inches. Where would this come from?

All this is soaked as well. Under the back seats.

 

[toyotafan1994]

FYI: Looks like the seal was gone on both the tail lights. My awesome dad figured out where the leak was coming from.

 

[TheLowlander]

I had a bad taillight seal and after I replaced it, it was still happening but not as bad. What finally fixed it was performing TSB 0008-12. This should be the solution if it keeps happening. Some sealer fixed it.