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WATER LEAK UNDER DASH - DRIVER SIDE

sjappers

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Hello, I have a what appears to be a water leak that is causing very dangerous electrical issues.
a few weeks back I noticed about a half inch of water above the top of floor mat on passenger side.
we had had some heavy rain for several days (this is heaviest rain the jeep has seens since I got it).. So I parked the jeep in garage and used wet vac to clean up all water.
when I was done I could barely feel anything but damp carpet. I put the floor mat back in and double checked the seating
of the hard top and found nothing that seemed weird or off with top. Note I had not had the top off since august,
and have never had more than just the two front freedom panels off.

The next morning I went out to go to work and opened passenger door to find another half inch of water above the floor mat on passenger side. I used my shammy to get all standing water out, but carpet was damp. on way to work when going about 50 mph my passenger side door locks starting locking and unlocking really fast, and door kept saying it was open out of the blue. This was a very scary scenario since all kinds of errors for the door etc was flashing up on my dash (not uconnect), and door locks going nuts. I coulndt see my speedo during this, and was definitely not able to focus on road. Note the jeep was in garage all night and I had gotten all water out with wet vac night before. so the water that showed up in the morning must have pooled somewhere and drained over night since jeep was in garage. I called NW jeep chrysler dodge and let them know what had happened and how unsafe it was. they told me I had to wait for 2 weeks before they could look at a water issue/electical issue? This seemed kind of crazy since jeep isnt even a year old and it
definitely was not safe to drive when all the errors and alarms are going off.

so for next few nights I kept it in garage, got carpet completely dry. It took several nights to get carpet dry becuase even though in garage and no rain for several days it seems like water just slowly drained over time, but decreassed each day until no new water showed up by day 3. I then had to park out side and for a few days, with little to no rain had no water at all. then we got a few days of decent rain and again I found a half inch of water on passenger side floor mat. This time I was ready and took lots of pics and videos. I again wet vac'd water out and proceded to go to store. On way the way after driving for about 10 minutes the passenger door locks started to click on an off, and the door all of a sudden said it was open also,
and overhead light came on. Note door was absolutely closed. I pulled over since I didnt want to repeat last time where I was driving and trying to pay atention to road with a bunch of errors showing up and alarms going off.
Then we turned jeep off and back on several times and the locks and alrams stopped with the exception of passenger door still thinking its open and interior light is on. So opened door and closed several times still jeep thinks front passenger door open. brought it home and put in garage hoping it will dry out and door sensor will stop shorting with water.

I have really watched closely for drips or any indication of where water is coming from and know the following.
1) its water, not coolant or washer fluid, its clean and no smell and no ethylene glycol fell.
2) it happens when it rains, usually hard, which is all the time in oregon.
3) its is not dripping from above, I have found a completely dry floor mat, and removed mat to find its basically floaing in water.
4) I feel the carpet in front and side and its dry.
5) based on door errors and door locks it seems to me to be coming from door or door enclosure, ind draining down into the foot weel area behind the carpet. This is only possible spot since carpet seems dry up the sides of foot well area, and no drip marks indicating water is coming from above? so I think water is leaking down into foot well area from behind the plastic next to door.
6) yhr only time the weirdd electrical stuff happens is when I get a bunch of water in car, and its always right after I turn, almost like water "sloshes" and drians into dash or door electrical sensors.


I really love this jeep, but I have to get some help to make sure they take this into shop and
fix it. They are calling it a water problem, but its a water problem causing shorts and unsafe driving. They said I have to take it in next saturday so they can work on it next week? But thats a long time (its too weeks after I made the appt) with the kind of electrical stuff going on and being caused by the water leak? I am now getting worried about having a dead battery since it seems like the jeep thinks door is open.

If they dont take care of this soon my carpet is going to start to mildew and the electrical stuff may get damadged permanently? Or an accident may happen due to issue? I have to drive to work, not an option not to drive jeep.

any ideas or guidance here jeep peeps?

update: its been a day now with the jeep front passenger door continuing to alarm and thinks its open.
I am going to call jeep again tomorrow and see if I can get it in a week early. I dont want more electronics to get damadged, and now I know the water leak is definitley causing the electrical prob. I will leave in garage until they can fix it.

thks
I havent seen my jeep in 2 weeks now:( and snow is coming this weekend. what a bummer. and they have tried to repair leak, and they think they have slowed it down but still happening. I have asked for where leak is coming in but no response yet.
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American Adventurist

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I've noticed the same thing on mine (JLUS)... small bit of water on the inside driver-side floor mat after it rains. I can't locate where it's coming from.
Same here

@JeepCares ??? Is there a TSB or something on this KNOWN issue? It's not new so there should be a KNOWN fix by now. Please advise.
 

Kavmi02

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Hello,

Exact same issue I am having as well only on my Drivers side, and no Jeep dealer will look at my Jeep because it has aftermarket equipment on it, any suggestions on what to do?
 

JeepCares

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Same here

@JeepCares ??? Is there a TSB or something on this KNOWN issue? It's not new so there should be a KNOWN fix by now. Please advise.
Hi American Adventurist,
We would be happy to look into this further for you. Please send our team a private message with your VIN!
Alex
Jeep Social Care Specialist
 

Markham

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So I found a video on youtube which kind of depicts what my JL is doing (but not as severe as the video, but concerning none-the-less). My biggest worry is electrical issues down the road.



Here's a pic of my drivers side floor mat this morning (was raining most of the night).

CGHPSq2.jpg
Oh wow. That’s a severe leak.

P.S. what are the manufacture dates for those of you who have the problem? You can find it on the driver side door frame.
 
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American Adventurist

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So I found a video on youtube which kind of depicts what my JL is doing (but not as severe as the video, but concerning none-the-less). My biggest worry is electrical issues down the road.

Funny, that looks just about right for the location and amount of water I found. This is crazy on a brand new vehicle, really disappointing especially considering what I've done to promote this brand... wow.
 

American Adventurist

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Rained all night... looked in my drivers floorboard and found a lake... WTF

Hi American Adventurist,
We would be happy to look into this further for you. Please send our team a private message with your VIN!
Alex
Jeep Social Care Specialist
PM sent. My build date is 6/18 in case that helps anyone else with the same issue.... I’m sure this is not an isolated case

Here’s the proof:

C2195A4B-C30F-4654-821A-3EC076768778.jpeg
 

American Adventurist

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Spoke to the dealership today about getting this looked at. Was told that this may not be covered under warranty, some BS about blocked “drain tubes” not being covered.

Flooding inside a new vehicle not covered if it’s “drain tube” related? Outrageous. Sounds like a defective design to me. If a drain tube is occluded then water should be expelled somewhere OUTSIDE the vehicle. It’s not like it’s flippin’ submerged at 30 psi of water pressure.

I have an appointment on the 30th to get it looked at. We’ll see how that goes.
 

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TIDALWAVE

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Take out your Jeep Torx kit and remove the driver's side hood cowl. You should see a black drain tube coming down the A-pillar. Take a cup of clean water and slowly pour the water onto the seam where the windshield and roof panel meet. Water should drain out of the bottom of the tube and then down the interior fender panel. If the water drains correctly, look at where the A-pillar panels are welded to the body tube. All of the seams should be sealed. On my Jeep, and some others, the seams were not welded (sealed) shut. There were open gaps where rain water could seep into the body/firewall and then into the cabin. I used RTV silicon sealant on the gaps and never had any further leaks.
 

American Adventurist

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Take out your Jeep Torx kit and remove the driver's side hood cowl. You should see a black drain tube coming down the A-pillar. Take a cup of clean water and slowly pour the water onto the seam where the windshield and roof panel meet. Water should drain out of the bottom of the tube and then down the interior fender panel. If the water drains correctly, look at where the A-pillar panels are welded to the body tube. All of the seams should be sealed. On my Jeep, and some others, the seams were not welded (sealed) shut. There were open gaps where rain water could seep into the body/firewall and then into the cabin. I used RTV silicon sealant on the gaps and never had any further leaks.
Thanks for that detailed insight. I will do this and report back.

This should be a known issue with a known fix, it’s sad that Jeep doesn’t have this on lock so when a guys calls a dealer it’s just “yep, known issue. Easy fix, bring her on in!”
 

American Adventurist

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Wow. Look at the difference in how these panels are welded closed... or not

Passenger

FE46D39A-5E87-4326-83DD-F5B46323E0DF.jpeg


Drivers side...

87A40EF0-48CF-491D-8B70-C73B6A7464E9.jpeg


Close up

31476B58-930B-4505-9D79-A61C7C406843.jpeg
So I did some testing on my own. My wife sat inside with a flashlight and watched while I hosed down the roof and hood area with water. I learned that, in spite of their appearance, those panels pictured above do NOT leak. I sealed them with silicone anyway just to keep stuff out.

That said, there's a blank firewall plug on the drivers side. If that is not fully seated, and the Jeep is parked on a downward slope, water will come in there from the cowl area above. Not a lot, but in time can add up.

So my leak is fixed as far as I can tell :)
 

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Hi American Adventurist,
We would be happy to look into this further for you. Please send our team a private message with your VIN!
Alex
Jeep Social Care Specialist
My JLWU is leaking on the PASSENGER side. The first time I noticed it, it was after a very heavy (horizontal) rain from back to front. I have WeatherTech mats in both the front and the back. There was water in the front passenger molded plastic mat. The carpet underneath was wet, too. With the rain blowing up the length of the vehicle and down the windshield, I figured it was a one-off situation.

I tow the Jeep behind a motorhome. Since I got home from a 4-month trip a month ago, it's been mostly sitting in the garage as my Hybrid gets better mileage. Today, I had the Jeep out. When I opened the door, the smell of mold was overpowering. I looked under the passenger floormat. The carpet mat under the WeatherTech mat was soaked! The carpet in the rear passenger side was damp (not soaked). There are dried water drip lines on the inside under the glove box near where the door hinges are located.

I have never removed the 3-piece top nor left the windows open in the rain. Something is leaking around the hood or windshield.
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