Sprung a leak! Probably gonna have to tear trim apart to figure out were the leak is coming in from. Looking for common areas to check. Saw numerous reports of a crack opening near the top of the body. Didn't look like anything there on mine. Thinking maybe it's coming in through the taillight. Here are some photos the wife took while I was changing the battery: IMG_20180221_172109 by Don402 posted Feb 25, 2018 at 9:29 PM IMG_20180221_172107 by Don402 posted Feb 25, 2018 at 9:29 PM IMG_20180221_172100 by Don402 posted Feb 25, 2018 at 9:29 PM IMG_20180221_172055 by Don402 posted Feb 25, 2018 at 9:29 PM
Water in battery & spare wheel well, usu due to hatch hing cracks. Poor body work is another contributor. START reading from Post #49! Water leak...into spare tire area etc | Page 3 | PriusChat Best to disassemble rear cargo area so no panneling is hiding the water entry. Even remove the plastic pannels off rear hatch door. Water has entered from a failed seals on the hatch before, for others.
Take the black plastic strips off the sides of the roof they pop right off you will see hairline cracks running up that valley. Or the tail lights have been replaced with after market units and they don’t fit right and leak badly. Get in there with flashlight and have wife hose it down while you look for leaks. Watch bottom edge of tail lights. Battery well probably a swimming pool. There’s plugs in bottom take them out. Plug under spare tire take that out.
Took trim apart and water is leaking in through various tabs. I know that the tabs in the rear are to the taillight. Are the side tabs from the wheel flare/trim? What are suggestions. Leak1 by Don402 posted Mar 4, 2018 at 2:19 PM Leak2 by Don402 posted Mar 4, 2018 at 2:19 PM
You are starting on the wrong end. Listen to Edthefox, he never steers anyone wrong. Find the leak spots on the exterior and seal them with flowable silicone. Could be on the roof, which Edthefox is talking about, could be in the actual channel the hatch beds into (you know, you close the hatch and it seals into that channel). Probably the roof as ETF said.
Was this car in an accident? If so take it back to the body shop. The rear bumper cover should be removed and a weatherstripping applied to the opening where the grommet/screw fastener enters. Go to Home Depot/Lowe's and pick up the black rubberish weatherstripping, various thickness and width; you will figure out which one will work. Avoid weatherstripping FOAM; cheaper and does not last long. As the exterior screw is screwed into the plastic grommet, the weatherstripping seal will compress a little, and a watertight seal will be made. For added peace of mind, you can apply a silicone sealer to the outside and inside of these grommet/screw fasteners; overkill IMO. These parts are meant to be accessible and removable when the need arises. Adding silicone gets in the way. You still need to rule out hatch hinge cracks and water entry from hatch itself due to failed weatherstripping seals from the spiler and garnish.
Just got the car through private sale and there wasn't any accident history. Still cold where I'm at, so I plan on using the flex seal on the inside. Just going to rely on that for a month. Then I'll take off the whole bumper cover and reinstall with weather stripping. Did troubleshooting with spraying the car down while I was inside the hatch and was able to watch where the water was coming in from. I'm pretty sure it was just the areas pictured. I'll let the flex seal dry and do some more spraying to double check that it's not coming in from other areas.
Do you know if the rear side seal, part number 52592-47010, is supposed to actually be the item sealing out the water? I put some caulk around the rear side of the bolts. There is still leaking and I can see it coming in various nook & crannies below the taillight. I think there was supposed to be a seal for all the spots but is missing. If the part mention is what I need, I'll order it before taking the bumper off. Otherwise I'll get the Home Depot weatherstripping.
Here are the spots that I see water coming in. Do the rear side seals actually block out water? Maybe this is due to the taillights not getting a good seal. Think I'll need to take the bumper and taillights off to get to the bottom. IMG_20180411_152956 by Don402 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 4:04 PM IMG_20180411_152938 by Don402 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 4:04 PM IMG_20180411_152923 by Don402 posted Apr 11, 2018 at 4:04 PM
Just got done looking at videos and photos of the tail lights and bumper being removed. Doesn't look like any of the spots in the last three photos I uploaded are accessible from the outside of the car. I will be adding the permatex to the usual areas tomorrow.
Noticed 3 inch pool of water in spare tire well AND rust stains in my battery compartment. Then checked the roof trim piece/seal/waterproofing is missing on the top rear portion of roof (circled). Anyone know what the part number is OR have ideas for alternative fix?
