Weaking water

[Patchg1]

I found that my year old LR3 is weaking water into the drivers foot well!

It seems to be coming from the area in the top left hand area of the drivers footwell (right hand drive).

The LR dealer I bought it from went bust at the start of the year! and the new dealership will not be able to undertake warranty issues until the 1st December!. They said it could be blocked rain water drains under the bonnet but I can not find them!

Any suggestions?

[nashvegas]

This is definitely a recurring prob with LR3s... you can do a search here for some ideas... or go to some of the other boards and search for "water leak".

But it boils down to a couple points for water ingress (as its called). PS -- you should try to deal with this, because other than the wetness and mold / mildew problems, the water gets into wiring harnesses and electronics and that sucks.

My HSE (2005 with 35K) has had 2 diff types of water leaks. There are TSBs (tech service bulletins, official docs put out by LR to the dealers so they can more accurately troubleshoot and fix recurring problems on diff models) for both of these.

The first.. Clogged front sunroof drain tubes. LOTS of info on how to fix online... This one for me leaked through the headliner, the overhead lights, through the a-pillars going up to the roof where airbags are.

The second... those black plastic trim pieces on either side of the windshield (left and right)... they have 2 "posts" that go through the metal frame of the car, and the water gets in through there... you generally dont see it on the headliner or dashboard, it shows up on your feet or on the firewall (and causes annoying things like oil warning lights, other warning lights, AC blower to turn on and off, etc).

After fixing both of these, mine was fine.

Your sunroof could also be misaligned... or you could have some other weird / wacky problem but I would dead on bet its either sunroof tubes or the A Pillar exterior Moldings (like mine) on the left and right side of the windshield.


The second

[Patchg1]

Thank you for the advice. My LR3 SE does not have a sunroof so I guess it is the mouldings on either side of the windscreen. I will see what I can do.

[kencary]

Originally Posted by nashvegas

This is definitely a recurring prob with LR3s... you can do a search here for some ideas... or go to some of the other boards and search for "water leak".

But it boils down to a couple points for water ingress (as its called). PS -- you should try to deal with this, because other than the wetness and mold / mildew problems, the water gets into wiring harnesses and electronics and that sucks.

My HSE (2005 with 35K) has had 2 diff types of water leaks. There are TSBs (tech service bulletins, official docs put out by LR to the dealers so they can more accurately troubleshoot and fix recurring problems on diff models) for both of these.

The first.. Clogged front sunroof drain tubes. LOTS of info on how to fix online... This one for me leaked through the headliner, the overhead lights, through the a-pillars going up to the roof where airbags are.

The second... those black plastic trim pieces on either side of the windshield (left and right)... they have 2 "posts" that go through the metal frame of the car, and the water gets in through there... you generally dont see it on the headliner or dashboard, it shows up on your feet or on the firewall (and causes annoying things like oil warning lights, other warning lights, AC blower to turn on and off, etc).

After fixing both of these, mine was fine.

Your sunroof could also be misaligned... or you could have some other weird / wacky problem but I would dead on bet its either sunroof tubes or the A Pillar exterior Moldings (like mine) on the left and right side of the windshield.


The second

In genreral, do the water leaks happen to LR3's from day one or is this something that happens due to aging?

We just purchased a late '06 LR3 with about 50K miles and so far no no leaks.

Ken

[Patchg1]

I think the wife has solved the problem!!!!

She was fed up with the water in the footwell and took it to a Land Rover garage who - free of charge - found what they believe to be the fault. The airconditioning pipe was not fitted to the defrost pipe and the aircon discharge was dripping into the footwell.

Hopefully this is the problem which has been rectified.

Thanks for all the information on other leaks areas.

Patrick

[TerryS]

Water leaks are a necessary link in the Land Rover heritage. If it didn't leak something, somewhere, I'd seriously question it's authenticity.

[DiscoDream2]

I thought the water was the shoe cleaner option installed at the factory? That's why I have the rubber mats and the spilled soda...from our great cup holders.

[AmandaLBI]

My LR3 is being serviced as we speak for water leaks... in my case, there are leaks front and back. Drivers side A-pillar was drenched and running down dripping on my feet. 3rd row passengers side floor was a sponge from the clog in the back pillar. WHAT A PAIN!!! As mentioned before, it's the sunroof drains in the pillars. From what I gather, it's not a 'day 1' problem, but rather happens over time. Perhaps it will happen faster if you enjoy an open sunroof as often as possible. Dust, pollen, dirt, leaves, etc. can collect. Over time the dust, etc. will turn muddy when it rains, in turn making a mess in your drains. One crazy downpour leaves the water nowhere to escape fast enough, hense a swimming pool in your vehicle (well, maybe not THAT bad, but I'm pissed). Unfortunatly this is all news to me. Had I known this before I would've kept my Acura. I reccommend having the dealership blow out your drains every year to keep the problem at bay... or at least have them blown out right before your warranty expires. The service guy also mentioned that they routed the drains a little different to help the problem. Ugh. What's more is that they put me in a loaner while my car is being serviced. It's from enterprise rent-a-car and it's a f*@^ing dodge mini-van that is dirty and has a warning light on I was told needs replacing but the car is fine. Are you kidding me??!!. Not the kind of service I expected from Land Rover. A beautiful rig, but problems lurking... can't imagine what's next. I have NEVER heard of a vehicle leaking this bad...

[sideview]

Google Acura sunroof drain and see what you get. It's best to check & clear the drain tubes a couple times a year to maintain on vehicles with sunroofs. However, there is a TSB from several years ago addressing the drain tubes on LR3s. I've not had any issues with leakage, I kind of feel cheated lol.

[kencary]

OK Looks like I joined the leaking water club.

Today after a good downpour, we found water dripping from the overhead console. Not much, but clearly not good.

Fortunately it did not soak into the headliner and stain it. There was a small black hole in the overhead console (mic? or something) but it acts nicely as a drain hole.

Can anybody help this Newbie with a link to the TSB for sunroof leaks on LR3's?

Ken

[Sully]

That little hole is actually a small ambient light that aims down to your shifter. Check it out at night sometime even though it is not very bright.

Found it by accident when mine actually leaked once.

[kencary]

I am hoping the leak was due to some pine straw caught in the gasket, but I will still ask the dealer to check it out as part of the 30 day used car warranty.

I noticed that the gasket is very thin and soft. I can see how a piece of pine staw might cause a small amount of water to leak in.

Ken

[HOUM_WA]

yeah but if the LR3 can't defend itself against water ingress due to a pine straw, then that's pretty sad!