Help! Water Leak Into Passenger Footwell On A 4.3

[mcroy313]

Hi all,

I'm after some help! I went out to my car this morning and noticed a pool of water on the passenger side mat. Now ive only had the car 2weeks and this is the 3rd time ive noticed this... previous times i assumed it must be wet from the wife's feet.... :!Removed!:

So as you can see it is dripping down onto the outside of the white plastic (assume this is heater air outlet) The foam wrap around the cables above it is also wet...

I'm assuming this is rain water getting in from some in the bulkhead between the engine compartment & the windscreen...

Any advice / help / cures greatly appreciated!!!

Many thanks

Tom

[abraxas]

Hi Tom.

Welcome to the club.

I had a similar issue. Unfortunately, this is a design flaw with early 4.3 RAVs. There is a TSB (Toyota Service Bulletin) to address this issue, which replaces the "Cowl panel seal" with a better one, resulting in no more water ingress. :)

I don't have any asily accessible online storage space, so PM me if you wish me to send you the TSB.

Cheers.

[abraxas]

Update : scrub that. Found it online @ : TSB

[mcroy313]

Thankyou so much for the reply & the info! I'm now pursuing this with Evans Halshaw as I had only had the car 1 day when I first noticed this, although i didnt realise what it was at first....

Thanks again...

Tom

[bothwell_buyer]

Contact Parts king - he will personally come and dry your carpets with a hair dryer and ruffle up the carpet with a toothbrush.... whilst replacing said seals with his other hand!

[benxt5]

Mine has just done this although the water seems to be coming in from an unknown point. There is no water on the top of the mat but a !Removed! big puddle underneath it!

Is it likely to be the same thing? ...and is the TSB covered by any extended warranty (like the diesel engine) as it is a design flaw rather than a wear and tear issue?

If its not covered, what price am I looking at, less than 2 weeks before Xmas... : (

Cheers,

Ben

[anchorman]

These rarely pop up now unless they have had a new windscreen or some other work done. You can always ask a dealer although there is no extended warranty program as far as I know. In any case, if you have to buy the parts off Kingo and do it yourself, I doubt it will break the bank.

[benxt5]

These rarely pop up now unless they have had a new windscreen or some other work done. You can always ask a dealer although there is no extended warranty program as far as I know. In any case, if you have to buy the parts off Kingo and do it yourself, I doubt it will break the bank.

Had a new screen about 6 months ago. Would it be worth contacting autoglass if it is to do with the fitment of the screen?

Otherwise I will be needing a price from Kingo...

Cheers Anchs.

[anchorman]

The mod consists of a plastic shield that stops rain water running off the screen directly into the heater. It was fitted in production from late 2006/early 2007 so the chances are that yours had it and it has not been refitted properly. I would talk to the windscreen company first and tell them that the shield isn't working. Only let them see the TSB if they argue as it could be seen as a fix rather than a production fitment.

If push comes to shove and you end up getting the part yourself, you can see from this US TSB how it fits but take Kingo's advice on what parts are needed for the RHD version - do not source the parts for the LHD!

Cowl _leak REVISED.pdf

[bothwell_buyer]

Autoglass offer a lifetime guarantee.

I have used them and others in the past and have learnt a bit - fitters apparently (this does not necessarily apply to Autoglass as its an industry wide problem) don't put the whole cartridge of sealant on the frame - they save some for their homers.

The result is that when your car body flexes, then the screen begins to separate from the frame, creating gaps where the water can come through... and it often tracks its way down to the passenger footwell - not by dripping on carpet but running down the metal body and then underneath the carpet.

On my Previa, we had a bad problem after Nationwide fitted a new screen and when I arranged for the screeen to be removed by a fitter I trust, we found the screen seal was missing on stretches and inadequate around other stretches. In all the screen was only held on at each side !!

On my number 1 RAV, I had to do the same thing and found that the screeen seal had separated from the glass at 3 places on the top edge and 1 corner. On any screens done, I now insist that someone watches the work to ensure plenty of sealant is apllied. Our next screen is by Autoglass on one of our Tranists this week and needless to say, we'll be making sure a whole cartridge of goo at least is used.

[benxt5]

Mine has been in to autoglass and they have took it apart only to find that it is indeed the cowl problem. Lookiing at the specs on the tsb, it deffinitely has the old part not the new one. This may explain why it steams up so much if it is always a high humidity inside!!!

Anyway, the pollen filter is sodden as is the foam strip that Mr T saw as a suitable shield in the original design, not to mention the new passenger side foot spa...

[yorkshire]

Hi,

Iv'e just registered on the forum hoping to find the answer to a problem I have with my recently acquired 1996 Rav4. I purchased the Rav about a month ago purely for the expected snow we might have and I have now en-counted a great puddle of water in the passenger foot well as described by one of the contributors, I'm new to this type of thing (forums)but I have already down loaded the Cowel Panel Bulletin and taken note of the leaking windscreen which sounds the most plausible.

In my search for the point of entry of the water I have noticed that the passenger side windscreen has a white patch in the bottom corner which I think should be black in colour as it comes near the bonnet and I now suspect this to be the location of the water, in the interim I have bought a car cover to prevent further infiltration.

I also have a secondary problem and that where the water has entered the car it has followed the electrical loom and over some time (before I purchased it)has corroded some of the connectors in the junction box which is fitted to the left hand side wall in the passenger foot well area, and one of the wires has become disconnected from the multi-plug. The reason I mention this is the interior light, both front and center don't work and I have assumed that the disconnected wire is the cause, has any one any further advice on this secondary problem.

Many Thanks so fare

Howard

[anchorman]

Hi Yorkshire and welcome to the club.

Your leak is nothing to do with the cowl, that applies to a few models after 2006. From memory, yours is more likely to do with the sunroof or corrosion of the windscreen. There is a contributor call Bothwell Buyer that runs your model. He is probably out syphoning petrol at the moment but he is a good one to ask. Sit tight.

[benxt5]

Well, the rav went into Toyota last week. They wet and dry vacced it, said they reseated/sealed the heater cover and that would solve the problem. I paid them £90 and went away happy... Until today after more rain I find I have a wet passenger floor again.

I will be calling them again in the morning.

Where do I stand from the point of having paid £90 for an ineffective fix? Should I be looking for them to at least take that off any further work they deem necessary as it did not solve the problem? Hopefully they will be polite and courteous and offer something like this anyway but it's always good to go in prepared...

Cheers.

[anchorman]

I would expect them to deduct that cost from further work or refund you whichever you choose. They may have just chanced vaccing the carpets to see if that worked but you could have done that yourself.

[leo_k]

Hi all,

Seems that I've got the same problem with water leak from air inlet to the passenger side carpet (I own LHD rav4). So as it is described in TSB, that Anchorman published. I've removed the plastic ventilator louver and found not the foam block but something like plastic cap that should covering the inlet. I've figured out that some how this cap change its position and it caused the rain inside my car. The problem is that I don`t know how to install this cap properly - I'vent found any clips or claws which could fix it in place.

Is there any TSB that cover this question or maybe photo that describes the how this plastic cap should be positioned?

Thank you.

PS sorry if my english is not good enough

[Davrav]

Hello Leo and welcome to the club

Can you post a photo of the cover you mention? Might help with suggestions.

English is just fine.

[leo_k]

Yesterday, thanks to good weather, I was able to disassemble the louver and made some pictures to illustrate the problem:

1) Louver is in its place, I've marked the wipers position using white painting tape.

2) Louver is unmounted, you can see plastic cap that covering air inlet.

3) Air inlet uncovered, there are no any clips which hold plastic cap in position, it is just dangling there.

4) The cap itself front.

5) And reverse.

As you can see there are 3 holes in the cap which probably intended for screws or something like it, but I didn't find those screws.

[gjnorthall]

The plastic cap should be attached to the louvre - it's plastic spot welded in a few places - but not very well! If you look carefully at the underside of the louvre, you should be able to see where the cap was attached. Re-attach with silicon adhesive or small nuts and bolts etc. The upgrade described in theTSB is simply a strip of foam which is stuck on the metal panel just below the bottom of the windscreen (it's about £10). If there is already a thinner strip of foam already fitted - this should be removed first, as should the foam which is attached to the plastic cap.

[Davrav]

The plastic cap should be attached to the louvre - it's plastic spot welded in a few places - but not very well! If you look carefully at the underside of the louvre, you should be able to see where the cap was attached. Re-attach with silicon adhesive or small nuts and bolts etc. The upgrade described in theTSB is simply a strip of foam which is stuck on the metal panel just below the bottom of the windscreen (it's about £10). If there is already a thinner strip of foam already fitted - this should be removed first, as should the foam which is attached to the plastic cap.

And for goodness sake, once you have fixed the leak, get that engine bay jet washed

[bothwell_buyer]

DAVRAV - thats very kind of you to offer to travel to show the nice person how to wash the engine. Mines won't fit into my Whirlpool.

[leo_k]

The plastic cap should be attached to the louvre - it's plastic spot welded in a few places - but not very well! If you look carefully at the underside of the louvre, you should be able to see where the cap was attached. Re-attach with silicon adhesive or small nuts and bolts etc. The upgrade described in theTSB is simply a strip of foam which is stuck on the metal panel just below the bottom of the windscreen (it's about £10). If there is already a thinner strip of foam already fitted - this should be removed first, as should the foam which is attached to the plastic cap.

Finally I've done it!

Precise investigation of that plastic cap gave me 3 points where it was welded to the louvre. Here they are:

Next I use epoxy glue to reattach plastic cap in place to the louvre.

When I re-install louvre back and do the test - simulate heavy rain on car from water hose. And it works! No single water droplet on my carpet!

I'm appreciated for your help guys, you didn't let my car converts to the aquarium.

PS: And yes, I've washed the engine up :)

[Davrav]

[Gav rav]

Love this forum as think my Rav has this problem as just found my passenger floor soaking, so a job for the weekend! Does anyone know how much the part cost?

Cheers

[Notarnicola]

My 2012 rav4 has the same issue. It went already 3 time to toyota and they can't fix it...I dont't know what to do anymore. The car never had a problem until now with this...