Water Pooling Under Rear Bench Seat, Can't Find The Leak

[Art Vandelay]

Update... I found it! Well kind of. It's coming in on the driver side between the headliner and the top of the window. So I'm just not sure if it's coming from somewhere like the third brake light and running over to that side or if it's the seal on the rear window itself on that side of the truck. I'm going to the dealership now. I wish I had printer to print pictures for them.

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[tciotti2003]

If you do take it to the dealer then you at least start creating a record of said issue...Of course, there'll be a diagnostic fee but in your case may well be worth it...

 

[Art Vandelay]

If you do take it to the dealer then you at least start creating a record of said issue...Of course, there'll be a diagnostic fee but in your case may well be worth it...

I actually ended up finding the leak, see post # 16 above.

 

[gjallen3]

Water has a mind of its own. I hope you are close to finding the origin, but I doubt where you are seeing it dripping near the window is actually where the leak is unfortunately. Hope so! Leaks can be as frustrating as dash rattles.

 

[Oandrews]

I've seen a lot of posts about water leaking into the interior on the front passenger side floor, the rear passenger floor, the firewall and the headliner. But I can't find any posts here, the FB group, the Reddit group or a Google search with the issue I just found on my Lariat Hybrid.

I've been telling my wife for months that the inside of the truck smells funny, like mildew, but I can never seem to find water. Well we just had two days of heavy rain that ended last night. I hadn't used the truck at all today until just about an hour ago and when I got in I noticed all the windows were completely fogged on the inside and it was like sauna in there. So I went searching again with a flashlight for all the usual spots and didn't find anything wet.

Then I lifted up the rear seat bench for the heck of it and sure enough there is water in the under seat cargo area. The top of the cover for the 12V battery was wet and you can see water pooled in the indents circled in yellow in the picture below. There did not seem to be water where I had things stored in the cargo section under the seat but it was fairly hot outside to today so I'm thinking a lot of it evaporated and that's why the windows were so fogged.

A few things:

The head liner was not wet at all and there are no stains on it so I don't think it's the sunroof or third brake light.

There seems to be a lot of debris scattered like pieces of dirt and leaves which would lead to believe it's carrying dirt in as well.

Also I tried using the garden hose to rear sliding window, the moonroof, and the rear window but didn't see any water coming in. It's also dark outside and I was by myself so I will try again in the morning when it's daylight and someone else is home to hold the hose while I watch the inside.

Any ideas?

I've seen a lot of posts about water leaking into the interior on the front passenger side floor, the rear passenger floor, the firewall and the headliner. But I can't find any posts here, the FB group, the Reddit group or a Google search with the issue I just found on my Lariat Hybrid.

I've been telling my wife for months that the inside of the truck smells funny, like mildew, but I can never seem to find water. Well we just had two days of heavy rain that ended last night. I hadn't used the truck at all today until just about an hour ago and when I got in I noticed all the windows were completely fogged on the inside and it was like sauna in there. So I went searching again with a flashlight for all the usual spots and didn't find anything wet.

Then I lifted up the rear seat bench for the heck of it and sure enough there is water in the under seat cargo area. The top of the cover for the 12V battery was wet and you can see water pooled in the indents circled in yellow in the picture below. There did not seem to be water where I had things stored in the cargo section under the seat but it was fairly hot outside to today so I'm thinking a lot of it evaporated and that's why the windows were so fogged.

A few things:

The head liner was not wet at all and there are no stains on it so I don't think it's the sunroof or third brake light.

There seems to be a lot of debris scattered like pieces of dirt and leaves which would lead to believe it's carrying dirt in as well.

Also I tried using the garden hose to rear sliding window, the moonroof, and the rear window but didn't see any water coming in. It's also dark outside and I was by myself so I will try again in the morning when it's daylight and someone else is home to hold the hose while I watch the inside.

Any ideas?

Soap and water, lots of suds.
Close the doors A/C blower on High.
Make sure the climate control is drawing outside air. You may have to block the cabin vents that are at the back behind the seat to allow enough air pressure to make the area of the leak obvious.
Don't goober silicone around the outside 3rd brake light. Remove it and properly address the issue,

 

[Cancunbadlands]

Update... I found it! Well kind of. It coming in on the driver side between the headliner and the top of the window. So I just not sure if it's coming from somewhere like the third brake light and running over to that side of it's the seal on the rear window itself on that side of the truck. I'm going to the dealership now. I wish I had printer to print pictures for them.

Office Depot or Ofix Max can print pictures for you

 

[Art Vandelay]

Dealership called today just to keep me updated and said they were sending the truck to the dealership's body shop to see if they could figure out the leak. So we'll see what happens.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I never gave the update on this but the dealership had the truck for just over 2 weeks back in late September/early October. They finally determined it was the thrid brake light that was leaking and they replaced it. I thought that solved the issue until yesterday when I was blindsided and it's still not fixed.

We went away Friday and Saturday and took my wife's car so the Maverick was at home in the driveway. We got about 2 inches of snow at home and when we got home Saturday evening I noticed that it looked like the windows on the Maverick were all iced up on the inside. I opened the door and sure enough all the windows had a coating of ice on the inside. So it was clear there was water on the inside again. I put down the back seat and there was water pooled at the bottom by the tire jack. The snow must have melted during the day on Saturday and leaked in somewhere. I'm guessing the third brake light was not the actual source of the leak. I'm at a loss and extremely frustrated.

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