We got water!!!

Discuss any problems, warranty, repair, or replacement issues you are having with your Vibe & Matrix
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badvibes
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 7:32 am

We got water!!!

Post by badvibes »

I have a question does anyone else have water getting into their Vibe. I have taken my car back to the dealership twice for the same problem.Everytime it rains water keeps collecting behind the driver seat on the floorboard. Thats the only spot. I had almost two inches of water this time and since its winter it froze.Nice. The mechanic said something was missing from the roof rack that plugs a hole yadda,yadda,yadda. Anyway I thought it was fixed but I have water again. I also have a major problem with fog and moisture on the windows inside the car. This might be caused by the flash flood in the back seat. I have the rotten egg smell, the compartment under the radio refuses to stay shut and the rear windshield washer has a drooling problem. Also, the front seat is higher than the back when folded down what a rip.Hate to complain but it feels good.
Sputnik
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Location: Ottawa, ON

Re: We got water!!! (badvibes)

Post by Sputnik »

Go ahead and complain! I know I would. Thats horrible!
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cohocarl
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Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2002 9:45 am

Re: We got water!!! (badvibes)

Post by cohocarl »

First of all, welcome to the forum. Wish your first post would have been more pleasant for ya'.I haven't heard of the water problem, but I'd definately have the dealer fix it, AND any water related problems (discollored headliner, carpet, etc. Definately a long term rust problem if it's not fixed soon. The rotten egg smell is probably mold in the water saturated carpet. Hate to sound negative, but I'd consider that a real problem.The rear windshield washers do have a drooling problem. It's not really a problem, it just drains down the back window. (I'm assuming you were talking about on the outside.....)
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Mavrik
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Re: We got water!!! (cohocarl)

Post by Mavrik »

Did you get your vehicle undercoated? Sometimes if the drains in the doors are plugged with undercoating, the doors will fill up and spill over between the door and the door panel and cause various "leaks." I have only seen this happen twice and both on Sunfires but you might wanna check it out...When your windows fog up, what settings are your heater? In the winter its been known that if your floor is damp/covered in snow and such, the recirculating air can pick up that moisture and throw it back against the cold glass and "fog them up." I'm a neat freak when it comes to my cars and nothing upsets me more then when someone just hops in and brings a snow drift with them. My windows never fog up and my floors are always dry. But I have seen fogged up windows and damp floors. Could be something to look into my friend.The compartment under the shifter not staying closed is in actuality a design flaw, the clip on the door itself will not latch in properly. To correct the problem simply put something in where the door itself sits at the bottom to raise it up some and it will clip in nice and secure and stay there. I have basicly perminantly fixed that problem by doing that. Glue a thin piece of platic down there just to raise it up some and your alright.Hopefully your necxt comments on your Vibe will be more pleasant
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joatmon
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Re: We got water!!! (badvibes)

Post by joatmon »

I don't think anyone else here has had the same kind of water problem you have. Some have left windows or sunroof open, one had a dealer pressure wash the car with the windows open , but haven't heard of anyone with water like you get.If the roof rack isn't leaking, and you don't have the sunroof or it isn't leaking, then it may be the seal around the back door. It would need to be a good leak to get 2 inches of water on the floor in the back. I assume that you can't see water getting in when it's raining, that would make it easier to figure out. The dealer should be able to have someone inside the car, another outside with a hose and figure out for sure where it is coming in from. That's what I would do if I had to figure it out myself, have someone hose the outside while I was inside, taking off panels till I could see where it was coming in. If still under warranty and the water leak is something that they will fix under warranty, then I would think that any water damage to the car's interior should also be covered by warranty. Are you still under warranty? If it will be a while till you can get it looked at again, might be worth using some kind of tarp or car cover if it's going to rain until you can get the leak fixed.Did the 2 inches of water get there while you were driving or parked? How much rain over what period of time did you get to end up with 2 inches of water on the floor? My sister lives near Denver, and they are always needing more rain. Sorry about the Broncos.I would expect that you won't be able to do anything to correct the window fogging problems until you can get the inside of the car dry and keep it dry. The rotten egg smell may or may not be related. Usually it is attributed to sulfur compounds in vehicle exhaust. It gets pretty humid where I live, mold and mildew are constant problems, but none of the mold or mildew we get has that sulfur rotten egg smell. Typically, the egg smell is blamed on the quality of gas. If you get the egg smell when the car is not running, then it wouldn't be the brand of gasoline. If you don't get the smell when the car is not running, then it wouldn't be moisture related mold/mildew. The fix for the concole compartment not staying shut is to shim it underneath with something as Mavrick said. There are a couple of threads here about how people have fixed it, or if under warranty you can make the dealer fix it while back for the water problems. I can't remember if it is GM or Toyota that has a Tech service bulletin (TSB) out on the compartment fix, but one of them does, it's not a problem unique to your Vibe.Your rear washer is probably working the same as everyone else's, like it's taking a leak down the back of your car. Some debate about whether this is required given the angles involved and the turbulence of air back there, whether a more conventional sprayer would even be able to hit the glass.My front seat folded down is higher than the rear seats folded down. Seems like it should be the same height. Not a lot that can be done about that, unfortunately unless you want to put a layer of something a couple inches thick over the cargo area and rear seat backs to bring them up to the level of the front seat. There is no seat height adjustment on the front passenger seat. You also need to have the seat not reclined if you want it to be horizontal when folded forward.
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RoundUp
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Joined: Fri May 09, 2003 11:48 pm

Re: We got water!!! (badvibes)

Post by RoundUp »

Do you notice water on any of the upper or vertical surfaces? The water could just be coming from below. There may have been unplugged drain holes (for lack of a better term) on the floor of your vehicle. The metal body of your car has these drain holes for the electro coating (for anti rust) and painting processes. The body of the car is dunked in the electro coating baths and goes through different washes. The drain holes allow the body to dry off quickly. These holes will later be plugged as the car is assembled. However, if they weren't plugged properly you may have a problem. I'm not sure if this is what happened, but you might want to ask the dealership if they've checked that already. Good luck.
VibeChick
Posts: 577
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2004 12:26 pm

Re: We got water!!! (badvibes)

Post by VibeChick »

My vibe leaked the first week I had it. We had heavy rain for a couple of days - the A-pillar on the passenger side had water running down it, and the roof was good and soaked. The dealership replaced the front passenger door seal, so hopefully that fixed it.
Used to have: 04 Monotone Abyss 5 SpeedNow the proud owner of a black 2005 SRT-4230 Hp250 lb/ft torque
AKLGT
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Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:57 pm

Re: We got water!!! (VibeChick)

Post by AKLGT »

yikes! thankfully i haven't had that prob. right now, i'm trying to figure out the no sound from my speakers, but i think it's just some hidden fuse or something
AKLGT1998 Subaru 2.5RS
fitzy331
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:41 pm

Re: We got water!!!

Post by fitzy331 »

Hello,

Did anyone find an answer to this strange water problem? My wife and I recently purchased an 03 Vibe GT that is displaying a strange leak. The car was parked in the rain for about eight hours and upon entering the vehicle we found the front drivers side floor flooded. Only the floor was wet, nothing else in the interior of the car. All windows were up and sunroof was closed. It has taken days to dry and is starting to smell! Thanks.
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joatmon
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Re: We got water!!!

Post by joatmon »

fitzy331 wrote:Hello,

Did anyone find an answer to this strange water problem? My wife and I recently purchased an 03 Vibe GT that is displaying a strange leak. The car was parked in the rain for about eight hours and upon entering the vehicle we found the front drivers side floor flooded. Only the floor was wet, nothing else in the interior of the car. All windows were up and sunroof was closed. It has taken days to dry and is starting to smell! Thanks.
welcome to genvibe

a frequently suggested first thing to check is to see if the sunroof drains are clogged.
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