Wet drivers side carpet and storage area

[LXRitw]

Hello I have a 2019 Dodge Journey Crossroad AWD 3.6L. I recently discovered my drivers side carpet to be wet which led me to check behind the seat and the storage bin had a small puddle inside. I found an old thread on here from 2020 and a YouTube video showcasing where the leak is coming from. Both the forum post and video suggested putting some silicone to fill this gap in the body of the car as this seems to be where the water is seeping through.

 

However I have applied silicone 3 times now and water is still leaking inside when it rains heavily and I was finally able to get the carpet dried out this past week before more storms hit us. Is it possible I am just not getting the silicone in the correct place? Or could it be from a different area on the body? I have linked the old thread below but would appreciate some insight if anyone has dealt with a similar issue I feel as if a drain is clogged somewhere along the floorboard as not every model if affected by this.

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 05:02 AM by LXRitw

[5rebel9]

Sorry to hear of more "glitches" from your DJ. I would have thought that by the year of yours this problem had been rectified on the assembly line.

None of my DJ's have exhibited this problem, so I can't offer any advice to this concern. Good Luck.

[2late4u]

check Thur the forums for a lot more info on this problem.there was a post about lifting the hood and on the drivers side firewall and fender area about sealing those seams as well leaks can be a real problem to find...good luck also Google YouTube for videos on dodge journey water leak problems

[Dean H]

 

Do you have a sunroof?

 

 

Check the AC drain hose-

 

https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/17985-easy-ac-drain-clean/

Edited Tuesday at 05:10 PM by Dean H

[LXRitw]

No sunroof on my model and I did check the A/C drain underneath the car I will have to take a look at the one near the gas pedal on my days off. I did find the video concerning the seams near the fender and firewall. As I said above I have reapplied silicone 3 times now thinking I maybe left a gap somewhere for the water to continue to get in. I will be pulling the carpet up this weekend when I’m off in hopes of getting to the source I’ve also seen it could be coming from an area where the wiring harness enters the car for the drivers side door controls. I will keep digging through the forum posts it’s a shame honestly I really do like this car hoping I can find a solution this weekend I will update if I’m able to solve the issue.

[Dean H]

Read this entire thread top to bottom.

 

Water Ingress? How? https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/10922-water-ingress-how/

[Dean H]

Read this thread.

 

Passenger side floor water leak https://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/18097-passenger-side-floor-water-leak/

[John/Horace]

I get PTSD remembering my passenger side water leak last year that took three runs to fix. Drying out carpet is very time consuming, mold is baaaad.

 

Removing fender liner is pretty important to see all the possible openings that can allow water in. Leave it off for awhile.  There are drainage holes underneath the car below the driver footwell (a hose will send enough water to make them run).  Most of my leak was solved with a piece of wire poking open the three drain holes. I even drilled two more 1.8" dia holes which then only left a frustrating few table spoons from a rain storm. Still enough for mold how ever.

 

Pulling carpet back also helpful. Left it propped up with small junks of wood during the two week battle. Half a tube of black marine polyurethane stopped the last tiny leak from the channel underneath door sill. Poked out the yellow foam, acetone for clean surface adhesion of urethane.

 

Don't buy gold fish, If you are stubborn...you can fix this.

[LXRitw]

So I’ve ran a hose and it seems that I solved the leak coming from the door sill however the yellow foam seems to also be the culprit. I’ve poked out some and it is coming out moist so I am going to clear out the rest of the foam and put some silicone to fill the hole. We are supposed to get rain tonight so I will report back tomorrow but I think this may be my smoking gun.

[John/Horace]

Sounds like progress…good. This can be a very frustrating problem.  There are quite a few holes in the door sill that trapped water can move to unfortunately. Silicone won’t stick to itself, that’s why I used polyurethane. I don’t think water is ever suppose to make its way inside the door channel. The foam is for sound deadening only.

 

It may be the extra drain holes I added were the real solution. They all piss water underneath car now when the hose runs on the windshield. Inside stays completely dry.

 

 

[LXRitw]

So I did end up going to get the polyurethane as you suggested and it slowed the leak but definitely did not stop it I had a small puddle where the carpet would go this morning. The storms are supposed to stop early in the evening today so I am going to drill some extra drainage holes. You wouldn’t happen to have pictures showing where you drilled the holes do you? From what I understood in your post it was somewhere along the rocker panel close to the wheel well.

 

The hole where the foam was removed is dry however it is still making its way up through the door sill where the retaining clips for the trim go. 

Edited yesterday at 01:42 PM by LXRitw

[2late4u]

drain holes might solve the problem BUT the real problem is finding the actually water entrance area,,,,,,

[LXRitw]

From what I gather it is somewhere around the windshield/fender area. I’ve used polyurethane on all the seams I can see with my eye and I’ve pulled the fender liner off. Not really sure what else to try here besides more drainage holes it continues to enter in through white parts along the sill where the trim clips in. Which means it is entering the rocker panel area somewhere and not exiting

[John/Horace]

 My leak was passenger side, but new hole location should be similar, you can see wiring harness under carpet,  I stayed away to avoid accidents.  I used an extra long drill bit to clear out the factory holes. Two of them had crap in them. Probably flakes or rust, I'm in the rust belt here. This car was undercoated multiple times,  the main body above is actually quite good still.

 

The car is designed to be self draining from windshield cowling flow. Water is suppose to flow to drain holes that can handle the volume. When you drill through you hit an empty channel. Not into the carpet and car interior...like some people are thinking.

Edited 19 hours ago by John/Horace

[John/Horace]

A body shop would remove your driver fender and use a product called seam sealer. Its a polyurethane used when cars are built at the factory. But if the factory drain holes are plugged, still might leak. I just feel the extra holes are a simpler cheaper solution.  The fuel lines, brake lines and wire harness have to be avoided, obviously. Have had no leaks in a year now. 

 

In a previous life I use to be a bs&f assembler ( bench and structural airframe assembler) for an aircraft company. Use to drill hundreds of holes a day building wings, nasell, floor sections etc. DC9, DC10 and KC10 Air Force tankers. So I have a bit of practice drilling.

 

Nice new sharp hss drill bits needed, small pilot hole first, then open up to bigger sizes. The three added holes are right behind the passenger front wheel, at the start of the channel that runs under the doors. Drains the water before it gets into the foam and leaks around the various anchored clips.

[LXRitw]

Thank you Horace I successfully was able to drill some new holes and a good bit of water came out. Hoping this solution works as I finally got the carpet dried out again, like you said it would be very costly to have someone pull the fender off and reseal everything just for the drain holes to still be clogged. My drain holes along my rockers were also plugged up with foam and just gunk in general my drill was able to free up most of it and I got some water out of those holes as well.