Model 3 Trunk Leak After Rain

[mister yub]

I am having the same issue. I hear water swishing around in the trunk lid and then once the trunk is fully open, the water starts to drip from the inside liner where the vent holes (beside the interior trunk light) are. I could not pinpoint where the water is getting in from. I have a mobile service appointment booked for next week. There is a YouTube video of exactly the problem I am facing.

Look at that. I didn't have leakage from the trunk lid trim piece, but that dripping from the vent is exactly what happened to me (albeit not as bad as that). One thing that was interesting was I didn't hear water swishing in the lid, but sometimes, when I open the trunk, water would be draining from bottom corner of the trunk arm (0:05 in your video) on both sides. They ended up putting some sort of gummy silicone or something to stop that drainage - we'll see if that leads to long term problems or not...

 

[Idkorcare]

I am having the same issue. I hear water swishing around in the trunk lid and then once the trunk is fully open, the water starts to drip from the inside liner where the vent holes (beside the interior trunk light) are. I could not pinpoint where the water is getting in from. I have a mobile service appointment booked for next week. There is a YouTube video of exactly the problem I am facing.

Actually after reading thru the post it is exactly from what the video shows for that leak. Either water is getting into the trunk and flowing down the wiring harness into the trunk and coming out there or either end of that harness is leaking. I poured a little bit of water in the harness at the trunk lid with it open and it all ended up in the trunk coming in right at the spot next to the light.

 

[Blackbart]

Well here is the latest. Now they think that the way water is getting in there is via the charge port. It is not designed to be waterproof - but rather to drain. But apparently they think the drain line is somehow compromised and that is how water is ending up in the trunk. Interesting. Waiting for a new drain line at the moment.

 

[Dsu80]

Well here is the latest. Now they think that the way water is getting in there is via the charge port. It is not designed to be waterproof - but rather to drain. But apparently they think the drain line is somehow compromised and that is how water is ending up in the trunk. Interesting. Waiting for a new drain line at the moment.

So it looks like water is entering the trunk lid via the small lip as highlighted in the picture. Once the lid opens the water goes into the wiring harness and then down the tube and into the bottom where the vents inside the trunk are. They sealed the trunk with silicone on the outer edges to prevent water going into the trunk lid. Also, they removed the rubber stopper (highlighted in the second pic) to allow any possible water in the trunk lid to drain out. Hopefully that solved the leak.

 

[Dsu80]

So it looks like water is entering the trunk lid via the small lip as highlighted in the picture. Once the lid opens the water goes into the wiring harness and then down the tube and into the bottom where the vents inside the trunk are. They sealed the trunk with silicone on the outer edges to prevent water going into the trunk lid. Also, they removed the rubber stopper (highlighted in the second pic) to allow any possible water in the trunk lid to drain out. Hopefully that solved the leak.

This is the photo with the plug taken out to allow water to drain out.

 

[Idkorcare]

This is the photo with the plug taken out to allow water to drain out.

That was going to be my last resort but after unhooking where you have the arrow and putting it back ive stopped getting water in for now, and was after testing for a leak, washing car, and a decent rain storm.

 

[jnhashmi]

It’s way too wet to be a few drops rolling off the glass when I open my trunk. I have no idea what the problem is. All I know is:
1. It rained fairly hard in Los Angeles a couple times since I’ve had the car and I park outside.
2. I washed the car once.
3. The lower trunk is soaked with water (along with what I had in it - the mobile charger, tire repair kit, and a blanket.) the upper trunk is not wet at all.

So I finally got my service appointment (after waiting two weeks) and they found that there were two problems:
1. The trunk stopper that contracts and I think pops the trunk open when you unlock it was not adjusted properly.
2. The trunk seal was misaligned.

They found this by doing a water test. They fixed it, but they didn't have a new trunk liner since mine got musty. So I had to wait another two weeks for a mobile service appointment to put in a new trunk liner. That just happened, and now I should be good to go.

 

[Tatoo1]

Had the a similar repair done last week at Dartford SC (resealed hinge bolt on right and sorted misaligned seals on boot lid and near charge port)

im afraid to go outside and check!!!

 

[2EVs]

So it looks like water is entering the trunk lid via the small lip as highlighted in the picture. Once the lid opens the water goes into the wiring harness and then down the tube and into the bottom where the vents inside the trunk are. They sealed the trunk with silicone on the outer edges to prevent water going into the trunk lid. Also, they removed the rubber stopper (highlighted in the second pic) to allow any possible water in the trunk lid to drain out. Hopefully that solved the leak.

This is Fantastic! The seal is off in one corner just like you show in the pic. I took the rubber piece off, pulled the white clips out, resealed the rubber piece all the way around it, and clipped it back in; and I hope that fixes it. There was water still around the rubber piece from 2 days ago so I’m confident that’s it. I took everything out of the truck, pulled the bottom of the back seat out,pulled the liner all the way out, pulled the drain plugs out, then dried it out. Layed the liner in the sun to let it dry out, it’s like a sponge in the very bottom. I canceled my service appointment, and I’m going to text them a pic of the fix for the trunk sloshing full of water after a rain, and the musky smell I’ve been getting for months after the rain. Thanks!

 

[h0mersimps0n]

My trunk does this exact thing after driving in the rain. Been to the service center once already, still does it.

My closest service center is an hour, one way, and they don't offer loaners.

Looking for a quick fix. Are people having success with Silicone around the oval wiring harness exit as pictured above?

How is there not a service bulletin for this?

I am having the same issue. I hear water swishing around in the trunk lid and then once the trunk is fully open, the water starts to drip from the inside liner where the vent holes (beside the interior trunk light) are. I could not pinpoint where the water is getting in from. I have a mobile service appointment booked for next week. There is a YouTube video of exactly the problem I am facing.

 

[cmnfb]

I had this problem and took it in for service - this is the only real issue I've had with my car in 6 months.

While they didn't officially find anything wrong with it (they did test it) I'm still seeing the problem, and have done my own diagnosis: The rubber inside the trunk makes contact with the trunk lid when it's closed and causes a seal that - when clean - works successfully. But you get one damn pine needle in there and that seal is broken and water will flow through.

I don't know really what to do to fix this issue -- if it's really something that needs another service appointment or just "the way it is". Its not like my car is covered in pine needles, but I don't think I should have to do a careful inspection of the seal and dirt on the trunk when closing it every single time.

hi did you get any success , i had the same problem and they want to charge me for inspecting and cleaning the car from mold

 

[SonOfSimon]

Tomorrow I bring my M3 in for the third time to have the leaking trunk looked at. First time, the seal was in 180º off and the latch got an ajustment. Second time was worse (a lot of water in the sub-trunk (the sound deadening material under the liner holds a lot of water)), and they did a "five step program" to fix the problem. I forgot all the steps, but they applied silicon around the trunk lid, filled some holes in the bottom of the trunk, etc. The water is back! The car is constantly fogging up inside, and it won't be long before mold takes hold. Has anyone on the forum had three or more service appointments for the "leaky trunk"? What's the next step? Does this just continue until the warrenty runs out? While I love the car, and the ideals of the company, I do not want to pay 80 grand for a leaky car.

 

[brkaus]

Tomorrow I bring my M3 in for the third time to have the leaking trunk looked at. First time, the seal was in 180º off and the latch got an ajustment. Second time was worse (a lot of water in the sub-trunk (the sound deadening material under the liner holds a lot of water)), and they did a "five step program" to fix the problem. I forgot all the steps, but they applied silicon around the trunk lid, filled some holes in the bottom of the trunk, etc. The water is back! The car is constantly fogging up inside, and it won't be long before mold takes hold. Has anyone on the forum had three or more service appointments for the "leaky trunk"? What's the next step? Does this just continue until the warrenty runs out? While I love the car, and the ideals of the company, I do not want to pay 80 grand for a leaky car.

I had one appointment. I'm pretty sure my problem was the trunk wasn't closed when they washed the car pre-delivery.

I do have a full trunk liner so I would be able to tell pretty quickly if water was leaking inside.

 

[norawray]

I had one appointment. I'm pretty sure my problem was the trunk wasn't closed when they washed the car pre-delivery.

I do have a full trunk liner so I would be able to tell pretty quickly if water was leaking inside.

I’ve had 4 appointments and the problem persists…sigh.

 

[EchoDelta]

Had the symptom (Seattle) - and with the latest rains and winds found the subtrunk bottom with 0.1 cm of water- feeling grateful to past me for getting a maxpider subtrunk liner

It came down to pine needles and grimy rubber-lid contact. See attached.
While obviously design could help avoid this, I am super relieved it is not a service-class problem.

(Reading through the thread, I wanted to comment there is no need for snark towards owners experiencing problems. Calling something user error is at best unhelpful and at worse dismissive. We are here to help each other - and user errors are design opportunities.

 

[Shari50]

I have a problem where the spare tire well was nearly full of water and I only discovered this because the cover to that section of the trunk was also wet. No other part of the trunk was wet, though. So what’s causing it?

 

[JeffCarson]

I had same issue with 2019 Model 3 with the trunk seal/gasket. Cleaned it off with a damp rag and rubbed some Vaseline all over the seal/gasket and now no drops at all.

Have used this method on boats for over 30 years when gaskets dry out......

 

[Idkorcare]

When mine was leaking it was getting into the trunk lid then would flow down the loom into the trunk. Only happened when i was driving i the rain.

2 things:
The rubber trim at the bottom of the rear glass didnt seal/ touch the trunk when closed, only way to fix that was most likely replace rear glass
Climbing in the trunk thru the rear seat you could easily see daylight where the trunk wasnt sealing and the trunk looked perfectly aligned on the outside.

 

[RainMeister]

Just found some water on the trunk liner of my M3. Nothing major, but I also didn't have anything in there to get damaged. I have an appointment tomorrow with the local service center, so we'll see what they have to say.

What's disappointing to read is that Tesla doesn't seem to have a solution for this problem since the start of this thread 2 years ago. In the mostly dry climate of Southern California, this isn't as big a deal as if it happened in other parts of the country, but a concern nevertheless. Even my modern roadster is water tight, so this really is inexcusable.

 

[hari-bhari]

It’s way too wet to be a few drops rolling off the glass when I open my trunk. I have no idea what the problem is. All I know is:
1. It rained fairly hard in Los Angeles a couple times since I’ve had the car and I park outside.
2. I washed the car once.
3. The lower trunk is soaked with water (along with what I had in it - the mobile charger, tire repair kit, and a blanket.) the upper trunk is not wet at all.

Did you ever figure this out? I just discovered that my lower cargo area is completely soaked including the sound deadening padding underneath the liner, to the point that the liner is molding. Two weeks ago it looked normal. The rest of the trunk is bone dry.

Never had an issue in the last 3 years until now. The car is also completely clean with no debris along the seal.

Only thing I can think of is that the car was in for service for some rattles and in rained heavily while parked outside for a few days (and I normally garage it).

Do those of you who are describing leak issues find only the cargo area soaked, or elsewhere in the trunk too?