Puddle of water inside the trunk after rain!

[Dorkiedoode]

So today in SoCal we finally had some rain. I took my Model 3 to a wedding event. After parking outside in the rain during the event, I came back, lifted up the trunk to grab something, and there’s a big puddle of water inside the bottom storage area. I’m going to be making an appointment with Tesla service next week to get this fix. This is unacceptable for a 50k car. Yes, my trunk is close tight.

 

[zhu-]

Now I'm going to check my trunk after heavy raining. I very rarely grab for the stuff in the bottom storage so it wouldn't be good for all the water and mold build up to linger in there for potentially months.

 

[voip-ninja]

There was an entire lengthy thread on this if you do a search. I believe the issue was caused by an incorrectly installed seal.

 

[RoBoRaT]

Here is a related thread from the other M3 club site:

Water in Trunk After Delivery

Please report back the source of water leak and the fix.

 

[ngogas]

Pretty well known issue on some cars and has to do with bad gasket seal. Call SC. Mine didn’t happen but seen a few videos and thread on this issue. Get it fix ASAP.

 

[halfricanguy]

This happened to me but I think it was because a family member left the trunk open. Now I’m wondering. Regardless, you’ll want to get that water out and have the piece replaced ASAP. I took mine out and found there’s a carpet pad underneath that will be soaked and will not dry without being removed. It will definitely start growing mold.
Removing trunk carpet/liner

 

[N5329K]

So today in SoCal we finally had some rain. I took my Model 3 to a wedding event. After parking outside in the rain during the event, I came back, lifted up the trunk to grab something, and there’s a big puddle of water inside the bottom storage area. I’m going to be making an appointment with Tesla service next week to get this fix. This is unacceptable for a 50k car. Yes, my trunk is close tight.

Yes, but I bet the fart app works great!
Robin

 

[ngogas]

Lol

 

[Matt L]

So to recap...it was not designed to be water tight when the trunk is not closed.

We can debate if that’s a design flaw or not, but that’s how it is designed.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

My brother had this problem immediately after delivery. But we concluded the trunk was not properly closed (surface tension allows water to dribble underneath around the edge & underside of trunk lid, and the rear window rubber ramp probably also contributes), though we don’t KNOW that. He had my dad do a thorough hose test while he watched from inside - NOTHING.

He had pooling in the same spot as the OP on that first incident.

What we do know is he lives in Seattle, parks the car outside, has changed nothing (except closing the trunk firmly), and has had no further issues.

EDIT: @Dorkiedoode just close your trunk, crawl in from the backseat with a flashlight, and have someone thoroughly hose down the car around the lid. If no leak, then no need to go talk to Tesla.

 

[Dorkiedoode]

Thanks, will do a test later. I’m currently trying to rinse it by hand trying to get as much water out as possible.

 

[lasdj]

So today in SoCal we finally had some rain. I took my Model 3 to a wedding event. After parking outside in the rain during the event, I came back, lifted up the trunk to grab something, and there’s a big puddle of water inside the bottom storage area. I’m going to be making an appointment with Tesla service next week to get this fix. This is unacceptable for a 50k car. Yes, my trunk is close tight.

Question for you, when did you take delivery of your car? I got mine end of April 2018 and I don't think it's leaking but hard to tell since it's garage kept. Was your trunk also wet and seeped down to the lower storage area?

 

[RoBoRaT]

Thanks, will do a test later. I’m currently trying to rinse it by hand trying to get as much water out as possible.

Did that using rags, and air it with electric fan - still this was taking forever, so I remove the drain plugs (black rubber bottom of well) and SLOWLY pulled the bottom pad and let it dry under the SoCal sun (last month when it was sunny). All was dry the same day. No water intrusion since then - even after car washes/rain.

 

[Dorkiedoode]

Did that using rags, and air it with electric fan - still this was taking forever, so I remove the drain plugs (black rubber bottom of well) and SLOWLY pulled the bottom pad and let it dry under the SoCal sun (last month when it was sunny). All was dry the same day. No water intrusion since then - even after car washes/rain.View attachment 366868 View attachment 366869

my trunk liner is currently looking the same as your second picture right now haha. since it's going to be raining tomorrow, i might have to wait till Tuesday to sun bathe it.

 

[Scrutmonkey]

We had two nights of water here in California, Bay Area, took delivery March 2018.

it happened once before earlier this year, but i thought maybe I just didn't have the trunk closed completely.

Here's my water in the trunk, i wiped a little before i figured I should take pics. I'm glad i bought the trunk liner now.

I'm taking it in at a SC tomorrow.

We'll see if they address my trunk misalignment too.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

We had two nights of water here in California, Bay Area, took delivery March 2018.

it happened once before earlier this year, but i thought maybe I just didn't have the trunk closed completely.

Here's my water in the trunk, i wiped a little before i figured I should take pics. I'm glad i bought the trunk liner now.

I'm taking it in at a SC tomorrow.

We'll see if they address my trunk misalignment too.

I took a closer look at my brother’s trunk seal. He complains occasionally about finding water (but not consistently, even in Seattle). I do think that there may be a defect with some seals where a small opening may be left. Two pictures attached of the center upper seal join location - one is his (leaks), and one is mine. You can see his would potentially create a small gap even after it is compressed. And I looked at the marks where it contacts the trunk lid and it did appear there was a gap in the “dirt line” the seal creates.

I don’t know for sure if this is the issue, but I suspect it could be. If the car is parked at just the right angle so that water pools right at the gap, it could result in significant water entry.

 

[Scrutmonkey]

We had two nights of water here in California, Bay Area, took delivery March 2018.

it happened once before earlier this year, but i thought maybe I just didn't have the trunk closed completely.

Here's my water in the trunk, i wiped a little before i figured I should take pics. I'm glad i bought the trunk liner now.

I'm taking it in at a SC tomorrow.

We'll see if they address my trunk misalignment too.

UPDATE :

It took them a few hours of water testing and they ended up installing a new seal on my trunk (Vin 8XXX, delivery MAR 2018).

We looked at before/after pics...the seal is differently shaped.

They retested and refitted my trunk. The re-fitment was because me left side wasn't flush and higher than the right...I didn't catch it upon delivery.

It rained heavy over the weekend...no magic puddle in my trunk anymore.

--------------------------------------------------Service Notes-----------------------------

Concern: Customer States:After a heavy rain he is getting a puddle of water in the rear trunk. Customer will be sending
advisor pictures and videos.
Service technician found trunk seal was installed incorrectly. Technician re installed trunk seal and refit the liftgate.
Technician performed water test then found no leak. Technician recommends customer to monitor concern.

 

[cmnfb]

UPDATE :

It took them a few hours of water testing and they ended up installing a new seal on my trunk (Vin 8XXX, delivery MAR 2018).

We looked at before/after pics...the seal is differently shaped.

They retested and refitted my trunk. The re-fitment was because me left side wasn't flush and higher than the right...I didn't catch it upon delivery.

It rained heavy over the weekend...no magic puddle in my trunk anymore.

--------------------------------------------------Service Notes-----------------------------

Concern: Customer States:After a heavy rain he is getting a puddle of water in the rear trunk. Customer will be sending
advisor pictures and videos.
Service technician found trunk seal was installed incorrectly. Technician re installed trunk seal and refit the liftgate.
Technician performed water test then found no leak. Technician recommends customer to monitor concern.

Hi can i aske you if this ever happened again what exactly did they replace to fix the problem, i have the same situation and they want me to pay for it ?

 

[M109Rider]

Hi can i aske you if this ever happened again what exactly did they replace to fix the problem, i have the same situation and they want me to pay for it ?

Is your car out of warranty ?
Has it leaked before. ?
What model ?