More water intrusion
 

Hey,

Last month when Hurricane Helene blew through I'd parked the X outside at the airport and water had gotten in from somewhere and collected in the rear footwells. Not a lot, but definitely wet back there.

I thought maybe it was the bad door deal on the left side, and replaced it last weekend with a good used one. But that wouldn't account for both sides being wet. I left it sit out in the sun with the windows cracked for a few days which dried it out.

Welp, we got a huge rain dump again last night. Guess what? More water in the rear footwells. The slight bump in between the footwells is dry, the front carpets are dry, and there's no moisture in the back.

The sunroof does not leak as far as I can tell, as in there's no visible traces of water around it or elsewhere on the headliner. But if one or more drains were clogged, could water run down inside the B or C pillars? Because I'm at a loss for how water is getting inside. I suppose I could start parking in the covered lot here and at the airport but $$$.

Door vapour barriers behind door card.

Possibly. I've not had the rear door cards off; I need to replace the door lock actuator on my side, and I have a good (tested) one from a junkyard. Maybe when I get back from Mexico...

Both front vapor barriers are long gone, but as far as I know there is no water leaking from the fronts.

Replace both front door vapor barries...and any other door that is missing.

I would also pull the front A-pillar trim pieces and inspect both the front sunroof tubes. They are frequently kinked and/or the tube has pulled out of the lower drain pipe..

Second for door vapor barriers. In really heavy rains the doors will literally fill up and spill over into the rear floor boards. Also check the drains in the bottom of the doors to be sure they are clear of debris as that will allow the water to drain more quickly instead of filling the doors.

Also had this problem happen to my X, but only in really heavy downpours. Hasn't happened since cleaning the drains and resealing the vapor barrier.

I don't think it's the sunroof. I had the sunroof leaking every which way possible and it was nothing like you describe.

Third vote for vapor barriers - had this same leak happen on one side when I first got the car - turns out a PO had ripped the vapor barrier and not repaired it.

Today I went to snake out the drains with this 6-ft springy thing with a brush. Could not ID the drain exits up top, but tried going the other way. Right rear side went all the way and popped out of the sunroof tray. Left side did too, but did not emerge from the sunroof tray. So maybe that left rear drain tube has popped off. I was gonna drop the headliner but reversed as I was losing daylight and I'm out of town until mid next week.

Temporary attempt to mitigate: sealed all around the sunroof seam with Gorilla tape and it'll be parked uncovered at the airport for 9 days.

But if it's the vapor barriers then it'll get wet again. Thx for the tips!

Oh where are the drain exits in the sunroof tray? I can't see anything resembling one.

New vapor barriers were still available last year. I replaced one that ripped in multiple places. Also, I read somewhere here to use a heat gun to soften that nasty black adhesive they are held on with. Great advice. Just a few seconds on a given area softens that stuff up to goo stage so you can press the barrier back on. As with all things heat gun related, be careful not to burn your x5 to the ground!

Don't tempt me with a good time!

I think FCP still sells the barriers but damn they are not cheap... we'll see if it's wet again when I get back from Mexico next week as it's supposed to rain a few times before then. If so, that's why. If not, then I guess it's a sunroof drain.