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OK We have had rain in PA where we live. But Subarus love tough weather right?... Two weeks ago I had repairs done at a Subaru affiliated body shop after a rear end collision. As I was driving home from work today I could hear a swishing sound of flowing water underneath my car. I became concerned as my floors are wet in the car. I immediately took the vehicle where the body work had been done. There they did look at the car immediately and concluded the water is unrelated to the work they did, but they cannot figure out how the water got into the unibody of the car. I have an appointment with the dealer on Monday, that was made by the body shop, to look at removing the water. My concerns are 1) How can I prevent water from getting in my vehicle in the future if not problem is found? 2) I assume all is covered under my my SubaruWarranty? This is very frustrating and I can't help , but link this to my accident as there was not a problem prior to the accident and I had driven through a lot of rain. Hopefully, this is not the front end fo a Ascent recall. Any thoughts are appreciated!!

 

[Jason]

OK We have had rain in PA where we live. But Subarus love tough weather right?... Two weeks ago I had repairs done at a Subaru affiliated body shop after a rear end collision. As I was driving home from work today I could hear a swishing sound of flowing water underneath my car. I became concerned as my floors are wet in the car. I immediately took the vehicle where the body work had been done. There they did look at the car immediately and concluded the water is unrelated to the work they did, but they cannot figure out how the water got into the unibody of the car. I have an appointment with the dealer on Monday, that was made by the body shop, to look at removing the water. My concerns are 1) How can I prevent water from getting in my vehicle in the future if not problem is found? 2) I assume all is covered under my my SubaruWarranty? This is very frustrating and I can't help , but link this to my accident as there was not a problem prior to the accident and I had driven through a lot of rain. Hopefully, this is not the front end fo a Ascent recall. Any thoughts are appreciated!!

I'm willing to bet this has something to do with the body shop. There is a body shop next to us that is owned by a competing dealership and I've seen cars sitting outside, doors off, bumper off, moonroof removed, etc, fully exposed to the elements for weeks at a time

 

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Its just so bizarre and I hope you are not right.

 

[Orestes85]

OK We have had rain in PA where we live. But Subarus love tough weather right?... Two weeks ago I had repairs done at a Subaru affiliated body shop after a rear end collision. As I was driving home from work today I could hear a swishing sound of flowing water underneath my car. I became concerned as my floors are wet in the car. I immediately took the vehicle where the body work had been done. There they did look at the car immediately and concluded the water is unrelated to the work they did, but they cannot figure out how the water got into the unibody of the car. I have an appointment with the dealer on Monday, that was made by the body shop, to look at removing the water. My concerns are 1) How can I prevent water from getting in my vehicle in the future if not problem is found? 2) I assume all is covered under my my SubaruWarranty? This is very frustrating and I can't help , but link this to my accident as there was not a problem prior to the accident and I had driven through a lot of rain. Hopefully, this is not the front end fo a Ascent recall. Any thoughts are appreciated!!

I'd also make sure they check for damage that wasn't seen/repaired the first time that could be creating an ingress point for water.

 

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The are "100% certain" nothing was missed

 

[Orestes85]

The are "100% certain" nothing was missed

I'd be wary of anyone in that situation telling me 100% certain on a vehicle that they've probably never done work on before. I'd look into the possibility of having a second body shop look it over.

 

[norway]

The are "100% certain" nothing was missed

I'd be wary of anyone in that situation telling me 100% certain on a vehicle that they've probably never done work on before. I'd look into the possibility of having a second body shop look it over.

Yeah, anytime someone says 100% certain I'm immediately concerned.

 

[Carl Abrams]

There they did look at the car immediately and concluded the water is unrelated to the work they did, but they cannot figure out how the water got into the unibody of the car.

Then I suggest they try again - they screwed up at some point.

Presuming you have a sunroof, I'd take a look at the sunroof drain hoses, personally. Anyone want to take a bet that when they pulled the panel off to do the repair work, they moved the drain hose? So that now, when it's doing what it's supposed to do, which is channel the water that will leak around the sunroof down and outside the car. Torrential downpour rain, sunroof leaks a little like they all do, and the water ends up inside the car instead of simply draining outside the bottom.

Pure guess on my part, but ... I've seen it before. Just saying ... :nerd::devil:

 

[Subiesailor]

I had a Land Cruiser with a a bad rear side window gasket that resulted in about 3 gallons of water sitting in the rear Quarter panel. I found a plug way down under the truck that drained it. New window gasket fixed the issue. But the sloshing water sound was interesting for sure

 

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I had a Land Cruiser with a a bad rear side window gasket that resulted in about 3 gallons of water sitting in the rear Quarter panel. I found a plug way down under the truck that drained it. New window gasket fixed the issue. But the sloshing water sound was interesting for sure

The told me the seats of the car will have to be removed to get the water out....

 

[Orestes85]

The told me the seats of the car will have to be removed to get the water out....

yeah, otherwise areas under the seats/mounts will still have moisture in them and start to mildew. Hopefully you're not having to foot the bill for all of it.

If no water was getting in prior to the accident, then something changed sometime after the accident. Could be the what Carl mentioned, that would make a lot of sense. At this point I'd probably be telling the body shop they need to remove anything and everything they touched and do an actual inspection (on anything that has to deal with sealing/draining...not just the damaged area) to see what they missed or repaired incorrectly.

 

[[email protected]]

yeah, otherwise areas under the seats/mounts will still have moisture in them and start to mildew. Hopefully you're not having to foot the bill for all of it.

If no water was getting in prior to the accident, then something changed sometime after the accident. Could be the what Carl mentioned, that would make a lot of sense. At this point I'd probably be telling the body shop they need to remove anything and everything they touched and do an actual inspection (on anything that has to deal with sealing/draining...not just the damaged area) to see what they missed or repaired incorrectly.

They basically have told me to take it to the Subaru dealer. The problem I have is the dealership they asked me to take it to is not the dealership that I purchased the vehicle from. The body shop is affiliated with my insurance and does all the work for the largest Subaru dealership where we live. I am very confident the Sunroof and windows are not involved.

 

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Then I suggest they try again - they screwed up at some point.

Presuming you have a sunroof, I'd take a look at the sunroof drain hoses, personally. Anyone want to take a bet that when they pulled the panel off to do the repair work, they moved the drain hose? So that now, when it's doing what it's supposed to do, which is channel the water that will leak around the sunroof down and outside the car. Torrential downpour rain, sunroof leaks a little like they all do, and the water ends up inside the car instead of simply draining outside the bottom.

Pure guess on my part, but ... I've seen it before. Just saying ... :nerd::devil:

The panel I needed replaced of the driver side rear. This along with the entire exhaust system was replaced. The more I think about it you really may be right. How do I find out where the Ascent sunroofs drain?

 

[Rgashton]

The panel I needed replaced of the driver side rear. This along with the entire exhaust system was replaced. The more I think about it you really may be right. How do I find out where the Ascent sunroofs drain?

Oh boy, rear quarter panel damage, and now you have water pooling somewhere... I would almost guarantee you they either forgot to reconnect/replace the moon roof drain tube in that location, or they failed to route it properly, resulting in the issue you're having...

Here are a couple images from the repair manual. Items 11 (x2), 14, 15 are the drain tubes. Notice where those tubes run in the rear.

And if the drain tubes really aren't the cause then they must have missed a seal somewhere.

Edit: Or the tube was punctured and they missed it.

Hope you can get it fixed soon.

 

[Carl Abrams]

The panel I needed replaced of the driver side rear. This along with the entire exhaust system was replaced. The more I think about it you really may be right. How do I find out where the Ascent sunroofs drain?

Here's the image of the actual sunroof on the Ascent, so you can how the drain tube comes down from the back, through the pillar, and ends up coming out in the back.

 

[pilot1226]

Not sure what insurance carrier you have, but mine guarantees the repair for the life of the car. So, if something was repaired improperly, you shouldn't have to pay a cent.

 

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Not sure what insurance carrier you have, but mine guarantees the repair for the life of the car. So, if something was repaired improperly, you shouldn't have to pay a cent.

My carries does as well. That is actually why I chase the particular body shop. Thanks you

 

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Here's the image of the actual sunroof on the Ascent, so you can how the drain tube comes down from the back, through the pillar, and ends up coming out in the back.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I do have a very strong suspicion this is what is going on.

 

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Hmmm

Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I do have a very strong suspicion this is what is going on.

OK the vehicle was taken to a large Subaru dealer. There conclusion is that because my Ascent was parked on a small incline and that the heavy rain overwhelmed by drains the car became flooded. To the full credit of Subaru they replaced my interior carpet at no cost. However, I was told we will wait and see next time a heavy rain comes. I am just saying though that I don't care if if I am in a hurricane for 12 hours I should not get rain water inside the car even if it is parked on a 1 degree incline. I just think I am right on this....

 

[GHP1]

Ok, Who hasn't had there car sit in heavy rain for hours? I still think the connection is with damage and repair on the Ascent