Why is it wet in here?

[IndianaTravis]

I pulled up my back seat and found water under the driver's side. It looks fairly fresh, and there is no mold. It has been raining for the last several days, though.

The back of the sound deadening was wet. It is only in the center, lowest part of the under seat area. Since nothing else in the area is wet, I think it is coming from the black metal plate.

Is that the access plate for the gas tank? If it is, is there a gasket under it that could be leaking?

[DustenT]

Mine was wet too. I never bothered to figure out why. I'm not bad there that often.

[IndianaTravis]

But it hadn't started rusting or molding? I'm going to take off the four screws on the black plate tonight and see what's under there. I might put a nice bead of silicone there while I'm in there.

[cali-ti]

i had this EXACT THING and pulled the rear interior of my car out to (1) keep it dry and from moulding and (2) discover the source of the mystery.

i got "lucky" when it was raining and found the source ... the driver's side rear window latch. yes, the latch. water was coming through it and dripping from the end. i haven't done anything about it, but i'm not sure it's doing it any more. very odd. i was going to condition the rubber seal around the window and investigate the latching mechanism itself to see if there's a seal in there that could be leaking.

you may or may not find this same source. interesting that at least three of us have had this exact issue. the water was ONLY on the driver's side. i originally thought it was my cali top ... i was GLAD to find it was the rear window

[IndianaTravis]

that could be it, I guess....but the seat cushion wasn't wet?

I'll check that latch and see.

thanks for the idea!

[madfronter]

That is where you access the fuel pump. Water can and does splash up under that plate.

[cali-ti]

Originally Posted by IndianaTravis

that could be it, I guess....but the seat cushion wasn't wet?

I'll check that latch and see.

thanks for the idea!

what kind of seat covering do you have? mine is leather and the i don't believe the foam they use for the cushions is really the type that absorbs water so it ends up just flowing to the lowest possible place ... under the seat in the well. i think it would be hard to come up from underneath unless you were driving. my would gather water just sitting, no way it was coming from the the port hole to the fuel tank/pump!

EDIT: if it continues to rain, just go sit in the back of the car. that's all it took for me to discover it

[IndianaTravis]

I have cloth, and the cloth wasn't wet.

I poked around back there and couldn't find anything else that was wet, so I'm getting more confident that it is coming from that access panel on the floor of the seat.

I'm going to try to find an exploded view of that area to see if there is a gasket that I might need to replace.

[oakley]

hi i had the same prob in both my ti's...the first time i came across it it tooke bmw weeks of pulling car apart and keeping it under the sprinkler to find the problem....cost be best part of £800 uk quid!!! turns out it was leaking through from the rear tailgate area..i personally couldnt see a thing or tell where they were saying it was comming from but it drove me mad for months trying to fins it myself...unfort as its always rainin here in Britain my sound proofing began to rot...umm the smell of dead animals everytime i got into the car..............have fun trying to locate it..if this dont make sense let me know i have photos somewhere of the offending area!

[ubiquity]

I have also had this problem, I found it as I was taking apart the car to run wiring when it had been raining on or off.

After seeing how much water gets into the drivers side door when I had it stripped off to sound deaden it, I should imagine it comes in through the rear window seals, then leaks down behind the 3/4 panel covers and then onto the rear bench. Not a lot you can do about it unless u can get it to route somewhere else. I am planning to sort it by sound deadening the offending area with brown bread.

This is like OEM sound deadening but with a sheet of aluminium on the top, so water just flows over it and the underside is butane anyways, so less likey to rot.

[IndianaTravis]

well you guys aren't making me feel better!

I haven't looked at it for a few days. I still suspect it is that black plate that is right there, as that seems most logical.

After that, it very well could be the rear window seals, but to be sure I'd have to remove the side panels in the back and look for signs of water.

[ubiquity]

The side panels over the three quater panels are very easy to remove. They use the same clips as the front door panels, but without any screws or bolts. You do , however, need to remove the side bolsters for the rear seats in order to get them off. They are secured with a plastic popper that screws off and on, then u can lift them up over the clips.

The steel plates then just need the bolts remove and they come out. The seals on the plates themsleves could possibly rott or degrate, worth a check also.