Water intrusion

Hi all....I recently traded in my 2018 Tundra crew cab for what I'm hoping was good deal 2020 Sequioa SR5 4WD. Overall the truck is in really good condition at just under 30,000 miles it drives and looks new.

We have been getting our rain on out here in California and I just noticed the carpet under the driver's side foot well is soaked and a little behind the seat (the passenger side is fine). I haven't seen any obvious signs of leaks in the cabin, sunroof, etc...The only thing I can think of is I hit some big big puddles today - half a foot deep and wide, lots of water and maybe it got into the cab somehow?

Is there something like a plug under the chassis or in the engine bay that could cause water to enter like that and in that amount? I wasn't close to being submerged or anything like that and my tundra would blast through these puddles that double as lakes with no problems with nothing getting wet inside......I don't think any drain lines run there....any advice you could give would be helpful as it has me a little concerned now.

 

Update...appears to be windshield, it had been replaced and installation didn't appear to be quality, very minimal leaking would occur during rain but getting hit with a lot of water at once caused major intrusion....this windshield wasnt OEM so I decided to order OEM and still waiting for it to arrive 4 weeks later

 

Finally my windshield arrived and now installed - 7 weeks for it to arrive

 

Update:

The new windshield did the trick for the water coming in up front but I recently discovered I have another leak in the rear hatch - lucky me a two for! Thanks to all the rain we have been having out here in So Cal I was able to track down where the water is entering through the rear hatch.

I popped the all the trim off the rear and discovered there is a plastic sheet with black glue/caulk forming a gasket that seals the plastic to the inside of the hatch for access. The black gasket actually had gaps in it that was allowing water to leak through and eventually pool up on the top of the hatch's weather seal and eventually leak in.

I ended up removing the plastic to inspect the hatch and found nothing out of the ordinary so I assumed the seal was the problem and resealed it. I’m happy to say it has sealed out most of the rain so the major flooding has stopped lol but upon inspecting it tonight I discovered a small amount if moisture starting to form between the kick cover and hatch where I originally discovered the leak so I know I have not completely fixed the problem.

A couple questions for the collective:

1. What is the best caulk/adhesive to seal this plastic cover? I attached a picture of what I used and not sure if it was the best choice.
2. I think part of my problem was I couldn’t get all the old caulk cleaned off both the hatch and the plastic (was in a rush between storms) so I’m sure this didn’t help. What is the best for removing this? I tried alcohol and it didn’t work that well.
3. There was quite a bit of water getting into the rear from this leak. I know doors are not exactly water tight and there are drain holes on them for a reason but is it normal for an excessive amount of water to enter the hatch - like multiple cups, soaks the entire rear drivers side carpet. Is this normal or is there another problem contributing to all the water inside the hatch?

Thanks in advance

 

I feel your pain.
I have been tracking down a leak I noticed after installing my Gobi roof rack. Since installing the rack, I can't fit in my garage anymore and now it sits outside in all this rain.
After a lot of trial and error and ripping apart the interior, I discovered it was never the roof leaking. It was the rear hatch....exactly the same way as yours.
Since I back into my driveway the water had run all the way to under the middle row seat on the drivers side, where I noticed it.
I assumed the middle foot of the roof rack was leaking and water was running down the B pillar. After another storm, I discovered the rear was wet also.

When I bought my Sequoia, the rear window made a horrible sound when rolled up and down, and a bunch of dirt/mud would come up with it. I removed everything on the rear hatch, including that plastic water barrier, to clean out the window track. Once removed, that black caulking gasket doesn't stick 100% anymore, which caused my leak.

Goo Gone is your friend.
I think I used the regular goo and adhesive remover one, in the spray bottle. I can check when I get home, but it works well to remove that crap.

I have cleaned up the rear hatch and the plastic sheet but haven't put it back on yet. FYI, Toyota gets almost $50 for a new sheet of plastic, so reuse yours, lol.
I have some stuff from a friend who works in a body shop that I will be using to redo mine. It's already in a black rope form and has an activator that needs to be applied to make it even stickier.
I'm hoping that solves my problem.

 

You can see the design on the water barrier is, any water that hits it from inside runs down to the low spots where you can see a notch in the metal causing it to run back inside the rear hatch. There are 2 drain holes in the bottom of the rear hatch that will drain the water out to the top of the bumper.

 

@hudrock Ok, here is the Goo Gone I used that worked very well. Get the majority of the "gasket" off by rolling it with your fingers, then I used this and a shop paper towel and it all came off.



Here is what I'm going to try to reapply the plastic.

$30 3M Windo-Weld Round Ribbon Sealer, 08611, 5/16 in x 15 ft Kit

https://www.amazon.com/08611-Window...708730004&sprefix=3m+window+weld,aps,145&th=1

Along with 3m adhesion promoter

 

Thanks for the info, I have been on travel so haven't had time to mess with it but did buy some butyl tape and a can of 3m adhesive remover before I left so probably will get after it this weekend, I'm going to take my time and get rid of all that old adhesive first.

 

I did mine yesterday and did a water test today. Everything worked as Toyota designed again. I was finally able to put my rear storage cubby and hatch back together again.

 

Got motivated and did mine as well. Cleaning off the all the old adhesive was a PITA but part of that was my fault for using the other adhesive (live and learn), i hit it first with a heat gun and used a plastic scraper to remove the big stiff and then hit it with the adhesive remover. After it was clean applied buytl tape and a new vapor cover. The other cover was jacked up so used a new one

 

Was removing your rear seats as simple as unbolting the anchors to the deck and pulling them out or is there something else to do? When I was fixing the rear hatch I noticed some very light surface rust on some of the untreated seat hardware beneath the seat...don't think it's a big deal but now that I've seen it, it will bug me until I treat it

 

It's not quite that easy, but not terribly hard either. There is a bunch of plastic pieces that have to be removed first. The middle row is the worst, IIRC, the back row only had plastic caps over the bolts. The middle row has big plastic pieces with multiple clips covering the bolts, and the side sills have to come out too.

 

Did you get the new cover from the dealer or just cut out a new one and if so where'd you get the plastic?

 

I ended up buying from a dealer (online it was like 20 some bucks) as I was ordering a couple other trim parts that were missing but you could easily cut one out of plastic...I was looking at the water barrier stuff used for wall construction at home depot as it seemed about the same thickness