2000 Camry water leak, please help

[CamryDriverT]

Hello all,

I hope someone can help me out. I've recently noticed that whenever there's a big downpour or I go through a puddle, my driver's side, front and back seat rugs get soaked. The back seat on my driver's side is the worst, you can actually leave a sock down there and wring it out. The passenger side however is unaffected. I took it to Toyota and they said they'd have to charge me $200 just to find the leak, not even fix it! This seems ridiculous to me. Can anyone tell me where to look so that perhaps I can find the leak myself. I must note that, the seats are not wet, so I don't think it's coming from the windows, and it's only the driver's side that is affected. Thanks

[teh_brute]

you could try taking the rugs out and by the molding around the door, pull the carpet up. there is sheet metal of the car's frame under that and possibly a firewall for your gas tank. there is probably rust holes or some sort of obvious leak... it will not be hard to see judging by all the water that comes in. it is probably fairly large and once you find it, you can repair it by going to a junkyard and finding the part on an old car of your type or maybe by just Bondo-ing it. i hope i could help a little at least

[CamryDriverT]

Originally Posted by teh_brute

you could try taking the rugs out and by the molding around the door, pull the carpet up. there is sheet metal of the car's frame under that and possibly a firewall for your gas tank. there is probably rust holes or some sort of obvious leak... it will not be hard to see judging by all the water that comes in. it is probably fairly large and once you find it, you can repair it by going to a junkyard and finding the part on an old car of your type or maybe by just Bondo-ing it. i hope i could help a little at least

what does bondo-ing it mean?

[CamryDriverT]

does anybody heeeeeere meeee, does anybody seeeeeee mee?

[Brian R.]

Bondo is a 2-component (resin and hardener) molding material that you can sand. It is used to repair body gouges and small problems in body panels. It can be used anywhere you can stick it. You normally use it over a fiberglass mesh to hold it in place and give it strength.

Bondo-ing is the act of applying bondo.

I doubt you have a big rust hole in that new of a car. Most likely, there are loose bolts holding on molding or floor panel on the underside of your car. Get under the car where it gets wet and in front of that area and look around for a gap. Also check your driver-side front wheel well. See if you can tighten up bolts to hold it better together. At worst you can bondo it.

[CamryDriverT]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

Bondo is a 2-component (resin and hardener) molding material that you can sand. It is used to repair body gouges and small problems in body panels. It can be used anywhere you can stick it. You normally use it over a fiberglass mesh to hold it in place and give it strength.

Bondo-ing is the act of applying bondo.

I doubt you have a big rust hole in that new of a car. Most likely, there are loose bolts holding on molding or floor panel on the underside of your car. Get under the car where it gets wet and in front of that area and look around for a gap. Also check your driver-side front wheel well. See if you can tighten up bolts to hold it better together. At worst you can bondo it.

thx i'll try that tomorrow. hopefully I can resolve this before the next downpour.

[CamryDriverT]

unfortunately me, my boyfriend and his dad both looked and could not find the source of the leak. I even lifted up the carpet a little and saw a 2 inch puddle of water down there just sitting around. It's soo frustrating, we even hosed down the car in hopes of finding something but couldn't. What type of repair shop should I take it to, a car body shop, would that specialize in this. I don't wanna take it to Toyota because I know they're just gonna rip me off.


Oh, and when we looked under the car it had some sort of metal frame which prevented us from seeing if the seat bolts where tight enough.

[Cammy_01]

Probably a good body shop.. I would pull the carpet up as much as you can, dry the wet spots and try the hose again, but lay down paper towels on the floor to see if you can spot any moisture on the paper towels and aproximately where it is coming from by which paper towels got wet and where.