Water Leak in '97 Neon

[scoobydoo]

I have water getting in my '97 Dodge Neon Sport. I have completly pulled out all the carpet, seats, centre console and with a shop vac, sucked out all the water. Then I placed an electric space heater inside the car to bake out all the moisture. I initially thought that the water was coming in from the driver side window. The seal seemed to be a poor design with the glass only making contact with the rubber seal on the body of the car. The seal didn't look too bad, but I paid $200.00 from a dealer for the new seal.
After baking out all the moisture the car was bone dry...But after the first heavy rain fall after I installed the seal, it still leaks.
The water seems to pool under the pedals, In the low molded area beneath the drivers seat, where the rear driver's side passengers feet would rest and underneath the seat of the rear passenger on the driver's side.

If someone can give me some tips I'd appreciate it.
I have a company vehicle I drive, but I'm looking at getting fixed ASAP so my girlfriend can get back and forth to work.

Erin.

[scoobydoo]

Well I did a water penetration test on the Neon yesterday afternoon...
It appears that the water was getting in close to the rear driver's side tail- light.

Once the carpet was remove I was surprised to find quite a dent and a bondo- filled hole!
It appears that the car was in a small fender bender before I purchased it. The dealership never told me that it had been in any accidents.

All my agravation and pulling out the interior because of a sloppy hidden patch job!

Buyer beware...Ask if the vehicle has been in any accidents before you take it off the lot!

Erin.

[zimagurl]

hey whats going on. i have 98 dodge neon and have the same problem. after a rainstorm the backseat floor behind the driver was soaked with water and i had my cd case on the floor and i was soaked i ended up laying out 80 cd's to dry on our dinner table. i think i need new seals but it had to b something else cuz it was just that side that was wet. nothing else in the car was wet. i never had this problem before in my car and was wondering what i should do to fix it. if u have n e ideas please let me no email them to me. i'd love to hear from u. thanxz alot zimagurl

[dkjason]

I have also had a problem with water coming in the cabin of the car. I bought the car used from someone on a dry day unfortunately and since, when it rains, it fills up the backseat floorboards. Today I think I might have figured it out. I originally thought that the water was coming from the back doors from water coming in through the crack by the window, however today I noticed the water comes from behind the back seat. The water is coming in through the trunck! it comes down the sid and goes through the crack by the taillights into the cabin. I am going to attempt to patch this tomorrow with some hot glue or something. Makes you wonder how many people have this problem. Anyone else have a problem with the spedometer not working all the time? long story on that one. This car pisses me off.

[Scatch!]

Pull your tail lights out and put a bead of silicone on the seal. Let it dry slightly and re-install. Fixed forever.

[zimagurl]

i wanna get eurolite tail lights for my car should i wait till i do the silicone or is it ok to do it now? let me no what u think is the best way to do this. thanxz alot ~zimagurl~

[Scatch!]

No reason to wait, because you're going to have to use silicone on your new tail light seals. You definitely want to take some extra care sealing those aftermarket euros, because they are known to leak badly.

[Joshie]

I have had water leakage in my trunk and back floor. This comes form the back tail lights. What you need to do is put silicone sealent around the tail light and the trunk around the tail light. Heavy rain will cause the water to flow inward and there is a half inch gap. You need to make sure you dry out the car and put a heater in overnight. You'll need an airfreshner, since it smells so bad. For those of us in winter and cold weather, you need to do this in a garage. The condesation covers the windows and even freezes. I hope this is helpful to those of you with this problem.

If anyone is experiences squeling with the steering wheel or air conditioner, get new belts or have them re-tightened.

Other than these two problems I have enjoyed my car make sure you get your oil change every 5000 km to up keep your engine.

Josh

[Skydogg]

I have a leak in my trunk of my 98 neon sport too. I thought it would be the taillights not being sealed good enough. But now i know for sure and know it is a simple caulking fix, so thank you very much.

the only other problem i have had with my neon is the stupid sun roof. never has worked properly. the drivers side moves faster than the other side. the motor slips i think or some gearing is messed up. what could it be?

[rrmike1]

I remember having the same problem with my '97 Sport a long time ago. I replaced my broken tail light and forgot to replace the foam-like gasket that goes behind it. I found it in a junkyard. I don't remember what the cost was....


RRMike1

[Skydogg]

Hay I tried that caulking fix on my neon and it has rained like crazy where i live and no water anywhere. the fix worked great. thanks for the tip.

[Skydogg]

I have a question about the vents in my trunk in my 98 neon sport 4 door. why are they there? when i take my car through the car wash it gets water in the trunk from those vents by the wheel wells and have like rubber flaps that go over the vents.

[drag1320neon]

i heard its the taillights or the trunk weather stripping

[lowlevel]

Yeah.. I have this stupid leak too.... I should have looked closer at the interior before I bought it, as there are some fairly obvious signs. For one, there are some rust stains on the floor carpeting.... Secondly, some of the bolts that hold the front bucket seats in, are RUSTED ... :| .... you would think that by 1998 Chrysler could keep water out of a car.... sigh. Thirdly... Awful mold smell from trunk, and you can smell it in the back seats too... I had to spray about 3 full cans of Lysol to kill it.

Anyway, right away I suspected the tail lights... and sure enough.... if you put a bunch of water on the trunk area, and open up the trunk... you can watch it run down into the tail lights. This also happened on my previous car. 1989 Plymouth Sundance... ahem... which is basically the car the neon replaced.... So probably since the first sundance/shadows came out, up until todays current neons... is like 15+ years of leaky trunks... pretty ridiculous. I have to wonder if this is a marketing tactic... ie: Rust the car from the inside out, so the consumer has to buy a new car sooner than expected. :|

-lowlevel

[seniorbigs]

There is a TSB for this problem. The rear tires sling water in the fenderwell and they had poor sealing in that area. Sorry, I don't emember exactly what the fix was. We don't get much moisture.