Is it just Range Rovers that get the footwells wet all the time?

[misstki]

The footwells on the driver's side of my RR Classic were always wet and now need to be replaced. I was SO hoping that all of those problems would go away with my 2010 L322, but here we are again with wet footwells on the driver's side after a heavy rain. What message did Land Rover miss that all the other car companies got about making cars that don't let water in?

I think that the L322's sunroof drains to the back and down the rear walls, but I could be wrong. Where could the water in the footwell be coming from? Do the footwells have galvanizing, or can they rust through like my Classic? It doesn't look like the carpet is easy to pull back to look into....

It's not fun for me to worry about whether my footwells are flooded every time it rains. It takes away the fun of having such a nice car.

[AdventureSeeker]

Take a look at the front windshield drains. Also, look for any other holes. Otherwise, the window caulk might not have been put on correctly after it was changed, which could lead to a water leak. It could be a drain on the AC. There might be a drain in the area under the engine cover. There are many drains, so it's best to try to figure out where the water is coming from. The water is getting there from somewhere.

This problem can happen to any car, not just rovers. Water was getting into the back of my car. It turned out that there were leaves built up in the place where the hatch opened. I cleaned it out, took off the hatch seal, and put butyl seal around the mouth of the hatch. I then put the rubber seal back on, and it's been fine ever since. That's what helped me stop water from getting into that back hatch area. But that's not always the reason why people have water getting into that spot.

You could use a shop vacuum to get rid of as much water as possible, then run something to dry it out and remove the moisture.

Also, I think you could get in the car and have someone spray with a hose to try to find the hole.

It looks like the line has come off or the window or AC drain is plugged. Is that part of the top also wet?

The best thing to do is to start small and check the AC pipes and windows.

[melonslab23]

AdventureSeeker made a good point. I also have a Range Rover Classic, and that car had more than one way to get in. It's completely dry now, but it took some work to find the exit and entry places. The L322 is a better design, but your sinks keep getting clogged up by old age. They are easy to clean out, though. Also, LR no longer bolts the mud flaps to the front floor, which is another place where rust can form.

[misstki]

Thanks for responding to my angry rant. But I disagree with the idea that any car, not just RRs, can have leaks. In theory, it's possible, but I've had MANY cars with and without sunroofs, and NONE of them had a problem with water getting into the footwells. There's something about the way British designers think that makes leaking frames easy to make.

And I DID look under the sunroof to see WHERE the drains were. I found one on the top of the driver-side front corner that was totally blocked. I'll try that drain with water later, when I can get someone to help me. But if it's jammed at the top, is it safe to think that the window well is overflowing and making its way down the A-pillar? How hard is it to take off the panels inside and find where that drain goes?

[AdventureSeeker]

The caps on a pillar are easy to remove. Headliner is a pain. At least it was for me when I had to get this done again.

I used to work for Mercedes. I lost count of how many cars came in with problems with the sunroof drains, convertible top drains, or AC drains that were stopped. That means it can happen on any car, and the surroundings can play a big role in it. That's because we get a lot of sun, leaves, and dust here in southern California. Any of those things could get into the drains and block them up. In places that get more rain, I think that more water flows through them more often.

During service, my techs would often put a long, bendable metal rod up the drains to make sure they were clean. That's what I told them to do, and it was a simple safety measure that only took a few minutes.

[misstki]

Thank you, AdventureSeeker. I'm not so angry anymore. I think that any splices or original connections in the drain tube(s) would be farther down if they haven't come loose right at the window. It would be great to know where they were. I don't have the original instructions for the 2010 frame, but I'm sure it's online somewhere. It looks like that long bend rod would be useful, unless you accidentally break a link.