Water Leaking into Cab – Puddles Under Driver & Passenger Carpet

Hey everyone,

I’ve got a 2009 Tacoma TRD Sport and just noticed puddles under both my driver and passenger side carpets (more on diver side). I live in Bend, OR, and we’ve had a ton of snow recently, so I think it’s coming from melting snow rather than a heater core issue.

What I’ve Checked So Far:
✅ No sunroof (so not sunroof drains)
✅ Heavy snow on the truck, so I suspect exterior leaks
✅ Water is pooling under the carpet, weathertech mats are dry on top.

Potential Causes I’m Looking Into:

• Clogged cowl drains – Planning to remove the cowl and check for blockages.
• Windshield seal leak – Going to do a hose test to check for leaks.
• Door seals – Could old weather stripping be letting in water?

Additional Info:
I’ve attached photos showing the direction the water is flowing on the driver’s side in case it helps pinpoint the leak.

Questions for the Community:

1. Most common leak points on 2nd Gen Tacomas?
2. Best way to fully dry out the carpets once I find the leak?
3. Any other areas I should check before tearing things apart?

Appreciate any advice from those who’ve dealt with this before!

 

Do you have a roof rack? If, so it could be coming in through the bolts holding the rack to the rails and running down both a-pillars. When roof racks are installed you should use teflon tape on the threads and silicone at the base of the spacer where it meets the roof. Also, do you see any water marks on the headlining or water in the a-pillars. If the a-pillars are dry then you know its not coming from the roof or windshield and I'd look at the cowl drains.

 

Thanks for the response. No roof rack right now, Im not sure where the A-pilars are? I spent yesterday taking all the seats and trim out to remove the carpet. From the looks of all the moisture, this has been a problem for awhile. Now that its just the shell, I can start testing for leaks. Any tips for how to start?

 

I see you have some accessory wires running to a ground in the kick panel. Maybe water is getting through where aftermarket power wires were ran through the fire wall if you have them. I had a leak that was coming through a gap in the glue holding the rear window glass on. Third brake light seal is a common one too but your rear carpets would also probably be a little damp like mine were from the water flowing forward. I was able to find my leak by removing all of the door sill panels and spraying potential leak points off with a water hose to see where water was running down the floor board.

 

Have someone sit in the vehicle and methodically spray down different areas of the vehicle with a hose until they notice the water coming in. When they notice, stop spraying and investigate that area. Since your truck is wetter on the drivers side, I would start there, but it's not a guarantee. Water wicks through carpeting and often moves depending on how the vehicle is parked, just because one side is wetter doesn't mean thats the side with the leak.

 

Has the windshield ever been replaced?

 

I had a leak like that from rust through around the windshield.

 

I'll try the hose, method. After examining what caused the "flood" yesterday, a lot of snow was left sitting on the base of the windshield at the wipers and was melting in the sun. So likely the cowls or the base of the windsheiled that has never been replaced. I'll start there. Weirdly, upon removing all the seats and carpet, I noticed condensation pockets in the rear as well. So there could be multiple...

 

Make sure your windshield cowl panel (plastic part) is sitting nice and flush against the bottom of your windshield, especially passenger side. If not, water runs past it directly into your cabin air filter and floor. If your filter is wet thats a definite tell.

 

THIS^
and because i simply never want to deal with it, i put a strip of black gorilla tape over that entire seam

 

I had a water leak exact same place from hammering the pinch welds flat. Water would run out of cowl and straight down that line and come under carpet.

 

Oh dang, that might be it! I was tired of my tires rubbing, so I trimmed my fenders, hammered the pinch, did a cab-mount-chop, and made some aftermarket fender liners. I never thought about how that could affect water drainage causse I thought everything was still sealed.

How did you go about fixing yours? Did you just seal the pinch weld area, or was there another way to redirect the water?

 

Yes where the pinch was laid over it tore the seam sealer, I spray painted over it not knowing it had a slit in it, once I found the leak I just used some body shop seam sealer and skimmed over it. Years of rain and it's still fine

 

Think it would work to seal it from the inside if possible? Trying to avoid removing the fenders...

 

I mean it's possible, but I would try to seal the cause of the crack instead of the path. That way water doesn't get trapped in between some metal in there. If that even is the source. I had my wife spray water onto the pinch weld and could watch it come in behind the kick panel.

 

This is a common problem when the cowl cover seal fails. The water leaks into the HVAC system.
I designed a kit to fix this. Please check out KIT4.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...l-kits-and-hvac-screens.811746/#post-29114338






Other of other benefits to this.

• Keeps rodents and debris out of the air cabin filter.
• Add a cowl intake snorkel for added protection when crossing deep water.

These fit 2nd and 3rd Gen Tacomas!