Bad design Toyota! Water leak expected. WTF! Recall... oh sorry TSB!

Yep, same.
Would still love some pics

 

Just gets wet in the middle of the footwell. Sides and cabin filter dry. Wish W8N4Mud would repost!

 

You've given me a project. However with that being said, just make sure your cowl is either set in correctly or that you aren't missing any plastic molding pieces. Mine didn't look bad and I couldn't tell anything different from the replacement part from the junkyard other than it sat better against the windshield. If your cabin air filter is not wet, there's a good chance it may not be related. I'll try to recreate or look at my old pictures to see if I have them. Sorry to hear about the leak. It definitely sucks to have the interior wet. Kinda hopeless feeling unless its garaged.

 

When I pour water down the windshield onto the cowl, it goes down into the engine compartment and runs down the firewall seemingly at random. I've 'plumbed' the apparent drain holes and cleared out a lot of trash & leaves, but the wetness persists.

I just gave up and took it in. The TSB replacement cowl fix is $400 if off warranty (I am), but if they really fix it I'll bite the bullet.

Thanks for any info, W8N4MUD!

ps your build is awesome

 

OK so I did the $400+ TSB for leak. Just tried it out this week in a famous Florida rainstorm- still leaking and this time had wetness on drivers side as well!

Taking it back in, can't wait to hear what abba-dabba excuse they give me for this!

 

I was looking on the forum for something else, but stumbled on this. One thing to check would be to make sure the vent is closing properly on the passenger side. where the cabin air filter is installed. A while back in a rain storm I had water coming in under the dash. Turns out - the cabin air filter got jammed in the door the closes when you switch between recirc/vent. I think something also changes over between heat and A/C but can't recall. The filter kept the door open and water wasn't diverting properly. Thought it might help someone.

 

Water should never come in above the filter regardless of doors/flaps and their positions.

 

Dealership wants to replace rear window, not reseal, replace- to the tune of $1200. Alleging THAT will fix the leak.

 

As usual... just here for the boobs.

 

I had the same problem with my 08 highlander

 

I got a 2007 TRD Offroad 4x4 Access Cab in May. It's used and had 100k on it but it's been working great and I've been enjoying driving it. It rained pretty hard last night in SoCal and I found a small puddle of water on my all weather floor mat when I opened the door to my truck this morning. I saw some droplets still dripping from under the AC blower. I checked the cabin air filter and it wasn't wet. Any idea how the water got in and solution to this?

I read through the OP post all the pages but didn't the see the pics or definitive solution.

Thanks for the help!

 

Necro post

 

Other than pulling the carpet, what are people finding the best solution for getting rid of the sour musty smell from water on the floor carpet?

 

I used Biokleen Bac-Out Stain and Odor Eliminator. Use paper towel to blot out as much water as you can before using Bac-Out. I removed the floor mat on the passenger side and let it air out as much as I can. After the a few weeks of scorching weather here in SoCal. The smell and dampness went away. I replaced the cowl grille and no leak detected from the last rain.

 

Bring the Hilux!

 

I have discovered lots of water on the passenger side 3 times after a heavy rain (it probably has happened more; I remember musty smells during past winters but wasn't looking for the problem). After reading this thread, I took off the cowl, took the glovebox and passenger seat out, and lifted the carpet up to dry and try to find where water was coming in. The filter wasn't wet and it didn't look like any water had dripped through that area. I squirted tons of water onto the windshield and into any opening I could find except for the main one that goes to the cabin filter. Did not see a drop appear in the cab anywhere... Since everything was apart, I decided to give the cabin vent opening more protection just in case that is the access point. I didn't want to mess with adhesives so I came up with an easy mod. I took an extra Sterilite container lid I had lying around and cut a piece from it. I attached two metal tabs (old cabinet striker plates) to the two holes on the lip of the vent opening. This was probably unnecessary, but I wanted to make the plastic cover extend further and needed something to attach the cable ties to. I punched two holes in the plastic cover and attached with the cable ties. The top of the cover nests under the windshield and wedges against the firewall; it's not going anywhere, but it is flexible enough to allow the cowl to slide back into position. Hope this fixes the problem, but it sure didn't look like any water had gotten in through there; at least not the volumes I've had on the floorboard... Have no clue what to try if it happens again...

 

Nice patio cover. Whether it leaks or not, I'm kinda concerned about an opening just straight into the cab uncovered like that. It's almost like, how can that not leak? Why wouldn't it be covered like this from the factory? Thinkin about doing this to mine even tho I haven't had any wet floorboards.

 

That cover was a nice idea, but for some reason I was getting exhaust fumes in the cab. While sitting in traffic, found out it never really supposed to close no matter what. It's design to draw a small % of fresh outside air no matter what! I took a piece of cardboard cover the bottom opening, and used a can of construction foam to fill the void.

 

That looks like it would keep out fumes, water, and anything else! lol Don't know why exhaust fumes were coming thru there… Possibly a manifold leak?