Water Leak Over Driver's Side

[hall_mc]

I have a 2003 Honda Odyssey EX van and it does not have a sunroof. I have recently had a water leak that drips from the point where the head liner and plastic molding meet over the driver's side seat. It is not a large leak but is enough to make that spot of the headliner very wet and drip for a little while. I have only noticed this when it rains heavily or for an extended amount of time.

I took the van to the shop and they replaced the seal around the windshield thinking that would fix it. The next heavy rain that lasted all day caused it to leak again.

The shop is puzzled over what else could cause this issue. The shop has even tried to soak the windshield and roof with a water hose for over an hour and the leak did not reappear. What else could cause this type of water leak?

[back3earth]

This has come up before. I recall that it may involve condensation above the headliner that drips thru the sunvisor fittings and/or edges of the headliner. If you want to dig deeper there's a handy ... uhm, nevermind -- some folks think I'm just too darn helpful.

[hall_mc]

I saw that in the forums but was uncertain if that is what I was experiencing since I have only seen it occur on rainy days even though the shop cannot cause it to occur with a water hose. Is there a way to tell for sure that it is condensation that is causing the drip?

Also are there any other areas that water drains on the outside of the vehicle like the roof near the luggage rack or around the windshield that could be stopped up and allowing water to enter the interior of the van?

[egads]

Here's the thread referred to:

Water leak

There are more, just enter:

water leak driver's side

into the search (black button upper right) Feel free to post in any of the old threads you find. Someone may have come up with a solution and never came back to post it. New posts in old threads "bump" them to the top and notify other posters to the same thread that there is a new post.

[FPP777]

I am having the same problem with my 2002. I will be taking it to a body shop for some warranty work and I was going to ask them if they had some type of sealant they could apply to the track that runs from the back to front above the doors. If you come up with anything else, please post. I will post my results.

[hall_mc]

sounds great. I am still having the problem and it only happens when it rains so I don't think it is a condensation problem. Mine is in the shop right now so I will definitely update this forum with what they find out. I also look forward to hearing what your shop says about the problem.

[newton]

Just wondering if FPP777 or hall-mc ever found a solution. My '03 Ody has the identical problem hall-mc describes.

It's in the shop now where they've been able to duplicate the problem, but fixing it is proving to be more difficult than anticipated.

Any feedback?

[hall_mc]

My problem was that the luggage rack and the windshield had been replaced due to a traffic accident. After about a year there started to be a water leak on the driver's side head liner near the windshield. To resolve my mechanic took out the headliner and all rivets/screws/etc had any old caulking/sealant removed and new caulking/sealant reapplied. After he did this I have not had anymore water issues.

Hope this helps.

[newton]

I got the van back today. The invoice says that they removed the left front headliner and the roof rack and sealed the body seam in the roof.

They re-tested it and claim that it's fixed. Next heavy, steady rain will tell...

Thanks for your follow up. If the problem continues, I'll show them your post.

Glad your problem is fixed!

[Vanguard]

Is this something your mechanic would do or is it strictly a body shop repair? How much did it cost?

I had my windshield replaced about a year ago due to a stone chip that cracked. I had a few warm days during the winter where I had water dripping from the light fixture/sunvisor fittings on the front passenger side. The glass shop that installed the windshield found no leaks after pressure testing. I just assumed excess moisture in the van was condensating, freezing, then melting on warmer winter days.

Fast forward to September. No leaks since January, even though it was a very wet summer with some very heavy rainfalls. Then all of a sudden I have the worst leak yet and to further confuse the issue, it had hardly been raining!

Anyhow, I think I will print this thread out and bring it to the local Honda body shop to see what they can do for me. Thanks for posting your findings!

[newton]

Vanguard - I've had no further leaks since the roof rack was removed and the roof re-sealed.

Like I said, it took the Honda dealer a couple of days to trace the source of the leak -- the repair was simple. Total cost was 200 bucks for labor and a little sealant but the problem is fixed.

[Vanguard]

Newton - did they apply sealant from inside the van (i.e. above the headliner) or was it applied from the outside once the racks were removed?

[newton]

I don't know, and the invoice does not specify.

[Gottria]

Looks like I'm bringing this thread back to life. I have an 03 that has the same leak described in this thread. Original windshield and no accidents. I assume the dealer will not cover this as we didn't buy the extra warranty. I guess I'll start by looking at the rails and seeing if I can get the cover off and resealing the bolts.

[newton]

Gottria, it's been more than a year since I had the sealant done and no further leaks.

Hopefully you can do this repair yourself based on the information above and save yourself some $$. Good luck!