Running water sound, water in floor board

ONNIEG

MEMBER
2004 VOLVO XC90
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
71,150 MILES

In a left turn I felt water running over my feet. When I stop the car I hear what sounds like a lot of water running through out the bottom of the car. No water sound while driving or turning, just stopping. The floor board of the car on the driver's side was soaked, there was a little water on the passenger's side, but not much. Just had the car's oil changed and new tires put on the day before.

9 Replies

JIS001

MECHANIC
3,411 POSTS

Remove the A-Pillars and look at your sunroof drains. They get plugged up causing water to leak. Once you remove the left and right A-Pillars, open the sunroof and on the gutter railes spray some water. Look to see if water does not leak there. If it is, then replace the drain grommets and the drain hoses. Also I know this will suck, but I strongly, and I mean strongly recommend you remove the front and second row seats, center console and pull out the carpets and vacuum out all the water. If you do not, the wiring harness will get damaged, your audio ampifier module is under the passenger seat and that could get damaged, and the YAW sensor which is used for the dynamic stability control to detect if you are going to roll over is located below the amplifier and that could also get damaged by the water. Keep me posted and let me know what you find with the sun roof drains.

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Saturday, June 19th, 2010 AT 1:13 AM

ONNIEG

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I had the sun roof drain cleared. The dealer recommended removing the carpet and letting it dry out underneath or drilling two holes in the bottom of the car to let the water drain out. Do you think it's possible for me to remove the flooring myself?

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Saturday, June 19th, 2010 AT 7:43 AM

JIS001

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If you feel confident in removing them then yes you can. Just remove the plastic covers covering the bolts, and make sure you have the key out of the ignition switch before you unplug the connectors or you will get an SRS light on. Also the front seats will be pretty heavy so becarefull. Also remove the sidecovers on the center console and side trims near the door. Once you do remove the carpets. Have a vacuum ready to suck out all the water and let the carpets hang for a couple of days depending on how hot the day is?
Drilling a hole should not even be considered because the foam will not dry up. They are just being lazy over at the dealership and had this being warranty, would not be acceptable? You need to get in there and make sure you dry everything up or it will stink pretty bad.

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Saturday, June 19th, 2010 AT 10:41 PM

ONNIEG

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Alright, we got brave and got in there. Removed the front seats, popped the lower side panels and pulled out the carpet pieces. I used a wet vac and got approximately 5 GALLONS of water out of there. This is not including the large amounts of water the foam had soaked up. So far they have been outside in 100 degree weather drying for one day( I also squeezed as much water out of them as I could) and they still have some water left to go. I'm shocked that the dealer thought drilling holes would have worked. There's no way two little holes would have fixed the problem. The foam had soaked up a LOT of water. Also, I'm starting to think the roof drain clog was not the problem. We closed the sun roof and ran water over the top of the car. If the car is flat or parked facing down hill, the water drains fine. However, if the car is parked uphill the water cannot reach the drain. Instead, it appears to go up and over the inadequate rubber dam around the inside of the sun roof. Once it goes over that rubber, it's inside the car. Design flaw?

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Sunday, June 20th, 2010 AT 10:09 AM

JIS001

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If the dealer cleared the drains then it should be working fine now. Also if you are parked uphill, there are 2 drain hoses in the back of the gutter rail as well and those I have never seen any problems with. Thanks for keeping me posted and I hope those carpets dry up soon. Also remove the audio amplifier on the passenger side and remove that YAW sensor I told you about. Becarefull not to bend the tab or you will have problems. Disconnect the connector and blow it dry. Then go to your local parts store and by some grease for connector terminal and apply some grease to them so that they wont corrode. Same thing with the amplifer connectors if you see that they got wet. Just dont put any of that grease on the orange cables because that is the fiber optic cable for the audio system and you will loose your sound, navigation and rear entertainment if you have those options.

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Sunday, June 20th, 2010 AT 11:17 AM

POTASTEW

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I've got a 2003 cx90 and found the drains clogged. Now that they are clear, how do I drain the water from the subframe? I pulled the plugs from beneath the passenger seat and there is no water there. It sounds like it is in the rockers. Is this possible? How do I drain? I've asked several sites now and nobody will respond.

Thanks

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Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 AT 2:18 AM

JIS001

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The water is most likely inside the cabin. With key out of the ignition, remove the 4 bolts holding down the drivers seat and tilt it back. Remove the drivers carpet to let the foam dry out in the sun. Suck out the water using a dry/wet vacuum. You may want to check the passenger side as well for?

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Thursday, January 20th, 2011 AT 2:10 AM

DRIVESWEDISH

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Thanks for this information. My 1999 Volvo S70 may have the same clogged drainage problem. I don't have a sunroof but my front driver side and passenger side carpets seem damp after the rain and there is a musty smell in the car that I'm not keen on. Suggestions please.

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Saturday, January 21st, 2017 AT 10:39 AM