2slow

iTrader: (5)

I'm thinking it's the windshield not sealed correctly. But you can still complain to Lexus to get your money back for "fixing the problem" the first time. Apparently they only did the obvious, and not fully diagnose the problem.

As for your wet carpet and padding, i recommend removing it and drying it. Mold could start growing and you'll have a bigger problem.

Sceanzo

Their leak test consists of securing a running water hose on top of the car and watching for leaks.

Typically sunroof drains and evaporator drains are the causes..

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

If I was in your shoes, I'd do this :

*Remove the seats and carpeting and insulation.
*Either you sit inside the cabin or have someone else sit inside
*Take a hose and water down suspect areas, while having the person inside listen/look for seepage.

I had to do this in my old Civic hatchback; ended up getting water in through a taillight rubber seal that wasn't sealing any longer to the chassis.

GL!

moereed

Go to the my.is.forum. There is a thread pertaining to this issue. It is called "Water under my rear floor mats". I had same issue with my IS250 and printed off information and took it into a Toyota dealership where they were able to fix this issue.

Slammer1

I was adjusting my stereo's time alignment settings yesterday and decided that I would clean my wife's trash out of the door pockets. When doing so, I noticed what appeared to be mold under the passenger's seat? Upon further inspection, I discovered that all floorboards were sopping wet. First thought was to search the issue on CL and I found several threads (like this one) mentioning the evaporator drain problem........ Because this is the most recently replied and updated thread, I decided to post here. Convinced the drain was the issue, I got to work. My wife spent a couple of hours yesterday pulling the mats, cleaning the carpets with the "stair attachment" for our carpet cleaner and then letting the car air out. Opened all the doors and put a fan on an old sub box I had laying around, just for good measure.



After doing some reading last night, I decided to get to work on it today. A little surprised that some members mentioned costs at the dealership near and in some cases in excess of $1,000. Her car is about to roll 100k and has no extended warranty so there was pretty much no chance of getting the dealer to do it as a covered issue (even with the TSB). While one member mentioned that it was accessible by removing the intake, I felt that getting at it from underneath wouldn't be too terribly hard and I wouldn't be at the Lexus dealer buying a new intake gasket.

Here is what I used:
14mm wrench
14mm socket and rachet
12mm wrench
Jack and two jack stands
4x4 wooden blocks

I first lifted the car and supported it with the jack stands. Next step was to disconnect the shifter linkage at the transmission (12mm wrench). I then placed wooden blocks under my mid pipes so that they wouldn't drop excessively and the weight of the front section wouldn't be placed on the rear of the exhaust or one of the cross braces. Next step was to remove the four bolts holding the mid pipes to the manifolds (14mm wrench, socket and rachet). With the exhaust disconnected, I positioned my floor jack under the transmission where it meets the rear drive shaft. Looking back, it really would have been easier to place the jack under the transmission's cross member.... With the jack in position, I removed the four cross member bolts (14mm socket and rachet). Once these were removed, I lowered the jack about 2". Now I crawled under from the front of the car and reached my hand up on the passenger side of the transmission. Not easy to do but I was able to feel the grommet and the outlet for the drain. After just a couple of seconds of running my hand over it and poking my fingers at the opening, a virtual waterfall ensued. I scooted out from under the car and grabbed a towel. I mopped up the water and went back under to try it a second time. No additional water came out so I prepared to button the car back up. Reverse order, as you might expect......... Jacked the transmission back up until the cross member was flush and installed the four bolts. Connected the mid pipes and the shifter linkage, and I was done. I pulled the jack away and let the car down. Drove around all afternoon with the air on and was VERY pleased to find that the car left appropriate "puddles" everywhere I stopped!

I am OCD when it comes to working on any car and even more so with the IS. Took me about an hour or so to get it apart and only about a half hour to put it back together (including two phone calls and a couple of smoke breaks).

Here is a pic of the car on stands with the jack under the transmission and the blocks under the mid pipes.



A couple of pics of the amount of water that came out of the clogged drain once I started poking at the grommet.....

This one from the front of the car.


This one from the driver's side.


And a "celebratory" pic when I was all done!


Still trying to get the carpet completely dry and not convinced I won't have to pull it out...... If the leak issue is fixed, I'm happy to have to deal with the carpet for sure. Added this post for folks on CL that may be mechanically inclined and capable of remedying this situation themselves instead of dropping a lot of money at the dealer to get it done. Hope this helps someone in the future......

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Grab some hang-up type DampRid pouches and hang them off of the back seats. I've been doing this for the past few months and that mildew-type smell is all but gone during initial start-up when recirculate is on.

Slammer1

Thanks bro, picked some up at Walmart today. Only hung one though because the fragrance is pretty strong........

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

^Yeah, that smell will lessen quickly though. With the windows up you'll be surprised just how much moisture it pulls out of the air!

By the way, once the lower pouch is fill of water, simply cut a small hole in it and drain. Duct tape it up, and re-use. Re-use until the granules are gone.