Carpet is wet under the front Drivers & Passenger mats.
 

:uh: Was cleaning my wife's 2013 ES 350 today and lifted the front mats and the carpet on both the passenger and drivers side was fairly damp (no dampness under the rear mats). As a test I ran water over the windshield so in would run into the vents at the bottom of the windshield (under the wipers) to see if it would drain under the car and not into it and it drained just fine.
I am wondering if maybe there is a drain some place for the air conditioner that maybe clogged which causes the water to drain into the car and if that is the case can anyone tell me where that drain is?
Thanks

There is a gutter-like channel in the roof around the perimeter where the sunroof sits. That channel collects any water that gets around the sunroof seals. Then, on both sides that channel, there are "downspouts" that take any water collected down through the A pillars, and that water is supposed to drain out holes under the car just in front of the two front doors. If debris collects in the channel, it can block the path of the water through the A pillars and out from the bottom of the vehicle. When that happens, water can be diverted to the floor area where you have said that you found the damp spots. I'd guess that this kind of blockage is the likely cause of your issue.

Did you ever figure out the cause? Just discovered yesterday afternoon that my floorboards are wet as well(2013). Worst underneath the front passenger seat(by the rear floor air vent), but they are all damp. Inbound to dealer now.

Sounds too soon for a leaky heater core. More likely a clogged drain from the condenser or moonroof drains.

Just heard form the service rep, looks like the evaporator drain hose was clogged- said insect nest. I guess there is a new style drain hose with an insect- proof tip on it, so they are installing that. They are going to pull, dry and disinfect the carpets too.

Hey, you nailed it Art. A clogged condenser hose. Nice catch.

Bob- lucky guess and you see this problem from time to time.

Carpet still wet and Not Covered under Warranty.
 

Well I took the car to the dealer and guess what they can't find a problem. All drains are clear they say. They did a water test and say no leaks so NOT Covered Under WARRANTY! Cost was $700 to remove carpets and dry them so I said OK. Then they say they find mold under the carpet so approximately another $2500 to mold proof the interior under the carpet. Next they will say I need new carpet but I'm not sure.Called corporate Lexus and no luck!
Insurance may cover it but not sure. Car only has 23000 miles and I have lost faith in the car and Lexus as a company. This water came from somewhere and they are just solving the symptom not the problem!
A $40,000 car and this I have this ******. I have had cars 15 years and never a problem like this.
Buyer Beware!
This will be my last Lexus. Hope insurance will cover this so at least I can sell the car if I have to.

they should find and fix the leak first, then replace carpet or else mold will come back again when rain comes.

My brother had an Audi A6 and when it was in a heavy rain the entire front floor was soaked. When the carpets were removed - front and back - they also found mold. The insurance company totaled the car and he now drives a Jeep...

Good Luck with the car Sporty...

I think the dealer is giving you the runaround. Water is coming from somewhere, unless you're intentionally hosing the driver and passenger front floor, or been involved in some sort of flood. It's either leaking from the firewall, evaporator/heater core, or the roof/sunroof drains due clogged drains or leaky seals.

I'd suggest you go to another dealer and have them check it out. Paying this dealer to dry them out, then mold proofing and finally replacing it is adding insult to injury. Again, water is coming from somewhere and the dealer needs to address that. This is not normally how Corp. Lexus usually treats their customers. I'm really surprised and shocked at the treatment you've received.

As a last resort, as Bob mentioned, submit a claim through your insurance company. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Update on wet carpet
 

Went thru insurance and they agreed to pay $2500. Lexus wants $5000 so I can't have Lexus do the job. I now had to have the car flatbed ed to an auto body shop because the whole interior is out where they will also check for leaks do the mold removal and put everything back together.
I am hoping that the auto body shop will find the leak.
If they don't find the leak I believe a trade in and new car is in my future. I will never buy another Lexus after the way the dealer and corporate have handled this problem.
I have also seen on the internet that many other people have had leak problems as well and when I spoke to corporate they admitted it as well.:thumbdn:

Anyone know part # for AC Drain Hose to keep unclogged
 

Just got a call from Lexus service manager at SMITHTOWN LEXUS in NY because I filled out a survey of how satisfied I am with my past service and of course it was negative. He told me that on a preventive course there is a part that gets pushed into the AC drain hose to keep it from getting blocked and it is about $10 and I should put it in. I told him see, even that they won't do as a courtesy to keep a customer happy. He then told me he would give me the part. He would check to make sure he has the part and he would call me right back.
Still no call back 2.5 hours later. DOES any one know the part # for this item or what it is called so I can purchase it myself. 2013 ES350.

Well, as Art pointed out, there is a leak allowing water to enter the cabin. To me this is a warranty issue and should be corrected free of charge by Lexus. In my opinion you shouldn't have to spend a nickel. Is there no way you can appeal this dealer's refusal to help? Can't you go above the phone agent's level and request assistance? I wouldn't give up just yet but try more complaining and being a PITA. I think that you are being treated poorly.

Service Manager called back and has the part. I will pick it up this afternoon and give it to the shop that is now working on the car.

I have talked all the way to Corporate Lexus and they say it is not covered and won't budge.

How about looking into your state lemon Law? Don't know if this issue qualifies, but hey what the heck!

If anyone is interested in installing this part here is the part # and name. It has a pesticide in it to keep out bugs and spiders and has a 5 year life.

Toyota Part # 87265-33010
ARINIX TIP

If that's the cause of your problem, Lexus would be responsible for the damage.

i just had this part installed when i had wet carpet, and it wasn't covered. Had to pay for it. It was nowhere near 2500 tho, and my carpets were pulled, dried and disinfected. Final bill was less than half that price, at the dealer.

This is an obvious design issue. I'm very surprised they aren't covering it. I would be pissed! Is there a TSB on it?

Not that I know of, but I bet there will be eventually!

Here is a TSB but it is for Toyota Models. Attachment 373709

I'm surprised there isn't one for the ES. Prob pretty similar to the Avalon, which is on that list.

I just did some research. Apparently, this has been an issue for quite a while. There's an old Lexus TSB that states it was covered under warranty at the time. Search: L-SB-0016-10

Here it is

that TSB looks like a many of hours labor, and a 1 dollar part.

I've had several cars a/c evaporators backup, and leak living in FLA. But it was always one side, passengers footwell under the dash..

That leads me to think its coming from the windshield/firewall area.


it was just damp but never wet? that could be humidity.

Mine was wet on all four floor pans, worst on the rear floor pan underneath the front passenger seat. Seems like it'd be a cheap part, but Lexus charged me 170 bucks for it. :thumbdn:

Why not just observe to see if their is proper discharge out of the evaporator drain area before doing all the TSB disassembly. You may not be able to access the drain itself but you could at least observe is water is coming out of the drain area.

I've had many Lincoln Town Cars leak water. A design flaw where the plastic shroud (where air is drawn in by the blower motor) was sealed with foam stripping.
In a heavy rain, water would seep through the foam & into the cabin via the blower motor.
I had to remove the surrounding shroud, and replace the foam strip with caulking.

I'd be interested to see, how Lexus seal the blower motor shroud.

Update on Wet carpet progress.
 

Well car is still in auto body shop and I may have it back this week (Thanksgiving), they had to send the car to Servpro for mold removal. I have been without the car since October 24.
The body shop ran all kinds of water tests and finds no leaks. He believes and is quite confident that it was the condenser hose that was clogged which is now clear. The evaporator box is centered in the center of the car above the center console so when the hose clogged the water would back up in the evaporator which is not a water sealed unit and leak onto the carpet allowing it to run on the drivers and passenger side. Debris can also clog this if you do not clean your cabin filter and debris gets past it and into the system. My cabin filter was clean though. Without the carpet in the car you can see what appears to be white water stains where the heavy leaking was under the evaporator box.

its strange to me that evap leakage is/was a known problem on some prior models, so much so that it was a warranty fix, but lexus neglected to remedy the problem on later models, or at least begin installing the evap hoses with the insecticidal tip at the factory. I'm going to bring this up next time I'm in for service, and see what the rep has to say.

Just out of curiosity, where is the evap supposed to drain? wheelwell? Behind?

The evaporator drains out the bottom into a hose that is under the carpet on the passenger side of the car just about where the passengers left foot would be by the firewall and then goes out thru a hole in the floorboard and drains straight to the ground.

Wet floor mats, clogged evaporator drain
 

Our daughter had wet rear floor mats and this is what I did to fix the problem, this is what you may do also
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...3d39685ac5.jpg
4" long multiuse pliers with 2" diameter A/C drain plug
. I drove her 2010 Lexus IS 250 car up on ramps, parking brake on, all wheels chocked. Crawl under from front, on your back head about the middle of the vehicle feet out front. Put KY jell on right hand from knuckles to wrist (not fingers) and slide it up between on right side of tranny right at the linkage (very tight fit until your hand is above the tranny). The plug is under the middle of the tranny towards the front of the car, almost as far as you can reach. There is a soft rubbery nipple that sticks down from the middle. I used a small 4" long multi use pliers that I fed to my right hand from my left hand. I slid my left hand in (with the pliers) from where the driveshaft meets the rear of the tranny. Your hand goes up above the tranny and toward the front of the vehicle until I could transfer the pliers to my right hand. Use the pliers in your right hand to grab the nipple of the plug, hold tight and pull down. I guided the tip of the pliers with my left hand. It is difficult to get your left arm in far enough to just feel the nipple. The part itself is 2" diameter but only about 5/8" diameter of the middle protrudes through the floor and the nipple is in the middle of this and has a slot about 1/2" long by 1/16" wide, this is what clogs up with dirt and won't drain. Once the 2" diameter plug is removed, the hole in the floor is only 5/8" diameter, you can't stick your finger up into the hole. Do not replace it, this size of hole should not clog up now. I am 5' 10" tall weighing 190 lbs, my left forearm is 11.5" circumference, my right hand is 2 3/8" thick from the back of my hand to the thick fleshy part of the thumb on the palm side, you need to wiggle the right hand around to get it up beside the linkage.

ES - 6th Gen (2013-2018)
 

They should find and fix the leak first, then replace carpet or else mold will come back again when rain comes.[/QUOTE]
I agree. Going through the same thing. Heavy rains and first found a wet side of carpeted upper door area. Heavy rains again and now under my floor mat is soaked. The door area is dry????

Please my car won’t start after being flooded , shows code u0101 what do I do ?

Error code U0101 means that the TCM, or transmission control module, is unable to communicate with other control modules on the vehicle.

That info from here:

u0101 Code - Lost Communication With TCM | KBB

[img]data:image/png;base64,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[/img]
Kelley Blue Book
https://www.kbb.com › obd-ii › u0101


Sounds like maybe a trip to the dealer is needed.

Hi could this be caused by my carpet being soaked with water and the passenger seat carpet was soaked with water and can this also be stopping my engine from coming up ?

First, check the AC drain tube, if it is clogged then all the condensation/water would enter the footwell.