2000 Rx300 Water Leak

[KAOS1946]

Purchased a 2000 rx300 with 46000 miles 16 December 2006. Have had no problems with it other than an annoying water leak in the trunk/ spare tire area. Thought it to be coming from the left tail light assy. Removed and sealed this light assy. Then sealed the top hatchback hindges, rubber electrical boots and last the left window. Still leaking. Took the trunk area apart to see if I can narow the leak. No joy. I'm getting the feeling that the luggage rack is causing the leak. Has anyone experienced a leak in the trunk area of their rx300?

[Tman]

KAOS, I bought a 2000 RX300 in Dec. '04 with 37,000 miles. I noticed a similar leak problem in the rear cargo area. It only happens with a heavy, prolonged rain when vehicle is sitting still. I was only able to determine that it's coming from up high near the hinges and must have been going on for awhile because there was slight rust on the bolt heads for the hinges. I took it to Lexus and they wanted $99 just to look at it. Since I have a rubber cargo mat in that area anyway and it seldom happens, I just decided not to worry about it. If you find the cause...let me know!

[RX in NC]

Assuming you have a moonroof, the probable cause of your leak is that the rainwater drain lines running from the corners of your moonroof to your wheelwells are clogged with dirt and debris. This typically causes a water leak inside the cabin, although usually up front. But gravity and roof design can move water in many ways so I still believe that you should clear your moonroof drain lines before you do anything with the luggage rack. The best way to clear the lines is to blow them out with compressed air.

Keep us posted on whether this resolves your problem.

[KAOS1946]

The water leak has been discovered. The sponge gaskets on the tail light assy were deteriorated. Took the car back to the dealer(Acura dealership). Did not want to fix but sat on my salesman's desk convincing him it was there before I purchased and would not have purchased it if I knew about the leak. Off the car went for 4 days. They even gave me a loaner-Acura MDX. What a truck! Well it is back and have had rain, sleet and snow and no water. They also filled the holes with puty where the light goes into the body. I need to say that my 2000 RX300 is a great car. Reading about the transmission problems and still see this as a great car. When I took the car out for a test drive it had an alignment problem. Dealer fixed and I asked to get the trans fluid changed without evening knowing about the tell tale problems. Just makes sense to get it drained. It was used with 46700 miles on it. I strongly agree with others in the forum to change the oil and do what is needed and the vehicle will last. Definitely love this forum. Have learned a great deal. Thanks to all!

[jamokrx]

Yes, I have a similar unsolved leak problem with my 99 Lexus Rx300 - reason and fix are beyond me. What you posted helps tell me some of the possible thousands of problems causing and fixing this get ruled out, so thanks for posting. Here's my story:

Don't want to clog forums with questions already asked/answered. But my RX300 has a mysterious leak somewhere when it rains, such that the carpets get soaked (the low spots being worst of course, but the driver's side left side well seems quite wet, as well as the spare tire compartment having standing water in it at one point. Most everything left in the car ended up rusty, given the time before I really took notice (all I noticed at first was the interior windows always fogging up into 'unseeable' condition. But I live in the Pacific Northwest (rains 9 months of the year), the car was kept outside on a driveway with a modreate steep downward slope (that's front (high) to back (low) for the car), and I think probably the covers over the carpet hid it until it soaked thru those, too, and I began paying more attention and finding the leak problem results in many parts of the car, from the floor carpet to under the optional carpet rear cargo carpet protector (that could've been just condensation on the rubber back over time, rather than the result of a direct leak - I can't be positive.) But things like having standing water in the well of the spare tire (the lowest point in the frame of the car) was pretty alarming. At the time the weather was dry, and for days on end, I put the car outside with all the openable things open, and put heaters and fans pushing air into it, while removing all mats and spray regularly and liberally with Lysol (anti-mold IMHO), as well as putting one of those things you use for drying out basements (draws water into it) when the car needed to be closed. Good news was that it made me clear space in the garage to keep it out of the rain. I don't drive much, so I haven't noticed a return of this. But I'm sure it's still there. The other day it rained and some of the carpet might or might not have been damp - hard to tell. Maybe it takes a certain amount of rainfall to accumulate, maybe not. I'm not eager to repeat what I did last fall. The car is a 1999 Rx300, with only 85k on it - but it spent a lot of its life outside in torrid Texas summers, where temps are in the 90's and up for months - probably not real good for rubber seals and drainage channels. It does have a sun/moonroof which, while almost never used (open), does of course have seals to it. I cannot say where, exactly, the leak came from.

My problem is this: In reading the forums, that kind of problem is mentioned for many different Lexus model. The problem cause, and solutions, both have numerous conflicting answers, from drainage holes in near the sunroof to windshield replacements being the problem (yes, I had my windshield replaced in the last couple of years. Even if I knew *which* was the problem's cause, there is often not a singular or confirmed working solution: e.g., in one thread, clogged drainage holes are near the sunroof are deemed to be the likely problem. Some threads/sites say there's a kind of black wire you can feed down those holes to clear the clog (I wonder - would that not have a high chance of poking new holes in portions of the drainage system that might be rubber, long weakened or compromised by the heat?), to the solution of clearing out the holes with 'air'. Others said, 'not your problem - tell your insurance company, likely they may pay for mold'. That sounds dubious, but even if so, do I have to let everything re-mold to do that? Not great.

So, I realize 'different ideas' always exist. I'm wondering if 1. People have had experience with confirmed ID of problems; 2. What solutions actually worked and how was it done? (compressed air in roof drain holes the safest thing that 'worked'?). I thank all in advance for any help, and apologize if this should be in other forums and/or not reposted elsewhere. BTW, the dealer where I live now I do not consider honest nor trustworthy, so I don't think they'll be an ally in this, but I may be wrong on that.

[jamokrx]

Curious about how to implement the fixes found for this leakage problem - assuming it's the drain holes in the sunroof that has been so often cited in the forums on this issue, outside of taking it to the dealer, where could one get the right dispenser and pressure to do this oneself, assuming you don't have a strong air compressor? Can the tire air fill-up stations at gas stations be adapted? Are products like this appropriate? http://www.acehardwa...oductId=2845784 (http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2845784)

I assume 1. it needs to be 'just' air, as anything designed to clean metal or pvc type drains would likely damage the type of plastic that I *think* seems used in the lexus drain system, and 2. How does one tell not only how much air pressure is enough, but is it possible for it to be *too* powerful, damaging the rubber or plastic sections of the drain? Thanks!

?

Also - other forums/posts list a new windshield as also being the cause of such leaks - does anyone know how you would test for that, and if there is a 'key' indicator that points to the new installed windshield as the cause of the leak? I did have my windshield replaced in the last few years.