CUTiger80

Cary, I replaced the entire mirror except for the painted shell. What I found when I removed the mirror that was on the car was that it had previously been replaced with an after-market mirror, which happened to be the exact same brand that I had ordered from eBay. I was able to replace all of the "guts" of the old mirror with the guts of the new mirror. I was able to retain the painted shell from the old mirror, and thus not have to paint the new one. What I found in doing all of this is that the OEM mirror glass mounting configuration and motor assembly are completely different than the after-market mirror that I bought, so the parts are not interchangeable. If the only issue that you have is a broken mirror glass, then I would suggest contacting your Lexus dealer, checking your local junk yard, or looking for one on eBay. There are several videos on Youtube that show you how to get the glass out. You should probably do that first to determine if your mirrors are heated or not. Good luck.

Jim, Thanks again for your input. Sometimes I think that you and I are the only ones that reply on the forum. Your analysis is reasonable except that I noted the inconsistent tilt when I was the only one driving the car and knew that I had not adjusted the mirrors. It is possible that there is a problem with the memory portion of the mirror, which I am not going to attempt to fix. The car is now 150 miles away with my daughter, so an in depth analysis is not possible. I was hoping, like you, that there was an undocumented procedure for adjusting the amount of tilt.

Does anyone know if there is a way to adjust how much the outside mirrors tilt down when the car is shifted into reverse? I have looked in the Owners Manual and I can't find anything that addresses this. I feel like there must be some adjustment since sometimes the mirrors tilt a lot and sometimes they tilt just a little. I have tried shifting the car into reverse and letting the mirrors tilt and then adjusting the mirrors with the adjustment controls to the preferred tilt angle, but they didn't retain the memory and went back to the previous tilt settings.

I ordered a replacement mirror assembly from AM Autoparts on eBay. It turns out that it is a replacement for the original mirror, but is not assembled in the same manner and does not have the same internal parts. Ends up, the mirror that was on the car was also a replacement and was the exact same brand, so I was able to use the painted shell from the old mirror and install on the new mirror and replace the entire unit. The mirror now tilts as it is supposed to.

After a couple of weeks of heavy rains and a couple of washings, the interior is still dry. I am convinced now that this seam was the problem. I have re-assembled the interior of the car and returned it to my daughter. Thanks again for everyone's help in resolving this issue.

Well, after persistence in eliminating one thing after another, I found that there was a body seam behind the bumper cover that was separated and allowing water to leak into the rear cargo area. Once I determined that it was not the tail light seal or any of the other fastener holes and openings in that area and was able to remove the bumper cover, the source was very obvious (as you can see from the photo below). I took a funnel with a long spout and was able to direct a steady flow of water on this split and saw that most of the water ended up inside the car. I used some black RTV silicon sealer/adhesive and was able to stop the leak. Thanks to everyone for their help in resolving this issue that has been going on for almost 2 years now. I hope these photo links work.

Jim, I found the video on YouTube for the Sienna. It looks relatively easy now that I can see the possiblities. I may not need to remove the whole thing, just pull the left side far enough away from the car to look behind it. I'm going to give it a try this weekend and will let you know what I find. Thanks for your help, again. Once I get in there and find the seam or wherever it is leaking, any suggestions on what I should use to repair it? Something like Bondo or RTV silicon?

Jim, Dude you are everywhere. Thanks for the reply. Both mirrors have the tilt-down feature. I did some looking around (on YouTube and other places) and it seems that the painted part of the mirror comes apart in two pieces. once the glass is out, there are 3-4 screws that are accessible that hold the pieces together. I looked a little while ago and the seam is very small. I think I'm going to go ahead and buy the aftermarket replacement mirror off of eBay and try to repair it. The other option is to remove the one from the car and try to use something like JB Weld to re-attach the broken plastic pieces that hold the nuts. There are several videos on YouTube that show putting a towel behind the bottom portion of the mirror and pulling it loose from the mount. I may try to use your method first since tugging on a piece of glass looks like it may be risky. Worst case, I found a site called scratchwizard.net that sells paint kits that are supposed to be exact matches for factory. I could paint the replacement mirror. (Check out their YouTube video. They show replacing and painting an entire rear bumper cover using handheld spray paint. Looked good.) Thanks again for all of your help.

Crickets. I assume there is no one out there that knows how this mirror is assembled. Does anyone know where I can find an exploded parts diagram?

I ran some more test last night with the black trim piece removed. By progressively moving down the hatch channel with my water bottle, It seems that the water is flowing in from a seam that is behind the bumper cover. I basically got to the point where I was pouring water at the junction of the bumper cover and rear body panel and was still seeing the leak. At this point, I need to remove the bumper cover to investigate further. Does anyone know if this is a task I should tackle myself or should I take it to a body shop and have them remove the cover? I looked briefly, but couldn't tell for sure what holds it on. To be fair, it was getting dark and I was using a flashlight.

Jim, Yes, I can see the water trail below the tail light right where the vertical portion of the quarter panel meets the metal trunk flooring. Because it is in the corner, there is a double layer of sheet metal. The water is running down between the 2 layers (which are separated by about 3/4"). I've never posted any photos on this forum, so maybe I will take one at lunch and try to post it so that it is easier to visualize what I'm referring to. It doesn't seem to be coming from around the hatch gasket. The hatch door appears to be flush with the body panels that surround it. I have been doing these water tests with the hatch open, and so far I have been doing them with the piece of black trim in place that I referred to in the previous post. The trim is out now, so I will try the next time just pouring the water in the channel and trying to follow it all the way down (since it was running behind the black trim anyway).

I finally received the new tail light gasket and installed it last night. To be on the safe side, I applied some RTV silicon between the gasket and the body panel. I assembled everything, gave it a couple of hours for the silicon to "set" and tested it. It did not solve my problem (dang!!). The water is not coming in from around the tail light opening. When I test with water, I have been pouring it down the channel that is between the hatch gasket and the body or quarter panel, about 2/3 of the way down from the top of the car. Most of the water runs behind the black plastic trim piece that is mounted in this channel adjacent to the tail light. There are little plastic fingers on the tail light that actually fit into this piece of trim. Does anyone know if it is normal for water to run down behind this piece? Would I be wise to apply some more RTV silicon at the top of this piece to seal the gap between the top edge of the trim and the hatch channel? I will keep pressing on until I figure this thing out.

I have an '06 RX330. The driver's side outside mirror works fine (except that it doesn't tilt down for some reason when in "reverse"). The problem is the plastic pieces that hold the mounting nuts are broken (2 of them). The mirror is basically attached to the car with 1 bolt. It appears that the previous owner tried to over tighten the bolts and broke the plastic holding the nuts. My question is, can I buy just the black piece with the mounting nuts or do I have to buy the entire mirror assembly? If I buy the entire mirror (I have found many on eBay for around $90), can I disassemble the old mirror and retain the painted cover (so I don't have to get the new mirror painted to match the car)? Lastly, are all RX330 mirrors the same or are there some with more features than others? (In other words, are all the mirrors heated and tilt-able, as well as remotely controlled?) Thanks in advance for your help with this.

Jim, Thanks for the suggestions. Since the tail light assembly is a pain in the !Removed! to remove/replace, I will wait on the replacement gasket. I would hate to create a leak in the right side where one does not currently exist. Also, the design of the assembly and how it fits so tightly in the vehicle quarter panel pretty much excludes the test with the fishing line or dental floss. When I removed the tail light and gasket yesterday, I did a pretty thorough visual inspection of the area where the gasket contacts the body and either the painter did a real good job or the panel is original. It sure looks original, but I will inspect again even more closely. When I do replace the gasket, if that does not solve the problem, I may try doubling up the new and old gasket to see if that makes a difference. And, if all else fails, I will try some silicon or Form-A-Gasket between the gasket and the body panel.

Jim, I called the Lexus dealer parts department back and they confirmed that the same part fits both sides. The "81562" number is just a reference code and it is unique for LH. They indicated that the reference code for a part is sometimes a part of the actual part number, but if there is a part that fits both sides, the first number (or the one that starts with the reference code) is always the RH side. Good information to know in general going forward. Thanks again for your help. I will post some results in the next few days after I have had a chance to install the part and test it.

Jim, Thanks again for your help. I did register at toyodiy.com. It is kinda strange the way the part is listed. In the list of parts, it calls out the RH & LH gaskets, but if you look closely at the part numbers listed, it is the same for both. There are 2 numbers shown. The RH part has the number "81552" but below it appears the part number "81552-0E010". The LH part has the number "81562" but below it appears the part number "81552-0E010" The part online is a little over $12, but S&H is about the same making it about $25. I called my Lexus dealer and ordered the part for $19. I'm wondering now if the LH part is listed incorrectly and it should be "81562-0E010"???

1990LS400, I think that is the correct part #. It appears to fit either side (I guess it is reversible). I can get if for about $25 from LexusPartsNow.com. I'm going to see what it would be from my dealer or from a friend I know that does some body work. Thanks a BUNCH for your help!

Update. This is what I found over the weekend. I pulled out all of the access doors and plastic trim in the rear cargo floor area, all the way down to the sheet metal. I sprayed water all around the left and right rear areas, concentrating on the hatch and tail light areas. I was able to determine that it was leaking around the left rear. I continued to narrow this down until I could determine that it is leaking around the seal between the left tail light assembly and the body. I pulled out the tail light assembly and visually inspected the gasket. It does not appear to be torn or rolled or crushed, but it seems that this is the only place where water can come in that area. I've decided to go ahead and replace it, but I can't seem to find one on the internet at any of the parts places. Does anyone know if this is one of those "dealer-only" parts? Thanks again for all of your help in getting to this point. I will continue to update this post as I (hopefully) finally solve this problem.

zieke, You way underestimate my resolve. I don't give up that easily. If I can take a car that I got a really good deal on and make it better than average, i consider it a "win". I didn't have much time this weekend because of other commitments, but this is what I did do. On Friday evening I think that I eliminated the rear moon roof/roof drains. I poured 2L of water into each side channel and I got exactly 2L of water out at the drains behind the rear tires. On Saturday morning, I removed the left rear seat and pulled the carpet back under it so that I could expose the metal floor pan under the carpet. This is the first place it seems that the water gets in and then spreads throughout the car. Yesterday, I sprayed water all over the windshield and the front cowling to try and eliminate the windshield, its seal and the front drains. I got no water in the car. I then progressed little-by-little further back, focusing primarily on the left side where I had removed the seat. I sprayed water on the top and side of the car for probably an hour (off and on) and did not notice a single drop of water in the car. Based on previous experience that my daughter and I both had in the car getting wet but not noticing water in the car until it was driven, I decided to drive the car around the block right before dark. When I slammed on brakes I heard a distinct "swooshing" sound of water flowing. I immediately stopped and the area under the left rear seat was very wet. The water had flowed out of the trunk area from a space that appeared to be below the trays that hold all of the jacks, etc. I also had water on the rear passenger side right beside the "C" pillar. I had stuffed towels in both locations to prevent any water from spreading. My next step (it will be later in the week before I have a chance to work on it again) will be to remove all of the flooring in the rear and the plastic trays to see if I can tell where the water is actually coming in. The top side of the plastic trays are bone dry. Based on a suggestion on another forum, I first may try saturating the area around the left taillight to see if the taillight seal is indeed the culprit. I will certainly report back what I find. I feel like I'm getting close to solving this puzzle. Thanks to all of you for help and for reading thought my rather lengthy explanations. I'm an engineer and I am programmed to solve problems methodically and logically. (My wife thinks I'm an alien when I get into this mode. I guess methodic and logic doesn't apply to baking a cake.)

Thomas, I have looked there and it is bone dry. I have everything (except for a few spots on the carpet) dried out now and have run the A/C hard for 40 miles or so with no noticable moisture in the inside of the car and visible dripping from the condensate drain tube under the car. i think this rules out anything related to the A/C. I am going to run some tests this weekend and try to isolate whether the leak is related at all to the moon roof drain tubes. The tubes do drain when I pour water into the channels on each side, but they may also be leaking. I figure if I pour a lot of water into one channel/tube at a time, I should be able to tell. My next plan is to seal up the moon roof with plastic and duct tape and thoroughly wet the top of the car to see if it may be coming in from a body seam or something like that. I think eventually I am going to have to remove the back seats and the trim from the lower portion of the "C" pillar to figure it out for sure.

Denny, Not that I know of. We have only had the car for 2 years though. That's the weird thing. Spraying water on the car does not seem to make it leak. It is only when it has been driven, leading me to believe that water is being "stored" somewhere and then running around when the car is driven. Like I said in my post above, after over 2" of rain last night I only had about a pint of water in the car. Once I drove it for 20 mi. or so, I had over a gallon in the car.

I gathered a little more information last night and this morning. Last night I checked the cabin filter behind the glove box and it is bone dry. I placed a small washcloth in all 4 floorboards. I also stuffed a small towel up in the molding where the "C" pillar meets the floor on both sides. I removed the plastic trim around the bottom of the passenger side "B" pillar and stuffed a rag where it meets the floor. I left the car parked slightly uphill last night and we got over 2" of rain; that intense pouring down scary stuff we get in the South this time of the year. I came out this morning to find about 8-10 ounces of water standing in the rear driver's side floorboard. The towel that I had stuffed up in the bottom of the "C" pillar was also soaked. The other 3 floorboards and towels were all dry, including those that I had stuffed at the bottom of each "B" pillar. I dried out the water and then placed a large folded beach towel between the carpet and metal floor on the rear driver's side and drove to work with the A/C on wide-open (temp as low as it would go and fan as high as it would go). When I got to work (20 miles or so) I found standing water in all 4 floor areas. The beach towel was totally saturated. Both of the towels that were stuffed at the bottom of the "C" pillars were soaked. The carpet around the bottom of the driver's side "C" pillar was also soaked. If I had to guess, I would estimate that I sopped over a gallon of water out of the car. I opened the hatch and pulled down the headliner at the rear and the top seemed dry. I checked the A/C condensate drain and I saw several drips come out of it, but the engine was off and had been for 5 minutes or so. The leak is not related to the heater coil (as others have suggested) because the water inside the car does not have anti-freeze in it. I doubt that it is totally related to the A/C condensate drain, but that may be contributing. I still have to rule that out. My plan is to remove the back seat and the trim around the base of each "C" pillar to see if I can determine what is going on. I would also like to remove the headliner, but I am afraid that job (and the replacement of the headliner) is too big for me. Has anyone done this before and can verify whether it is as bad as it looks? I also want to try and seal up the moon roof from the top (possibly with duct or painter's tape) and spray water on the roof to see if it is related to the moon roof drains or something else (like a leak in one of the body seams). Any other suggestions (other than taking it to the dealer or selling it) would be appreciated.

Steve, Thanks for your reply. This has been a frustrating situation to deal with, especially from a long distance. I will try and check this tonight. Do you know where the drain comes out? If it is the drain, is it reasonable that water would get into all 4 floorboards?

I have been chasing this water leak for some time now. The car is my daughter's and she has it away at school. Finally traded cars with her so I could spend an extensive amount of time chasing this down. I have removed most of the trim around the door threshold so that I can prop the carpet up away from the metal floor to dry it and to see what is going on. I thought it was related to the moon roof. Checked all 4 drains and they are working fine. Sprayed a heck of a lot of water on the roof last night, around the moon roof, and at the seam above the doors. There was no water on the floor under the carpet. Got about 1/4" rain overnight and checked this morning. Again, no water on the floor under the carpet. I placed a washcloth on each floor board right on top of the drain plug so that it would be easier to tell if there was any water getting in. Drove the car into work (20 mi.) with no rain and only slightly damp roads. I ran the A/C full-time to dry to finish drying the carpet out. When I got to work all 4 floors had some standing water and all of the washcloths were soaked. I had put some rags where the "B" pillar meets the floor on both sides because my daughter had said that she had noticed the seat belts were sometimes damp. Both of these rags were wet as well. I have checked around the hatch and where the spare tire is and all of this area is bone dry. Any idea of where this water may be coming from? Any ideas on what to check next?

I reset the sunroof as someone suggested and thought that the leak had been solved. (The battery was replaced by the dealer when she bought the car and, based on the operation of the roof after resetting had not been reset.) I also checked the 4 moonroof drains and they all appeared to be working. (The back 2 were a challenge since you can't see the back corners of the gutters.) My daughter has spent the last couple of months drying out the carpets in all 4 foot wells. The back seems to be staying pretty dry, but the front keeps collecting new water when it rains. Each of the floor pan drain plugs will periodically have about 1 teaspoon of water in the plastic indention in the top. My daughter noted the other day that after a hard rain she hears water sloshing somewhere the first time she hits the brakes hard. At her apartment, the car sits with the front end higher than the rear. The other day it rained pretty hard overnight. She checked the front drivers side floor pan under the carpet (we have the carpet propped up off the floor pans with 3" pieces of wood) and it was relatively dry. After driving, hitting the brakes hard and hearing the water sloshing (only once), she checked again and the floor pan was pretty wet. She also said that sometimes the top portion of the seat belt is wet after a hard rain. Does anyone have any ideas on where this water is coming from? Is it possible that the part of the moonroof assembly that is in the roof where the glass goes when it is open is holding water and that is what she hears sloshing? Should I try and remove the entire headliner (that seems like a real bear of a project) to get a good look at the moonroof assembly and the underside of the roof? Should I consider replacing all of the gaskets around the moonroof? Is it possible that water off the road is spraying up past the floor pan drain plugs and getting into the car? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!!