Mazda MX5 2008 | Water Leak Found (part 1)

This illustrates how it is supposed to work, how the pipes have become disconnected, and where the drainage holes are and how blocked they get.

If you have a soft-top convertible, we would recommend you get it professionally cleaned every couple of years and re-waterproofed. And of course, while doing this, it makes sense to clean out all the gutters, drainage and rubbers. They really do need to be services fairly regularly to avoid blockage, and this is easy to fit in with the standard hood maintenance. With a hard-top, it is much easier to miss this and let dirt build up. 

As with all convertible cars, the windows are waterproofed by pressing against the rubber seals on the underside of the hood, and over time these neoprene seals become hard, dry and settle into a shape meaning they don't spring back and press firmly against the glass.

Solution: All this needs to be cleaned out, the pipes flushed through and reconnected, and we will treat the rubbers with a reviver to make them plump and supple. 

We will continue with this car in parts 2, 3 and 4. MX5s do tend to have a lot of issues, but they are lovely cars and people want to keep them.... we understand why.