Ford B-Max 2013: Water Leak Detection

The owner of this 2013 Ford B-Max dropped something down the side of the seat and reached under to find it soaking wet down there. No condensation on the windows, no smell yet -- she had caught it early. A garage had already looked at it: they had cleared the sunroof drains, sprayed water over the car to test it, and declared it fixed. It had not been dried.

James pulled the carpet and found the bulkhead sound-deadening saturated -- squeeze it and water ran out freely. The wiring loom on this model runs down the side of the footwell rather than through the floor pan, which was the only piece of luck; it was not submerged, but the whole driver's side floor was wet front and rear.

The door membrane was leaking on the driver's side. James poured water behind the glass: it exited through the membrane seal, sat on the door rubber, and tracked into the footwell when the door closed -- exactly the path that had been filling the floor. He also noticed the rear bumper area: behind it there is a rear air vent, and the flexi camera showed water passing straight through the centre of it when water was poured onto the bumper.

At the initial walk-round, Gary had spotted the windscreen scuttle seal was loose and bubbling. That was noted as a potential secondary source and added to the scope.

The fix: door cards off, the membrane housing box cleaned and resealed with copper grease bedded around the contact points. Rear bumper off, hole in the rear body section covered with membrane and sealant, copper grease around the rear light housings and the bung locations, rear air vents replaced with new units when they arrived. Scuttle seal reseated. Carpets sucked out, super dryer in, everything dried. Door rubbers noted as still loose -- recommended for follow-up sealing at a later visit.