Not_So_Fast_Eddie

Like the title says it's literally been raining here for about a week now and today was the first good day outside. When I popped open my trunk and decided to finally put the foam piece back in place so my trunk floor wasn't so warped. I noticed the donut had condensation on it. And after removing the donut I found about 3/4 an inch of water had collected in there.

Anyone have any idea of the water got in there? Thankfully my carpet isn't wet (I had two xbox 360's in there) and I don't see any water marks on anything. Is this a common problem?

MyNameIsEarl

There is a rubber stopper that should allow it to drain to the street. At least I think I remember there being one. And, no, I don't think it's a very common problem. If the carpet is not wet, then you have water entering from a hidden place. If I were you, I'd take your garden hose outside and spray water on your car and try to replicate the results. I'd also crawl inside while someone else was spraying (or vice versa) and try to listen for the trickle of water and where it's coming from. You may want to stop spraying for a few seconds at a time so whoever is in the trunk get's a chance to listen to the source of where it is leaking in from. I'd suspect the drainage tubes for the sunroof.

Best of luck. Let us know what you can find.

Not_So_Fast_Eddie

Alright here's a little update. It rain again today, and when I checked my trunk I found a wet spot in the little indent by the cd player. It appears the waters coming in from the tail light as there was water sitting on the seal that was behind the tail light. No water above the tail light or nearby so it's not the trunk seal.

And Unfortunately my CD player has gone for a swim and no longer plays music.

MyNameIsEarl

Did you crawl inside the trunk with a flashlight and try to find where it is coming from.

Pro-Pilot

Did you keep the little slider closed on the CD player? You must have had a lot of water that came in for it to not work anymore.

Not_So_Fast_Eddie

I didn't crawl inside but since everything had dried out two days ago when this rain came back it was basically a fresh start. I pulled back the carpet over the driver side taillight and found the water coming in through the tail light. I did use a flashlight to look in there. Nothing but the tail light felt wet, and there is no condensation inside the housing.

I don't think it was the amount of water that came in that killed the cd player. I think the condensation caused a short, as the cd drive died two days ago (it was sunny then as well). I'm gonna open it up and check for condensation and clean anything I find.

FJHeumann

I'm new to this forum, but have had my 96 RL since 2007. I have exactly the same problem, with them leak in the same place.

2 questions: is there indeed a rubber stopper to drain the water, and have yo found a way to seal up the leak? Does it require a new gasket around the taillight?

Not_So_Fast_Eddie

Hey, I forgot to post what fixed it for me. It turned out to be my taillight gasket behind the driver side one. The best deal I could find was 20 bucks so but it came in fast. After I swapped the new one in I haven't had a leak since.

And yes there is a rubber stopper to drain water. What happened in my case was there was sand clogging it up, I moved some of the sand off it and it drained right out.

One thing you should watch out for is underneath where the cd player goes water can puddle up in a spot and there's no drain for it. Make sure you dry that up if you have any water down there or else it will just sit.

Fuchfaccio

Good find.. I was going to tell you that exact thing. My 2009 RL did the exact same thing and it was the tail light gasket. My wife's 2006 RSX... same thing. These gaskets seem to dry out, or shrink a bit... A good indication this is happening to our cars is condensation in the tail light itself.