for a little while now I’ve noticed a trunk leak on the left side under the carpet. I noticed it when it soaked thru the little pins holding the plastic cubby down on that side. Thought it might be the upper left corner of the trunk (I’ve seen those things get worn and let water in) but after putting some painters tape over it just to kinda test, the leak continues. thinking maybe it’s the tail light gasket? don’t see any water pooling inside but I’ve yet to take them out. There is also a small gap in between the back plastic plate of the tail light and the frame, so maybe it’s leaking thru there when it runs down the channel bc it’s not tightened properly? just looking for some insight before I have to replace everything it could possibly be. Planning on doing window seal and tail light gaskets, maybe it’s the upper roof trim? could that have an effect?

 

I got the same leak on my 99. I read it could be what you said the tail light gasket. I saw some said to silicone and the other half said to get a new seal. It's basically raining every day here for a while and the car has been sitting, so I def need to take a look. If I come up with a solution I will post it.

 

it looks to possible be the gaskets. I ended up gutting the trunk pretty much, took both of the tail lights out, and was able to pour water out of both. was a lot more in the left than the right (left is where the leak is more prominent). the gasket seems worn so I’m gonna replace both, but what still bothers me is the gap at the top between the frame and top of casing. It allows water to get down there to the first place, which is why I am gonna try to lay a line of silicone down on each side after replacing the gaskets (and bulbs). just gonna be a pain in the ass to remove if the bulbs go out. gonna sit in trunk tmr and let water run over it to finalize where the leak is before I make any costly decisions.

 

Let me know where you buy the gaskets from, I really don't want to spend a lot on this, so annoying. Cheapest I can find for part (33503-S0K-A01) my shipping estimate is from the West Coast, Oregon. Put your zip code in to estimate the correct shipping.

curry acura acura.oempartsonline $14.41 (28.82 + 4.27 ship = $33.09)
acurapartsnow $14.55 (29.10 + 5.96 ship = $35.06)
ebay $19.70 (39.40 + free ship) only 2 left
acurapartswarehouse $13.80 (27.60 + 15.23 ship = 42.83) ouch

You can also try Bernardi Acura,acurapartsdiscount.com

Thank you for posting your results!

 

I ordered from APW but after the order was processing they were cancelled bc they are backordered with no ETA. Im replacing all my bulbs and then laying a line of sealant down along the gap between the frame and headlight casing. This should solve my issue and the gaskets wont really be a big issue with the water not being able to enter in the first place now. I've had painters tape over the gaps just to test it out and after 3 more days of rain my leak ceased to exist.

 

Let me know how that works out, if you could snap a picture or two that would be awesome as well.

Maybe would work really good.

Or get clear or black, whatever you desire. My car is white so that would work for me.

I am assuming any silicone caulk would work well but get one that sets rather quickly and is good against mold

 

I ended up getting a bottle of black flex shot, seemed good and easy to use. planning on doing the procedure tomorrow so I will try to snap some pictures on what i've been talking about to show the process as well as how i diagnosed it. the casing is black so the caulk shouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.

 

this is the the picture of the tape I had over the gap making the leak stop

this is the picture of the gap itself which is where the water has been entering

this is a picture of another spot that has been known to leak on these cars, thought it was this at first but after taping it up my leak continued (this was before I taped over the gap between casing and frame) these tend to get old and cracked, gonna lay a line of silicone over them tomorrow just to prevent any future issues

this is a picture after I finished the job (definitely not an expert this was my first time using this stuff)




letting it cure right now (the trunk is able to be closed while I wait) side note, there gap in the corner was a little too large so I put a little piece of foam tape on each side to give something for the caulk to rest on instead of falling down into the tail light itself.

 

Thank you for doing this. I hope it does the trick for you, if not come back and let us know.

 

Here is a link to my trunk leak odyssey from ~5 years ago, along with repairs and photos: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-p...repair-969297/

 

did you ever take your taillight off to see if the gasket was deteriorated? You're going to have one hell of a time removing those tailights now if you ever need to replace them with all that gunk there..

 

I did take both of them off, the gasket was slightly deteriorating and there was stuff in it as well as water, I took some compressed air to it to get most of the gunk out of there. I also replaced every single bulb in my tail light the day of sealing them up to ensure if or when I do need to remove them, it won’t be for a while. coincidentally all my bulbs burned out back to back within a 3day span so the timing was nice. gasket or not, I believe that the gap between the casing and frame is a huge flaw that regardless of replacing the gasket would still allow water to get In whether it’s in the electrical side or into the trunk, not to mention oem ones are currently on back order with no eta. I would rather no water enter in the first place, so this is the steps I took. first car wash down trunk is drier than the Sahara.

 

first car wash down (and I sprayed plenty of water over the trunk and window) and no leaks. you can see especially with the soapy water how it just flows straight down the trunk channels and out over the tail lights.