Pontiac Bonneville Water Leaks

patval4582 · October 2007

I have a 2000 Bonneville SSE-I and we just got a huge amount of rain here in Cincinnati and my rear driver floor board is accumulating water and no where else.

I can not find wet spots on the roof or door area. Get this I vacuumed it up this morning at a Car Wash paid a couple bills maybe 15 minutes later AFTER cleaning it real good BAM again an inch if water same area and no water marks anywhere.

I know under the driver and passenger seats there are vents maybe from there please give me some light on this.

Thank you,

Paul

imidazol97 · October 2007

Those leaks seem to be related to

1) door seal inside door which is a plastic sheet held by a butyl-like sticky caulk that sometimes loosens or is not replaced during a repair and lets water in
2) sunroom drain lines not draining properly and water gets into floor area
3) a trunk leak

I have sent some more information about leaks to your carspace email account here on Edmunds. Click on the grey bar word "Mailbox" in the top of this page and read the email from there.

patval4582 · October 2007

I am dumbfounded by this issue because I do not see water stains anywhere and get this all the seals are beautiful because before I got it was a garaged car so the seals and whole car look brand new.

I did not get an email from you I opened the email box and the pop screen came up I pressed check email and nada.

Thank you,

Paul

imidazol97 · October 2007

I just checked my carspace email page and it says it was sent at 5:39 am (Pacific time). I jsut resent a copy and a carbon came back to me at my account.

feedex · November 2007

Hi, I have the same issue with my 1999 Bonneville. Were you able to find the cause? Thanks.

C. J.

steve167 · November 2007

Recently purchased 2003 Bonneville SLE. Discovered rear floor on driver's side was wet. Dried it out completely. Took it through the car wash a couple of times, had a little rain, never saw evidence of leaking anywhere. Rear floor again extremely wet!! Front slightly wet. Removed drivers seat, took all carpet out, the floor slopes to the back. No obvious holes or cracks in floor. Can't figure it out. Has happened three times in the last month.

Would appreciate any suggestions.

steve167 · November 2007

Just curious...do you have a sunroof?

imidazol97 · November 2007

You're right about sunroof. Sunroof drains can block up. They come out behind the front wheels IIRC from another site where this is discussed a lot.

Also, the water shield inside the front doors can be loose especially if the door has ever been serviced for window problems. The plastic is glued to the metal frame with a butyl caulk. This lets water through that drains into the door around the windows and then it gets onto the floor. Also check the rubber seals around the perimeter of the door.

Do you have water in the bottom of the trunk in the spare well?

imidazol97 · November 2007

If you have a sun room pour water into the trough and watch for it to come out under the car or back up as you pour it in rather than go through one of the 4 drains.

If you have possible door leaks, spray them with a garden hose and then inspect for water running down the plain metal at the bottom of the doors.

I have picture help for both of these. I can send articles to your carspace email address here on edmunds if you activate those. Or you can send an email to my address in my profile. Click on the use name that shows who posted to see their info and profile; one of my emails is there.

Or send to my carspace email which is my user name plus the "at" sign and carspace.com

steve167 · November 2007

Found the problem-after removing carpeting and wiping up the floor, I ran the hose on the sunroof and water came in the car right behind the emergency break pedal. Becauase of the slope of the floor to the back it runs down the channels in the floor pan and pools on the back seet floor. The sunroof drain tube comes down the left side of the windshield behind the plastic molding, through a hole in behind the dash. It's supposed to drain outside of the car but wasn't.

So far no water in the spare well.

Thanks for the info!

imidazol97 · November 2007

Sunroof leaks. Go to my profile by clicking on my user name at top of this message and read my profile. Copy the link to a picture rich help guide for sunroof drain tube repairs.

raelu · February 2008

I have a 1994 Bonne and for the past several months has had water accumulating in my trunk. It's gotten so bad lately that I have puddles on my floor in back though not as yet in the front. What can I do? I think it might be my seals. I'm new to car ownership and at a loss as to the best way to go about fixing this problem.

Thanks for any help.

tgsmyers · March 2008

Please send me the picture and anything else concerning the drain for the sun roof. I had a mechanic rework the door seals but I still gets lots of water. I am now sure my sun roof drain is the problem.

Thanks,
Tom

imidazol97 · March 2008

You need to set up your carspace page so I can send emails to your car space address with the pictures. Click on "My Carspace" in the green bar at the top of the page (green for St. Patrick's Day?).

tgsmyers · March 2008

My page is set up. Please send the pictures.

Thanks,

Tom

elsia · March 2008

I also have water pooling under my drivers seat in my 2000 bonneville. When putting a garden hose on your sun roof you are suppose to have it shut right? This probably sounds silly but i don't know how to figure this problem out and it has caused electrical problems with the wires under my seat. Three windows and three door locks stopped working. Dealership said the electrical harness had water corrosion on it and charged me $400.00. Windows and doors work now but there is still water coming in. HELP

imidazol97 · March 2008

While it's most likely to be a disconnected sunroom drain next to your parking brake area...,

don't forget to run water around the window on the driver's door so it can leak around the slide seal where it goes up and down and get in on the passenger side and look for water on the metal around the inside of the door toward the driver.

Water that gets inside the door is kept out of passenger area by a plastic shield which is caulked to the perimeter of the door. But that caulk ages or is not replaced correctly if someone took off the inner panel to do work, such as window motors.

And the water can drip into the interior. It comes in under the door trim but outside the metal.

Check your carspace mailbox for some more info on these leak problems.

tgsmyers · April 2008

I have set up my page. Would you please email me the pictures of the Bonneville water leak repair. I am getting desperate. I have been to the garage twice and still no fix.

Thanks,
tgsmyers

apaxson · May 2008

I am new on this web-site and it looks like you might have all the answers I am looking for. I have a 2000 Bonneville with no sunroof that leaks water into the interior with every rainfall. It pools on the floor in front of and behind the drivers seat. I've noticed that you have sent pictures and etc. to other owner regarding this situation..........can you please help me out.

Thanks,
Al

imidazol97 · May 2008

I did what you asked.

The butyl caulk that seals the plastic liner to the metal of the door ages and lets the water drip on down the door and it drips inside the car. The butyl makes the water go back into the door where it drips out drains on the bottom of the door that are outside the rubber sealing strips so the water ends up outside the car.

There are some other leak problems around taillights into the trunk and the spare tire storage well and around the spoiler wings.

rfernandez008 · May 2008

Seems that I just purchased a used '02 bonneville and was unaware of the water issue. Have the same issue with water in the back 2 floor boards. Also have the problem w/3 of the window-door looks not working. Any help would be great.

destiny5 · May 2008

I have a 2004 pontiac bonneville and recently I have been getting water on the floorboard behind the driver and now on the drivers floor. My son checked it out and says the water is coming in by the emergency brake wall.. And it only does this if it is sitting in my driveway front wards. If I park it on the flat or back it in the water doesn't come in when it rains. But I also noticed I have a wet spot on the drivers floor. I NEED HELP. I don't have a sunroof and my son check my windshield for leaks. Can you please help me.

imidazol97 · May 2008

The water has to be coming in around the door rubber seals or coming through the inside of the door and getting past the water shield that's caulked to the metal frame to direct water inside the door to the drains at the bottom (which drain it outside the rubber seals).

Run water onto the windows with a garden hose with no nozzle and look for drips coming on the inside of the metal showing around the bottom below the inside fancy covering.

najinski · June 2008

I have a 2005 Bonneville with leaking problems. I do not have a sunroof. I have seen leaking once when sitting at the airport, I saw water coming in on the kick panel in the center of the front door. I opened the door and couldn't find any indication of where the water was coming from. The seals look good. Can you send pictures of the inside door seal? Thanks,

imidazol97 · June 2008

Check your carspace mailbox for some help.

sherrillb · June 2008

I have a 2003 Bonneville and it also leaks behind the drivers seat. The leak is pretty bad. Can someone email me pictures of the location on the drivers door.

david777 · June 2008

I have a 2001 Pontiac Bonneville and have water leaking on the inside of the doors and onto the floor. Can anyone provide me the instructions and hopefully pictures of the proper procedure to remove the driver and passenger door panels without breaking clips and hurting electical wires. Also what do I need to do to fix the water leak problem?

rsheeder · June 2008

I own a 2000 Bonneville SE that has recently been leaking large amounts of water on the front passenger side floor. This problem has just started in the past month or so, and I have no clue how to fix the problem. Every time it rains, though, I get water on the floor. I have checked the door and can not find the source of the leak, although a subtle water trail has appeared on the plastic that lines the door jam. The trail looks to be in the area underneath the speaker. My trunk has also leaked, but that has only happened one time a couple of months ago. I'm not sure if the problems are related. I noticed people had sent photos of how to fix the problem. If someone could do the same for me, or at least provide me with more information on how to fix this problem, it would be greatly appreciated!

rocky74 · June 2008

I have a '97 Bonneville with a water problem, also. The carpet in the back seat gets soaked. There is no sunroof. Could you please let me know what the fix is? I tried to set up my page here, but it isn't loading. Maybe you could post it since so many of us have the same problem? Thanks

rklus · July 2008

Hi, I have a 2002 Bonneville that is leaking very similarly to those posted here. Water is pooling on the floor behind the driver's seat. No sunroof. Can you also send me the information on possible fixes?

Thanks,

Rich

imidazol97 · July 2008

Done.

vapor29 · July 2008

Hi, looks like I'm having a similar problem. Mine doesn't appear to be from rain though. My 02' Bonne has begun dumping massive amounts of water into the passenger side floor when I run the A/c and make left hand turns. Any help, picture, etc would be appreciated.

imidazol97 · July 2008

Since you don't mention water from the outside like rain, yours sounds like the drain on the AC evaporator is stopped up. Put the car up on blocks or a lift or something solid and crawl under. On the firewall down low you should find a tube that's the drain to the AC box. It will have a flattened end to keep it closed except when water weight inside pushes through.

Insert a coat hanger into the bottom end and you'll probably get a gush of stuff coming out that was blocking it.

kts0347 · July 2008

Hi imidazol97,

You have given some great advice.

I have a 2002 Bonneville with sunroof, and have water leaks under passenger seat and rear floor. I dropped the headliner (it needed to come out anyway for recovering) and blew out the four drain hoses on sunroof. They were all blocked. The two rear tubes exit just in front of the rear wheels and the two front ones appear to dump into the lower door sill and then drain out from there. Now they all run fine except the driver's front side. (I test poured water down the tubes to check) Nothing is coming out, and there is dampness on the emergency brake cable and wiring harness. Another post indicated this tube could be misrouted, but I can't find where the tube is behind the instrument panel. Can you help.

Also, I think I have one door inner seal that must be leaking too. Can you send info on that as well.

Thanks

kts0347 · July 2008

Steve,

I have a problem with the sun roof drain tube on my driver's side front too. It doesn't seem to be draining to the outside. I blew it out with an airhose, and it is clear - that isn't the problem. I ran water down it as a test, and it disappeared - it just didn't come out the bottom of the car like the other three tubes did when I tested them. I pulled up the carpet partially and found seepage on the parking brake cable and wiring harness. But I didn't find the drain tube. There is a heavy rubber mat under the carpet on the firewall that is held down with pins. Do I have to lift that to find the tube, or how do I determine if the tube is positioned properly?

Thanks for the help.

kts0347 · July 2008

Hi imidazol97
I am a newby on the site, and have a number of Pontiac Bonneville water leak issues. I tried to find your picture-rich help guide for drain tube repairs but didn't have any luck. I went to your carspace but didn't see a link to the guide. Help!!

Thanks

05gxp46 · July 2008

hi out there, has anyone else had water leaking into their trunks? i have an 05 bonneville gxp and every time it rains i get water in the trunk and it pools up in the basin where the spare tire sits.

imidazol97 · July 2008

Check your carspace email box.

imidazol97 · July 2008

>heavy rubber mat under the carpet

It looks like you have to find the right place to cut a chunk out of that mat to find the place where the tube goes through and out behind the front wheel inside the wheelwell housing.

kts0347 · July 2008

I found a very detailed posting of how to repair the sunroof drain tubes. The front tubes are the most McGivered devices you can imagine. Instead of being one continuous tube, they are sectioned and joined behind a heavy rubber mat that is pinned to the firewall (underneath the carpet). As soon as you blow out the tubes to clear them, they separate at this section. The only way to access the location where the joint is located, is by cutting an access flap into the heavy rubber mat. The detailed posting with very clear pictures showing how this is done is unfortunately not in this forum. you can find it at (www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1688) Study the pics carefully to figure out where to cut the access flaps. On the driver's side, you will have to remove the parking brake. And use a hose clamp so they don't come off again. Agggg!

Unhapping ending: Before I found this post, all I knew was that the water was draining behind the heavy rubber mat rather than outside. It was a black box mystery - because you simply can't remove the mat to inspect. And without knowledge or a shop manual you are lost. So, I finally gave up and took my car to the dealer. They charged me 3 hours labor so you know this isn't an easy job and they ended up slicing the mat just like the posting describes. A day later I found this posting with the clear pics. Turns out I had already done most of the work.

Another tip. the underside of the carpet is coated with a thick foam material that really sponges up the water. So don't expect that it is going to dry by itself. The best solution is to remove the carpet and sun dry it, reverse side up (per the Pontiac Tech) but what I am trying is to create an airspace by placing some plastic bottles under the carpet and sqeezing the foam like you would wring out a sponge. I figure that with AC on, it will eventually dry if you allow the air to circulate. Also, park on a sloped driveway, with the back end downhill ( keep your rear carpet elevated off the floorboard) Gravity will pull the water toward the back seat floorboard area where you can mop it out. And keep wringing the foam on the back floor carpet. It will get fresh water in it, as it runs down hill. A few days of this will get rid of most of the water. The Pontiac Tech tells me that the carpet doesn't like to naturally wick the water out of the foam to the surface, so don't expect it to just dry out by itself. You will be shocked at how much water wrings out of the foam. It can absorb well over a quart on each side.

enalevanko · July 2008

Same problem with water leaks in the door. Can you also send me pictures of the inside of the door and instructions on how to remove the door without damagaing the clips? Thanks.

geseps · July 2008

I have a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville, the windows work intermittently and I believe this is due to shorts probably caused by moisture somewhere around one of the wiring harnesses. I'm just not sure where. Took it to the dealer where they evidently replaced a wiring clip so the drivers side window works regularly now. They recommended to replace the other window motors, but I think they are fine. Anyone know where these wires run that might get exposed to water? The posts in this forum seem to support my theory. Any help out there with this?

kts0347 · July 2008

I finally came up with the perfect solution to the sunroof and door water leaks in my Pontiac. I had searched for days trying to find all the leaks. It got really frustrating. So what I finally ended up doing solved the problem.

1) I removed all the old soggy carpet with the sponges stuck to the underside and threw it away.
2) I then coated the entire floorboard with Rhinocoat. Looks real good, and gives the car a real custom appearance.
3) I re-routed all the sunroof drain tubes through the headliner so they now empty into a bucket that I keep in the back seat. (I am considering switching to beer cans in the rear cup holders for a more professional finish)
4) I have flip flops for all the passengers so they can dangle their toes in the water while we drive.
5) Every so often I toss a couple of shovelfuls of sand onto the floorboards. Makes everyone feel like they are at the beach.

Why didn't GM think of this great idea?

enalevanko · August 2008

Can you please email me this info too?

Thanks.

enalevanko · August 2008

Can you send me the pictures you received from imidazo197 on the water leak in the Pontiac? You can email me at knalevanko@comcast.net.

Thanks.

imidazol97 · August 2008

Please check your carspace page. It's link is in the upper left corner of most pages here, "My Carspace."

kts0347 · August 2008

Did you find a solution yet? I had serious water accumulation in my trunk and spare tire well. Turned out the problem was the sunroof drain tubes leading to the rear of the car had separated from their external extension tubes. The connection point is located behind the grey matting, to the rear of the wheel wells on either side of the trunk. The extension tubes may be blocked with road debris, so check them with a wire before putting it back together. The connection point is quite accessable after removing the grey matting on the trunk sides (held on with a couple of large black plastic plug-type clips.)

kts0347 · August 2008

I blew out the sunroof drains with a pressure hose, because they were all blocked. They flowed fine after that. Problem was, they flowed right into the car and trunk, because GM had seen fit to put connections on the hoses where they pass from inside to outside the car. The pressure hose had blown out all four connections. Two are in the trunk - easy to reach, just remove the grey matting on the side of the trunk and they are there right behind the wheel well. Two in front are really difficult. They are on the driver and passenger firewall kick-plate and are behind a heavy, black, un-removable rubber mat. Have to cut access flaps to get to the connection points. See my earlier post for website info.

The tale continues. I thought the carpets would just dry out and it would be over. Not so. They smell. So, I have to remove them, and get the mildew out of them. (Living in FL, I will just toss them in the pool. Chlorine works wonders) So I have removed the seats and am struggling with the center console.

Need help here. Took out the obvious two bolts at the rear of the console, and now it lifts freely from the rear. But the front is still firmly attached to the IP and I can't find any more attachments to remove. Must be clipped somehow, but I don't want to tug or pull too hard in case I break something. Advice?

Thanks

kts0347 · August 2008

I also posted a question in the Q&A section and got a great answer from Doc J. So now my console is out, and carpets removed. To document how to remove the console here are the steps:
1) Remove Instrument Panel Cluster Bezel Trim. (start with two button clips on underside of upper edge of trim panel, then the rest is just push in clips. Whole bezel right down to the radio cover comes off as one piece.
2) Remove the small trim panel remaining that contains the emergency flasher. (unclip harnesses and pull out and up)
3) Remove four bolts holding console to Dash Panel
4) Lift panel surrounding shift lever and rotate 90 degrees for access. Take care with clips here, fragile.
5) Unclip main harness connection
6) Unclip Shift lever cable (slip on fitting) and remove from retainer
7) Unclip Shift Lockout lever cable (remove yellow retaining cap and disconnect) and remove from retainer.
8) Remove two bolts holding console to floor near rear of console
9) Lift back and up. Route harnerss and cables through front opening.

This presumes you have already removed the seats. To remove bucket seats you need a star socket. I bought one as part of a three piece brake caliper removal kit for $2.99 at Harbor Freight. Four star bolts hold seats in position. Tilt seats backward and disconnect power seat harnesses. Remove through back door.

Carpets now lift out freely.

Mine are going into the pool with an extra dose of clorine to clear them of the mildew. While I have them out, I am going to finish reconnecting the front drain tubes (as per the web page above) and also do the door trim resealing as I have leaks there as well.

Then everything goes back together (hopefully).

imidazol97 · August 2008

I had wondered about treating wet carpets with one of the products for longterm mold and mildew recurrance prevention. I think they sell one at Home Depot and I have been tempted to buy one online at killmoldfast --it's called sporiclean . The have a small sample size and a larger quantity.

I believe the one at Home Depot is Corundum or something like that. You let it dry on the item to be protected. I have a suspicion it leaves a mineral trace behind with the enzyme on it to maintain long term prevention. It was in the paint department.

it might be worth a try while you've got the carpet out. Chlorine is not considered to kill all the mold. They repeat that on housing shows (This Old House) about killing mold problems.

lmaher63 · September 2008

I have a 2003 Bonneville that leaks. It is like a lot of the rest of you I have water on the drivers and passengers front floor but no water on the sides of the carpet. Can whoever has the pics on how to remove the door panel send them to me? My email is lmaher63@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Pontiac Bonneville Water Leaks

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