Water on both driver and passenger floor!

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jake14mw

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 12, 2017
Messages
180
Location
Connecticut, USA
Hi all,

I have had my 2014 SL for 8 months. Noticed a few weeks ago that floor mat was wet. Thought one of the kids left a window open during a rain. Then it happened two more times. I noticed after a rainstorm, but I do believe that it is the A/C not draining properly. I searched here, and found this old thread, http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=12149. Most people in that thread said that the A/C drain hose on the driver side was unplugged. I checked that, and it is plugged in fine.

I just ran the car with the A/C on for 10 minutes and saw no water draining under the car. I also took off the plastic cover on both the driver and passenger sides and looked and felt around but did not feel any water anywhere. Right now, I am thinking that it must be a clog in the drain further down? I am thinking of maybe taking a shop vac and trying to blow air down the black tube?

I used to have a similar problem with our Mazda CX-9 where I would have to take a shop vac, find the hole in the undercarriage and vaccum out debris. Does anyone know where that is located on the Leaf? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Just had a similar problem w my Ford. Could be a cobweb in the evaporitor tube. Try sticking a wire coat hanger into it to break it up. Afterwards we had a ton of water flowing out
 
I had water when my 2013 was new, caused by a heater core leak (that was damaged at the factory). Link in my sig.
 
jake14mw said:
Hi all,

I have had my 2014 SL for 8 months. Noticed a few weeks ago that floor mat was wet. Thought one of the kids left a window open during a rain. Then it happened two more times. I noticed after a rainstorm, but I do believe that it is the A/C not draining properly. I searched here, and found this old thread, http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=12149. Most people in that thread said that the A/C drain hose on the driver side was unplugged. I checked that, and it is plugged in fine.

I just ran the car with the A/C on for 10 minutes and saw no water draining under the car. I also took off the plastic cover on both the driver and passenger sides and looked and felt around but did not feel any water anywhere. Right now, I am thinking that it must be a clog in the drain further down? I am thinking of maybe taking a shop vac and trying to blow air down the black tube?

I used to have a similar problem with our Mazda CX-9 where I would have to take a shop vac, find the hole in the undercarriage and vaccum out debris. Does anyone know where that is located on the Leaf? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I haven't crawled under to look, but judging from the service manual the outlet should be under where you see the hose pass into the tunnel; there's a slight bend that should place the outlet an inch or two directly rearward of that spot.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I pulled off the black hose and blew compressed air into it. There seemed to be no resistance and I did not see anything come out of the bottom of the car. The undercarriage of the car in that area is covered by a black plastic piece, so it's hard to tell. It seems that is leaking before the hose. I think I feel wetness on the carpet on the hump between driver and passenger side. Now I'm worried it is the heater core that others mentioned in the other thread. That sounds like a major repair bill. :(
 
jake14mw said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I pulled off the black hose and blew compressed air into it. There seemed to be no resistance and I did not see anything come out of the bottom of the car. The undercarriage of the car in that area is covered by a black plastic piece, so it's hard to tell. It seems that is leaking before the hose. I think I feel wetness on the carpet on the hump between driver and passenger side. Now I'm worried it is the heater core that others mentioned in the other thread. That sounds like a major repair bill. :(

Only 2011 and 2012 have water-filled heater core so your water in the carpet is either condensate from A/C or leakage from rain/washing.
 
GerryAZ said:
Only 2011 and 2012 have water-filled heater core so your water in the carpet is either condensate from A/C or leakage from rain/washing.

Hi Gerry, thanks for that clarification. Does anyone else have any suggestions on what I can check before bringing it to the dealer?
 
Brought it to my Nissan dealer today. They said that the blower motor box is cracked. Cost to replace - $1520.82 for the part, $1350 for labor! :cry:

I'm depressed. My car that I thought was saving me money just sank me. Just had to spend many thousands for vet bills for our dog, and now this. Truly depressing. Thanks to those who provided suggestions to try and help.
 
@jake14mw It's your decision of course, but personally I wouldn't replace the blower motor if it still works and it's just a leaky casing on it.

Instead, I would yank the blower motor and have a closer look at the plastic casing and the seal too. Here are some detailed instructions:

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=17462

Since the casing is plastic, you should be able to repair the leak using epoxy for plastic (or a similar product). Also, you can purchase a used blower unit on eBay for around $100 and do the labor yourself - it doesn't look like it's all that difficult to do.

Alternatively, get a quote from an independent shop and let them know that you will source the blower motor and that you just want an estimate on labor only.

That Nissan dealer is just ripping you off!
 
alozzy said:
@jake14mw It's your decision of course, but personally I wouldn't replace the blower motor if it still works and it's just a leaky casing on it.

Instead, I would yank the blower motor and have a closer look at the plastic casing and the seal too. Here are some detailed instructions:

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=17462

Since the casing is plastic, you should be able to repair the leak using epoxy for plastic (or a similar product). Also, you can purchase a used blower unit on eBay for around $100 and do the labor yourself - it doesn't look like it's all that difficult to do.

Alternatively, get a quote from an independent shop and let them know that you will source the blower motor and that you just want an estimate on labor only.

That Nissan dealer is just ripping you off!

Alozzy,

Thanks very much for pointing me to that thread and the pictures! I suppose it may be worth my time to at least take a look to see if I can somehow patch it! Do you have any idea in those pictures where the blower motor box is? Anyone else have any feedback as to the chance that a patch of that type of plastic will hold up and what to patch it with? Thanks for giving me hope!
 
I found a YouTube video made by someone who replaced the blower motor on his LEAF. That video should give you some visuals on how to get at the blower too.

The second set of pictures, in the post I linked to previously, are better than the first set of fuzzy pics...
 
alozzy said:
I found a YouTube video made by someone who replaced the blower motor on his LEAF. That video should give you some visuals on how to get at the blower too.

The second set of pictures, in the post I linked to previously, are better than the first set of fuzzy pics...

Is the the youtube video you were talking about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGmYI9HVHqQ
 
This reminds me of the Volvo 240 blower unit. It was rumored that the 240 was built by hanging the blower motor from a string at the beginning of the assembly line, and then building the rest of the car around it. Needless to say, ways were found to avoid the required disassembly to repair it. Depending on the exact nature of the leak, super-sticky waterproof repair tape might also work.
 
@jake14mw Yes, same video. It's not really a step by step guide but at around the 6 minute mark there's some decent footage of what things look like with the glove box removed.
 
Just a quick update - I have been driving the car some without using the A/C. Been trying to figure out if I can attempt a patch without pulling everything apart. The leak is in the plastic housing on the bottom. I was able to get a picture of it, but it's so hard to access that I can't really tell how big the crack is. I did a google search on Nissan Leaf Blower Housing, but could not get a good picture of the part. I'm trying to get a picture of the part so I can know better what I am dealing with. The plan is to try and put some JB Weld on the crack. I don't think it will be successful, but I guess it can't hurt to try. I will try and post the picture from my phone soon here. Any advice? Is there a better term for what I am describing than the blower motor housing?
 
eb3afea47

https://markwright.zenfolio.com/p863618193/eb3afea47

Here is the pic. I hope you can see.
 
IMHO a fiberglass patch would be better. Quick drying fiberglass resin applied to the crack and then fiberglass cloth over it works great on plastic.
 
A putty form of epoxy might be the easiest, since you've got to reach in there and maybe into some blind areas; you could mold it by feel. Make sure to clean the surface as well as you can.

An alternative might be to flood the interior base of the housing with a liquid sealant via a hole drilled further up the casing. You'd probably need something to fill the drain tube so it could be pulled after the sealant firms up. The trick of course would be figuring how much material to use, and what type. Dont' want something noxious, or to clog the evaporator coil.
 
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