trunk leak in my '00 civic hatchback. HELP!!!

[mizz_kristy]

I have a water leak in my 2000 honda civic hatchback and can't for the life of me figure out where it's coming from. I bought the car used last August and had no problems with it, and then about two months ago I noticed a bit of water in the trunk underneath the spare tire, cleaned it up and made sure it was just water, thinking that maybe the seal had a leak somewhere around it, we completely soaked the car in water all around the trunk, back windows, everything, and didn't notice any water coming in from that. we then thought maybe water was coming in from underneath somewhere, near the wheels, shocks, or the bottom of the trunk, soaked all of that and nothing.

The leak is gradual, over a two/three week period there was maybe an inch to two inches of water in the trunk (I live in Vancouver and we've been getting a lot of rain lately so if it was a leak from the rain there would have been a lot more water in there).

Two days ago we went and bought a spray sealant and sprayed everything we could think of in the bottom of the trunk, the seals and any screws that looked suspicious. a couple hours later I checked and there were a few droplets of water, and it hadn't been raining... weird.
The only weird thing I've noticed is that there is a large hole that had been sealed (well), not sure if its stock or something that the previous owner did for whatever reason, but it doesn't appear that water is coming in through there.

I was wondering if anyone else has has this problem or it anyone has any suggestions, I've checked a couple of forums and found this site ( http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1996-to-2000-honda-civic-2.htm ) but it's for the 96-97 civic.
So I'm at a loss. any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Billy.]

welcome to owning a 6th generation civic. they notoriously have window track problems and trunk leaks. ive been searching for the elusive leaking culprit for years, but mine only puddles up during a SEVERE rain while driving. if yours is more often than that check the drain tubes behind the trunk liners

 

[dreamin]

Our 00 civic coupe had a trunk leak that wasn't really noticeable and wasn't too bad at first. We drenched the car - climbed inside and shut the trunk to see if there was any light etc etc and couldn't find it. We upgraded the sound system and it seemed like more water started accumulating where the spare is and the carpet was actually getting wet - dont know if that was just how the timing worked out or if the bass vibrations of the sub in the trunk made the leak worse? But we ended up replacing the trunk seal and the leak stopped.

 

[Jersey8]

the water is leaking in through your tail lights. i had the same problem with my hatch. pick up a new pair of tail light gaskets at your local honda dealer.

 

[munster87]

Try checking your tail light gaskets and those vents behind the back bumper on the sides that let air escape from your car.

 

[pop]

the water is leaking in through your tail lights. i had the same problem with my hatch. pick up a new pair of tail light gaskets at your local honda dealer.

X2 they are like 2 bucks a peice from honda. Just replace em and ull be set

 

[mizz_kristy]

Thanks all, I'll try that and let you know how it goes!

 

[EGHseries]

When I Replace Mine I Always Spray A Dry Silicon Spray On Them To Help And I Spray All My Seals As Well Around All My Door Seals It Helps Prolong The Life Of All Foams And Rubbers

 

[Jersey8]

When I Replace Mine I Always Spray A Dry Silicon Spray On Them To Help And I Spray All My Seals As Well Around All My Door Seals It Helps Prolong The Life Of All Foams And Rubbers

yea, you def wanna use some lube on your rubbers, especially on the back doors

 

[EKHatch_617]

take it to da dealer and have it checked up they sumhow know thats theres a leak adn den find it

 

[Jersey8]

take it to da dealer and have it checked up they sumhow know thats theres a leak adn den find it

what does "da" and "den" mean? i tried looking them up in the dictionary and i just can't seem to find them. are you russian or something?

 

[NFR_AP2]

i have a leak in my hatchie too...i just leave a towel hangin out in the back...

yea, you def wanna use some lube on your rubbers, especially on the back doors

damn jersey people....

 

[immajackuup]

Our 00 civic coupe had a trunk leak that wasn't really noticeable and wasn't too bad at first. We drenched the car - climbed inside and shut the trunk to see if there was any light etc etc and couldn't find it. We upgraded the sound system and it seemed like more water started accumulating where the spare is and the carpet was actually getting wet - dont know if that was just how the timing worked out or if the bass vibrations of the sub in the trunk made the leak worse? But we ended up replacing the trunk seal and the leak stopped.

I had that problem and fix it I even bang my system hard too and still no leak

 

[Jersey8]

i have a leak in my hatchie too...i just leave a towel hangin out in the back...





damn jersey people....

i guess you south jerseyians just don't understand

 

[NFR_AP2]

lolllllllllllll

 

[mizz_kristy]

take it to da dealer and have it checked up they sumhow know thats theres a leak adn den find it

I'm trying to avoid going to the dealership, that's my last resort after I've tried everything else, their way to expensive and being a student I don't really have a huge expendable income.



update on the leak btw, we soaked the car again and left the back seat down, my dad got in the back and we went for a drive as there wasn't any water coming in while the car was just sitting (which is weird because a couple days ago there was quite the little puddle when it was sitting in the rain) and sure enough the leak started to creep in from... I'm not sure what it is, its part of the plastic covering around the inside of the car, both left and right sides, sticks out a little bit, right underneath the speaker. anyway, my dad (who is helping me but is not exactly a car pro) wants to take out the paneling in the back.. which means from door to door, everything, and by the looks of it means the seats as well, I'm not to keen on this as I'm sure once we figure it out getting it all out will be easy, putting it back won't, so we're going to check the taillights this week, replace the gaskets and see how that goes.

 

[Jersey8]

have you considered my posts at all? im 100% positive its the tail light gaskets. i had the exact same problem.

check out hondapartsdeals.com i get all my parts from there at a reasonable price

check out this site:
hondapartsdeals.com tail light layout
check out part #5
its $3.96 per gasket. get 2. thats $7.92. voila your leak is fixed

 

[mizz_kristy]

have you considered my posts at all? im 100% positive its the tail light gaskets. i had the exact same problem.

check out hondapartsdeals.com i get all my parts from there at a reasonable price

check out this site:
hondapartsdeals.com tail light layout
check out part #5
its $3.96 per gasket. get 2. thats $7.92. voila your leak is fixed

yea that's what we're trying right now, having a bit of difficulty taking off the taillights though, my dad (who is helping me with this) wants to take out the entire interior or the car, backseat and plastic linings. not really what I want to do.
I think we just need to get a special tool to take off the very top nuts to release the taillight so we can get into it, if that makes sense.
did you find it easy to remove the taillights? is so how did you go about it?

 

[Jersey8]

yea that's what we're trying right now, having a bit of difficulty taking off the taillights though, my dad (who is helping me with this) wants to take out the entire interior or the car, backseat and plastic linings. not really what I want to do.
I think we just need to get a special tool to take off the very top nuts to release the taillight so we can get into it, if that makes sense.
did you find it easy to remove the taillights? is so how did you go about it?

yea the top nuts were a pain in the ass. i just used an open end wrench. it took awhile but it eventually came off.

 

[mizz_kristy]

yea the top nuts were a pain in the ass. i just used an open end wrench. it took awhile but it eventually came off.

ok cool. we went and got a universal (?, I'm horrible with tools and names, but its a wrench, and it bends nicely so it fits up in there) anyway we can access the nuts now, I'm going to get the gaskets tomorrow and hopefully change it all tomorrow or the next day!