This has cropped up on the FB group, general consensus is you've not closed your boot lid properly. I may have seemed closed but it wasn't. Needs a firm skept shut not a gentle closing.

You may have also noticed your door lock button on the drivers door flickering recently? Or a warning about hatch open?

 

So he was using the boot wrong?

 

Apparently. I think 2 members on the FB group reported similar issues, water in boot, along with other issues. Other issues were identified as not closing boot fully.... penny dropped!

 

i fitted my space saver wheel into the well 2 weeks ago and it bolts down in place , the hole is already there and seems to be the point water will get in , its ok for me now with the bolt blocking the hole

 

I am surprised that the consensus is not closing the boot....sounds to me like a garage fob off. There's only been one occasion that happened to me and I found it as soon as the ACC wouldn't engage.
Has anyone proven that a boot that is not fully closed will allow the water to get past the raised rubber gutter seal? ...I may try a hose test to see what happens myself.

 

I am surprised that the consensus is not closing the boot....sounds to me like a garage fob off. There's only been one occasion that happened to me and I found it as soon as the ACC wouldn't engage.
Has anyone proven that a boot that is not fully closed will allow the water to get past the raised rubber gutter seal? ...I may try a hose test to see what happens myself.

So your confirming that on least 1 occasion you didn't close the boot fully? That could be when the water got in?

Worth confirming testing with a hose, least you will know for certain.

 

I’m surprised that closing the boot isn’t a compulsory part of the driving test.

 

Is it not? I thought you had to evidence how you change a tyres etc these days? Open boot, look under fake floor, curse there is no spare, tell the test instructor you would call the AA?

 

Only last week, a close friend of mine who owns a two year old Ford Focus that he has had from new, had really bad condensation in his car.
The said the front carpets where getting wet, the though he had a leak from the windscreen.
He gave the car to a reliable family tech to inspect the car.
He had the car for two days and said that when he checked the rear carpets, they where also wet !.
He then checked the boot and the wheel well was half full of water !!!!.
It had that much water in the boot, that when the car went over speed bumps, the water from the boot transferred right through the car !.
They checked the boot seal and all was okay.
They then checked the rear light units, all okay.
They then removed the rear bumper cover and then they discovered that behind the cover, there is two oblong plastic flapper boot vents fitted to each side of the car.
The housing had become distorted somehow, and allowed water to pass behind each of the housing bolted to the body panels.
All four units where changed and the car was water tested again, all now okay !.
It was a nightmare trying to dry out all of the interior.
Apparently, it’s a know problem on Fords !!!.
The car is parked facing down wards on a steep driveway.

 

There's no hole in the wheel well in my car the bottom of the boot is fully sealed.

 

Ok chaps and chapesses
I have done a hose test on the rear hatch. I removed the interior bits and pieces under the rear floor checked all was dry closed the boot and ferociously hosed the back of the car trying to force water through the sealed areas for about 5 mins. I opened the boot and checked inside...dry as a bone.
I then deliberately left the door in a non closed position and repeated the exercise. After five mins I checked inside....dry as a bone.
If you have left the boot open in a non locked position obviously not wide open. ,The water still does not enter via the seals ,it runs down the side walls and flows out elsewhere.
I do not believe that even if you drove the car with a not secured boot that water will enter in any substantial amount into the boot area.

The ingress of the water I found is still a mystery

 

It’s probably leaking from a side window seal. Or worse from a roof gutter.

How does it look if you spray water at the side windows or roof?

 

The story of the new ford and the failure of the boot vents is an interesting one. I have driven the car in very heavy rain recently and if there is such vent system in the lower boot area then that could be something to look at. The hose tests do suggest that water may be entering from below somewhere rather than above. I may try blasting water on underside areas and see what happens but only when it gets warmer outside

 

There usually are cabin exhaust vents in the rear of the car.

Maybe try removing some trim to find them and see if they are exposed to the elements?

 

I tried the roof gutters and rear window but it doesn't appear to enter from those areas

 

There is a test I saw for this sort of leak it was Ed China on wheeler dealers.He used a smoke device like what heating engieers and gas installers use when checking for leaks for the escape of carbon monoxide.You set one off in the car or the boot and close all doors and windows and watch for the smoke to leak out of the car.Hope this can help.

 

If I drive at around 40mph and over in my MGB ragtop with all the windows closed in the rain, it sucks water in from places it doesn't rain in whilst stationary

 

E61 BMW with the panoramic roof have drains from the rear corners of the pano roof that end up behind the splash guards in the rear wheel wells. They are fitted with non-return valves apparently to prevent wee beasties crawling up them into the car. After a couple of years these valves get blocked and the drains don't, leading to water flowing down the inside of the panels covering the C pillars and ending up in the spare wheel well. Sadly this contains some very important, expensive and vulnerable electronics which then die at significant expense normally first shown by the rear air suspension failing.
Long story, but I believe that the ZS has a similar pano roof. If so, check the rear drains work.
The cure on the E61 was to reach into the trim inside the car above the rear wheel wells, grab the drain tube and pull hard so that the non-return valve falls off. This cures the problem and no-one to my knowledge has been inundated with a plague of wee beasties as a result.

 

Thanks Carty for the very informative video. I am hoping to speak to MG technician today and determine if the ZS has a similar boot venting mechanism.
It is peeing down with rain at the moment so the car is getting a good static water test, I will investigate further and keep all advised

 

I am fairly confident that the ZS EV has a similar boot vent config as many modern cars today.
You can hear some type of a flap being opened when you stand outside of the rear drivers door, then close it quite quickly.
All the other doors and the boot has to be closed.
As the rear door closes, the air trapped inside the car has no where to escape.
If you listen very carefully, you can just about hear the flaps being pushed open.
The sound is very brief, but you can hear it !.
Pure guess hear, but I think the flaps maybe located in a similar place as the Focus, behind the rear bumper cover.
It’s amazing how much water can invade the boot via these vents.
This may not be the leak on your car, but I may just put an each way bet on this being the problem.
You have done an extensive home water test and and found no issues, so interested to hear what the dealer thinks.
Should not be to hard to find, put somebody in the boot and hit it with a hose pipe.
Start at the bottom and work up towards the roof.
NOT top to bottom !.
If it’s the boot vents it should show before you get to the rear wiper.
Make sure they hose around each corner as far as both back doors.
Keep making slow passes with the hose pipe and raising the water line by a few inches on every pass !.
Water ingress has been found via the rear wiper motor on OTHER models as well !.
Good luck, and keep us informed.
Weather is dreadful here in Wales at the moment, I popped out to make a quick check on my boot last night.
As best as I could see, all looks dry.
I will pull out the spare and double check when there is a break in the weather.
P.S. - Just ensure there is not a hose pipe ban in your area first, we could be running low on water !.

 

The weather has been terrible around here lately, and I took the car for a little swim through some heavy flooding the other day, and the boot is dry. I will keep an eye and am interested to see what you find out from the dealer. However, it is nice to own a car that is still in warranty again

 

Okay more rain this morning and water is coming in on the rear offside via the offside boot pocket. It is quite a significant leak.

 

Okay more rain this morning and water is coming in on the rear offside via the offside boot pocket. It is quite a significant leak.
View attachment 128214 View attachment 128215

I assume that is without driving the car? It suggests something relatively high up is letting the water in.

It is frighteningly like the symptoms of the E61 BMW blocked panoramic sunroof drains, and looking at the pictures of the car on the MG website everything lines up. Can you get to the rear drains by tilting the rear roof section on the MG? If so, check whether water is successfully running away from them by powering water in the area and seeing if it appears in the boot pocket. On the BMW, given that the water didn't go down the tubes it overflowed from the area around the pano roof and flowed down the C pillar. Removing the trim there and you could chart its progress.

Edited to add - I saw your post about not wanting to force the trim, but the top of the C pillar trim normally pulls away simply.

 

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It can only be the rain gutters or the window seal, surely?

 

I did take a video but the size of it is too large to post. The rain gets in even when the car is parked. I tried to see if the side panels are easy to remove but could not get very far with that and didnt want to force anything

 

I think we can rule out the boot vents now !.
It leaking a lot higher than that.
It’s on the O/S/R - this maybe worth a check !.
The rubber boot that carry’s the wiring loom from the boot lid to the frame of the car.
Just opened the boot on my car and the water pours down over this grommet !.
Try lifting up the outer edge of this boot with a plastic tool and make sure the inner seal is sitting correctly.

 

I think we can rule out the boot vents now !.
It leaking a lot higher than that.
It’s on the O/S/R - this maybe worth a check !.
The rubber boot that carry’s the wiring loom from the boot lid to the frame of the car.
Just opened the boot on my car and the water pours down over this grommet !.
Try lifting up the outer edge of this boot with a plastic tool and make sure the inner seal is sitting correctly.

Definitely a good place to start. Personally I'd pull the bung up a bit and smear something water replant around it and re-seat and see if it fixes. My dad has a similar issue on his Skoda Kodiak, but rather than peeing into the boot it soaked into the roof liner.

 

When I had a Ford C-Max that had this problem it took the main dealer three attempts to find the leak. They eventually traced to a poorly fitted roof rail.

 

HI all

I have managed to get some of the rear roof trim and side trim loosened enough to trace the water leak. It is coming in from the rear of the sun roof as you can see water on the top of the roof liner.
It only seems to occurr in heavy rain but is a persistant leak and quite alot of water eventually finds its way down the inside of the offside rear trim and via the rear sidepocket into the wheel well.
I have arranged a towel,sponge and collecting vessel to catch most of the water whilst I await the garage repair on th 17th March.
Couldnt get a camera into the small gap to get pictures unfortunately.
Also need a new windscreen now as a stone has cracked it....Autoglass dont have any in stock of course..

 

You are not having a very good week - sorry !.

 

Pass on what I said about the E61 BMW issue to the garage. The problem sounds identical with the non return valve at the bottom of the drain blocking. It allows enough water through for light rain but in heavy rain the drain can't cope and it overflows into the car from the back of the cassette of the sunroof.
I hope that your replacement windscreen arrives soon.

 

We have had your permanently misted rear window from the start. However, no water in the wheel well as far as I can see...

Let us know what happens.

 

Hi All
Thanks for your help and advice
I have used an endoscopic camera to explore the space between the roof trim and the inside of the car roof and something revealing has shown up.
It appears there is alot of drill swarf hanging down at one point suggesting a bad drilling was made when attaching the sunroof to the car. I attach a still image from the video that was made.
I will try and explore this area further when I have more time

I will also endeavour to determine if this is associated with water ingress
watch this space