[EmmaK1]

Hi,
I find water is leaking into the car on the drivers side of my 2011 Leaf 24.
The charge port release pull under the dash is wet and some water is trickling down the plastic A pillar cover at the front corner of the door.
There is not a lot so it is a small leak but we have had a lot of rain and I fear all the insulation in the dashboard may be soaking it up.
Anybody else had this?
Any ideas where the water is getting in?
All information or suggestions gratefully received.
Em

 

[Mr_G]

Has the windscreen ever been replaced? Since the highest point of ingress seems to be the driver's A pillar the windscreen seal might be a starting point. Windscreen leaks on the LEAF have been reported here in the past.

Check the two drainage holes in the channel below the windscreen are clear. The one on the nearside is easy to spot. The driver's side one is more subtle. It is a small hole in the surround to the spindle of the wiper on the driver's side. Very easy to miss and being smaller it does block very easily. Water may have overtopped the channel at the windscreen base.

 

[Hitstirrer]

I had a leak from the nearside top of the windscreen in a '15 RHD Leaf 24. The water zapped an electrical module just under the bonnet and killed the car. A second windscreen then leaked in the same place. This time the water ran up and down in a pool along the windscreen top as I cornered and badly stained the headlining. The third windscreen was watertight until the car went back under its PCP deal. I'm surprised that it has remained dry so long tbh.

 

[EmmaK1]

Thanks both.
The leak started appeared on Sunday and the car has been bone dry until then. Windscreen seal was my first thought but I will check the drains... lots of moss, dead leaves and rain around here, and the car stands downwind of a large sycamore.
I am away for a few days but will remove the lower dash panel to give it a chance to dry out.
If any body else has any experience of this please don't hesitate to comment.
Em

 

[Hitstirrer]

As has been mentioned, a design flaw of the Leaf 24 is that the drain hole in the windscreen wiper spindle on right-hand side becomes blocked - especially by sycamore seeds as it happens - and heavy rain can overflow into the car.

Incidentally, when that drain hole is cleared out the rainwater then drains exactly into the top of the right-hand suspension unit where it lodges and eventually will cause that unit to fail as it rusts through.

Best to remove the triangular piece of plastic trim that is hiding that strut top and have a look. I can guarantee that it is filled with water. Clean it out, apply a blob of grease, and find some kind of 'cap' to sit over the suspension strut area to prevent water from that badly designed drain hole filling it up again. I used a small upturned empty tuna tin. But there are proprietory seals available and some 3D printed tops can be obtained.

 

[PJM MK]

Think I got to it just in time on my 2016 leaf. The drain hole on the drivers side was blocked (by the dreaded sycamore seed - why did they make those things virtually indestructible?) and a few years of general dust and dirt. The well at the top of the strut was filled with water but, luckily, only light rust which I treated with a rust converter then capped with one of those 3D printed caps. The passenger side one was fine but I capped that as well, just in case.

Must say I'm amazed at some of the silly penny pinching that went on with the leaf.

 

[EmmaK1]

Been there... Done that... Got covers and check regularly.
How does water get from there to inside of dashboard? Is there a hole?

 

[Mr_G]

Been there... Done that... Got covers and check regularly.
How does water get from there to inside of dashboard? Is there a hole?

Do you park on a slope? Water tends to over-top at the front of the drainage channel but if the car is tilted back...........

I had the dreaded sycamore seeds blocking and water on the top of the front strut. I used upturned plastic yogurt pots to deflect the water way from the hollow at the top of the strut. The suspension top caps which are fitted to a Nissan Note are an exact fit. Somebody thought they would be clever and save about 10p per car when it came to the LEAF.

You may well have a windscreen seal problem as well as clearing out the drainage and protecting the drivers side front strut top from filling with water.

 

[EmmaK1]

It is drying out.
No water around charge port cover release but carpet damp under mat at bottom of A pillar.
Had a quick look but no obvious sign of a leak. I want to put a hosepipe on the windscreen seal to test for leaks. I removed the triangular cover at bottom of drivers side windscreen easily and it looks fairly easy to get the plastic off across the bottom of the windshield...
But how do you release clips holding the trim up side of windscreen?

 

[EmmaK1]

Bump!
After standing in the drive for six days the car is bone dry inside... Is it possible water has travelled down the charge port release cable into the cabin?

 

[EmmaK1]

Perhaps Indra (@Mike Schooling) has experience of this?

 

[EmmaK1]

Well I am stumped!
There has been no further water ingress. I have pumped about a pint of washer fluid through the front and rear washers, hosed round the edge of the windscreen and put it through a car wash three times without any apparent leak.
The only thing I have noticed is dried water droplet marks inside the rear window. This combined with the weak rear washer, (the water runs down the glass rather than squirts), makes me wonder if there is a leak and water is pooling somewhere.
Does anyone know how the rear washer supply is routed?