DX3: Water in Bay(s)

[WanderingPhoto]

I reached but no luck. So here it goes....

I have a 2018 DX3 37TS. I recently returned from a short trip. It rained overnight, then heavily for several hours while I was driving back and finally continued to rain once I got home. I was cleaning out the bays and found some water in several bays. I have never had this before but honestly I have never driven extensively in the rain either. The water was in the third bay on the driver side (right behind the battery bay), in the cross bay on on the passenger side and a small amount in the larger bay on the passenger side right behind that. No other bays had any signs of water (including the wet bay). No signs of water on the raised part of the pass-through sections. No signs of water on the ceiling.

I'm concerned this is a water leak from somewhere else. But maybe its from the doors not sealing perfectly. I do think this is the area that would get spray from the front tires.

Question - has anyone else gotten water in their bays while driving in heavy rain? Any other thoughts or suggestions as to what I could check?

Thanks!

[Keystoner]

My suggestion if the bays are big enough and you can recruit a volunteer small enough is to close yourself or someone inside each bay and run a bright flashlight around to outside to look for door gasket leaks.

[DieselBurn]

I had a similar issue on my 2020 XL. The water (and road grime) appeared to be coming from the unsealed holes that were drilled in the compartment walls for the wires for the door locking solenoids. Not sure if that may be your cause.

[shultz01]

I had the same issue. The water was coming from between the bottom metal frame and the plastic compartment/bin. I found some rivets that missed causing gaps and I caulked all the bottom and side seams in all the compartments for safe measure.

[formerFR]

this is a rather common problem, unfortunately, as the factories tend to not foam or seal every crevasse and corner and edge and cut hole effectively... and you can't really notice it UNTIL you drive thru driving heavy rain where the water from the wheels gets churned up into the chassis.

I've foamed and sealed and caulked our bays to no end, several times over the years, and STILL I can find water, even small amounts, after driving thru rain...it's aggravating, but I've learned to just let it be, and try to dry it out with towels when I reach my destination. I've thought I've found every conceivable crack or crevasse, but when it comes to air and water, it's hardly ever that easy : /

[Travler]

I had a leak on one bay. After some investigation I found that a screw for the door handle was positioned so that the head came in contact with the door seal. This would keep the seal from sealing correctly and allow water in. I just removed the screw and calked around the hole and no more water. Check the routing of the gasket around the doors and make sure there is no interference. You may also have to adjust the doors to fit tighter.

[WanderingPhoto]

Thanks all. I guess I would rather this than have a leak somewhere I can't find in the next few months when it sits in storage. But still disappointing. I'm guessing this is not unique to Dynamax given the door latch/gasket/design is common.

Question - it looks like the latch can be adjusted by moving the u-shaped catch. Any tips on how tight to set them? I definitely have some amount of play when latched but don't want to overdo it.

Thanks again

[joet19711]

I have never had that problem with mine.

[bclemens]

Door adjustments can be finicky. Too loose and they can leak, too tight and people complain that they "don't line up properly", so there "can be" a fine line depending on who is adjusting them and how they have been treated at the dealership. I have seen very few issues on our doors in the last few years. Once we went to the compression latch on the small stuff and a newer seal on the big stuff.

Years back we used to have a bulb seal on those doors (I think) and they could compress too far and not rebound. But we went to one that acts more like a gutter and have had next to no issues. (In fact I can't think of any.....but murphys law says someone has had an issue)

[Jpheifer]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Door adjustments can be finicky. Too loose and they can leak, too tight and people complain that they "don't line up properly", so there "can be" a fine line depending on who is adjusting them and how they have been treated at the dealership. I have seen very few issues on our doors in the last few years. Once we went to the compression latch on the small stuff and a newer seal on the big stuff.

Years back we used to have a bulb seal on those doors (I think) and they could compress too far and not rebound. But we went to one that acts more like a gutter and have had next to no issues. (In fact I can't think of any.....but murphys law says someone has had an issue)

Brian - any chance you could give some info on what deal you went to so some of us that want to could upgrade ours ? To the new seal in dx3 - I agree they are finicky and I am happy to try and replace on my problem doors .
Have a great week!

[bclemens]

Clean Seal part #ZG-7146