I just bought a 1997 civic ex for my daughte. I replaced thetiming belt and all other belts, put new disc brake pads on, and other little things so my daughter won't get stranded. When I got the jack out of the trunk, there was some water in the bottom by the spare tire. I mopped the water up but it cam back It has beenrainding hard down here these last several days. Does anybody have any idea where this is comminhg from. I checked under the back seat it was a little damp on the drivers side. ANY HELP WILL BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. Thanks! sorry for the caps, I accidently hit all caps...

I love this car by the way. I may ask my daughter if sh wants to trade LOL..

 

Your weather stripping on the trunk lining could have a tear in it.

 

Thanks for the reply. I checked the rubber on the body where the trunk lid meets, it seems okay. Ithink I'llcheck it again.

 

I have a 97 coupe myself, I have the exact same leak as you do, if you find it, please for the love of god tell me what it was :-)

I have siliconed 3 full tubes into every seal I have, under, over, weatherstripped stuff around the trunk, and I still have the same issue. After it rains, I reach into the trunk, and on the top of the trunk, on the inside, I notice water dripping down from the frame type thing there, it also wets the carpet on the drivers side, and over time, fills the bottom where the jack and wheel stays.

I have tried to fill every crack and hole I can but still haven't had any luck.

I am wondering if its some sort of 97 thing, everyone I see posting here in regards of the leak seems to have a 97 :-(

It's murder to find that sucker, I wish someone would clear it up for us.

 

Thanks for the reply. My daughters civiv has an electric retractable sun roof, does yours? It seems like the hedliner would have water stains if it is the source of the leak. If I find it I will let you knoe. I wonder if it is coming up from under the car...the whell wells or something. It is on the drivers side on my car.

 

I have the exact same problem. I have a 97 ex with a sunroof so maybe it is a 97 thing. I have water in my trunk and behind the driver's seat.

 

I know our cars have that little cabin air vent right there on the frame on the drivers side, pull the carpet back and check it out.

It has a little flap in it, I suppose when you are blasting the air up front, the exhaust air from the cabin flows back under the seats and the pressure moves out that flap, to keep cycling the air inside the car. If it was comming from up under the wheels, thats the only idea I could figure, I have been meaning to tape it shut and see what happends, but it hasn't rained here in a few days.

I currently have my trunk sealed shut with electrical tape, not a crack around the entire thing. Tomorrow I am going to go spray it down in certain spots at a time, and get in and check and recheck the leakage. If I can find one or more sources of my leaks I will post something. I can't see how it would be the trunk seal, but it's possible I guess. It's pissing me off though, i can say that much, the whole car smells like mold if you don't dry it regulary.

And no, I don't have a sunroof, but I am starting to suspect my rear windshield seal might be faulty, or allowing water to run from the top of the car down and around the interior into the trunk. Going to check that tomorrow also.

 

Ok, even though it was 40degrees outside today, I took one for the team, and washed my car. I need to wax it anyway, some of it anyway. I wish I had an automatic polisher thingi.

Anyway, After electrical taping the gaps around the trunk, and hosing the car down several times while washing it, I was surprised to open the trunk after drying and find no water inside. I have gone over my seal with a fine toothed comb and can't find anything wrong with it, but I guess I am going to be purchasing a new one for the sake of trial and error.

My trunk also seems to sit a little higher on one side then on the other, maybe it's been slammed one to many times, or perhaps in an accident and someone mounted the replacement wrong.

I am going to check the bolts to make sure nothing's loose and the brackets are installed correctly, but so far it looks like the leak lies somewhere in the trunk seal. I will update if I have something more by the end of the day.

 

The leak must be from the trunk seal. This past weekened we left the car sitting in the driveway and it rained all day saurday. Sure enough, water leaked into the trunk. Since we did not drive it, the water could not have come from the underside. I can't find any damage at all to the trunk seal. What I am calling the trunk seal is a piece of moulded rubber attached to the perimeter of the trunk. When the trunk lid is closed, it seats(seals) on this strip of rubber. There is no apparant damage at all however. Do they (the seals) get mashed down a little or some kind of slight disfiguraion leading to leaks? Why so much in '97s an not others? Any ideas? Thanks.......

 

you could also try adjusting the little feet on the bottom of the trunk lid to their lowest setting, so that the trunk lid actually sits lower when you shut it, then let it rain, see if that helps.