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Update: Water in Passenger Footwell. Bad Seam Seal behind Black Plate, Only w/A/C On and Driving

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#21 ·
akonkman said:
I just saw this on a Facebook post about this issue, but haven't yet confirmed the accuracy. This is the first I've heard of an actual TSB about this:

There was a service bulletin about this that was released on Aug 6th. #25-NA-149

The issue appears to be a A/C drain tube in the firewall that was not seated/connected properly during production.
Click to expand...
And combine this with a seam not properly sealed you get a leak.
 
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#22 ·
akonkman said:
I just saw this on a Facebook post about this issue, but haven't yet confirmed the accuracy. This is the first I've heard of an actual TSB about this:

There was a service bulletin about this that was released on Aug 6th. #25-NA-149

The issue appears to be a A/C drain tube in the firewall that was not seated/connected properly during production.
Click to expand...
Interesting...I'm not seeing anything on the NHTSA website about it.
 
#23 ·
Searching internet for TSB 25-NA-149 yields nothing. Must be super secret
 
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#25 ·
#26 ·
akonkman said:
Right, I searched also and couldn't find anything, so that's why I'm not 100% sure on the accuracy of this. But I'm taking my car into the dealer this Friday for this issue, so I'll take this along and can report back if it's indeed a valid TSB.
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Awesome! Keep us posted. My service is on the 25th, so hopefully there is an actual TSB out and maybe it just didn't show up on the website yet.
 
#28 · (Edited)
jaxon175 said:
A quick Google search and I can't find anything regarding that TSB number. Do you have a link to the Facebook post?
Click to expand...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/equinoxev/posts/3864511193838876/?comment_id=3868401810116481

(Sorry, the link formatting was being weird.. so I posted it as "code")
 
#29 ·
An update from me: Just got back from dealer. The TSB 25-NA-149 is a valid TSB, but unfortunately didn't apply to my situation. That TSB focuses specifically on the black drain tube that is visible when you remove the carpet (on the left side of the passenger footwell area). Apparently in some cases, the cause of the wet carpet is that the drain tube is not connected properly to a fitting in the floor. In my case, it was properly connected. The water isn't coming from that drain tube connection but rather through a seam in the angled part of the floor (behind the black metal foot rest thing).

It is not clear to me what is on the other side of that fitting in the floor... does the AC condensation literally just run down the other side of the footwell area until it drips to the ground? Seems like an odd design... why not have another tube on the other side of the floor that positively routes the condensation lower down past the floor?

Apparently, there is another TSB, although I didn't get the number, related to the floor seam, that they followed to hopefully solve the issue.

They ended up just putting what they called "epoxy", but looks a lot like clear caulk, on both sides of the existing white seam sealer, as well as a seam below that. Here's a pic.

Image


I was sent home with the carpet still up, because they said the epoxy was taking longer to set than normal (perhaps due to high humidity today -- if only there was something that could run to remove that humidity from the cabin :D). They told me not to run the AC for today and let the epoxy finish setting. So at this point, I don't fully know if this fixes it or not... I'll have to run the AC tomorrow and see if any more drips come in.

They will also be replacing the carpet at a later date... they'll call me when it comes in.
 

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Discussion starter · #30 ·
Sounds like your situation is exactly the same as mine @akonkman

Dealer confirmed that the TSB related to the AC drain is valid but wasn't my issue either. The seam is where mine was coming in and they repaired that in their body shop. I don't have pictures of the repair - carpet was back on when they gave it to me. I will say when I reach under there are metal shavings so I am thinking they may have ground off the existing seam sealer to apply new. Maybe a bit more in depth than just the epoxy that you got?

I share your concern about the underlying issue of what is that water doing behind the firewall in the first place. I brought that up a few times to my dealer but was brushed off.

I can say that my repair has maintained a dry footwell for over a week now so it does appear that they at least fixed the intrusion issue. Whether or not there is an underlying issue that will cause problems down the road though...
 
#31 ·
As a new owner of an EQV for all of two weeks, I have been watching this thread and others with trepidation. I drove my EQV with the AC on from one state to another to bring it home and noticed no dampness or moisture in the passenger carpet, but I don't know if that means my car will never have the issue.

I've noticed multiple pools of water in the garage where we park the EQV after my wife leaves the house. Does condensate drain from multiple spots underneath the car?
 
#32 ·
jaxon175 said:
Sounds like your situation is exactly the same as mine @akonkman

Dealer confirmed that the TSB related to the AC drain is valid but wasn't my issue either. The seam is where mine was coming in and they repaired that in their body shop. I don't have pictures of the repair - carpet was back on when they gave it to me. I will say when I reach under there are metal shavings so I am thinking they may have ground off the existing seam sealer to apply new. Maybe a bit more in depth than just the epoxy that you got?

I share your concern about the underlying issue of what is that water doing behind the firewall in the first place. I brought that up a few times to my dealer but was brushed off.

I can say that my repair has maintained a dry footwell for over a week now so it does appear that they at least fixed the intrusion issue. Whether or not there is an underlying issue that will cause problems down the road though...
Click to expand...
Yeah, this doesn't feel like a very satisfactory fix. At least in my case, won't the water still find it's way into the seam, but then just be blocked from entering the actual footwell area? Seems like it'll forever be wet under that white seam sealer, which doesn't feel good long-term. A better fix would be sealing the seam on the backside of this footwell.
 
#33 ·
akonkman said:
An update from me: Just got back from dealer. The TSB 25-NA-149 is a valid TSB, but unfortunately didn't apply to my situation. That TSB focuses specifically on the black drain tube that is visible when you remove the carpet (on the left side of the passenger footwell area). Apparently in some cases, the cause of the wet carpet is that the drain tube is not connected properly to a fitting in the floor. In my case, it was properly connected. The water isn't coming from that drain tube connection but rather through a seam in the angled part of the floor (behind the black metal foot rest thing).

It is not clear to me what is on the other side of that fitting in the floor... does the AC condensation literally just run down the other side of the footwell area until it drips to the ground? Seems like an odd design... why not have another tube on the other side of the floor that positively routes the condensation lower down past the floor?

Apparently, there is another TSB, although I didn't get the number, related to the floor seam, that they followed to hopefully solve the issue.

They ended up just putting what they called "epoxy", but looks a lot like clear caulk, on both sides of the existing white seam sealer, as well as a seam below that. Here's a pic.

View attachment 8399

I was sent home with the carpet still up, because they said the epoxy was taking longer to set than normal (perhaps due to high humidity today -- if only there was something that could run to remove that humidity from the cabin :D). They told me not to run the AC for today and let the epoxy finish setting. So at this point, I don't fully know if this fixes it or not... I'll have to run the AC tomorrow and see if any more drips come in.

They will also be replacing the carpet at a later date... they'll call me when it comes in.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I can see that the black drain tube is also hooked up properly on mine and no water is leaking through it, so it’s the issue with the seam.
As you said, still seems like some kind of a design issue with the drain system, since it should not be leaking through the seam, even if the seal is imperfect.
 
#35 ·
Well. we know were the leak is coming from at least. Seems like the fix is not yet perfected. Please get the TSB for the fix so we can see what they are supposed to do.

P.S. A friendly reminder to click your Avatar on top right of webpage, Akonkman. Check your messages in Conversations. Your account will be suspended tomorrow unless action is taken.
 
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#36 ·
Ok, so yesterday I pushed down on the caulk to squeeze out the water that was under it and really pressed down to try to penetrate the crack between the metal floor and the factory white seam sealer. This morning the caulk seemed to have set pretty well. I ran the AC on full blast for about 20 minutes and at least as of now, no more water has entered the footwell, and after about 10 minutes water was starting to drip below the vehicle onto the garage floor. So maybe I jumped the gun when I said it completely failed. I'll leave the carpet pulled up for a few days and drive the car as normal with AC on and if no more water enters the footwell I'll call this one solved for now, but I'll continue to check the carpet periodically in the future so I can catch it again if it comes back, hopefully before the carpet gets moldy a second time.
 
#37 ·
akonkman said:
Well the "fix" was a complete failure. I haven't even run the AC yet and I already see some water leaking through the caulk stuff, and the caulk is not setting due to water mixing in with it. I guess I'll be calling the dealer again on Monday. I'm not happy.
Click to expand...
This tells me they need to clean and dry that area before applying the calk. This is a standard requirement when applying any sealant calk and the fact that it wasn't setting up properly should have told the tech that he hadn't done the job right.
 
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#38 ·
Just dropped it off at the dealer yesterday for this issue (among other things like Wipers, VWP, etc.). I was specific that you may need to drive the vehicle, but it doesn't look like the short notes the guy recorded for each issue captures that. It's also just suddenly got a lot cooler here, so if they don't test it when the temps warm up outside it may not even run. Just to be safe, I also attached printout of the references from reddit/forums and scribbled my own notes about the issue. Hopefully they will address it properly with me doing the research for them. I guess we'll find out in a few days.

Not related, but they gave me a gas 2026 Equinox as a rental to use. I have to say, I already miss our vehicle. The rental isn't that bad, but you definitely notice things. For example, shifting, while smooth, it's still perceptible. Same with engine start/stop. Also the accel/decel is not as precise as with an EV. Plus I got so used to vehicle starting/stopping without me having to do anything that I initially forgot I had to press the Start/Stop button and also tried to walk away from the vehicle without stopping the engine. Anyway, I think if people who are so against EVs gave them a fair chance, they would likely change their views. The keyword here of course is fair.
 
#39 ·
Stole this from Reddit

Image



It raises the question though, where is the condensation meant to go, once it's on the other side of that hole? If it just goes down the outside of the sheet metal, then it makes sense that it could make its way over to the nearby seam, and into the cabin if the seam is improperly sealed.

Any adventurous types here know for sure what the drainage path looks like under there?
 
#40 ·
Just got a call from the dealership. They said they did the same as in the case with @akonkman. Sealed the seam properly and now the sealant has to cure for 24 hours, so they are keeping the car for another day to double check it’s all good. I guess it sounds positive and at least they didn’t deny that there was an issue. We’ll see what happens long term, so I’ll also keep checking the area periodically to make sure it stays dry.
 
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