does anyone else have a water leak on 2006 equinox?? My entire spare tire compartment was full of water

15

Asked by Jackie May 26, 2009 at 08:36 AM about the 2006 Chevrolet Equinox

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I had been noticeing a mildewy smell and dampness within the vehicle- i accused the kids of spilling stuff- i cleaned carpet- bought gobbs of air fresheners- couldnt figure it out till a year later looked inside the back where the spare tire is and it was full of water.  Dealership says it is not covered under the warrenty but it has to be a defect of the car - we have tried to find the leak and where the water is coming in - we resealed the tubes under the back hatch- had to drill a whole in the bottom to keep the water draining out.  It REALLY STINKS!!

26 Answers

85

theres a problem with the hatch, and it lets water run in. i think all of them do this, mine does it a little.

6 people found this helpful.
950

your issue is not uncommon ... its a weather seal failure, theres "mastic" (sealant) inside the liftgate weather seal, this "sealant" is to fill the seams where the different metal parts come together at the liftgate opening ... best way to fix this is on a warm day, pull back the liftgate weatherstrip and apply a product called "high tech seam sealant",its a product developed by KENT industries #10200 available at many auto parts stores. This product stays flexible and is fluid enough to flow in between the metal seams. Repair procedure ... Pull back the weather seal, apply a bead of high tech sealant on the metal flange edge and push the weatherstrip back on the flange * only do half the liftgate weather seal at a time *

66 people found this helpful.
100

LMAO I have the same problem!! My husband and i looked every where for the leak. I sat in the car while he sprayed water at it and finally found it!! He pulled the entire gasket off the hatch and put new silicone on it and put it back on. Then we took dry-lock paint and pained the entire compartment where the tire is. No problems since then....Good luck!!

10 people found this helpful.
190

The Law Office of Robert L. Starr is currently investigating water leak problems relating to the Chevrolet Equinox. If you have information relating to water leak problems with the Chevrolet Equinox, please contact Robert Starr at 818-225-9040, or email Robert Starr at starresq@hotmail.com

19 people found this helpful.
50

I have a 2008 aquanox that had been garage kept until last yr.. This past winter condensation appeared on the inside glass wasnt sure what was causing this issue. I also noticed that the carpet was wet and I accused the family members of not rolling the windows up and/or of spilling something. Well how wrong was I when I found the wet area under the rear seat and traced it back to the tire well. Do to the car being out of warranty and after reading all of the post about this issue it appears Im stuck with this problem. GM apparently knows there is an issue with this model vehicle but since the government owns (WE THE TAX PAYERS) GM we're all out of luck.

5 people found this helpful.
950

I describe the fix in my post, your problem is to get the water out ... park your vehicle on an incline where the rear of the vehicle is lower than the front and vacumm out the water which accumulates in the spare tire well... the carpet and under pad will remain damp for quite some time ... when the vehicle is in the garage leave the windows open, this will allow the moisture to disipate at a faster rate

4 people found this helpful.
80

My Equinox is a 2007 and I have the same problem, this issue will be costing me 420.00!! I have no idea how long the water has been accumulating but there must have been over 2 inches of water in the spare tire compartment, I don't think this is fair and the company should take responsibility because they obviously know about this problem.

6 people found this helpful.
80

I own a 2007 Equinox and I have the same problem, the real problem is that I will be picking up my car tomorrow and its costing me 420.00 for an issue that should be taken care of by GM. I have read all these posts and I am shocked that the company is not doing anything about it. Of course I have an extended warranty but it does not cover this issue.

2 people found this helpful.
60

Equnox 2006. I found at least 5 gallons of water around spare tire. It is not a problem, just removed it. Problem is two inches of water covered whole car under carpet, plus carpet pad (it is not a syntetic) absorbed lot of water. Have no idea how to dry it.

6 people found this helpful.
410

2006 Equinox. No water in the spare tire well, but it does accumulate in the driver side floorboard. (It's been raining all day here - after I just dried it out again. Probably 1/4 to 1/2 inch of standing water in there.) IT even tripped the "low engine power" mode once.

41 people found this helpful.
30

have same problem of water in the spare tire wheel area of a 2005 chey equinox . it is frustrating going to try the gasket fix next . we have had rain the last thre days and it acculated at least 6 gallons of water only have wet carpet problem when it acculates alot the worst is if it gets the amp under the back seat. that gets expensive

3 people found this helpful.
100

I found my leak by putting the hose on the roof of the vehicle and took every thing out of the rear spare tire well and climbed in the back seat. Water was leaking through a gap at the bottom that was not covered enough by the rear hatch rubber gasket. I bought a large tube of silicone calk and completely filled the gap and the entire gasket and replaced it problem solved. The GM dealers do not want to mess with these types of issues and they are not covered by third party extended warranties which I have. They is no need to bitch just dig in and solve it yourself like most thing in life "Just do It"

10 people found this helpful.
50

Well musicman there are different scenarios and circumstances for some people and i just recently found out my 07 has a leak through my roof and floor board which seems to b shortening my circuit or something and leaking through the interior light so thats carpet damage eventually, and on top of being a single mother, I just dont have the extra money to fix the problem; now the other kicker I just paid the freaking truck off with my savings...... BUMMER. I did like my truck nd chevies in general but if they dont do something about it, thats EXTREMLY POOR customer service nd I will have nothing good to say about my poor chices of PURCHASES FROM CHEVROLET Chow for now Tiffney A. Johnson

5 people found this helpful.
950

they all have the same problem, im the hatch area, there is many overlap joints of sheetmetal, the weatherseal is suppoesed to have enough "mastic" to fill the gaps ... remove the hatch rubber add sealant to the flandges and reinstall the weatherstrip. To remove the water from your spare tire well ... park car on an incline remove spare tire and bail the water out

3 people found this helpful.
190

mine leaks front and rear, find the tsb for this issue from GM, there are seven places they list including front strut towers. one they dont list is if you have a sun roof there are two drain lines theat run inside and they can come apart, the water will make its way down the A pillar to the floor, i had ice cycles hanging from under the dash this past winter from this. all in all GM new of this issue since 2006 and did nothing to correct it, quite disappointed in them really.

8 people found this helpful.
190

here is a link to the tsb http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/Bluegorilla/2008-10- 26_023513_Equinox_water_leak.pdf

11 people found this helpful.
10

I have a 2007 Equinox. I discovered the spare tire area leak while mine was still under warranty. I also have a leak in the front, both driver's side and passenger side. The driver side leaks like crazy if it isn't parked at an incline or perfectly flat when it's raining. I've had it in the shop no less than 7 times to have it checked and they can't find the source. The passenger side just recently started. I had my car at the car wash when water began squirting out of the plastic surrounding the windshield. There was also a bit of water coming from the lights above the rear-view mirror. I also have some electrical system deal that causes a really bad static sound to come from my stereo at times. The only way to stop it is to turn on the turn signal, left only. I just assumed this was a quirk with my car, but I've been reading reviews lately and I feel slightly less crazy.

1 people found this helpful.
330

It is a TWO-PART Problem : Part #1 is the info related ABOVE ; Part #2 is the PRE-SET Adjustment of the Cargo-Gate LATCHING ADJUSTMENT ! There is NO provision to TIGHTEN the fit of the Gate onto the Gasket as the Vehicle's seals AGE ! Result is gasket looses SEAL capability IN AREAS WERE YOU CAN NOT SEE ! Solved by ADDING a "shim" of ~ 1/8" of self adhesive material ALL AROUND the bottom 1/5 of the Hatch ! This included the ENTIRE lower area ( INSPECT FOR USAGE DAMAGE - ALSO !) , and about a FOOT above the lower turn going vertical ! This increased the pressure against the seal, and kept the under-seal leakage from redeveloping ! SO FAR !

2 people found this helpful.
30

I had the same problem water on driver side floor. By the driver door where the hose from the sunroof hangs. There were leafs nut from trees and a lot of dirt. the water couldn't drain and went on the driver side floor. Used a shop vac and cleaned out leafs and dirt on both sides so water could drain.

3 people found this helpful.
20

This is December 2019. I have a 2008 Equinox and purchased it in 2017. Last winter I noticed condensation on the inside and have been on a hunt. Water kept building up to several inches in the spare wheel well and the carpet on the back floor and driver's side was wet after multiple rain days or freezing weather and then rain. Today Chevy quoted me $1800 plus tax to their water specialist Dave Christensen in Tacoma WA to fix: rear hatch weather stripping both roof seams leaking fixed moonroof glass replaced due to delamination and leakage both rear moonroof tubes repaired replace both rear bumper valance snap clips replace the left rear door splash shield fix the right wheel well leak seall fix the right 1/2 glass seal and left front and rear pads replaced Going to email the above attorney to see if he got anywhere with this.

2 people found this helpful.
10

I have a 2014 Terrain, I took the trim by the latch of the tail gate and the two side panels by the spare tire compartment in order to track the incoming water, I found the was coming from under the tail lights, both sides have a factory 3 in x 3 in square holes, covered by some kind of tape similar to a duct tape, that tape curls over the time exposing the opened holes allowing the running water going into the spare compartment, I took the old curled tape, cleaned the area around the holes and taped them back with A/C metallic tape along with E-6000 glue, now no more water into the spare tire compartment.

10

This is the right side under the tail light both sides the tape got curled, amazing how dumb is the USA automobile industry, embarrassing.

1 people found this helpful.

I have a 2018 Equinox and for a month now I have had the condensation issue and smell in my car. This past weekend, I noticed mold on the back floor boards and also noticed extremely wet carpets. My husband and I started looking around and found the spare tire well full of water. We cleaned it up and used a wet vac to get the water out. We also left all of the doors opened to help dry it out. It rained again, and the water is back. We are trying to figure out where the water is coming from. HELP!!! I have read several posts that suggest two things...either the hatch isn't sealed properly or it is one of the sunroof plugs. I have also put a Damp Rid hanging bag in the car (which is helping pull out the extra moisture). We both know that the dealer isn't going to cover the repair, so we would like to try to fix it ourselves. Please pass along suggestions and thanks for any help/advice.

10

first i would remove the spare tire and deadener out let them dry .. most of the time its the multiple layers of metal around the lift gate opening which allow the water in .. remove the lift gate weather seal .. run a bead of clear seam sealant .. i use Leak Check .. along the edge of the flange and replace the seal .. while you have the area opened up take a look at the passenger inner fender deadener and see if its wet .. ill post some pics

1 people found this helpful.

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