another wet mat dealer story

[zadam123]

I brought my car to the dealer wed just before my 3yr/50,000 mile warrantee ran out for the wet drivers side mat. I have read the posts about the boot and cracked seals and don’t seem to be the problem. The first thing the dealer told me was that if it was my fault due to mods (switches running from the fog lights to inside my car) There would be a $160 charge, I told him that this leak was going on long before I did the mods and to check where it was coming from but he seamed already convinced that there would be a charge (dealers love to blame there own problems on mods).

Well he called me and told me he did a powder test (not to mention that under my dash now is full of powder) and found that the only leak was coming from the small hole in the boot where the wires were going into the car. The boot where the wires are coming from is at the top of the car on the driver’s side in the corner. The only way I can see if water was coming from here is if my car was submerged under water at least 4 feet high cause the wheel well is under the boot and the side of the car is next to it. And the hole is no bigger than 4 wires going into it. Also where the hole goes into the car the mat isn’t wet there. Now I value your input so here are some picks I took and let me know if it is at all possible that this can cause my mat to get soaked.








and as for the floor powder heres how they gave me my car back


I am going out today to silicone that hole and give my car a good hosing down to see if the mat still gets wet, if it does I think the dealer will be surprised to find out I am disputing the $160 charge he gave me.

[Navigator]

Put some RTV silicone on both sides of the wires to seal them water tight. Water finds a way to get into any place where there is access. Allways good to elliminate doubt before going to the dealer, they will try to blame everything on you, just be ready to prove them wrong and get the job done right,

[carlymac]

My '99 Ironman is leaking, just like yours. And my dealer blamed the leak on wires through the boot, just like yours. But god help them if they sift flour all over my interior. Sounds like a biscuit recipe to me wet + powder=dough. There has to be a better way to find a leak! Anyhow my dealer gooped silicone all over the boot and said it was fixed... taadaa. But I still have a damp drivers floorboard. I was sent a pic showing the approximate location of a weld under the left front fender that has leaked on other VX'es. My bumper to bumper just expired so I guess i'll have to fix the problem myself, So if you get yours fixed PLEASE post the remedy.thanks

[RoninX]

I had the same problem with mine. It was break on the window seam on the driver side. The dealer fixed with JB weld. I have pictures of where to look. I'd be more than happy to email them to you.

[VehiX]

No offense man .... but the whole time I'm reading your post I keep looking at your avatar

Either way I hope you seal up the leak

[carlymac]

Hey RONINX, You already sent me the pics. However I couldn't tell by the pics if you were circling the rubber door seal or the door seam. Did your dealer remove the fender to JB weld the seam? Or was the leak under the rubber strip?

[RoninX]

I thought that was you. The dealer had to remove the fender and it was by the junction where fender, door pillar and window sill meet up. I think that if you call and ask one of the better dealers around they could give a better description than me. Really have to watch with this problem as the exhaust goes under floor there and really heats up the water. A VX sauna if you will.

Good luck. I hope get it fixed.

[SGT.BATGUANO]

I hope the dealer doesn't consider that job FINISHED! Definitely not performed in a neat and workman-like manner.

[RoninX]

Originally posted by SGT.BATGUANO
I hope the dealer doesn't consider that job FINISHED! Definitely not performed in a neat and workman-like manner.

Yeah.....the dealer thought that was job well done.
and so did Isuzu. I complained loudly and to anyone that would listen but nothing. Minnesota has lousy Isuzu dealers.
So in the summer when I have my bike out and live without for a few days, I'll send it over to a welding buddy and have fixed right.

Oh my bad, the dealer called it a body shop compound or some.@%!* like that.

[skullcap]

and here I thought the wet mat on the driver's side was from using pressurized water at the car-wash.

I've only had my VX for 3 weeks, is this really a recurring problem?

What should I do to "take charge" of it?

[carlymac]

Whatever you do to "take charge", do it before 3 years or 36,000 miles. Ask me how I know:madr2:

[hitnrun74]

I was heading to work one morning after a rain storm. I noticed that no matter what I did, my turn signal flasher was firing. The lights weren't coming on and they operated fine when I used them. I thought that maybe I had caused a leak when I installed my fog light switches. I took them out, siliconed the boot, and hair dryered under the dash. Everything was fine for a few eeks, them bang, it started doing it again. I haven't taken it in yet, but I'm going to have to soon. The problem is intermittent, but I'm concerned it will be ongoing, and cause damage. My dealer went under, but I just got a letter that a big dealership in my area is now an Isuzu dealership. Going to make an appointment and have a few things looked at. Dumb question, I've had a paint flaw on my hood since the car was new, but no dealership. Anybody know if I should even try to have it fixed?

[skullcap]

Well, it's happened to me! I've got wet-mat syndrome on the driver's side and the dealership is perplexed to find where water could be coming in. The only certainty is that it's a recent event, since the mat and floorboard show only recent signs of moisture in my 2000 VX.

They also maintain that the windshield has been replaced with non-Isuzu glass, therefore making any leak of the windshield unwarrantable. However, they were unable to make the windshield seals leak.

The dealership maintains no familiarity with this problem and contacted an Isuzu design engineer who they say was only familiar with one-other that had a leak along the firewall below the windshield wiper motor assembly. They are checking for this one, tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm sharing these posts with the dealership in hopes of establishing a history of this problem with some VXs.

I'll be sure to follow-up in this forum and let y'all know how Isuzu and the dealership manage this claim.

[skullcap]

I bought my 2000 Ebony Black from Carmax, but the Horton Isuzu, the dealer I'm doing service-business with, found the leak at the same point of the windshield seal with the A-post, but contend that the glass is not Isuzu equipment and therefore not a warranty-covered repair.

So, it'll cost 150 clams to reseal, and an extra 270 if they loose the glass while trying to remove and reseat it.

It's tough to believe that others have had the very same leak with Isuzu windshields that have been warranty-covered, but mine supposedly is not, yet has the very same problem.

Any thoughts?

[skullcap]

I'm happy to report that Horton Isuzu's Service Manager, Peter Thornley, doggedly worked to resolve the source of the wet-mat on the driver's side of my VX.

After 2-days of study by a glass-installation expert, they finally determined that there was a body-weld gap that was admitting water below the base of the A-post and windshield. So it was a warranty-covered repair, after all.

Peter said they had to use so much soap to spot the leak, that they went ahead and gave the little beast a spit-shine. Unfortunately, with Atlanta's air-quality being what it is, I doubt the show-room sparkle will stick-around throguh the weekend.

I told him about the discussion-threads on this website, and shared some of your examples with him in prodding his shop to look harder for the source of the leak. He said he'd stop short of calling us a cult, but was thrilled to know that there are champions for knowledge of the VX, since few are familiar with its quirks.

Thanks Peter and thanks to all here in Vehicross.info!