Hey.

I recently bought a second hand Yeti (2016, 4x4), and like quite a few people having issues with a leaking sunroof, I found water in the boot, in the polystyrene compartment where the tire sealant and compressor. Except... I have no sunroof.

I explored a few possibilities and I'm stumped by this issue so far.

I have found an issue with the back left lights, in which some water from the roof was leaking, forming condensation. By tightening a few screws, I apparently fixed it, but the water came back in the boot.

Event more surprising, I cleaned thoroughly all that water, waited for rain and checked if I could see water leaking somewhere, to no avail. And while I thought I solved the issue, I found some water in the boot later, even though it didn't rain since I last checked.

Therefore, I see two possibilities :

• the source of the leak is not caused by rain, but by using the car. I don't see how is could end up in the boot, but who knows.

• water is accumulating in a inaccessible part of the car, evaporates when the car is exposed to the sun, somehow finds its way back to the inside of the car, and then flows in the boot when the temperature lowers. It's very farfetched, but I live in an equatorial climate, meaning that both sun/heat and rain dials are set to the max several times a day, sometimes leading to such unlikely things.

Did anyone have a similar issue or a lead in order to solve this issue ? I'm quite puzzled right now.

Thanks for your help !

Loose roof aerial?

A common way to help detecting the route of the ingress of water is to apply a light dusting of talcum powder all around the wet area and the likely areas of entry.....

As it's 'only' in the boot (and not through cabin /headlining) why not start with trickling a hose at the back of the roof only near the aerial and backwards. Then leave it for a bit and see if you can trace.

To be honest, you have the aerial and light clusters, the rubber seal around the boot and that's about it. The only other explanation is (I think) there is a small area where water could get in from being the wheel arch near the ad blue tank, but that would be from a jet wash directed in the wrong place.

This is a long shot but happened to me with one of my earlier cars - there aren't any loose or perished blanking plugs or gromets that could be letting water in? There was a blanked off hole under the spare wheel in the boot and it was just loose enough that in wet weather water would get forced up past it and once in the boot would find its way to a low spot so couldn't drain back out the same way. Visually the plug looked fine but prodding around I could feel a little bit of play.

The other thing is it might help the more knowledgeable on this forum if you could give an idea of how much water we are talking about - a couple of tablespoons, a cupful or worse?

Edited 18 May, 20251 yr by Paul52
Typing error - had typed could rather than couldn't

Two other long shots:

1. Is there any possibility that the water you see is washer fluid?

2. I have a vague recollection of a post by an owner who discovered rainwater was leaking past the mounts for the tailgate struts.

Hope this helps.

Append to me. Years ago, in a previous car, I was finding water in the spare wheel area (under the boot floor). I've fixed it by removing the boot seal, cleaning it with a brush and universal degreaser, with a pair of pliers, "closing" the rubber part that goes on the metal lip and filling it with silicone. I've never ever had an issue come back (and yes, you're able to remove the seal after I've done it).

Edited 15 May, 20251 yr by Jack25

Think there is a gasket on the tailgate strut that can let water in (rarely). Due to VAG love of Torx it may not have been tightened properly if it's been off before. Worth a look?

2 hours ago, Robjon said:

Is there any possibility that the water you see is washer fluid?

This was my thought on first reading.

So, check the water pipe from the top entry all the way down to the wiper motor.

The Tail gate trim is easy to remove and gives you a good idea if you see any signs of water.

Edited 15 May, 20251 yr by Carlodiesel

Have you looked at the gromet in the spare tyre well? my gromet was there but not fitted

Hey everyone.Thanks for all these answers. I'm currently out of the country and therefore I haven't been able to try the various ideas you had.

I left some talc powder in various parts of the car, and we've had massive rainfall in the area so hopefully I'll find some clue when I come back.

I'll make sure to update this in case someone has a similar issue.

As I had the spare tyre out.......There are two plain blanking grommets in the boot floor and third one that looks like it might have a purpose but might also be a point of entry for water. I removed the loose storage boxes but two of them are bolted in so possibly there could be further blanked holes under one or other of those. As I have a spare wheel covered by the false floor the foam cutout for the compressor and puncture gunk is redundant. Removing this it sits in a stiff plastic tray set into the floor. If the bottom of this tray is open to the road possibly the seal between the tray and the boot floor could be defective? Sorry, these are only thoughts but might help - I know how frustrating it can be trying to find a water leak having had to do the same thing in the house recently. Good luck.