Hey all,

Just like the title says... I got into my truck a couple of weeks ago to the smell of "I left my well worn soccer cleats in the truck after a workout in the summer with the windows up" smell. You know the one, musty and mildewy.

I felt passenger carpet and it was wet. A few days of running the AC and leaving windows down in low humidity helped. But next time I got in my truck, it was back.

Cue me removing trim and pulling up front passenger carpet. Yep, it's wet.

I do not have a sunroof, and I checked the evap drain. No evidence of clog, no evidence of a leak emanating from that area.

I have Weathertechs, so it's unlikely a spill happened that soaked the carpet. Likewise, I don't think I left the window down for any appreciable amount of time.

There was some heavy rain on a few short drives, but I've never had water intrusion issues before. All body plugs and door gaskets over there seem to be in place.

Any ideas on what else could cause this? Thanks in advance!

I had a crack in a weld where the fender met the firewall in an old Tacoma once, which let in water during rainstorms that ended up in the passenger footwell. I "diagnosed" it by pulling up the carpet, putting a sprinkler on the car, and then sitting there until I saw where the drip was coming from.

Another thing you might check is if the vapor barrier in the door failed. I had that problem in my wife's Honda Pilot once.

Thanks man, good tips. Sincerely hoping it's not a crack in the firewall!

Doesn't the door have its own drains though? I guess I'm having a hard time picturing how water would run out of the door (in front of the vapor barrier if it failed) and into the cabin.

But I'll check!

pretty much this. have someone sit in the car and get a home depot landscaping bucket full of water or a garden hose and test different areas one at a time. check the windshield cowl drain too on the passenger side and the windshield itself. sometimes water can seep down the A pillar and end up in the footwells

Has your windshield ever been replaced? Installation technique on replacement windshields varies wildly and if somebody installed one incorrectly, you can end up with a leak. Worse yet, if that leak is coming down the driver side A Pillar, you can do some serious damage to your wiring.

Yep, good call. Drying everything out now and will monitor for it happening again. If so, I'll resort to this if I have to.

Yes it has, by the previous owner. I've been side-eying it for some wind noise, but it's never given me any water intrusion issues in the 2 years I've owned it.

Good thought for sure.

The other possibility for a wet passenger footwell carpet would be a bad heater core. One way to tell is that it would smell like antifreeze in that area. Other than that the windshield seal seems suspect.

Previous vehicle I removed the carpet to dry it out. Had someone on the outside slowly move a garden hose with no nozzle (low pressure) all around the outside of the vehicle. I was inside looking for leaks. With no carpet leaks were easy to spot. Found two separate leaks. Be sure to have assistant hose down everything twice. Easier to double check now versus later. Used by steam cleaner to remove standing water before using a fan on the carpet.

I had that smell in my less than year old 4runner. I could not tell where it was coming from. I looked here and there for a couple weeks. None of my carpet was wet thaf I could find. While filing up one day I tilted the rear seats forward and found water on the painted metal floorboard between the carpeted boards and the back of the rear seats.

Long story short was it was hard for them to find the leak. But it turns out it was the rear hatch seal letting in significant amounts of water. When I drove it sloshed around going forward to all parts of the vehicle. They replaced the seal and everything seems to be fine now.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I'm in a condo so am asking around for friends with houses to use their hoses and second set of eyes.

In the meantime, I'll take a watering can down there and do my best solo for now. I'll report back in case what I find helps anyone else out.

Any chance it could be coming down through the roof rack mounting bolts/ recesses?

Check your ac system. Clogged condensate drain. Faulty heater core or condenser. Mine did this after an accident the condenser got damaged.

Wait until the vehicle has dried, then take a single sheet of paper and make sure your gaskets are tight enough to “grab” the paper when the doors / hatch is shut.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

do you have any DIY carwash stations you can use. watering cans will take forever.