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Flooded my cargo area...

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4.4K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  RubySu  
#1 ·
There was a water main break today at work, and I made a run home to fetch water so we could continue to flush toilets, wash hands, etc. I loaded my trunk with six unlidded 5 gallon buckets and was very careful to not overfill them knowing I had some hills and tight corners to negotiate. Well, insert the jerk who cut me off and caused me to need to slam on the brakes. The scene in the rear view was pretty epic.

I thought the cargo tray caught most of the water. Wrong! After towel drying everything, including the spare tire, I thought I was good. I left the windows open to air out the interior while I was on lunch and 30 minutes later, I returned to close them (chance of rain). Well, I had a nice steady drip drop of water under my left rear tire. Obviously I dumped more water than I thought!

Is there anything I need to pull apart to dry out? By the time I got out of work there was no more drip.
 
#3 ·
webcricket said:
Is there anything I need to pull apart to dry out? By the time I got out of work there was no more drip.

Bummer dood...

I would pull the carpets in the back. I knocked a cup of coffee off the armrest and into the passenger footwells. FACK!!!
The rear seat is easy to remove - a locking tab on each side at the lower front of the seat, sill trims pop off, then carpet holders can be removed to lift the carpet. I don't know if the rear carpet is seperate from the front or not, but at least you can get to the floor pan in the back. You may also find water under the rear seat.
 
#4 ·
Short of doing what CJ suggested, I would at least open the windows and the rear hatch and let evaporation do its thing- maybe even a fan pointed on it if you had one. Remove rear rubber protector and rear floor mats if the spill came that far forward. Of course try to do on a sunny day! You just don't want anything to start to rot/decay. That's when it gets stinky!
 
#5 ·
I pulled the cargo area apart today. It's nice how all those side pieces just pop right out! I found where the water was pooling and dripping through the rear left wheel well. I parked on an incline too, so it dripped a bit more and is now empty. I had a pool under my spare that I completely missed yesterday because I didn't actually pull the spare out then. I pulled up the carpet on the rear seats (from the cargo side), and everything under there seems very dry. I do have the rear seat-back protectors, and looking at the way they interlock with the cargo tray, it appears that the water would have been diverted away from heading beneath the seats (and into the wheel well instead). I aired her for a bit with everything pulled out...it's over 90 today and everything now seems dry.

I ran out of time to actually remove the rear seat, but I plan to double check that this weekend!