2003ProtegeES

Has this happened to anyone?

Could it have something to do with stupid vent that is in the trunk on the drivers side wheel well?

nate0123

That happened on my last car, a Ford Contour, on the passenger side. Took it to a body shop and they decided that it was a bad seal on a side vent. They fixed that and it didn't leak anymore.

carguycw

Also, there is a TSB in the FAQ for trunk area water leaks that are caused by broken underbody seals when the car is rear-ended. If the car has ever been rear-ended, you might want to look at this. However, FWIW the first thing I would check would be the taillights.

zerocover

I thought I was the only one. I had a small leak on the passenger side.
So I replaced the gasket around the trunk. It doesn't leak on the passenger side anymore now the driver side leaks but much less I havent found any standing water but it does get a little damp. As long as I dont see any mold I have no problem.

glyph_99es

I had the same problem, but much worse. After almost 4 years of not checking, I finally decided to check my spare (i know, i know; read on, i paid for it). Anyway, I found out what was causing that mildew smell! I had a swimming pool that was up to the sidewall of the spare back there! I found the drain, and popped it, then promptly wiped out all the gunk that had been building back there. Nasty! I have not yet identified where the water came from.

No more mildew smell.

UCSBgeek

That's funny, that happened in my camry.... but after 12 years.... never had noticed water in it before... but it showed up when cleaning the car.... and hidden in the trunk I found 2 rubber seals in a bag that said "install at delivery" or something like that

MikeyG_U2

I noticed some water in the same spot when i was installing my Sirius tuner back there. I wiped it out with a towel. I looked around and couldn't tell where it came from, but now that I think of it, the taillights seem like the most likely source.

Farsyde

try this, only try it with a firend you really trust. Get some highlighters that glow under black light. Empty them into a bucket of water. Hop in the trunk and close the trunk. Have a friend pour the water around the lights and around all the seals and use a black lite to find where it is coming in. Now here's where the trusting friend lets you outta the trunk and you decide to fix the prob

glyph_99es

I checked my trunk, and the way my lights are set (a pretty large gap) they could easily have water run in there with no airflow. I'm going to check it out soon. I'll post my results

humvee

That's probably the smartest thing I've heard in a while...Probably why my dealer couldn't find the leak! I'll have to keep an eye out. I've been rear-ended since I first noticed the leak, so hopefully they know abou the TSB and fix it up good when they replace my bumper cover.