Car Annoyances

Readers with a keen memory may recall my Volvo's recent leaking issue. It has morphed.

There was a large downpour one night. Instead of leaking from above, the leak seems to be coming from somewhere lower down. Everything in the passenger side foot-well was soaked (Including a board game that had slipped! The box absorbed the damage and the insert protected the cards at least).

I wasn't sure where the leak was coming from. I've suspected a leak in the windshield based on the last leak and a faint, high-pitched sound that can be heard if focused on. The shop cleaned out the sunroof drains which seemed to fix the leak.

A week later, there was a lighter rain storm. I checked again and noticed moisture coming from down the side between the dashboard and frame. I could feel more moisture when I stuck my fingers up into the area.

I needed to take care of the state safety inspection anyway, so Carrie arranged an appointment. I dropped my car off and took a loaner to work.

The Volvo failed inspection due to the tires and front brake pads. All four tires are at the end of their life. That was expected. Carrie knows places we can get a much better price at, so I told the shop to hold on replacing them. The brake pads seemed a little early, but I okayed those to be replaced. I wasn't as happy that they shop cleaned out the sunroof drains again and charged for it ($20). I asked about the lining around the windshield and the shop told me that they would have had to pull the windshield and that's not something they'd do.

Fast forward to the future (4/28) and you'll see the problem wasn't fixed. Saturday, when I opened up the car to load it to drive north, I noticed it smelled musty/humid. There had been a light rain overnight. I pulled out the floor mat on the passenger side and it was wet underneath.

I felt around the carpet and, lo and behold, it was damp.

Carrie spotted what looked like a gap in the stripping at the base of the windshield. It became visible when she looked from the porch towards the front of the car. It felt slightly loose to the touch.

I checked the other side of the windshield and there was another gap, but less pronounced. I checked under the floor mat driverside and there was more moisture.

If you follow the windshield line along the black strip above the wipers you may be able to see the driverside gap. I can't unsee it, but I don't know how easy it will be for someone new to see it in these pictures.

Carrie tried a temporary quick-fix with some caulking.

We don't need a new windshield and we don't really want to replace it if we don't have to. Neither of us wants water to continue to seep into the car and possible mess with any of the electrical components either.

The problem will bear more watching. I'm being extra careful not to leave anything in the footwells in the meantime.