Water leaking from A-pillar airbag cover in heavy rain

[jaruss01]

Theres also this

but I think I figured out what I’m going to do - I will buy a large extra absorbing towel and stitch a big elastic band so that it will hook around the mirrors and keep a snug fit. That way it will cover the seal and catch any rain on the roof that flows down the grooves towards the front seal. It will take only a matter of seconds to install and uninstall so I could leave it when the car is parked when there is heavy rain. That should be an effective and cheap solution until Ford recalls the seal

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[mpeugeot]

Theres also this

but I think I figured out what I’m going to do - I will buy a large extra absorbing towel and stitch a big elastic band so that it will hook around the mirrors and keep a snug fit. That way it will cover the seal and catch any rain on the roof that flows down the grooves towards the front seal. It will take only a matter of seconds to install and uninstall so I could leave it when the car is parked when there is heavy rain. That should be an effective and cheap solution until Ford recalls the seal

Yep, got that too.

 

[jaruss01]

Ordered. Here we go. 72” long microfiber ultra absorbent towel. I will fold it over a few times and sew it onto and long elastic band. Loop the elastic band around the mirrors and sew them to hook around the mirrors. Figure I could throw this into the washing / drying machine. While makeshift it’s a lot easier than clipping half a tarp and also doesn’t run the risk of damaging paint. Good quick fix for heavy rain

 

[jaruss01]

PLEASE READ

Took it to the dealer and had their water leak specialist take a look at it and do water testing. I think he goes to a couple dealers on specific days of the week, so they werent calling some random service guy a "leak specialist".

He did water testing and told the service rep that he found the cause and sealed it. I didnt get a chance to speak with him, but noticed upon pick up that he used epoxy to seal the joint between the FRONT of the gasket assembly and the body along a 6" area from the roof rack clip, around the corner to the top of the window. Basically above the A pillars where i was getting leaks. He did this on both sides. Below is a shot before he fixed it - you could see a slight gap where the front of the gasket meets the body in this area, and the gasket sits about a 1/8th of an inch lower in one spot. This is now pulled up to be flush and is epoxied to the body.

If the front gasket isnt fully overlapping the body above the windshield, i could see the cause of concern for water run off seeping in, bypassing the gasket. I've seen other photos here of guys with leaks in the center and pointing to the top of the gasket sitting lower than the top of the windshield frame. So it's probably a similar issue. I dont think the issue resides in the design of the gasket, but there are potential weak points along the outer exposed seam of the gasket depending on how it was installed. He probably pulled back the gasket and put a fair bit of clear epoxy (i could barely see the epoxy seam from the exterior), but do notice that the gasket feels a heck of a lot firmer and attached to the body. I feel like i notice a tad bit more wind noise on the highway coming from the corners, but i think that could be me convincing myself that the gasket has been made more rigid to the body and is creating a little bit more noise. It's probably my mind playing tricks.

Will report back the next time we have heavy rain to see if this works.

[/QUOTE]

 

[erics667]

PLEASE READ

Took it to the dealer and had their water leak specialist take a look at it and do water testing. I think he goes to a couple dealers on specific days of the week, so they werent calling some random service guy a "leak specialist".

He did water testing and told the service rep that he found the cause and sealed it. I didnt get a chance to speak with him, but noticed upon pick up that he used epoxy to seal the joint between the FRONT of the gasket assembly and the body along a 6" area from the roof rack clip, around the corner to the top of the window. Basically above the A pillars where i was getting leaks. He did this on both sides. Below is a shot before he fixed it - you could see a slight gap where the front of the gasket meets the body in this area, and the gasket sits about a 1/8th of an inch lower in one spot. This is now pulled up to be flush and is epoxied to the body.

If the front gasket isnt fully overlapping the body above the windshield, i could see the cause of concern for water run off seeping in, bypassing the gasket. I've seen other photos here of guys with leaks in the center and pointing to the top of the gasket sitting lower than the top of the windshield frame. So it's probably a similar issue. I dont think the issue resides in the design of the gasket, but there are potential weak points along the outer exposed seam of the gasket depending on how it was installed. He probably pulled back the gasket and put a fair bit of clear epoxy (i could barely see the epoxy seam from the exterior), but do notice that the gasket feels a heck of a lot firmer and attached to the body. I feel like i notice a tad bit more wind noise on the highway coming from the corners, but i think that could be me convincing myself that the gasket has been made more rigid to the body and is creating a little bit more noise. It's probably my mind playing tricks.

Will report back the next time we have heavy rain to see if this works.

[/QUOTE]
Hey, can you post a pic of what he did? I'm leaking and want to fix it. Thanks!

 

[Bronco21fan]

I just decided to order a Bestop Trek... So if my MIC leaks... I will just switch to the Bestop while I wait for Ford. Sad thing is that I bet that I get my Bestop Trek before I get my Bronco.

Wonder how hard of install those tops are I think brackets and shit got to be installed

 

[jaruss01]

Hey, can you post a pic of what he did? I'm leaking and want to fix it. Thanks!
[/QUOTE]
Right here

Had some moderate rain today so I could finally see the results. The driver side was bone dry. The passenger side which was previously the worst offender had a couple bottle caps of water on the floor. But when tapping the airbag cover only the slightest bit of moisture was felt. It probably found a way in closer to the corner of the A pillar. This was lighter rain than when I had torrential rain and much more water inside. So hard to say it this helped but it seems like it partially helped. And glad to see the airbag cover wasn’t visually seeping water because that was my primary concern. If there’s the slightest bit of water on the liners I guess I could live with that. And if ford remedies all the better. Doesn’t seem to be overly damaging now.

 

[erics667]

Hey, can you post a pic of what he did? I'm leaking and want to fix it. Thanks!

Right here

Had some moderate rain today so I could finally see the results. The driver side was bone dry. The passenger side which was previously the worst offender had a couple bottle caps of water on the floor. But when tapping the airbag cover only the slightest bit of moisture was felt. It probably found a way in closer to the corner of the A pillar. This was lighter rain than when I had torrential rain and much more water inside. So hard to say it this helped but it seems like it partially helped. And glad to see the airbag cover wasn’t visually seeping water because that was my primary concern. If there’s the slightest bit of water on the liners I guess I could live with that. And if ford remedies all the better. Doesn’t seem to be overly damaging now.
[/QUOTE]
I appreciate the reply, thanks.

 

[Markpf189]

Curious, are these rain leaks to the hard top happening to most or is there a chance of getting one that doesn’t leak?

I’m also really interested all the issues we start seeing now that winter is here.

 

[Jwall]

Just a heads up, a TSB was released for this today. The repair is to seal the body seam with 3m strip caulk, and replace the header seal, just like what was outlined above.

TSB: 21-2403

 

[the Duff]

Just a heads up, a TSB was released for this today. The repair is to seal the body seam with 3m strip caulk, and replace the header seal, just like what was outlined above.

TSB: 21-2403

Came here to post this

 

[Gotdesl]

The irony is that the dealer had mine all day yesterday to fix this very thing. They couldn't replicate it and had no answer. Missed it by hours...

 

[flip]

Remember a looooooong time ago when I said the foam? The expanding sealing foam in the corners of the upper windshield? Gold star for meow again...

TSB 21-2403

 

[mpeugeot]

Remember a looooooong time ago when I said the foam? The expanding sealing foam in the corners of the upper windshield? Gold star for meow again...

TSB 21-2403

Ya, this looks fine.

 

[DustyBronco]

Are these the MIC 2.0 tops leaking?

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