Leak on driver's side when it rains. From windshield replacement or air intake? Help!

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Hi there! I have a 2002 Honda Civic LX. I replaced the windshield about 2 years ago. Coincidentally, soon after that, I started to noticed dampness on the driver’s side floor. Thought I accidentally left window cracked or whatever during a rain. Happened a few more times, started to notice a LOT more dampness. I called the privately-owned glass biz who did my windshield and if it could possibly be leaking; he suggested it could be something else (I forgot what he thought it could be) - referred me to someone to check it out, I never made the appt. to have it checked. Life got busy, I was selling place to relocate about 5 hours away. Needless to say, the leak got put way down on the priority list. Here I am, 2 years later and it’s still leaking, the driver’s side carpet is disgusting and what appears now to be mold in some areas. The water does not actually drip from anywhere, I have checked, there is never water from anywhere “above” the dampness. It’s more like it is running down from the top, alongside the door or something and settling under the carpet.

I spoke with someone at a reputable glass installation place and they suggested that the air intake could be clogged.

Not only does the mold worry me, but I’m concerned that it could be rusting as well. So my questions are: 1. how do I check what is the cause of the leak? who should I take it to? what am I looking at in terms of cost to fix the air intake (if that’s what it is)? who would I have remove the carpet and possibly repair any rusting action going on? and what kind of expenses could I be facing?

Thank you greatly in advance for any and all insight and advice with this!

p.s. I checked and insurance will not cover this since I didn’t make a claim in the beginning. I basically went the cheap route with the windshield and didn’t want to make a claim.

2

All evidence points to the windshield, you should have taken care of this right away. BTW, sprinkle some boric acid on the mold to kill it.

The air intake is on the passenger side so its not that.

3

I presume you’ve taken a flashlight and a mirror and looked up under the dash area and see no signs of water seeping down from the windshield? hmmm … I think you should rule out the possibility that the water is coming in through the driver’s side door. Rain water easily gets into the door through the window, as the door window seal isn’t perfectly water-tight (otherwise the window couldn’t go up and down), so there’s no way to prevent that. To drain the water from the door so it doesn’t go inside the car, the bottom of the door has holes in it. If those holes plug up, water can enter the car via the door. Ask your shop to verify the door drains are open, and the water is moving through the door like it should, and not being diverted into the passenger compartment. Have you ever had to remove the inside door panel? If so, it is possible something on the inside, seals etc, weren’t replaced correctly.