[davew]

While showing off my Prius to my brother, I proceeded to show him the rear storage compartment and the spare tire below. I was shocked to find about a gallon of water in the spare tire cavity. When I got home I pulled everything back out and pulled the two plugs at the bottom to drain the water. I am at a total loss as to how the water got in there. There is no evidence of water marks anywhere. Anybody else experience this?

 

[BIF]

No, but I'll be sure to check mine to be sure I'm not lugging an extra 8 to 10 pounds of smelly, mosquito-infested Florida swamp water around everywhere I go!

 

[john1701a]

My rear storage compartment is bone dry. I know that because I unfortunately just finished putting the spare on the car.

A piece of metal sliced the tire. Dang! And of course, on a holiday weekend.

For leaks, a fantastic (and dirt cheap) sealant is roofing cement (that black tar for your house). That worked great in my Omni, where a rather long line of rust allowed rain water to dribble in the car... soaking the carpet. The trick is to cover it with newspaper immediately after squirting it, to avoid anything from touching it and getting all sticky before it dries completely.

 

[V8Cobrakid]

John.. normaly i would say your crazy for using something like that on a car.. but since you're the guy everyone goes to to get info on there car... i guess i'll have to give it a try if a strange leak does happen. So i guess.. well.. thanks for the good info.

 

[Bob Allen]

I had the same problem with my Ford Escort Wagon, and I had the window seals tested for leaks by Speedy Auto Glass; results, negative. Stymied, I put newspaper along the sides of the trunk area and finally found the culprit: a damaged seal on the side marker light. You may have a similar problem with your Prius. If you take out the storage bin and the cargo deck that covers it, then carefully lay a sheet of newspaper across the opening, you should be able to track where the water might be coming in from.
Because the tire well is the lowest point in the car, the water might not necessarily be coming from the rear end of the car but could be trickling along the sides, possibly from a leaky door seal.
The proximity to the high voltage battery would make it imperative that you eventually locate the source and stop the leak, as I am sure you are doing.
On a really dry day, you can still use the newspaper trick; move the source of water (garden hose) around the car and starting with the lowest possible point of entry, the bottoms of the doors, until you find water coming into the car.
Next to electrical problems, leaks are the most maddening. This should be covered under warranty.
Good luck,
Bob

 

[moocatdog]

...The proximity to the high voltage battery would make it imperative that you eventually locate the source and stop the leak, as I am sure you are doing.
On a really dry day, you can still use the newspaper trick; move the source of water (garden hose) around the car and starting with the lowest possible point of entry, the bottoms of the doors, until you find water coming into the car.
Next to electrical problems, leaks are the most maddening. This should be covered under warranty.
Good luck,
Bob

A great idea. The only thing I would add is that it might be better to take the car to the dealer and let them try it! Water and electricity? Scary.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[Prz]

I used to work at automobile assembly plant body shop. It sounds like something went wrong with the robot that dispenses sealer on the assembly line. When sheet metal is welded together in this area of the vehicle, a bead of sealant is sandwiched between the sheets before it is welded. Often times, the robots fault and apply sealer off location, too thin, too thick, etc. This can happen because of various reasons.

I'd take it to the dealership so that they can find the location of the missing sealer & re-seal it.

 

[Nick]

No water in mine - thank goodness - but soon after delivery I checked to see if the spare was there and found a strange yellow spider sitting on it. I didn't recognise it and wonder if it had travelled all the way from Japan.

The place I do get water is on the rear seat whenever I open a rear door. A few large drops always detach from the top of the door and fall inwards. I can't see any way to prevent this happening.

Cheers
Nick

 

[BIF]

...soon after delivery I checked to see if the spare was there and found a strange yellow spider sitting on it....

Yikes!! Was it still alive?

I found a giant red ant in a newspaper on my passenger seat this morning, when I was cleaning up/throwing things out. Never saw an ant that big in Florida. It was almost 3/4 of an inch long, and ... yes, mine was still alive when I tossed him and his newspaper in the trash!

Although it's possible that the ant fell onto my newspaper from the trees above, I'm planning to vacum the car out this weekend, "just in case." Maybe I should fumigate, too?

 

[Nick]

Yes, it was. Being superstitious I spared it and liberated it in the garden. It hasn't returned - yet!

Nick

 

[moocatdog]

Yes, it was. Being superstitious I spared it and liberated it in the garden. It hasn't returned - yet!

Nick

This is interesting, as the spider you are describing may well have been what's known as the Japanese impact spider, so named because of the devastating impact even a single spider can have outside their native habitat. The females turn yellow a few hours before placing multiple egg sacks, each of which contains several million eggs. Once released, the short gestation period and reproduction cycle of the impact spider invariably results in quick and total infestation. Since impact spiders create nesting sites by boring huge holes in wood, brick, mortar, and stone, they have been known to completely destroy massive structures (houses or apartment buildings) in less than a week. Arachnid researchers can't say why, but impact spiders appear to thrive especially well when released in gardens along the southern coast of England.

Naaah, I'm probably wrong.

Drive happy,
Moo

 

[Nick]

A nice thought to sleep on! However we had so much rain in the past two days that I am confident they are all drowned by now. One thing the Japanese Yellow can't stand is wet feet. This is why you only find them in dry spare wheel compartments.

 

[moocatdog]

A nice thought to sleep on! However we had so much rain in the past two days that I am confident they are all drowned by now. One thing the Japanese Yellow can't stand is wet feet. This is why you only find them in dry spare wheel compartments.

Except for the related Hokkaido spider, which sometimes adapts to rain by mutating into a horrible, giant lizard that crushes everything in its path... but I'm sure that's not the kind of spider you found.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[BIF]

:shock:

 

[AgentElrond]

Except for the related Hokkaido spider, which sometimes adapts to rain by mutating into a horrible, giant lizard that crushes everything in its path... but I'm sure that's not the kind of spider you found.

Really? Where can I get one?

...searches...

Doh! No spider... took out the cargo net, cargo mat, etc. for nothing. Also found no water, which is the important part. But hey, at least now I've actually SEEN my spare. I knew it was in there somewhere, but didn't go looking until tonight. 8)

 

[RSnyder]

Reading moo's description of yellow spiders - hundreds of laughs

Watching BIFs eyes go wide - priceless

:lol: :lol:

 

[stagemonkey]

I also have been getting water in my spare compartment. At first, I thought maybe it was because I had backed my prius into a post a few months ago, slightly dinging it and mildly chipping the paint (I love the non-rusting aluminum panels) but upon further inspection, I couldn't find any trace of a leak or of water having dripped on any surfaces between the hatch opening and the bottom of the spare wheel well. I haven't had it checked out yet though, as I use my car for my job, and therefore can't afford the downtime to get it looked at. Please keep me updated on what you find out.

 

[bjchrist]

Yellow spiders and Godzilla

Moo failed to mention the damage of the Yellow Impact spider had on downtown Tokyo. The holes the species created in all the building was the primary reason that the buildings collapsed when Godzilla even looked at them wrong. The blast of energy from his mouth was added in post production to cover up this fact and keep from panicking the residents of major Japanese cities. Thank heavens no one has released one in the wild here in the US.

Brian, Maryland USA
Silver #9

 

[GTG]

I have recently discovered water in my spare well for the first time. It was extremely soapy. (Blowing bubbles out of the drain holes as the water slowed down. =) I had fairly recently been to the car wash, two times in the last couple of weeks. My best hypothesis is that the water has actually been forced in through the drian plugs (they were still in place) by high pressure jets during the "under-carraige wash" which I had purchased. The plugs themselves are not particularly sturdy.

 

[fdret44]

It may be what you think. The under car wash may be forcing some water into you spare tire area. But also check to see if the water may be entering via some other path (like along the hatch back. Also check to see if it may be from the rear window washer. I am not sure the path the rear washer hose take to get to the rear wiper, but it may be the problem.