[jaja6009]

My 2005 Mustang GT had the TSB water leak into the passenger side footwell. I went to the dealer and they claimed to have fixed it for free. They said it was not covered by warranty. It seemed like it was fixed. The other day after a light rain I went out to check and yes water was again coming in. I took it to a new dealer and I have the same problem that another member had with a seam not have been welded correctly. I have to go in to look at it but it is not the pinch weld. This really sucks as it is gonna be real expensive. The service department is not going to do the fix but the body shop is. I have to get it fixe as I am in too deep with the blower added and everything else. Im pretty bummed. Ford should be ashamed of themselves for not fixing this for free as a bad weld is not wear and tear. I know they wont because I already argued with them when I discovered the water leak months ago. Only Ford can make me hate my favortie car. I have to use money planned for other mods to fix this mess. I dont even drive the car in the rain and it sits under a car cover. It was out in the rain because I was over my girls house. I guess Im writing here because you guys will know how I feel. Noone else seems to understand why Im so obsessed with the car. I have never taken such good care of a car as I do with this one.
SHAME ON YOU FORD!!!
Im thinking of canceling the extended warranty and using that $ towards the repair.

[stlwagon]

Sorry to hear that but not surprised.

[jaja6009]

The water leak issue is gonna be a real expensive fix. I took it to a new dealer as the one I bought the car from have no clue. The right and left fenders must come off and they are gonna reseal the whole front of the car including welds. $1100. THANKS FORD for my precertified 11,000 mile extended warranty car leaking water and not being covered. I will keep and still love my Mustang but I dont see me ever buying another Ford product(Other than parts for this car) ever again. When this car is paid off it is gonna get a new forged engine and a new tranny and will be a race car. But regardless I cannot do business with Ford ever again. I guess when I get my truck next yeat the Toyotas look nice.

[stlwagon]

How is that not covered under the extended warranty?

[mustangbuddy]

Ok, I missed this water leak discussion before I posted my thread or whatever. I can't believe Ford does'nt make this a recall or something. Maybe things like these are reasons why the Big Three are going bankrupt/out of business! I knew I should have waited before buying a new model after a body style change! You would think that ford would find out and fix these kind of things before production starts. I now wish I bought the Nissan 370Z instead! At least now there is a Nismo 370 out now, and the new Skyline, even though I really can't afford that one. So much for dreams, like owning a nice mustang. At least I still have my 1969 Mach I!, that I don't have to go to Ford to buy parts! Does anybody think the water leak thing can be fixxed by a ordinary guy like me? I was a Chryler tech for 10 years until the dealership I was at went under.

[stlwagon]

Originally Posted by mustangbuddy

Ok, I missed this water leak discussion before I posted my thread or whatever. I can't believe Ford does'nt make this a recall or something. Maybe things like these are reasons why the Big Three are going bankrupt/out of business! I knew I should have waited before buying a new model after a body style change! You would think that ford would find out and fix these kind of things before production starts. I now wish I bought the Nissan 370Z instead! At least now there is a Nismo 370 out now, and the new Skyline, even though I really can't afford that one. So much for dreams, like owning a nice mustang. At least I still have my 1969 Mach I!, that I don't have to go to Ford to buy parts! Does anybody think the water leak thing can be fixxed by a ordinary guy like me? I was a Chryler tech for 10 years until the dealership I was at went under.

You could probably pull the cowl and seal it yourself.

[travelers]

I would go to another dealer.

[jaja6009]

Mustangbuddy most people who have leaks will find that if you follow the updated TSB this will fix most leaks. Mine is different. You can see where the water is coming in and the only way to get to it and assure a 100% fix is to take the front fenders(not bumpers but fender off). My cowl has already been fixed with new grommets and sealant but this is more where the a-pillar and door areas and cowl converge. This dealer has fixed 3 cars with this problem and they said they all where built real early in production. I agree with their diagnosis because i took out everything I could in the kick panel area and saw the water coming in from the a pillar area. Its not just under the cowl. Today I told them to call me when its all apart so I can see for myself the area i question. Im rally pissed as the money Im using to pay for it was gona be used to get some rims for my new MT's and a new DVD/NAV Radio tuner with touchscreen. But in the end if this stops the water from coming in I will be really happy and consider the money well spent. I cannot deal with this water thing. I dont drive the car in the rain and I hand wash it with a garden hose so for water to come in from such a small amount of water shows that in a downpour this car would get really wet really fast.

[stlwagon]

Snap some pictures if you can!

[jaja6009]

Ok I just got back from the dealer and here is the scoop. It is obvious where the water is coming in from. Under the Apillar there is a body seam filled with a very weak (paper mache like) sealant that is peeling away. There is no welding doen here so I was wrong saying it was missing a weld. But the sealant here is flimsy and looks like it has been damaged forever. At the top a pocket formed from water running down over it an then a hole formed with the pocket acting like a scoop and catching water and directing it into the car. It is the same on both sides. I am hoping that this will 100% fix it am confident that it will since its so obvious from the pics. But who knows. Anyway I am paying with a credit card so when I get home I will give it a torture water test and if still leaking will put a stop payment on the card. Heres some pics.

[jaja6009]

Ok I want to clear some things up. Ive talked to Ford, the selling dealer and the dealer making the repair. I take back the statement that this problem has always been there. And after reading the ESP warranty I have come to the conclusion that the damage happened over time with water working on the seam until a hole/pocket formed and water leaked in. ESP should not cover it. But I still say that this flimsy sealant material(feels like paper machete) was not the best stuff to use for an area subjected to alot of water. I think the selling dealer should man up and help pay for the repair but that wont happen for many reasons. I would of had the selling dealer make the repair but they did such a bad job the first time and were saying that the fenders do not need to be removed that I lost faith in them being able to fix it. Which leaves me at another dealer paying over $1000 for this repair. Now that Im calm I can say I can buy another Ford product again. And I say one more time. If you have an early 2005 Mustang pull out the plastic trim around your kick panels and check for water leaking. I never knew mine was leaking as it was minor enough not to pool up. I read about the leak on this forum and decided to check after my car battery was dead one time. The kick panels on both sides have alot of wiring (smart junction box, inertia switch? amps? and more) and water here is a very bad idea. And if they used this same sealant for the life of S197 production I can see alot of cars getting this leak. Hopefully they changed the sealant type.

[stlwagon]

That does look pretty cheesy. This will help others to maybe DIY though.

[Alfaduetto]

This is a safety related issue, you need to talk to Ford directly about the weld. Most emissions and safety related items go 10 years and 100, 000 miles. If Ford claims it is not a structural weld then it should be just seam sealed again and not at $1K.

[jaja6009]

Originally Posted by Alfaduetto

This is a safety related issue, you need to talk to Ford directly about the weld. Most emissions and safety related items go 10 years and 100, 000 miles. If Ford claims it is not a structural weld then it should be just seam sealed again and not at $1K.

I was wrong in my original post. The photos show it is not a weld. it is a seam filled with a seam sealer. And the price comes from them taking off the right and left fenders(the fenders are the large sides of the cars sheet metal including wheel arches), and hood. There is alot of labor involved. And the dealer is never cheap. I chose this dealer as they have done 2 or 3 fixes like this.

I talked to Ford already several times and they will not fix it under the ESP warranty. I still say it is defective materials and indirectly is a safety issue as the smart junction box getting wet could cause alot of hypothetical safety issues. They dont care. The selling dealer could of done the fix but his tech said the fenders dont need to come off and they failed to fix it the first time I brought it to them. The selling dealer would of worked with me for a better price but I lost faith in them. They dont have a body shop so the car would of been in another body shop. I am just paying for it and if its fixed I will consider it worth the money. I jsut trust them since they have done this before.

As you said STLwagon if this helps someone else fix thier leak thats always a good thing. I just cant get over how flimsy the sealer is and how you can easily pull it out. Also like the picture of the pocket/scoop it made to catch water and funnel it right in??? LOL thats crazy!!!

[travelers]

Ford should still pay for the fix. The use of poor sealant is no excuse