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14 Kia Cadenza Water Leaking

18K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  onlyjeeps  
#1 ·
I have a 2014 Kia Cadenza that water is pooling behind the drivers side seat after every heavy rain. It only does this when the car is sitting outside during a heavy rain. My dealership can not figure out what is the issue. I have carried it to them 3 times with no luck. The car has the panoramic roof. Could there be a clogged line in the roof? If anyone has any potential solutions I would be very grateful.


Thanks
 
#2 ·
I'd think it was a gasket/seal.
Have you inspected the door seals really well?
Look for a spot where the door seal could be bunching
when door is closed. Should be a slight discoloration at
one spot if this is happening. If the seals were changed
they may have been installed a little tight in one spot.
look really hard on the pillar area.
How do the seals look around the sun roof?
Try running a garden hose in different spots, just one area
not all around. then check for water. Might help you locate
an area to really look.
Window seal leak should run out vents in bottom of door
not inside, unless those vents are plugged.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for your help. The first time I took it to the Kia service center, the technician took out the front seat and found the carpet soaked. The carpet on the floor in the rear seat behind the driver's seat was also soaked. The technician sealed an area in the firewall and thought that fixed the leak. I took the car back home. However, the next heavy rain, my back seat floor (behind driver's side) was soaking wet again. I took it back to the same service center. This time they said that my mud flaps were caked with mud and they cleaned out several drains. They tested both times by spraying water over my car and it didn't leak for them. Brought my car back home and we had another heavy rain again. Floor soaked. I have an extended warranty but was told that this warranty doesn't cover structural damage. Kia service center can not figure out what is causing the leak. They first thought it was a door seal, but we sprayed water on the door for 10 minutes or more and it didn't leak. They also checked the drains to the sunroof and said they were not clogged. The back door vent on the side of the leak is not draining when we spray water over the top of the car while the 2 door vents in the front are draining. We told them about this, but it is still not draining. Thought this might be the problem. Can't understand why they didn't unclog this vent or if there is something keeping them from unclogging this door vent. They want me to bring my car back in and leave it for them to check again. This has been so frustrating.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I'd have to look for it, pretty sure I posted a thread about my front windshield leaking at the lower seal and the trials of going back and forth to the dealership until they solved it by replacing the windshield, which was what i asked for in the beginning. Now in my case the front drivers side was getting wet, but I could also see and feel water dripping at my feet. It was pouring down over the dash electronics and hitting the floor. I usually got the car under cover quick and sopped up the mess quick too, so it never made it to the back seat.

All my point here is, it could be possible that it is coming from the front of the car, getting under the carpet, as the carpet had a rubber base under it as i recall, then water is coming out through the cut's under the drivers seat for the vents and what not. You said at one point water was up front too...I'd have to lean that way again myself. Here's the thing, if the dealership isn't getting it done, get hold of the Kia Preferred service, they will work with you and get the dealership to take more chances with these fixes until they do solve it. But again, going back to my dealership, they had a "leak Expert" look over my car twice, said initially it was the power wire i ran through the rubber grommet to get under the dash. It actually took me driving over to the dealership in the pouring rain, get it under their cover, pop the hood and show them, look bone dry everywhere around that grommet for about 3 feet or more in every direction, but under the dash it was dripping...I said look, it's my belief this is the windshield and I want you to replace it under warranty and they finally did. When the windshield guy got there and took apart the moldings they could see plain as day where the problem was coming from. Pulling the old WS required them breaking it, so having the new one on hand was paramount, and they sealed it up nicely...never leaked again. To note based on their initial inspection of everything on that last trip, it was pretty certain that this was a factory installed windshield, in that it wasn't replaced before I bought the car used...therefore not a 3rd party's fault but a true warranty issue.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the help. Shurtjohnson is my mother, and I was making this post for her. With the carpet getting wet, and the vehicle is not even moving, it has to be a glass seal or stopped up drain plug. It also does it worse when the car is sitting on a slant with the front being higher than the rear. Their drive slants upwards. I just wish I could get a schematic of all the roof drains. This way we can make sure it isn't a drain.
 
#9 ·
The thing i never fully understood about those sunroof drains and interior leaks; After a rain, I open up, it's bone dry inside all the spaces along the edge nearest both doors. I Honestly think those drains are just in case water get's in, but the reality is the sunroof seals everything off. Point to be made here, If the car is wet, once it stops raining, squeegee it off, get the top completely dry, then open the sunroof. If it's bone dry inbetween, It's not a sunroof drain tube issue...
 
#11 ·
Interestingly we had a rain yesterday and i opened the roof afterwards, there was water up there. Nothing bad, so it must be draining. It's interesting because it doesn't build up a lot of mildew in there considering that the area must get water every rain, and could take a few days to dry out.
 
#14 ·
I also have this same problem, and can't find the drain holes in the sunroof, to either vacuum and/or blow them out. I'd love to know where they are supposed to drain out, so I could confirm they are not clogged.

I have also suspected the windshield is leaking, as my water drips off of the rear view mirror, down into the storage area under the display. I've called a couple of windshield places, and they've both told me it's super unlikely the windshield is leaking, and is almost certainly the sunroof, but I can't see how to confirm that is the issue.

Pictures of the inlet and outlets of these sunroof drains would be most welcome.
 
#16 ·
I am jumping in on this as I had the issue with my 2015 right after the weather strips were replaced on my sunroof. Every single time we had a good rain, my A pillar would be soaked and the carpet on the driver's side as well. After taking it a couple of times, it was determined that the seal for the front windshield was the problem. Kia wouldn't touch it, but I took it to a local windshield place and they did an air test. Lo and behold, the seal on the driver's side was compromised. They resealed it. Since then, no more leakes. To the original poster, I would suggest getting the rear window tested to see if the seal is good. I would never have expected the factory seal to go bad, but there's a first for everything. Good luck!
 
#17 ·
Yes, unfortunately, the front windshield seal leak is actually a well known issue with the '14-'16 model years. Sadly, many cars have had this issue. I would suspect the sunroof leak is actually a windshield leak, unless they can actually see the water physically running in from the sunroof.