MX5RF 2017 rear window drains and water ingress

Hi Will,

That’s great news, I hope they dried the carpets out properly (see my notes about the sponge and fibrous material below a plastic membrane). Mine is still OK, another member contacted me and said he thought it was tree sap, which if fresh, during light rain or short shower dissolves and runs into the rubber flaps, coats them and dries sticking them together. He may well be right.

Good Luck with yours from now on

Eric

My 8 month old RF is flooded on the passenger side. Been seeing humidity in the car for past two weeks and today found the puddle. I’ve been good about cleaning the drain holes per the manual.

i can’t seem to find pic no 3 with the grate. I’ve been looking all over.  

I’m guessing that it’s blocked down lower or my tubes are also not assembled correctly. May need to book a dealer appointment. 

Hi Nixx,

If you f1/2 open the roof, look in the roof compartment with a torch and follow the plastic cover/channel (Photo2) on the passenger side you will see the window drain tube come down in to it, further back is that grate, it sits below the seat belt reel. If its full of bits you can use a vacuum cleaner with an extension tube (tape an extra bit of pipe on if its not long enough) clean the much out.

If you poor a pint (1/2 litre) of water down the drain tube, or into the plastic channel you should see it collect and immediately drain down the grate, if not it’s blocked.

ahhh, thanks. I used a radiator dusting brush and shoved it down the drain channel a few times. Lots of water splashed back up the channel and the foam tip was soaked. No foreign matter came out, no leaves. It all looked clean tbh.  Did this a few more times and the water stopped splashing back. I ran some water down the channel and saw it exit the car underneath the body. It was coming out more forward than I was expecting (around where your ■■■■ would be in the seat)… but I think this is because I park my car facing down a hill.

im drying the car out today, bought some drying bags.  Hopefully this resolved the issue!

 

 

 

 

Don’t know if this is helpful for anybody but I created a video where you can see how to set the top and what to look for without having to remove any trim pieces. 

https://youtu.be/fSEiE9rGdXA

Thanks, nightmare design isn’t it…

Quick question - how long does the water pool in the sink before it drains out the bottom? I poured some water to test the drain and the water pools in the sink for a while before it starts to trickle out the bottom of the car. I am shocked at how long it took to drain. Is that normal ??

It is a good seconds, as the water has 2 tubes to go down, and then sits in the collection tray until there is enough to overcome the flap valve just below the grate. As longs as it runs out a fair pace once it has started it should be OK. If you 1/2 open the roof you can watch the collection tray to ensure it drains away OK.

Ran an endoscope to see what it looks like. Looks clogged. Is this normal? Is the valve that close to the grate?

Inside MX5 ND RF drain pipe

https://youtu.be/iJ44EXkdOdM

I didn’t manage to get that out, as its joined to the roof mounting. In your video the black surface looks like the top of the flap valve, if you poor water into the tray does it drain away? if it does a reasonable pace it should be OK

I have a new MX5 series 5 soft top which is now a year old. I noticed damp in the boot. I took the car to the dealer who advised me that I should clean the drainage filters at least every two months. I was advised also that because the problem had been left so long that the drainage channels would have to be cleaned needing two hours work. This problem was not under warranty as the process is detailed in the manual. I have searched though the manual with a fine tooth comb but no mention of this. I will be taking this up with Mazda but wondered if anyone else is experiencing this as well. The filters are very difficult to get to.

If you look at Page 6-59 of the online manual it details the cleaning of the hood drain filters. A bit of a pain and requires dexterity but possible!

Copy and paste the below into your browser:

https://instructions.cdn.mazda.media/media/mazda/fb00c_MX-5_Owner’s_Manual_8EV5-EE-15E+L_OM.pdf?_ga=2.171267682.319839640.1577810617-1661732363.1554307828

There is also a YouTube video here on how to do it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v17ohTGefSc

Like the guy in the video I ended up removing the interior trim and access was much easier 

 

just to mention, the soft top and rf have different drainage systems. The soft top seems to have sponge looking filters and the RF does not.

 

 

 

 

Sorry to keep on this… but the drainage system is terrible!

 

Blocked vs unblocked (used a trombone cleaner) drain pipe. This is only 8 months since new!!!

Blocked. Notice how the water pools in the sink.
https://youtu.be/VCP-A0VS9Ys

Unblocked. Used trombone cleaner to clean the upper valve just past the plastic grate on the drain. Notice how quick water goes down now. Still need to clean some of the mud around the drain.
https://youtu.be/6gsodAh4eyU

I still cannot believe how badly it is designed, in your video it looks like there is part of a maple or sycamore wing, these are the trees that generate the sticky sap that sticks the rubbers in flap valve up.

I am resigned to cleaning this out every few months. :frowning: Spoke to my local Mazda dealer who still deny there is an issue and I am the only one they have heard of…

Thanks for all the help and advice regarding the roof drainage filter problem. Please be assured that Mazda are very well aware of the problem so please keep on at them.

I have again been to my dealer and advised them that in the vehicle handbook there is no reference to these filters nor was I advised as part of the vehicle hand over that this work was required. The garage are going to take out the trim ad clean the system through. I am going to push that this is under warranty. I am also going to ask them to include the cleaning of these filters as part of the yearly service .

Quick update from me. Took my 8-ish month old car with 5,500 miles on it back to the dealer due to the leak. They said my drains were completely blocked below the deck (not up top) and they had to blow them out with compressed air.  I inspected the drain holes and they were much more clear than before. 

 The dealer dried the carpets after I requested this and they said the carpet was soaking wet - even though the puddle I found was relatively small and confined to just the rear of the passenger seat (UK RHD model). So, the carpets can soak up and hide a ton of water even if you only see a small amount.  

 Upon collecting the car the dealer tried to charge me nearly £300. I was completely gobsmacked that a.) they consider this flooding normal for the RF and not warranty work and b.) they never asked or informed me that it was a chargeable service before they started. 

 The manual clearly states the only user maintenance on the drains is to keep the upper drain holes by the window clear. Once a year. I’ve cleaned them at least three times in 8-ish months. 

Dealer also claimed this has never happened before to any RF in the uk. 

 I flat out refused to pay and they said they would ask Mazda for a one time good-faith pay out to cover this. I’m still waiting to see if they will cover this. I am so shocked that this could even be considered anything other than warranty. There is a clear design flaw with the RF.  Why we don’t have a filter like the ST is beyond me!

Oh, here is a pic of the puddle I found which started this whole experience  

I had the same problem on a year old MX5. They were going to charge me £250 to clear the filters and dry the car. They advised me that this work couldn’t be done under warranty as it is detailed in the manual. The manual in the car doesn’t cover this only the online manual so I complained and they did the job under warranty. I also told them that to clean the filters is so difficult it was unacceptable for this to be a user routine. They have agreed to clean the drain filters as part of the annual service.

This is clearly a big problem and has been for some time. Perhaps the owners club could push Mazda to address the problem especially in the deign of the drain.

Yep… same story here. I called the Mazda customer service line and made a complaint and asked them to note down that I believe this is a design flaw (the lack of a filter like the soft top has) and the cleaning directions are inadequate. They said they would send that feedback to Japan. 

 

 

Oh, here is a pic of the puddle I found which started this whole experience  

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That’s exactly how my issue first manifested itself.  It got to being 2-3 inches deep at the worst!  Anyway it seems to have remained dry for the two months since the dealer had it in.  There was never any discussion of cost, it would have been an extremely short conversation!