Strong Mildew Smell After Rain. Two Dealers Can't Find Source/Leak

[Porpoise Hork]

A co-worker of mine commented "Funny how now they seem to be finding these leaks when before they couldn't find any at all."

As long as they can fix the leaks and replace anything that was damaged, and in doing so no new rattles are created I'll be ok with it. But it does kind of makes me wonder exactly how much Ford will put into it before they either say they are not going to do any more and force a buy back or force me to push for lemon on it.

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[T Bone]

dayum, just dayum

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Nice update.

Dealer got the response back from the support engineers. It appears that the harness in the driver's door was mounted in the wrong spot and is the reason for the leak issue in the door. They are moving the harness mount point. They are also going to replace foam weather seal speaker. They are also replacing the rear window not just resealing it, as well as replacing the carpet and jute liner. They said they will leak test it extensively before installing the liner and carpet to ensure all the leaks are fixed. Nothing is on back order so all the parts should be in by the end of the week. If all goes well it should be back together and leak free and in my possession by Monday/Tuesday.

 

[T Bone]

Nice update.

Dealer got the response back from the support engineers. It appears that the harness in the driver's door was mounted in the wrong spot and is the reason for the leak issue in the door. They are moving the harness mount point. They are also going to replace foam weather seal speaker. They are also replacing the rear window not just resealing it, as well as replacing the carpet and jute liner. They said they will leak test it extensively before installing the liner and carpet to ensure all the leaks are fixed. Nothing is on back order so all the parts should be in by the end of the week. If all goes well it should be back together and leak free and in my possession by Monday/Tuesday.

EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Matsterious]

Nice update.

Dealer got the response back from the support engineers. It appears that the harness in the driver's door was mounted in the wrong spot and is the reason for the leak issue in the door. They are moving the harness mount point. They are also going to replace foam weather seal speaker. They are also replacing the rear window not just resealing it, as well as replacing the carpet and jute liner. They said they will leak test it extensively before installing the liner and carpet to ensure all the leaks are fixed. Nothing is on back order so all the parts should be in by the end of the week. If all goes well it should be back together and leak free and in my possession by Monday/Tuesday.

The amazing part of this is nothing is on back order!

 

[Porpoise Hork]

The amazing part of this is nothing is on back order!

Right??

I about fell out of my chair when the service writer told me that, and I asked her if she was kidding. To which she laughed and said she was as surprised as I was when she put the parts order in.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Well a week after the parts were due to arrive the dealership calls to let me know that a belt molding ? (driver's door weather stripping) and the back window are apparently now on national back order... Ford has no time estimate on when these parts will be delivered so they can finish the repairs...

At least for now I still have a loaner F-150 to drive so there's that.

 

[FoD]

Well a week after the parts were due to arrive the dealership calls to let me know that a belt molding ? (driver's door weather stripping) and the back window are apparently now on national back order... Ford has no time estimate on when these parts will be delivered so they can finish the repairs...

At least for now I still have a loaner F-150 to drive so there's that.

The "real" story is that it rolled off the hoist and fell 10ft landing on the roof, flipped over twice, rolling across shop floor before smacking into steel support beam...had to explain why they were "replacing" so many items.......

 

[Porpoise Hork]

It wouldn't even surprise me if that happened.. Knowing my luck and all.

 

[Matsterious]

Well a week after the parts were due to arrive the dealership calls to let me know that a belt molding ? (driver's door weather stripping) and the back window are apparently now on national back order... Ford has no time estimate on when these parts will be delivered so they can finish the repairs...

At least for now I still have a loaner F-150 to drive so there's that.

I knew no back order was too good to be true! Alleast you are putting miles on another truck meanwhile. Take some road trips!

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Yeah..

Update from the dealership, still no word on when the parts will be available. The Ford rep reached out to me and I expressed my frustration to her. How they have had my truck for nearly 2.5 months to identify the issue and now they have no idea when Ford will make the parts available yet they damn sure can have them to build new ones. Mentioned that meanwhile I'm still paying on the truck and who knows when Ford will get the parts to the dealership so i'd have to keep making payments on it while it's in the shop. The care rep suggested that because it's been so long, and with the ongoing shortages that she'll get authorization to supplement me two months worth of car notes in a pre-loaded Visa gift card and have it out to me within 7 business days. While it sucks to have to wait, I at least have a brand new F150 loaner and will get two months worth of car notes back.

So there's that.

 

[JohnnyD]

Oh man. I came here looking for anyone else with the same musty smell I get after rain which is every dang day in the summer here in Orlando. This doesn’t give me a ton of good vibes about solving the problem ? But, I gotta do something about it so wish me luck!

 

[D Fresh]

Yeah..

Update from the dealership, still no word on when the parts will be available. The Ford rep reached out to me and I expressed my frustration to her. How they have had my truck for nearly 2.5 months to identify the issue and now they have no idea when Ford will make the parts available yet they damn sure can have them to build new ones. Mentioned that meanwhile I'm still paying on the truck and who knows when Ford will get the parts to the dealership so i'd have to keep making payments on it while it's in the shop. The care rep suggested that because it's been so long, and with the ongoing shortages that she'll get authorization to supplement me two months worth of car notes in a pre-loaded Visa gift card and have it out to me within 7 business days. While it sucks to have to wait, I at least have a brand new F150 loaner and will get two months worth of car notes back.

So there's that.

Is your Ranger equipped with the rear slider? If so, and the regular rear window happens to be available can they "downgrade" you to a standard rear window? If you'd be OK with it it's worth a shot.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Oh man. I came here looking for anyone else with the same musty smell I get after rain which is every dang day in the summer here in Orlando. This doesn’t give me a ton of good vibes about solving the problem ? But, I gotta do something about it so wish me luck!

If you're not finding any damp spots on the carpet try to isolate where source of the mildew smell is strongest. If you can't then allow it to dry out if possible, then use a hose and work in sections applying water. Start with the back window since it seems that is one of the primary locations that leaks. Pour a good 20-30+ gallons of water just around the window seal and slider. Wait a good 30 min and check it for the smell. You can also pull the rear seat and back wall carpet board out fairly easily and have someone with the water hose dump water around the window seal and slider while you check all along for any signs of leaks there. If none is found you can pull the carpet back to expose the jute underneath and look for signs of water damage. If you don't want to mess with pulling the carpet out, you can pull the under seat storage tubs out fairly easily and use a bore scope like this one to look for evidence of water leaking down along the back wall of the truck under the rear seat riser mount.

Since yours is a 2020, depending on the build date (mine was built 11/19) it may also have improperly mounted harnesses in the door(s) Check the doors for water drip trails at the bottom of the door skins near the speaker area. The water spots would be visible on the paint just under the door skin. If so then it's the same thing as mine with an incorrectly mounted harness and leaking environmental foam seal. The dealer can relocate the harness and replace the foam environmental seal.


Good luck..

Is your Ranger equipped with the rear slider? If so, and the regular rear window happens to be available can they "downgrade" you to a standard rear window? If you'd be OK with it it's worth a shot.

It has a rear slider and I already asked them if the non slider window is available that I was OK with having that installed instead. Unfortunately Ford won't authorize that as it would cause a mismatch with the vehicle VIN. I also asked if they could just pull the rear window and reseal it but Ford also refused said the window needs to be replaced. ? So I get to keep waiting for the parts.

 

[JohnnyD]

Thanks. Have appt scheduled with Ford on Monday but I will try to really go through the truck this weekend to see if I can help find something for them to fix. Appreciate all your input and your detailed reports on the problem so I know where to look ??

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