This issue relates to a 2004 Pacifica - two wheel drive.

I've read all the treads on this issue and still have not found the source of the issue. I suspect it's a leaky pipe end on the outside of the firewall. It's a friend's car and there's some damage to the firewall insulation pad and it is fully wet directly underneath the leaky pipe.

Since I can't post a photo I'll describe the pipe end - it's a gray short (1-1.5 inch) plastic pipe on the engine side of the firewall just above the insulation pad on the passenger side. I'm not sure whether there was a drain hose attached to the pipe and if so, it would redirect the condensation away from the insulation pad.

The conditions are:
- wetness is condensation - not antifreeze/collant - and appears only on the floor portion of the interior - NOT on the side carpet or flooring.
- water does drip from the cabin filter area but cannot find the source
- I did pull up the cowling and found no issues - blockage or puddles of water.
- Coolant is full and has not dropped

If someone can tell me what the pipe is in the photo and whether a drain hose is supposed to be connected to it. The dealer was of no help at all.

Thanks in advance,
Loungesurfer

 

Loungesurfer,

The description of your friends problem sounds very similar to a problem I had with my '04 Pacifica about two years ago.

After months of trying to figure out where this water was coming from, and after three visits to Chrysler dealers (One dealer once, one twice) this is what I finally came up with: It was a blocked drain hose coming from my sunroof! Actually, 4 blocked drain tubes coming from the sunroof.

Previously unknown to me, there are 4 little drain holes in the 4 corners of the frame housing the sunroof. These had become blocked by dirt, dust, leaf fragments, whatever...The water from rain (and car washing) would pool up around the sunroof in the 'gutter' until it overflowed and would find its way down inside the roof, following some path that did not leak at all, running down the inside of the front door posts, then under the dash and finally to the floor. The way it ran, not leaking anywhere to give some clue as to what was happening, made me think for months that it was condensation from the AC (same as that which drips from underneath when parked)

After locating the drain holes (Look in each corner of the sunroof frame - you may have to scratch away some grit or dirt, depending on how bad they are covered) with a small blunt probe (A large paperclip or something of similar size - I think a wire clothes hanger might be too large for the holes) I was able to open the holes a bit then blew them out using a canned compressed air. Last, I used a small syringe filled with water with a flexible small catheter tip (like an IV catheter they put into your veins) Finally, to test it, I poured some water into the gutter and watched it as it run down the holes, also verifying by looking under the car to be sure it was indeed dripping outside.

Of course, all of this is moot if your friends Pacifica doesn't have a sunroof...But if his is so equipped, I hope this suggestion helps. For everyone else reading this, cleaning out those drain holes around the sunroof frame regularly is probably a good idea, before you have a pool of water on your floorboards!

 

Thanks, Flabill - great info and thanks for sharing. My friend's Pacifica doesn't have a sunroof and at this point they just sold it. So, problem solved - kinda!

Thanks again, Loungesurfer