2007 Miata, softtop. Recently, I started noticing that carpet was slightly damp behind the seats after rainstorms. Living in South Texas we rarely have rain, so didn't have many chances to notice. But then a few weeks ago there was a series or very large storms and my floorboard was covered by an inch of water. I took it to the dealers and they said the drainage vents behind the seats were likely clogged with debris. They would need to take out the seats, have the carpets and trunk cleaned and remove the large panels behind the seats to clean out the drainage vents.

They said they have seen this happen with other cars that are parked outside, particularly near oak trees due to the acorns and leaves continuously being dropped. (Oak trees here slowly lose their leaves all year instead of just dropping them all at once in the fall.) The debris would get washed down the softtop and collect in the edge between the trunk and the back of the softtop. That would eventually accumulate enough material that the drainage vents would overflow, flooding the floorboard and trunk during heavy rains.

Of course, this isn't covered by warrenty since it is environmental, just like hail damage would be. Their only suggestion was to not park under trees, which is impossible given that I live in an area with few garages and the streets are lined with oak trees. I'm going to get one of those horrid car ports to see if that will help keep debris off the car. If not, might have to resort to a car cover, probably a good idea anyways. The bill for cleaning out the car at the dealership was $730 and took them three full days. I asked about being able to flush out or vacuum the vents myself periodically, but the mechanic said that it isn't really feasible since the vents are not easily accessible without removing the car seat and the entire back panel behind the seats.

I've only had the car for four months and drive it every day, so it isn't like the car had to sit there for years to accumulate enough stuff to close off the vents.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? What were your workarounds?

 

sounds like fun. i'd go with a cover, make sure you get a duster and wipe down the car before putting the cover on as dirt between the cover and car may scratch the paint. a stop gap may be to get a long bottle brush from a pet store (think fish tank) and go from the under side of the car to keep the drain clear,prob need ramps to get the car up high enough. hope this helps.

 

I live in Florida and have the same problem. However, this is a warranty issue. There is a service bulliten on this and a repair ti prevent this from happending as well as instruction how to clean the drain area. The site to check the bullitens is http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/

I have had the car in twice, called Mazda USA and am having them replace the truck carpet.

Good Luck!

The bulliten info is as follows:
Subject:
WATER ACCUMULATION IN FOOTWELL / PLUGGED SOFT TOP DRAINS
Bulletin No: 09-001/07
Last Issued: 4/17/2007

 

Thanks for the info! Great to know that this issue is being acknowledged by Mazda. Of course, the dealership's service department and also the regional corporateoffice didn't know anything about this bulletin. I'll post back when I have some updates on their response.

 

No Problem. Good Luck. I will post back when the fix mine right!