For the past couple of weeks I have noticed that my driver's seat looked wet, then drying leaving a water spot. I live in Seattle so we get a lot of rain. About 2 weeks ago, I thought it was just the water spot and drove off. A few minutes later I realized that my pants were feeling wet. Yep, the seat was wet. I can't tell where the water is coming in though. I put a towel down and dried it thoroughly. We had a few dry days and it seemed fine. Now, after another night of heavy rain, driving to work, I noticed that my pants were feeling damp again. I still can't figure out where the water is coming in. Help! How do I determine where the leak is originating? By the way, I do not have a sunroof.

 

could be the door seals or the windshield trim. check to make sure the door seals are glued in place and haven't developed any folds. not sure how the gutter channels are set up on the '11s so you may want to try spraying the car with a hose to see if you can create some wetness.

 

Why not take it to a dealer and eliminate the guess work?

 

Because the dealer is also guessing? And better yet, they charge $75 and up while they guess! Uh, no thanks.

 

The official test is to get a power washer and direct the jet along the windshield seal. The door seal, on the other hand, needs much gentler application of water. A piece of newspaper left on the seat might give you a hint as to where the water was coming from.

 

I had rain leaking in and dripping down from the headliner and A pillar area. It took me weeks to find out how the water was getting in. The roof rack rail supports that attach to the roof were leaking. I applied sealant to every to each suport. You must make sure you seal the the areas of the rain gutter. Apparently over time the moisture has rusted out the roof brackets allowing water to seep in. GOOD LUCK!

 

Did you have the front windscreed repaced , If you dont have a sun roof thats the only place where it can drip on to the seat , its not that old but if outside in the rain daily you may have some rust which compromise the window seal , any water marks on the head linner?

 

The windscreen is the original. I corrected my leak problem as I stated in my original post. I was attempting to assist another owner.