Brake light cluster seal & driver side window seal

[Keato]

Hi all, 

A friend recommended this site so I thought I'd make an account. So, new here :) also sorry for the long story, I'm a story person.

I'll start with the car I have, it's a 2011 1.6 petrol Auris SR (61 plate). Bought it in March 2015 so it's still got a little bit left on its warranty. 

Now, the problem I recently found was in the boot. When I bought it at Arnold Clark even though everyone told me to stay clear (lesson learned) I had it in for its MOT in Feb. It passed, though when I got it home I was putting stuff back in the boot and noticed the carpet was wet so I lifted it to check the spare wheel underneath and it was filled to the brim with water. Seemed clean water so it didn't seem like it was in there for a while.  

AC said it must have been leaking there from a light cluster for months as it wouldn't just turn up overnight. Thing is, on the safety sheet they fill in during an MOT it had the spare wheel checked green. So either they didn't check it and just ticked it anyway or, some friends have suggested, maybe they put water in there so I would come back and pay the money to get it fixed. 

At at first they said it would cost £150 to 'investigate' where the leak is coming from. Then said seals and gaskets might not be covered in the warranty as some companies don't like to make good on seals in year 4/5 of the warranties.  I said I'll think about it, drove it home, poured water on the roof, let it run down the drainage channels, opened the boot & panels to the lights and found its the left cluster (passenger side).

Ive seen others have this problem on the forum but I've failed to find maybe a pdf of the repair manual or just one page showing how to remove the cluster. I've found a few screws but I'm obviously missing one as its still quite attached to the body of the car. 

A friend is coming over today to help me remove it to determine if it's definitely that cluster the water is coming from but would be awesome if someone knew where I could find the repair manual for the car. 

Second problem, the rubber on the drivers side window. Short story, I put the window down and the rubber came with it. Forced the window back up again by holding the button up and it pushed the rubber back into its snug position. Are these covered in the warranties? Can I use my 3M foam tape to keep it in place without voiding the warranty? I read in another thread it might be the window slightly out of line and it's dragging the rubber down. Or, any pdf repair manual to show how to replace it myself by buying the part from somewhere?

any help with this would be much appreciated :)

thanks in advance,

jamie

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello Jamie - welcome to Toyota Owners Club.

As regards the light seal, try sending Parts-King a personal message detailing your car ( reg no as a minimum) and what you want, and he'll come back to you with a price.

As regards repair information, there isn't a Haynes manual for the Auris. One can register on  www.toyota-tech.com. and get repair information. Be aware some information is chargeable.

As regards the window seal, try lubricating the window channels with some silicon spray - not WD40. Obtainable from Halfords, etc.

[Keato]

Hey :)

Thanks for the welcome.

I managed to get the brake light cluster off. I've attached three photos, one showing the gunk built up on the foam seal in the cluster, one of the gunk on the car body itself and the other is a 8mm socket. I found those plastic blue screws or whatever they are called difficult to manoeuvre as the sides need to be squeezed inward then pushed through to release the cluster. I found using an 8mm socket fit snugly over the top one and would allow me to push it through whilst squeezing the bottom one with my fingers.

They really don't make these easy to remove.

Anyway, hopefully this'll help someone else.

I'll be buying some silicon spray from Halfords next time I'm out and just keep it in the boot. Seems like a good idea :)

 

[dankernow]

What did you do with the sill on the light? Have you solved your water leak?

[Phil_1985]

I had this water leak. I used silicon sealant and it's fine now. (The stuff you seal your bath tub with) 

[Keato]

It appears to be fixed now. I've only seen a couple of drips of water coming in from the cluster though I imagine AC sprayed a bunch of water in the boot to make it look like I had a problem. I mean, there was more than a litre of water in there. If it had been gathering for months like they said i'd have smelt it or heard it sloshing in the boot when driving. 

Oh well, I'll take the advice that EVERYONE tells me and not go back to AC.

[cmclean]

They use pressure washers to clean the cars and it wouldn't take much to get a shed load of water past the light seals.