2017 Ram 1500 Water Leak with Moldy Interior Help

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Stelios

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Hey everyone needing some help with this one…

I own a 2017 Ram 1500 Express RCSB and have had a continuing issue with a water leak. I took it to the dealership and was told it was the third brake light. They replaced it and showed me the new upgraded part with a thicker gasket. I didn’t notice the water coming back through the rain season and thought problem solved.

Fast forward eight months later. I left my truck parked for a month due to some significant health problems that left me unable to drive. It was parked at a secure gated spot in my apartment complex while I was with my family 2 hours away.

I return to my truck to check on it to find it being seemingly fine on the outside but when I opened the door I found a lot of condensation building up on all four windows, large amounts mold growing on my seats and carpet, and the electronics across the dash having significant condensation on the screens and other surfaces of the dash. The third brake light even had condensation built up in the lens. The entire interior was moist and had a strong mildew/musty smell to it as well.

The truck did start-up and doesn’t seem to have any problems for the short amount of time I started it up but I am worried about the long term for this. I am still unable to drive it and left it parked after wiping down the interior and putting in two bags of cat litter to hopefully help suck out the moisture for the time being.

I don’t know what to do at this point. The truck is 2 years old which I bought new and has just over 20,000 miles on it and is growing mold. I absolutely loved the truck and had many things planned for it but I am lost at where to go next to get the proper fix for my new truck and prevent possible health problems with the mold.

I’m still dealing with health issues which are preventing me from driving and am away from the truck. I emailed Mopar (not a dealership) to try to get some help but any other suggestions? I'm really freaking bummed and frustrated on this one cause I've spent the last month figuring out what I wanted to do to it once I got better.

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Thunderbucket

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Satellite antenna could be leaking


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bryce88

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Aw man. That really sucks. Sorry to hear this has happened to you. Have you talked to the dealer that supposedly "fixed" it? (Seems like their fault to me) Is there any way this is covered under the warranty still? Those are the questions I would ask first.

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Dpressed1

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Hey everyone needing some help with this one…
You should call chrysler and let them know the issue. Especially if youre still under basic warranty. Open a case with them. That way if you take it to a dealer they will be notified by chrysler about the issue. Assuming you still under basic warranty. Document everything with pictures and paper work. It is a pita but that is a serious issue. At work i have seen, like mentioned above, third brake lamps commonly and rarely roof antennas leak. Also seen cab exhaust vents leak (the flap plastic vents on the lower back cab area, visible in the cab/bed gap). Also were the roof joint moldings are (the two black rubber strips on edges of roof) tend to leak. Underneath the moldings and paint the creases are sealed with some epoxy type of stuff and sometimes will have hairline cracks and leak. Rarely occurs but ive found leaks from there. Also if you have a rear sliding window, the glass seals from the sliding window leak. And the most overlooked....if the windshield or back window have been replaced and not properly sealed, it will leak. A lot of people ask why would my new vehicle have a glass replaced, well they sometimes get cracked or damaged while transporting them to the dealer and they get replaced. From the leak cases ive had at work, i have replaced carpets, headliners, seat covers with cushions, and one time i have seen the entire body/cab wiring harness replaced because customer complained and requested it from chrysler. All under warranty. Water leaks suck to have and suck to diagnose but in my experience they always have a solution. Hope any of this helps.
 
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Stelios

Stelios

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Aw man. That really sucks. Sorry to hear this has happened to you. Have you talked to the dealer that supposedly "fixed" it? (Seems like their fault to me) Is there any way this is covered under the warranty still? Those are the questions I would ask first.

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They're about 3 hours away so not yet. I split time between two cities so I don't have a "regular" dealership. The truck should be covered under warranty it only has 20k on it. Worried about the dealership fix however because the dealerships around here are less than ideal in their workmanship I've found.

You should call chrysler and let them know the issue. Especially if youre still under basic warranty. Open a case with them. That way if you take it to a dealer they will be notified by chrysler about the issue. Assuming you still under basic warranty. Document everything with pictures and paper work. It is a pita but that is a serious issue. At work i have seen, like mentioned above, third brake lamps commonly and rarely roof antennas leak. Also seen cab exhaust vents leak (the flap plastic vents on the lower back cab area, visible in the cab/bed gap). Also were the roof joint moldings are (the two black rubber strips on edges of roof) tend to leak. Underneath the moldings and paint the creases are sealed with some epoxy type of stuff and sometimes will have hairline cracks and leak. Rarely occurs but ive found leaks from there. Also if you have a rear sliding window, the glass seals from the sliding window leak. And the most overlooked....if the windshield or back window have been replaced and not properly sealed, it will leak. A lot of people ask why would my new vehicle have a glass replaced, well they sometimes get cracked or damaged while transporting them to the dealer and they get replaced. From the leak cases ive had at work, i have replaced carpets, headliners, seat covers with cushions, and one time i have seen the entire body/cab wiring harness replaced because customer complained and requested it from chrysler. All under warranty. Water leaks suck to have and suck to diagnose but in my experience they always have a solution. Hope any of this helps.

Thank you. I emailed Chrysler so just waiting on a response now but will try calling tomorrow if nothing else. The truck is still under basic warranty so hopefully, it will be fixed correctly. Based off the angle it was parked and where the water is mainly in the truck I'm guessing its the third brake light or molding in the back of the truck. I've dealt with small water leaks before with other vehicles but never one that was in a new vehicle or let this much water in and grew mold.

I'm mostly concerned about the future mold growth and the effect it'll have on my dash electronics because they was A LOT of moisture in the cab and a lot of it settled on the dash and radio screen. I also have done a bit to my sound system so partially worried they won't try to get out of the warranty from me removing some of the interior panels in the past (I've heard some stories about the local dealers). All I can say is I'm glad I didn't wire my amplifiers in yet.
 

Dpressed1

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Fight it man. Dont take a no from chrysler or a dealer. Its your investment with their screw up. If dealer takes it apart, ask to see it. Take pictures and note anything you think might be affected in the long run and see if they will replace it.
 

pacofortacos

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If you get the Damprid, get the refillables. When they turn to water, just empty and refill and let set in there.
My truck sits alot and I don't notice any water or leaks but it is humid here, so I put on in the back and let it do it's thing.
Doesn't work well in freezing weather, but in the warmer weather it will suck the humidity right out of the air.

I use the same stuff in my boat.
 

Crawgator

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I've had several water leaks also. Noticed carpet under my back passenger seat. After reading about all the issues with the 3rd brake light, I installed thicker gasket material with stuff from Lowes. Fast forward, still had water under the seat. I did some trouble shooting and noticed it was coming in at the bottom of the sliding back window. Dealership changed the trim piece and water leak stopped. Now I found out over the holidays the back window is leaking again. Carpet wet again. I put some water on the window again and I can see water running in the window channel. Haven't had time to bring back to the dealership yet.
 

jr27236

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I've had several water leaks also. Noticed carpet under my back passenger seat. After reading about all the issues with the 3rd brake light, I installed thicker gasket material with stuff from Lowes. Fast forward, still had water under the seat. I did some trouble shooting and noticed it was coming in at the bottom of the sliding back window. Dealership changed the trim piece and water leak stopped. Now I found out over the holidays the back window is leaking again. Carpet wet again. I put some water on the window again and I can see water running in the window channel. Haven't had time to bring back to the dealership yet.
The window seals on the rear power slider do not seal all water out by any means. There are drains in the window channel that get clogged and need to be cleared with compressed air. On 09 and up there location is indicated by the little cutouts on the bottom of the window. On 08 and under you needed to lift the slider cable out and the channel guide lifts up. Poor design with unfortunate common problem for a lot of owners.
 
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TheEnder

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My 1500 also had a water leak from the rear which wasn’t the 3rd brake light, it was the seals around the door that somehow managed to get so dirty they couldn’t seal anymore. I cleaned them off, cleaned the headliner and the rear storage under the seats that were SOAKED in water and it was fine after. I’m really sorry this happened to you bud, and i hope that you get better extremely soon, we’re praying for ya! [emoji56][emoji3590]


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Jonnyb

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Hey all. Same leak issue. No water sitting in the slider channel. Seems like the window seal . When I run the hose against the lower edge or corner of the window edge it runs inside. I cleaned under the exterior of the seal wth water and air. No help. Am I missing the drains somewhere. All I see are the three small cutouts at the bottom exterior of the window seal. Definitely not the brake light or the sliding window gasket. Help!
 

Mrkitchengadget

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having the same problem with my 2014 ram with water under the seat I gotta take it back a second time
 

RamCares

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having the same problem with my 2014 ram with water under the seat I gotta take it back a second time

Hey, Mrkitchengadget. Although multiple dealer visits are not ideal, we do recommend returning to have this leak concern addresses. Let us know how it goes and we are a private message away if you need help.

Kate
RamCares
 

StoneDude76

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having the same problem with my 2014 ram with water under the seat I gotta take it back a second time
Try replacing the cabin pressure vents on the bottom of the back wall of the cab. My leak was that vent.

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rotwiler

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I noticed a very minor stain so replaced my 3rd brake light with a thicker seal, after it warmed up outside I tightened the screws a little more, there is fine line to over tightening and cracking housing, so I did it slowly over a couple months. Currently I have new leak, but comes from front passenger handle bolt cover, thinking the windshield seal is leaking. My truck was special order Hawaii truck and has hidden sat antenna/nav somewhere in headliner but nothing on top of the truck(no Puck or fin) has to have one hidden somewhere since I uograded radio to a 2015 ra4 with nav and nav and sat radio work fine. My trucks a 2013.
 

RamCares

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I noticed a very minor stain so replaced my 3rd brake light with a thicker seal, after it warmed up outside I tightened the screws a little more, there is fine line to over tightening and cracking housing, so I did it slowly over a couple months. Currently I have new leak, but comes from front passenger handle bolt cover, thinking the windshield seal is leaking. My truck was special order Hawaii truck and has hidden sat antenna/nav somewhere in headliner but nothing on top of the truck(no Puck or fin) has to have one hidden somewhere since I uograded radio to a 2015 ra4 with nav and nav and sat radio work fine. My trucks a 2013.

I regret to hear that you are currently experiencing a leak, @rotwiler. If this is something you decide to address with your dealer, please do not hesitate to follow up with us via private message for an additional layer of support.

Mark
RamCares
 
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