Problem with Wet Floor in Mazda 6

Help! we adore our 2015 Mazda 6, but it gets standing water in the back seat floor behind the driver. Have taken it to the dealership three times and they can't fix it. I'm concerned about mold, rust, and really hate having to scrape the INSIDE of the rear window on icy days. I'm afraid we got a lemon. Am taking it to dealership again this week, with a loaner car, said I didn't want the car back til it was fixed...Also called our salesman. What else can I do? 

Under N.J. lemon law, they get three changes to fix it. Keep the receipts for the visits. From there, tell the manager/owner that you want to meet with the regional manager for Mazda corporation. If that gets you nowhere, logon to N.J.gov and link to Department of Community Affairs and look for Lemon Law.

If you use them, you cannot sue Mazda until their efforts are exhausted.

Actually, logon to Community Affairs before your next visit to the dealer.

That's ridiculous! don't let them off on it -- you should go over there and demand they either repair or refund you for that car -- it will start to mold and you will have a huge problem on your hand. Also try social media -- post on Mazda's facebook page, mention them on twitter, get a news channel involved. If you are loud enough they will fix it for you..

addiemoose said:

Help! we adore our 2015 Mazda 6, but it gets standing water in the back seat floor behind the driver. Have taken it to the dealership three times and they can't fix it. I'm concerned about mold, rust, and really hate having to scrape the INSIDE of the rear window on icy days. I'm afraid we got a lemon. Am taking it to dealership again this week, with a loaner car, said I didn't want the car back til it was fixed...Also called our salesman. What else can I do? 

also do a search of Mazda owner chats - maybe this is a known issue and can provide some extra pressure to them doing the right thing.

I would also tell them they must detail car, drying out and replacing mats once fixed.

Good luck - so frustrating!

(We have an old 2005 Saab that developed a leak and we took it to Wigder Chevrolet recently (we just got rid of a Traverse and were very familiar with the service dept) bc they have a "leak specialist" there one day a week. The fix was inexpensive and seems to be working so far...)

also, forget your salesman.  Deal with the service manager.

Don't know if you have a sunroof or moonroof but that's usually the source... clogged drain channels.

There have been class action lawsuits for plenum drainage problems in the front of vehicles and for the faulty drainage in sunroofs. We had thousands of dollars in damage for standing water caused by a clogged plenum drain. Lots of electronic components were in the floor of the passenger side (front). This was an Audi. We were too late for the class action suit. There was talk of a similar suit for Volvos and Volkswagen. Basically EricH may be right.

EricH said:

Don't know if you have a sunroof or moonroof but that's usually the source... clogged drain channels.

If not the sunroof channels, it can often be the AC drainage lines (though maybe not in this case), the vapor seals in the doors, or any number of things from below the windshield line (battery tray rusted?  leaves, etc. cleared under the hood?).  Just because it's pooling in the rear doesn't mean the source isn't at the front of the car either... the channels below the carpet can often lead the water back there where it collects.  Only way to really tell is have the carpet fully removed and test for it... shouldn't be that hard since you probably need new liners and insulation anyway now.

EricH said:

Don't know if you have a sunroof or moonroof but that's usually the source... clogged drain channels.

that was the problem with our old VW Passat.  This is a serious issue.  We ended up with water leaking into the engine compartment due to clogged moonroof drains.  The water ended up seeping into the brake system.

I don't know the applicability of the lemon laws to this kind of problem.  Our issue was after we had the car almost 10 years, and the cause what not VW's fault.  It was pollen and other junk falling from the tree over our driveway.

but if that's the problem, it should be easily repaired.  once the drains were cleared we didn't encounter the issue again.

We had the debris cleared from somewhere, when Mr. Moose took it in, but it keeps recurring. I'm taking it tomorrow for the 4th effort, and I will have a letter with me to the regional manager describing the problem. If they can't fix it this time, and replace the carpet, we will take it up the food chain. There's a great sample letter on the Lemon Law brochure I'm'a borrow. 

wrote warning letter re Lemon Law to general manager and cc to dealership manager. Have rental car. am waiting for fixed car and/or phone calls...

Seems like you are making progress.  Sorry you have to go through this.

Car was in the shop for a week. They still can't figure it out. They gave it back to us, with the same water in it, and told us to bring it back when it gets wet again. So we are working on drying it out ourselves, so we can determine when new moisture comes in. Not happy.

I suggest that you start a complaint at the corporate level. Local dealers and service departments won't do squat.  Start by writing a letter to the US CEO of the company.  send it certified with a green card return receipt.  They will get it to the the correct person..  I had to do this with VW with a different set of problems.  It was a lot of back and forth but i was finally compensated...because they could not solve the problem they took the car back.  We had a long negotiation as to appropriate  payback price for me.  But it worked out in the end.

It is time to send more lemon letters, including directly to Mazda and, probably NJ if that is something you need to do to pursue the lemon law requirements.  (When I had trouble with my Audi TT's tires a long time ago, I eventually got a new set of tires after going directly to Audi.)

It is absurd that the dealer gave it back to you to dry it out and bring it back in again with fresh water. For all you know the current water in the car entered during our Monday/Tuesday storm.  I doubt that they had the car inside during that event.  eta:  Also, to find the source of a leak they probably had to douse the car with a hose--likely adding more water to your floor.

Have you considered taking it to a different dealer to deal with the water issue?  

Please, when you are ready, share the name of the dealer where you purchased and have the car serviced.  

I sent the Lemon Law letter to Mazda corporate 2/10, it arrived 2/17. I told the dealership to keep the car outside during the big rains, and drive it around, and the mechanic somehow knew that no new moisture came in, though how he could tell that through the soggy carpet I do not know. They've hosed it down and from below several times. I wrote a very polite email to the dealership manager outlining options, he seems very friendly on the phone, will keep yall posted. A different dealership may be a good idea. thanks!

aha! we were not crazy! we had not left the windows/doors open as the service dude suggested. no, national mazda got the regional service guy to look at it, and sure enough there was a leak in the sealant coming from the windshield. and that should be getting fixed. and they are working up an extension of our service contract because we had to take the car in 5 times and go through all this agita. Will update once the service contract comes in.

EricH said:

Don't know if you have a sunroof or moonroof but that's usually the source... clogged drain channels.

I just had this same issue fixed on my Subaru Outback.  It was a simple issue to fix.