BlkRob

Recently got a 5G Prelude used from a family member who didn't use it very often. First thing I noticed was a mold smell inside and 2 inches of water in the wheel well. The back seat was also wet.

I took the side trunk liners out and tried water down the car to find the problem but couldn't find it. After a hard rain, I checked the trunk and found water in the corner where the jack is stored and the opposite side as well.

I think that it first collects there then obviously into the wheel well. If enough water collects there, it can slosh around during driving and collect under the back seat.

I traced the problem back to the tail light gaskets. There was water on the lip of the holes where the wires go to the tail light and after I took the tail lights off I noticed that the gaskets where wet on the bottom.

Those tail lights get exposed to a lot of water when it rains and the only thing that keeps water from getting inside are those gaskets. They are thin to begin with and the material is prone to shrinkage over time.

I haven't tried a fix yet since I just found the problem 10 minutes ago but I'm planning to find some gasket material from an auto parts or hardware store and cut it to fit.