S212 Water Ingress

[B1818]

Hi Folks,

I have a 2016 E class estate and every time the car is washed there is a small amount of water getting into the boot lid, leaking out the bottom of the trim. Annoyingly it's leaking through the button to close the boot too!

Going to be removing the trim at the weekend and seeing if I can find where it's coming from - any tips or common places on where to look?

It only drips on the right side of the boot and it only seems to happen when the car is washed so I'm thinking it's coming through a pretty obscure place. Maybe the number plate screws or one of the little LED lights? Somewhere where the rainwater isn't able to easily get.

Thoughts / opinions appreciated!

 

[st13phil]

Suggestions:

• Where the rear lamp cluster mounts to the tailgate
• The tailgate glass seal

If you remove the trim you may be able to see evidence of there the water is running. If not, with the trim removed lightly dust the inside of the tailgate with talc and then hose the car down from the outside as though you were washing it. Hopefully you'll then get a clear tell-tale of where it's coming from.

 

[Abcan]

As above and also check the grommets are in place/intact at the top where the loom goes into the tailgate. I noticed mine had popped out when I gave the car a going over last summer. I didn’t notice any water getting in but I’m sure it would have built up over time.

 

[BlackC55]

The light clusters are the most common.