Unstoppable door leaks

[jbaylis1178]

My 2020 Gladiator will not stop leaking around the front passenger door. I’ve taken it to the dealership three times and they can’t fix the issue. Sitting still, the water no longer comes in but when I’m accelerating or braking, the door leaks. You can see in the photo and the short video. The dealership’s trim tech said “It’s a Jeep and it’s gonna leak.” Does anyone have any tips for this? My son’s 2018 JL Unlimited does not leak so this nonsense about the Jeep leaking because that’s what they do doesn’t cut it for me. My old TJ never leaked.

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[texanjeeper]

That's not just after you shut the door, is it? If I'm on level ground, and I open the door, it drips down into the door frame and on my pants and runs down the window like you're showing.

I have a 2020 and I've never had a door leaking while it's shut.

 

[GWolgamott]

I've experienced that if I've had the door open in a down pour for long enough it would leak or least think it was leaking anyways. But otherwise it wouldn't leak normally and has done this only on two occasions. Not sure whether it was due to it holding water because I had the door open for an extended period of time in a hard down pour and it held water or if once the rubber is wet enough it'd not seal?

Wrote it off as odd glitch in the matrix, but haven't seen it leak that bad as you seem to have... is the door bent?

 

[jbaylis1178]

The most recent incident, the door had been shut since the previous day. When I got in and started driving, I still had not opened the door at all. But the rain started coming through as soon as I started braking. When I open the door, yeah, the water comes down. But that’s expected, and I had to similar stuff happen with my old TJ. But, the door will have been shut for over 24 hours, and the water will leak through as soon as I accelerate, or start to brake. .

 

[Gvsukids]

The most recent incident, the door had been shut since the previous day. When I got in and started driving, I still had not opened the door at all. But the rain started coming through as soon as I started braking. When I open the door, yeah, the water comes down. But that’s expected, and I had to similar stuff happen with my old TJ. But, the door will have been shut for over 24 hours, and the water will leak through as soon as I accelerate, or start to brake. .

Check the tightness of the hard top bolt over the door. You might have to loosen it for a better seal with the freedom panel.

 

[Wildtoad]

Check the tightness of the hard top bolt over the door. You might have to loosen it for a better seal with the freedom panel.

I think looking at the Freedom Top(s) is a good idea. If the water comes down after sitting, obviously it is pooling somewhere. My first suspect is the channel the tops fit into along the rear seals and edges. There are a couple points where the drains for this channel can get clogged allowing the water to collect. In addition they may have been squeezed/distorted preventing any water to escape.

Remove both tops and verify that the rubber seals / drains look the same on both sides of the Jeep.

 

[jbaylis1178]

I've experienced that if I've had the door open in a down pour for long enough it would leak or least think it was leaking anyways. But otherwise it wouldn't leak normally and has done this only on two occasions. Not sure whether it was due to it holding water because I had the door open for an extended period of time in a hard down pour and it held water or if once the rubber is wet enough it'd not seal?

Wrote it off as odd glitch in the matrix, but haven't seen it leak that bad as you seem to have... is the door bent?

No. Door is not bent. I had the dealership double check that.

 

[Sweetums]

Are you sure it's the door and not the freedom top?

 

[Stan H]

Mine was doing that.. so I took the freedom tops off cleaned the seals on the entire seal system VERY WELL let them dry . Then put a light coat of Vaseline Petroleum jelly on the seals. No more leak.
I just remembered the refrigerator guy telling me an occasional smear of Petroleum jelly would keep the rubber supple etc.. try that worked for me . Could have been dust also .. but I cleaned them very good.

 

[jbaylis1178]

Are you sure it's the door and not the freedom top?
[/QUOTE

It appears to be the top corner at the back edge of the front passenger door and a little at the front by the a-pillar.

 

[Gvsukids]

That's right at the track of the freedom panel. Check there for leaks, or something clogging the drain. You can always put a dye and some liquid and see how it travels..

 

[Scott0700]

Similar thing happened to me when I put a hardtop on my JK that came with the soft top only. Adjusted top hinge in a little and it fixed the leak.
Take a small slip of paper and close the door with it various spots until it slips freely out. That’s where it’s not sealing.

 

[GeneralMaximus]

The most recent incident, the door had been shut since the previous day. When I got in and started driving, I still had not opened the door at all. But the rain started coming through as soon as I started braking. When I open the door, yeah, the water comes down. But that’s expected, and I had to similar stuff happen with my old TJ. But, the door will have been shut for over 24 hours, and the water will leak through as soon as I accelerate, or start to brake. .

maybe a weep hole is clogged. check the corners of the hardtop as depicted in this thread

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...ks-into-my-passenger-side-when-raining.57673/

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

My JK top leaked like a sieve. The Leak Dr. at my local dealership fixed it. I agree with others to make sure both the top itself and the freedom panels are correctly aligned, but who at the dealership looked at it? Was it a specialist or just some random idiot? The Leak Dr. has a whole collection of additional weather sealing pieces he added to the door frame, doors, top, etc. They do this all the time. Most dealerships/groups have a specialist that does this. Mine never leaked again. If all they did was inspect the seals that are already on there, they didn’t do anything. I’d take it elsewhere and see if the dealership has a specialist that fixes these leaks. If a specialist looked at it and did indeed add weatherstripping, I’d take it back and let them know they didn’t fix it.

 

[FloridaAussie]

Can I see a gap above the door as you're driving? I think I can see the outside world passing by in a small crack above the door.

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