If the doors are closed, and the windows are closed, this is not normal. I would bring it to the dealer to have them inspect the door or window seals, depending on where the leak is. Please let us know, and if possible, post some pictures, as well as your final resolution, so that others can benefit from your experience.
Yes. Most noticable on white cars, and this issue can be found on many other makes/brands. The rubber seals around the doors will "shed" some black material that on white cars, can show up (but is easily wahsed/wiped off). Nothing to be worried about. I've had this happen on other cars (not Toyota), and the amount and frequency of this seeping black does significantly reduce with time. Not sure it ever completely stops, but as I said, it's not really an issue, and you can easily wipe it off in the areas that are seeping.
I will get a photo tomorrow or next day it rains. Thanks for the replies. I don't think it will look like Jesus, Penny's Dad. (LOL)
I stopped at the Toyota Service Department in Santa Rosa CA. They told me that the water from the rain goes inside the door instead of just running down the back of the Prius. The rain comes out of a hole on the bottom of the back door. They told me not to worry. It was only the new rubber molding that was seeping out and it will not be black after a while.
Pouring rain gets in door panels? So what if there is a very heavy rain storm and when you open the door to enter or exit or stop at a drive-through to place an order at the intercom with the window open and, within seconds, significant rain (not a couple drops) pours on the door panel and leaks into the power window controls? Is it made to handle it?
Hey Mailmandolin- I work in Santa Rosa! Nice to see another local Prius owner on Priuschat! And, since you've only got 5 posts, I should also say "Welcome to Priuschat!" I have noticed that rain tends to be VERY noisy inside the door jambs. I think it's a combination of thin body steel, the way the car sheds water, and the general lack of sound insulation to keep down car weight. But I've never seen any black marks from the rain on my Barcelona red IV. I'd really like to see some pics of your stains...please post them when you have them. Update: Just found your pic in your album. I didn't know the III came with a anti-gravity driving option- nice! The seeping doesn't look too bad- can you tell if it's just road grime or does it feel oily to the touch? It does appear that it's coming form INSIDE your door panel and not from within the door jamb well- based on the drain hole location on the bottom of the door (which I was unaware existed- guess that's because i don't have the antigrav option). I'm no expert, but I thought the window seal would keep water OUT of the door panel for the most part...seems to me there should be very little water that enters the actual door panel itself, but clearly from the drain hole at the bottom Toyota designed it to drain the way it does in your case. I'll look more closely at mine and see if I can see similar stains.
Re: Pouring rain gets in door panels? I had posted this question in a separate thread, but someone moved it here and it got mixed into this thread and lost. This thread isn't even that closely related because the poster of this thread is talking about stains on the outside of the car and I'm asking about electrical problems inside the door panel. Does anyone know how water resistant the electrical in the door panels are?
