Ford Focus Water leak in Boot, Sealing Rear Vents Behind Rear Bumper

This Problem Also Happens On The Fiesta & Many Other Models
But having had lots of comments saying the rear vents are a big issue, I decided to investigate.
Its not a difficult job to do, in the video I show how to remove the rear bumper to gain access to the vents, remove them, & seal them back in with silicone.

[raymondfitzpatrick]

Thanks for the detailed video. I was able to catch the leaking vents in time on my 2014 focus. I followed your step by step instructios. The wheel well was full of water. My rear window was fogged up all the time. Took me about 4 hours cost €10.00 . What a result. No leaking...No foggy windows. My local Ford dealer did NOT want to know. Sort this out Ford.

[philpavett]

Just done this on my 2014 Ford Focus, by following you’re video...very informative and easy to do thanks to you . The car was soaking wet and smelling musty ( well done Ford designers 🙁) Dried it out and now sorted, thank you

[stevensamuel]

This really saved me as a car repair novice, so helpful and spot on accurate. I put an extra line of silicon on the outside of the vents just in case there were any gaps I couldn’t see on the inside, didn’t want to go through it all again. Thanks so much

[Schmorg_]

Thank you so much for posting this video, I removed the bungs and sealed the vents this morning. Without your tutorial I wouldn't have dreamt of doing this myself! My local garage was reluctant to this job for some reason, but I'm really glad its now sorted and the Mrs might now stop bugging me to buy a new car 😃

[finansowykretyn]

This same problem here. I took these grommets out and wool soaked in water and I'm waiting for some rain now. Don't fancy taking the bumper off on the busy street, no garage. Excellent video.

[dannydriscoll]

The best video on YouTube on how to do this. Done the job today on my Focus ST. You made it straight forward and easy to understand.

[kylejoshuamarasigan]

I learned an easy trick to remove the air vents starting with the bigger one.

Poke the corner tab with a screwdriver through the bottom hole. It should easily come off when you press the release tab. Then remove the top tab on the same side by pressing down whilst pulling. This should easily come off too.

Once you have one side released slide it towards you and pull at an angle.

Took me 2mins to release the other side when I learned the technique. Hope the instructions make sense.


Thank you for this video!! You've helped so many people now!

[Briantunclkestuff]

Our 2013 has been parked up for a few months....we now have a fish pond inside....Traced it to back end...Your video my friend has helped me get to that vent. A very poorly designed vent and seal assembley I'm sure you will agree.
Many thanks for the super information.

[Killadey]

As soon as the rain stops here, I'll be attempting this. Thanks for posting this, your very thorough which makes it much clearer. Cheers.

[godfatherproductions]

You're a legend mate... lot's of videos about this on YouTube but you are the one who showed the hidden 3rd screw under wheel arch, saved the day and reduced the language level. Job done, thanks.

[shambledunk]

Thanks very much for this video, followed it through this morning and it made the whole operation so much easier!

I have a hint for making the vents easier to remove!

Do the back ones first: lift the top rubber flap (gently, these are delicate) and you can simply pull in the top two tabs with a couple of long thin screwdrivers, no aggro at all!
The whole top half comes loose and you can run another thin screwdriver down the outside to push in the bottom tabs. Back vent comes out in about a minute!

Then reach inside through the back vent hole and, so long as your hands aren't massive, you can pop down three of the side vent's tabs (couldn't reach the top/far one) and wrestle that out in not much more time.

[borg]

Tip for removing vents. I just did this on my 2016 Fiesta and it only has one air vent on each corner. Here is a tip I found after doing the first vent for removing them at least with the 2016 model. If you lift up the bottom flap on the vent and look into the vent you can see the back side of the clips inside and use a screw driver to push up on the bottom tabs after inserting it between the rubber edge and the car wall (there are two on the top and bottom). This method allows one to see where the screw driver is (while keep the flap up) after inserting it through the bottom of the vent. Lifting the flap made it so much easier to remove the second vent after doing the first one the hard way.

[kaitlynashurst]

Discovered wet passenger floor last week and traced it back to the boot and finally the blanking tape over the holes into that void area. Pushed the bungs inside to release the pond that was hiding so next dry weekend I'll be following your brill tutorial on removing the bumper and sealing the duff vents in properly. Cheers 👍🏻

[zebraprinter]

Thank you so much for posting your videos. My wife and daughter both have Ford Focus cars on 2011-12 plates and both had wat ingression, one right up to the front foot well. After watching your videos I have now dried both cars out, removed the bumpers and fixed the leaks. Thank you so much, you saved me a fortune on garage bills and I would not have had a clue how to do it without following you. PS i also did a front light as well.

[tonyconnolly]

Just did the same job this afternoon. Followed your lead and it went perfectly. Thanks a million 👍

[fatblokexl]

I had this problem on my new to me 13 plate Focus.
Great video for doing the belt and braces approach of sealing the vents but for me, the easiest thing to do it just remove the bung underneath.
Allow the water to drain then pull the wadding out through the hole.
Leave the bung out.
I've not had any pooling water since.

I don't have the luxury of a garage so again it is the best option for me personally.

[mattmckinney]

Brilliant video. My boot was FULL of water, and so was every foot well. Followed your video and since then no water (touch wood) has got in. This was about 4 weeks ago, and we've had some good rain since.

[richarddarling]

Pushed the bungs in from underneath and the water cascaded out....been in garage twice and they could not find problem...going to have a go at fixing detailed video

[neilcurtis]

Did mine this morning. Thankyou for the video it all went well. Only broke two clips. All four vents were loose and not sealing in any way against the body. Prepped with scotch brite and cleaned with acetone before applying a marine grade silicone sealant. Fingers crossed it worked. Also made silicone washers for the light fitting bolts. Many thanks.

[stevocalic]

Great video with detailed instructions. I did that work two years ago on my 2012 Focus. Recently found out again water in the trunk, but only on the right-hand side. Today I took it apart and saw that my vent opening sealing is still good. Then I realized that water must've been entering into the vent corner from the top, around the fuel tank door - it is the same volume. Applied sealant around. We'll see if it is successful.