Water leaking from interior hatch pull handle - 1 month out of warranty

[West1134]

So I just got home from a conference on the road, where my Mach E was parked outside at the airport for a week and it had been raining a decent amount that week, but was currently dry out.

Upon opening the hatch to load luggage, I noticed two things.
1) When the hatch went to the up position quite a bit of water came rushing down in the channels to the left and right and draining outside of the car. While that is what is supposed to happen when raining, it seemed odd that much quantity was "stuck" somewhere and couldn't clear until the hatch opened.
2) Upon getting home and closing the hatch after unloading luggage I noticed a stream of water come shooting out of the interior pull handle in the hatch. Not a massive quantity, maybe 10oz, but no water period should be coming from the interior hatch handle.

So I hopped online to start researching and found a few threads on this forum that spoke to this, especially in earlier models (2021, mines a 2022) that had a TSB. It points to the third brake light, the taillights and potentially the mustang emblem which is held on by bolts vs adhesive as potential intrusion points.

I called my dealer today to schedule an appt to learn that my 3yr 36k mile warranty ran up last month, and they start at $600 for a water intrusion inspection plus parts/labor for the remedy. I went ahead and booked an appt since it was 3wks out and plan to try and take apart the hatch trim this weekend to see if I can resolve it myself and save some $$$.

My questions to the forum members are:
1) Does anyone have a diagram that shows an exploded view of how to remove the hatch trim. Always helpful to not break all the plastic parts when you know where to look for them.
2) Anyone have this issue and resolve it yourself? I've seen a number of other threads but none actually said 100% what the solution was, just what it could be (ie 3rd taillight, emblem, etc.)

Hopefully I can fix this myself, but if not, I'll take it in for the appt have on the books in a few weeks, and just keep it parked in my garage until then. Thankfully I have another car I can drive.

Thanks in advance.

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[markboris]

Very easy to remove the panel. Takes about 2 minutes.

 

[West1134]

Very easy to remove the panel. Takes about 2 minutes.

You rock! Thank you

 

[markboris]

You rock! Thank you

You just pull on all the panels. It might feel like you are breaking something but just try to pull where the clips are that you can see in the illustrations. Also, on those side panels, usually the retainers stay in the liftgate and don't come off with the panel. Careful remove them out of the hole in the liftgate and place back on the panels when you go to reassemble.

It's a little easier to remove and replace the large panel with two people because it is larger and awkward but I do it by myself all the time.

 

[kamorela]

It's a little easier to remove and replace the large panel with two people because it is larger and awkward but I do it by myself all the time.

Yikes! All the time?

 

[markboris]

Yikes! All the time?

Maybe it sounded like I have water intrusion issues and that is why I'm always taking off the panel. Never had any water issues. I've taken off the panels on my three Mach-E's for sound deadening and to cover/block the holes where the pony emblem normally is since I use a Ford Oval instead of a pony. However, I have installed rear lighted pony and GT emblems on many Mach-E's so that is why I have taken off that panel so much. Doing another one tomorrow.

 

[kamorela]

Maybe it sounded like I have water intrusion issues and that is why I'm always taking off the panel. Never had any water issues. I've taken off the panels on my three Mach-E's for sound deadening and to cover/block the holes where the pony emblem normally is since I use a Ford Oval instead of a pony. However, I have installed rear lighted pony and GT emblems on many Mach-E's so that is why I have taken off that panel so much. Doing another one tomorrow.

Wow, if I lived closer and needed that panel removed I'd want you to do it! lol

 

[markboris]

Wow, if I lived closer and needed that panel removed I'd want you to do it! lol

Taking that liftgate panel off is nothing. I'm not afraid to tear apart my cars

Escape

F-150

GT500

Mach-E

 

[kamorela]

Taking that liftgate panel off is nothing. I'm not afraid to tear apart my cars

Escape

F-150

GT500

Mach-E

Um...has anyone ever recommended or offered intervention? lol

Complete Stranger: "Hey man, so...what do you do?"

Mark: "I take cars apart."

Complete Stranger: "Oh, so you're, like, a junk yard parts puller then?"

Mark: "Hardly. I take perfectly good cars apart for fun. Here, look at these pics."

Complete Stranger:

 

[markboris]

That's funny Kelly. Usually within the first week I purchase a vehicle, I gut the interior and sound deaden the entire body, top to bottom plus the doors. At the same time I run power wires from the battery to the cargo area for aftermarket amps I'll be using to upgrade the audio system. Also run wires for ambient lighting and other mods I might be installing. And that is just the inside. You should see what the exterior looks like when I disassemble things.

 

[ChrisO]

That's funny Kelly. Usually within the first week I purchase a vehicle, I gut the interior and sound deaden the entire body, top to bottom plus the doors. At the same time I run power wires from the battery to the cargo area for aftermarket amps I'll be using to upgrade the audio system. Also run wires for ambient lighting and other mods I might be installing. And that is just the inside. You should see what the exterior looks like when I disassemble things.

Wow you are just on a completely different level than us mere mortals.

 

[West1134]

UPDATE:

I pulled the trim off and inspected for damp spots. Nothing appeared to be wet from the upper section of the hatch (ie 3rd brake light area) so I focused on the tail lights. I removed them following this video:

I then read up on previous models (specifically 2021) having no foam seals on the light assembly's so I started there.
Here you can see there is a rubber grommet on the left top and bottom holes, but the rest have nothing....and there are quite a few holes there for potential water intrusion.

You can see there is a very slim grommet on the bolt, but frankly that doesn't seem like it would do much.

However, I thought perhaps it was the lack of rubber grommets on the bolts, so I (using what I had on hand) used 3M Windshield Sealant - butyl to create a gasket. Figured if it seals a windshield couldn't hurt here.

I pressed it back on and tightened down the bolts then closed the trunk and with the trim still off, I had my son hose down the tailgate only to find water coming in again. Ultimately, looks like its those foam "seals" that aren't up to the job.


Now mind you I had him spraying above the taillights not directly at them. I recognize a spray nozzle will have more force than just raining, but its obviously still not up to the job.

So now, I'm going to go to the Ford dealership to see if there is an updated part I should consider before using some other gasket concept to re-seal them and then see what happens.

 

[Jon Boy]

On my 23 Mach e it was not the rear lights that caused the water ingress but the Pony badge as it is not a stick on one it is held in by two pins I am told and that is where the water gained access to the tailgate. My dealership re-sealed the Pony badge, result no water ingress since.

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