[SoFlo]

So today my soft top was down and by the look of the sky it didn't look like it was going to rain. So when I was working earlier today, it PORED the rain and inside of my jeep is a DISASTER. The front floors were just covered in water, cup holders are full, just everything is soaked.

I went to the vacuum machine at the gas station and sucked up as much water in the floors so it wasn't flooding, but what do i do now?!?

I am so lost and I feel like I messed up bad....... I just got my jeep too.. its a 2012 with cloth interior..

What do I do before something messes up? All I have is a small wet vac.

 

[TxTrailRunner]

remove drain plugs under your carpet, remove your carpet and let air dry. decide if you really want to put carpet back in (mine went into trash). As long as your clockspring isnt fried, the rest should be fine in a couple days. maybe notice a few gremlins but they should go away. I drove mine home from GTD in may fully nekkid and it poured for the whole 2 hour drive home, i coudnt believe how much water was in it when i got home... jeep is good as ever! FYI, bartact seat covers are pretty dang waterproof, and very very nice. @Bonecollector has some that are around 3 years old and still look new!

 

[Auburn 4X4]

So today my soft top was down and by the look of the sky it didn't look like it was going to rain. So when I was working earlier today, it PORED the rain and inside of my jeep is a DISASTER. The front floors were just covered in water, cup holders are full, just everything is soaked.

I went to the vacuum machine at the gas station and sucked up as much water in the floors so it wasn't flooding, but what do i do now?!?

I am so lost and I feel like I messed up bad....... I just got my jeep too.. its a 2012 with cloth interior..

What do I do before something messes up? All I have is a small wet vac.

First thing you need to do is take a deep breath because most of us have done the same thing and it typically it is not that big of a deal. Also just a heads up, there are actually drain plugs under your carpet up front and in the trunk that you can pull if you ever have standing water again....jeeps get wet/messy and the manufacturer plans on this to some degree.

If you're worried about mildew in the carpets, you can either pull them and hang them to let them dry or if you have really nice sunny weather coming up, just leave the windows open (or remove the doors, much more fun) for a couple days in the sun and everything will dry out.

The only thing that can be bad is if you have a ton of electronics, if something isn't working, give it a couple days to dry out before trying to replace anything that seems to not be working but that is just worst case scenario.

Once again, most people on this forum have probably had the same thing happen at least once.....I did it about a week ago:drinks:

 

[Auburn 4X4]

remove drain plugs under your carpet, remove your carpet and let air dry. decide if you really want to put carpet back in (mine went into trash). As long as your clockspring isnt fried, the rest should be fine in a couple days. maybe notice a few gremlins but they should go away. I drove mine home from GTD in may fully nekkid and it poured for the whole 2 hour drive home, i coudnt believe how much water was in it when i got home... jeep is good as ever! FYI, bartact seat covers are pretty dang waterproof, and very very nice. @Bonecollector has some that are around 3 years old and still look new!

Second this, beat me to it. I'm following your lead of tossing the carpets once I have a little extra cash to bedline the interior.

 

[SoFlo]

Ok so what I did was take out the drain plugs, drained A LOT of water... A LOT. made a big difference. I ripped out the front carpets and the back seat carpet. Vacuumed as much water up as I could.. Wouldn't you know, it just started drizzling again so I put the jeep in the garage and laid the carpet on the ground until it stopped raining.

I tried sucking up as much water on the carpet that I could with the wet vac, a lot came up but its still damp. I like the carpet and was hoping that I didn't have to throw it out but still wanted to get rid of the mildew smell at the same time.

How do you dry out the seats?

Oh and on my way home when I had to drive with it soaked, I noticed the volume buttons behind my steering wheel were not working properly. I would hit it and nothing would happen for about 5-10 seconds and then it would turn up the volume.... Hopefully that dries out soon :/

 

[Auburn 4X4]

The steering wheel controls acting like that are not uncommon and USUALLY dry out/go back to normal within a couple days from what I've read in other threads (I've been lucky to avoid that).

With the seats...well honestly mine have been soaked several times but living in the south has the advantage of being so hot/sunny that they dry out over the course of an afternoon with having the windows open or the doors off. You can shop vac them but really they just need to air dry and mine have been through it several times and still look new so don't worry. Honestly, chances are your 2012 has probably been through this before with the previous owner.

The carpet will be absolutely fine with you pulling it out and letting it air dry. If your carpet was in bad condition from the previous owner (mildew) you can shampoo it/clean it while it's out as it's slightly easier than when it's in the jeep.

Also I didn't want to give you the wrong placement on where the drain plugs were on yours (I have a 2014) and didn't know if they varied, so I did a quick search on the forum and found the following locations for a 2012.

"2 in each of the front floor boards. = 4
1 under each seat. = 4
1 under the "cubby". = 1
1 under the tire jack storage area. = 1
Total of 10 on the 4-door.
Total of 8 on the 2-door."

I hope all this helps and if you're worried about the seats in future events like this (it'll happen again), there are seat covers wet okole comes to mind, that are water proof.

 

[J33P4M3]

for the seat, I recommend getting a ShamWow to "pull" the water out of them. Really any chamois will work, but I have absorbed gallons of water out of a friends JK this way. Just roll the chamois up into a tube shape and press and slide it across the seat. Then squeeze the chamois dry. Rinse/Repeat.

 

[SoFlo]

Yeah I guess my control isn't functioning... its making a weird continuous noise when I open my door and my wiper button doesn't work.....

Sounds like a noise in the CD player somewhere I just hear the motor running and takes a while to stop even after I turn off the jeep.

 

[Blastek]

It's better to disconnect the battery and let the electronics dry out properly. Will probably take a few days. Don't forget the area under the jack. That can also collect water.

 

[JVWilliams]

Yeah I guess my control isn't functioning... its making a weird continuous noise when I open my door and my wiper button doesn't work.....

Sounds like a noise in the CD player somewhere I just hear the motor running and takes a while to stop even after I turn off the jeep.

From what I understand, the problems with water interfering with steering wheel controls all pretty much come down to one component -- the "clock spring" (it's not really a spring -- it's just a coiled length of plastic-encased multiple copper wires in a ribbon designed to maintain electrical connections as the wheel is turned). For some inexplicable reason, it is not fully waterproofed. As an electronics engineer it seems like a straightforward design issue and I've yet to hear a reason why it couldn't be done.

At any rate, if water gets in the steering column, it can short the wires/change signal characteristics, or perhaps do corrosion damage.

Some folks with electronics knowledge have actually repaired damaged clock spring units, but if you don't know how to do it, the steering wheel airbag signalling also runs through the clock spring and a faulty repair can, of course, mess with the airbag functioning.

Hopefully, yours will dry out on its own. If not, and repair isn't an option, I believe replacements run ~$250 plus labor.

 

[SoFlo]

Will me warranty cover it?

Its weird... sometimes when I cut the jeep on, the blinkers and everything will work. But then when I start driving it doesn't. Nothing on the wheel works. Headlights don't work. Windshield wipers don't either...

Its now dark, I went outside to try again and the lights cut on... but now they won't cut off..

What do I do??

 

[otto09]

My wife and son had the JKU naked at a party last Summer when rain came in buckets. Cup holders had 2" of water, and everything else super saturated.
I removed drain plugs and carpet. Vacuumed what water I could out of carpet & let air dry.
Put everything back together & good to go.

 

[JVWilliams]

I'd second the idea of disconnecting the battery for now (if for no other reason than to save it if the lights won't turn off!).

I would think you should know in a day or three whether the functioning will return to normal. On the bright side, if it's working SOME of the time, it seems to me that would mean you might have some water pooled in the clockspring case, but not permanent damage at this point (turning the wheel is intermittently bringing some exposed wires into contact with the water).

I have no idea about warranty coverage. Some of the older JK's clocksprings are evidently covered by a recall at this point.

It's also possible a dealer/service center could open the steering column, remove the clockspring, drain it, and reuse it.

 

[JVWilliams]

By the way, some of the "best practices" I've read here for preventing this kind of thing are 1) having a garbage bag or something similar handy to put over the steering wheel/column, and leaving it there when you park your Jeep with the top down, or 2) putting on the freedom top panels (they can be used without the rest of the hard top).

 

[billiebob]

First thing you need to do is take a deep breath because most of us have done the same thing and it typically it is not that big of a deal. Also just a heads up, there are actually drain plugs under your carpet up front and in the trunk that you can pull if you ever have standing water again....jeeps get wet/messy and the manufacturer plans on this to some degree.

If you're worried about mildew in the carpets, you can either pull them and hang them to let them dry or if you have really nice sunny weather coming up, just leave the windows open (or remove the doors, much more fun) for a couple days in the sun and everything will dry out.

The only thing that can be bad is if you have a ton of electronics, if something isn't working, give it a couple days to dry out before trying to replace anything that seems to not be working but that is just worst case scenario.

Once again, most people on this forum have probably had the same thing happen at least once.....I did it about a week ago:drinks:

THIS, ^^^ if the dash managed to stay dry meaning all the electronics and computers stayed dry this is not a big deal. Keep the garage door open, run some fans.... and all good tomorrow.

You want to dry it out. Not let it sit wet for a week. But Jeep uses materials which are not real sensitive to water. Maybe get a trail cover.

Mines a TJ, I run doorless all summer, parked outside, for 10 years. A driven rain floods my TJR regularly. Probably use a sponge 2 or 3 times every year to remove the puddles on the floor.

 

[SoFlo]

Now if I mention it to the dealership that I got it from do I have to say I left it out in the rain? Or should I just say the controls are on and off....

 

[billiebob]

Best part....
when your neighbours go "Holy shittt!!"
You can just smile and say "Hey, Its a Jeep."

 

[Digger70]

I doubt the dealer is going to be tricked. Any dealer that sells Wranglers is going to know what they're used for haha.

 

[billiebob]

Now if I mention it to the dealership that I got it from do I have to say I left it out in the rain? Or should I just say the controls are on and off....

Do NOT !! Do NOT admit anything. Let them figure it out !!!!
Yeah Ask what gives with the controls.

Did it get wet??? MAYBE ? There is dew every morning.
Don't tell them you used a fire hose to clean it.

 

[Digger70]

Do NOT !! Do NOT admit anything. Let them figure it out !!!!
Yeah Ask what gives with the controls.

Did it get wet??? MAYBE ? There is dew every morning.
Don't tell them you used a fire hose to clean it.

Better yet, he should tell them that he was parked next to a fire truck at the grocery store and when he came out of the store with his groceries, the fire truck was gone and his entire jeep was soaked!!!

Or is it too late to just blame it on gremlins???? :rofl2: