File in Section:

Service Bulletin

Bulletin No.:
Date:

PIC5458C
December, 2012

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION
Subject:

Water Leak In Rear Floor Area

Models:

2011 - 2013 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

This PI was superseded to update recommended fields and add warranty information. Please
discard PIC5458B.

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

Condition/Concern
Water may leak into the vehicle and accumulate in the rear floor pan area on either the left or right side of the
vehicle. This could be caused by any of the following issues described below. Be sure to read over all possible
areas of concern listed below.

Recommendation/Instructions
Note: When the water management bag has standing water in it (after a car wash, heavy rain, ice, etc.) you may
hear a sloshing noise on acceleration, deceleration, cornering, or braking. This noise is normal and will go away
after a few stops as the water makes its way to the drains.
Everything to the inboard side of the rear quarter glass is considered a dry area; water should not be in the "dry area"
(1). Everything to the outboard side of the rear quarter glass is considered the "wet area" (2). It is acceptable and by
design that water is present on the outboard side of the rear quarter glass and in the area of the quarter glass
regulator that the front drain spills into.

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Area of concern #1
The water diverter that is sewn into the canvas top may be on the "dry side" of the vehicle.
With the top in the closed and latched position, have an assistant stand outside of the vehicle and run water over the
top of the car. While sitting in the back seat, lift the headliner up in the area behind the quarter window. With the
water running, look past the headliner to confirm the water is draining into the water management bag. If the water
doesn’t drain into the water management bag verify that the plastic water diverter (1) that is sewn into the top is on
the "wet side" of the trim. The two pictures below show this plastic diverter in both the correct and incorrect
positions.
Correct Position

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Incorrect Position

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Area of concern #2
Verify the front of the water management bag is properly attached to the body sheet metal panel. In the photo below,
the water bag (1) is correctly positioned and attached to the vehicle's sheet metal (2) in the LH photo. The RH photo
shows the bag where it is not attached (2) to the sheet metal of the vehicle.

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Area of concern #3
Inspect the front drains for proper installation. This can be difficult to confirm due to the limited space and limited
visibility in this area. The following picture illustrates a drain that is not fully seated in position. The front drains are
difficult to install and may not be fully seated in the body sheet metal panel. If the front drains were previously
dislodged, it is possible that the drain may have taken set and will not remain in place. Replace the water
management bag ONLY if the drain will not stay in place. Water management bag replacement can only be
performed after removing the top from the vehicle.

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Important: It is normal for the quarter glass window to make light contact with this drain when the window is rolled
down. Modifications to the upper lip of the drain can be made if cycling the window results in the drain tube being
pushed out of the sheet metal. An opening on the top of the drain tube that resembles the opening on the bottom of
the tube can be made for this condition. The drain will not fall out of the body sheet metal unless the drain is not fully
seated.

Area of concern #4
Verify the presence and proper location of the foam tape on both the left and right side 5 bow brackets, as shown in
the following photograph.

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By design, water runs along the folding top and down to the 5 bow and 5 bow brackets. It runs down until it hits the
pieces of foam. Once it reaches this foam, it can no longer wick down the brackets and into the vehicle. Instead, the
water drips off the brackets, directly into the water bag located directly below these foam pieces. If the foam pieces
are damaged or missing, they will need to be replaced. If the foam pieces are still present, an additional layer of
foam tape may be added on top of the existing foam pieces. This will make the foam stand taller, preventing water
from overcoming the height of the foam. This peel-and-stick foam tape can be purchased at any local home
improvement or hardware store.

Area of concern #5
Inspect the area of the vehicle where the folding top frame is fastened in place. There may be water leaking into the
vehicle between 2 pieces of sheet metal in the quarter panel area. When comparing the body seams on both RH
and LH sides of the vehicle, it may be noticed that there is visible seam sealer protruding from the body seams on
only one side of the vehicle. If there is no visible seam sealer on the side of the vehicle that has the leak, this may be

the cause for the concern. The first photograph below shows the area in question. The second photo shows a close
up view of the circled area and the potential leak in the body seam. The LH side of the photo shows a body seam
that has not been properly sealed. The RH side of the photo shows a body seam that has been properly sealed.

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Warranty Information
The correction for this concern may be one of several repairs described above. For vehicles repaired under warranty,
please use the appropriate warranty labor operation based on the actual cause and repair.
Please follow this diagnostic or repair process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is
resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed.