Water in the car door? Here’s how to fix it.

Let’s fix the sloshing sounds of water in the car door.

Water in the car door? Ice in the car door? We’ve had a lot of questions about this “water inside car door” question, so we’ve added another question-and-answer to this post.

If none of these fixes help your water in car door situation, let us know. We’ll try to help.

Question: How do I get water out of my car door?

I swear when I’m driving my car around town—especially after a soaking rain—that I hear water sloshing around. A lot of it, too.

I thought it was the water bottle I had stowed in the door storage area, but it’s not. What’s the deal?

Not only does this not seem right for the car, it makes me … uh … #$%^& ….  a little crazy!??!?!?!

Answer: Here’s how to get water out of your car door.

Ha! I’ve been there. Water in the car door can be super frustrating, and then just plain annoying. Listening to the sloshing sounds can drive me crazy. Plus, it’s an anxiety spiral, when water is where it shouldn’t be. Unwanted water never seems to turn into a happy ending.

Check the bottom of your car door. What you’re looking for is a small hole stamped in the steel. In some cases, it could have a small decal over it.

That hole (it’s actually a drain) can clog with debris. If it does clog, the door can’t drain or will it drain much, much more slowly than it fills up. Hence, slosh city in your door. In the case of some decal-covered holes, build-up can occur over time with tiny pieces of leaves and other stuff, so there could be sludge back there. Try to remove it if you can get at it with something pointy. A pen tip has worked for me. 

A good way to test that you’ve solved the problem is to wait until the next soaker. If the hole was clogged and you removed the obstruction, water should drain right away. If it doesn’t, it might be time for a visit to the mechanic.

Question: How do I get rid of this ice out of my car door?!

Hi, I had a lot of sloshing sounds after the heavy rain somewhere around the front passenger side of the car.

Today, after a rain and snow it’s freezing and my rear passenger side floor is a real ice rink, the rag is covered with ice. All windows have a thick ice frost on the inside of the car as well.

What could be a cause and where should I bring my car?

Answer: How to remove ice out of your car door.

Ice in the car door takes an extra step to remove it. The ice in the car door will melt, eventually. If it’s too cold to melt, then try a hair dryer to help melt the ice. But, that doesn’t completely solve this morning’s problem.

So, open your car door(s) and look for a weep hole at the bottom. The weep hole on ours seems to have an adhesive flap over it that impeded water drainage (great design!). If you have one, make sure it opens.

On ours, I had to poke a hole in it. Once I did, water drained and the problem went away.

Some tips to remove water in the car door

Think like a rain drop. Water cooperates with gravity, so take advantage of this weakness with a few strategies.

Park on an incline.

If you can, park on an incline such that the weep hole is downhill. Water always finds the lowest point. Once it warms up and the water liquefies, this should help solve your problem.

Holey moley weep holes.

If there is no weep hole, I’m out over my skis recommending you drill a hole in your car door, but I bet a mechanic would do the same thing.

Get the water out now. Not later.

Water intrusion does not improve with time so I do recommend getting it out of there in short order. Water can turn into ice, and ice in the car door can cause a whole other set of issues you don’t want.

About the Author