MY ND MIATA GOT FLOODED! SOFT TOP DRAIN CLEANING TUTORIAL
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- Опубліковано 29 лип 2023
- Hey guys!
My ND soft top drain got clogged and a bunch of water leaked into the cabin. Thankfully we caught it when we did and it didn't get much more worse because it was already really bad. Hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial and it helped a bit. I would recommend checking this drain every 2 oil changes or so to make sure this doesn't happen to you. I turned the music down in the back of this video so hopefully the audio is more balanced. Thanks for tuning in guys! :) - Авто та транспорт
For anyone watching, you NEED to extract all that water with suction like a wet vac or carpet machine. Preferably, put down some carpet shampoo and extract it all out at the same time. Otherwise, you're going to have mold and mildew that will settle down under the carpet/padding. Honestly, if my car was this flooded, I'd pull the seats and carpet entirely. Mildew is no joke and you'll smell that shit every time you open the doors on a hot day.
Thanks for the heads up but...where does a normal guy get a machine to deal with this that won't break the bank? Coin operated washes only have normal vacuums
Thank you ! Your tutorial shows to easiest way to access the drain, mine was okay but I’m now able to check it regularly in the future 👍
Glad i could help!
Bro I think there was a salamander and a homeless guy in that one little basket.
Thank you man!
HAHAHAHA my pleasure man 😭
Thank you for this very helpful video. I just took delivery of my 2024 yesterday,it's so much fun! It will live in my garage but I will be vigilant in taking care of the drainage hose 👍
Yessir! Enjoy it man, they’re such great cars
Love the alloys! Really nice!
Mazda should be ashamed. Make it a 1 inch hose with access from above to easily clean.
Wow ig garage makes a difference. I haven't cleaned this out in a long while and I'm gonna do it the right way now that I saw it (removing interior panels) instead of blindly reaching my hand in. I'll remove the sponge for the first time too. Thanks and I'm really sorry about your car. Water is so destructive.
(sport trim level is my fav btw)
Thank you man! Having this car is a blast but it for sure has its quirks. The water was super annoying but thankfully no more leaks
We all been there, LOL. Use a tile sponge, the type that is used for laying down tiles/grout, get at home depot. It is big super absorbant and durable. Once you get as much water out then air dry or shop vac as much as you can then air dry.
Ayy thanks for the advice man! Hopefully I won’t have to use it but I’ll for sure look into that if it does happen again.
I‘ve seen som videos dealing with that problem now. And yours is by far the best. Just one thing. (Maybe you didn’t show it) but it doesn’t seem you went down the whole drain with your feather (cleaning thing) if you only managed a couple of cm or so. It’s because the drain goes horizontally to under the seat belt winch. Ther it turns 90degrees to go down. At that bend there is a hole on the top. one can see it better by tearing the seatbelt out. That hole is a good point to go down with any feather and clean the drain from any debris.
Thanks man! Yea I actually had to go back after making this video to clean that tube more thoroughly but after that I don’t have any more problems! Thanks for that though, would def recommend cleaning it better for better results
This is where the NC2 PHRT has a superior design. Don’t need to take anything apart. I had an nc1 with a soft top that was awful at this. Was hoping Mazda had pushed the better design to the ND. Guess not. Thanks for the video.
I have checked and have a little water under de floorboards, now i know i have to clean those filters, no big deal but the water is in there, is this a major problem? just dry and thats all?, or you had to change your floorboard or something else?
Yessir, just dry it off with some rags or however you’d like and you should be all good. Nothing will get seriously damaged if a small amount of water pools there. I didn’t replace anything and the carpet and interior as a whole have been all good!
Dude owns a Miata but doesn’t own a SHOP VAC?! Lmao… yeah - man-bun checks out.
My recommendation which has worked for me for 10 years is to invest in a top cover if you must park outdoors. If you can help it, do not park under trees ever. I dint care if it provides shade. It also provides lots of dirt and tree debris that most don’t even realize. If you have it flood this bad, you’ll need to pull the carpet out. If not it’ll mold.
Good advice! Thanks!
Hi, I have a question about the carpets? Did you have to take them out to dry? Do recommend to do that. Did your car end up smelling moldy or mildew?
This happened during the summer time so I didn’t have to take the carpets out. I just put the seats all the way forward and left the top down, let the sun and natural heat do all the work. I also used some baking soda, but if it were to happen to me now though, id say blow dryer/ heat gun and baking soda for moisture. My car didn’t end up smelling bad thankfully but I think that was due to the baking soda
I've cleaned my drains in my 2016 by going from the top down and it's a bitch, that's a good tip taking out the interior panels to get to the drains. I find the most likely thing to clog the drain are the pollen pods from trees, they land on the roof and then get washed down into the drains. Whenever I go out to my car I try to pick off anything that has landed on the top by hand so it doesn't get washed down. If you have a regular parking spot under a tree in a convertible, it will always cause problems.
Thanks bro! Going from the side/interior makes it so much easier than squeezing your hand from the top. But same! I try to pick off leaves branches that fall on top of that car since cleaning it
Thanks for the video. Is there a drain hole and filter on both sides?
Yessir, one for the driver and one for the passenger side
This is why I sold mines. You have to clean every 6 months if you’re living in dusty area. Now, I’m thinking about RF models. One of my best fun car to drive over, 370z nismo, m4, GTR, and NSX.
Happens on my 2020 rf, too, sadly. Currently working on mine and came across this video
I’m so glad I never have had this issue and won’t on my ‘13 Club. What a pain.
You’re super lucky
Hi. Had same issue with my Mk4. First a knew about is alarm went off and could not turn it off. After disconnecting the battery and alarm off I found a pond in the footwell. Basket all clean BUT where is the drain hole in the floor pan? Is there a drain hole in the floor pan?
There might be a leak further down the drain. There is a hole behind the seat where you can access the rest of the drain. It is covered by a plastic trim, pry it out and you will be able to clean the rest of the drain tube. It is behind the carpet behind the seat
Thank you. Where does the drain hole exit the floor? Can I find it from under the car?
@@philiphawkins4607 I myself haven’t seen it but there should be a tube in front of the rear wheel towards the center of the car. Once you clean it out and run water through it, it’ll be obvious where the drain is
Is there one on the passenger side? All my non-convertible cars have drains on both side.
Yessir, two drains total I just demonstrated it mainly on the driver side because that’s where it was leaking very bad for me. But it’s the same exact process on the passenger side
Can't speak for the ND as I've got an NC3, but the drain you poked the trombone cleaner into goes all the way through the car and out under the chassis. I'd recommend pushing the trombone cleaner all the way through the drain (leaving the second head out the top slightly) then pulling it through under the chassis, so anything clogged in the drain itself is dislodged and removed. Just had this problem myself, currently trying to dry the the pulled up carpets etc with a dehumidifier 😅
The problem actually persisted after this video and I had to do the same 😭 I guess it was clogged further down the line but it’s thankfully all good now. Thanks for the tip though! Wish I included it in the video tbh
@@stancedsuki1999 so sorry to hear that bud! Glad it's sorted now. Very annoying problem.
DampRid to help prevent moldy smell
DampRid helps with moisture. But if you're already smelling it, the mold and mildew spores have already started growing and spreading. You HAVE to kill it at the source.
It's great that the soft-top doesn't eat into the cargo space...but that rain rail design is weak af. Once you're done soaking up the water with the rags, try using silica gel beads and just dump it on the floor to really get all the moisture out over night or whatever. Also, if you can remove the sound deadening material and let it air dry....would be helpful too. Anyways, sorry man LOL this sucks.
Thanks brother, thankfully it was still summer so I left the top down and the chairs forward for a few days
No easy way to get it dry...towel dry it, maybe blast with a hair dryer. But leave it out in the sun with the top down for a while and that should do it. Clean the drains yearly to prevent it happening again.
Thanks for the vid.
My mkb2 had just done it 😒 is it the same
It’s a little different in terms of location but the concept and process is generally the same
How does rain water get in there when the top is up?
The seal of the top to the body of the car isn’t tight enough to keep all the water out, especially hard downpour. So some water leaks through and trickles down into the drain
@@stancedsuki1999 Good to know!
@@stancedsuki1999 That being said, though... how do all the leaves and debris get in there? Surely the seal is tight enough to keep a leaf out? Maybe you can make a vid that shows where the leaves and stuff actually enter through? I feel like having the roof up should at least keep out bigger chunks of stuff like that
@@BobBombadilit gets in when the top is down or when you put the top down. I brush the dust off of mine and use a lint roller each time I pull the top down. I just do it every time I use the car for the day. Part of my morning prep process.
Is this a problem at all for hard tops?
I’m not quite sure tbh, I don’t think so though. The RF roof is pretty solid with no gaps after the fast back is down if I recall correctly
@@stancedsuki1999 good to know thanks
Dude this has been happening to me at least twice a month in Florida. Fuck this car. I love it but this year has been brutal.
Dude I feel your pain, the rain and this car don’t mix well
Where do you park? I’ve never had this issue and I park outside but never under trees
You should check your drains regardless, its simple to do. If you let it go as long as this poster, you can get a clog in the down tube which is harder to access because it's under the seat belt retract fixture. You can always check to see it's working by pouring some water around that area. My driver's side can get overwhelmed by a torrential rain and I will still get some dampness. Makes me believe I have some blockage further in the drain.
Damn...I feel bad for you man. This happened to me about 5 times in 5 years, but anytime it happens...it makes me wanna sell it LOL
What about in garage kept?
I wish I could do this, eliminates this problem completely
You should get a portable wet vac to suck that water out.
That’s what I ended up using, helped a ton compared to cups and rags. Thanks!
wow, makes me strongly consider the RF instead
Man I also took the drain filter out blindly by feel with the top up. I didn’t know you can access it that way.
With the top up it’s a super tight space but doable! With it down it’s so much easier
I’m in the U.K. and this part is not cleaned even with a dealer service, and it should be
I understand your point. But I hate the idea of those uncaring idiots working at removing trim and around areas easily scratched etc (I'm UK too). I did mine myself at 10 months old (now is 9 months after that), not much in there. But I wasn't aware of the drain holes under the filter (it's hard to see anything in that area!). I'll do those too on next clean.
@@Dr.Ian-Plect it’s an over complicated system. I religiously clean mine but there was a blockage farther down and flooded my passenger side last winter
@@fanfeck2844 Yeah, I'll buy one of those long pipe cleaner things and do it just in case.
@@Dr.Ian-Plect be careful, apparently there’s a one way valve in there somewhere. I had to dismantle a lot to even get near the down pipe
@@fanfeck2844 I tell you, they must deliberately make these things a pain!
behind the seat belt there is another drain 😉
I actually didn’t know that, thanks! I’ll be sure to clean that one as well next time
The require regular cleaning should be checked every month as with all mx5
I have learned it is unwise to keep a convertible outside without a cover. My top is bleached in spots and hardened after 2 years. The RF is the better option.
Even the r f drains clog if you don't clean them out and they're harder to get to. I suggest everybody pour water in the area on a regular basis to see if the drains underneath are draining properly.
New soft top is about a $1200. Replace the RF top is like $6000.
I would have preferred to keep the car indoors but I live in a city but both the RF and soft top have this issue. Of course the soft top more so
Don't park under any trees EVER ! Keep your ND roof filters away from trees bottom line. Also BUY a good sunshade so your not tempted to use trees as shade. I have a 2016 MX-5 Club & because I don't park under trees I've cleaned out my filters one time so far with a couple of twigs inside the filter cups. No flooding at all.
Absolutely crap they make a car with such a flaw!
I love every bit of my ND but that part 😭 major design flaw
@@stancedsuki1999 I sold mine, it was awash with all kinds of cheap and nasty rubbish that should never had been allowed to get beyond quality control. I had the driver's window fixed twice in less than 20k miles.
Wanting to buy mx5 but youtube keep suggesting these videos. 😭😭
Nah man they’re great cars! Plus every car has their quirks. I would rather have this problem than anything else, fairly easy to solve too
Car cover.
You clearly have not cleaned the drain holes, Maintenance is very importance should have done this every time you washed your car, every 4 weeks.
Car it's destroyed, it's over