As for the plastic white clips (2:32), slip an 8mm socket over the end. The socket will push the 2 ends together on the clip and the drain pans will pull up- easy peasy
By far, the absolute best instructive video I've ever watched. Complete detail, and in simple enough terms for anyone to take on this job. It was bad enough being on vacation in Florida to have a soaked passenger carpet, and figuring that I would have to take the car to a dealership. I watched the video, and decided I would do it myself. About an hour, start to finish. Tons of respect and thanks to the guy with the scary daughter that made this video!
Great video. As a note to your readers. You don't actually have to get the wiper arms off! Follow everything else and just lift that front plastic grate up enough to get the two water channels out. Needless to say it would have been easier to vacuum if I had the grate off, but my arms were really stuck on and I don't have the special removal tool.
OMG, just a fantastic presentation. I have a humble suggestion or two: once the drains are accessible, I think it's advisable to remove the rubber drain boots to unclog and clean them more effectively. They are easy out/easy in. Also, if the wipers are side-specific, it's probably a good idea to tag one or the other to assure correct re-installation. Oh, lastly, at least on my 2011 Flex, there is a sensor (ambient temperature?) that is wired to the underside of the hood and secured to the cowl via a zip-tie through the first of the six cowl fasteners (from the driver's side). Unlike the other 5, that first plug has an open arrow through which the zip tie runs; so the zip tie must be cut before the plug can be removed. Thanks so much--I am drying out my floor mat for hopefully the last time, and somewhere out there , there is a small rodent looking for a new home, lol!
I am so grateful for your terrific video - this had been an ongoing problem with our 2012 Flex that like many others have posted the "professionals" hadn't solved, took me about 90 minutes to solve both sides, and part of that time was because it turned into night time, lol. Again, many thanks
Thanks so much for posting this video. I followed it step by step, problem solved. My only issue was taking off the wiper blades, it was as if mine were welded on.
THANKS FOR SHARING!!! Bought a used 2012 Flex last month. The problem manifested itself 1 week ago. Took it back to the Chevy dealer where I bought it and they couldn't figure it out. I'm the opposite of mechanically inclined, so it took me a few hours, but I was able to fix the problem following your step-by-step instructions.
Great video thanks solved 2 problems on my 2013 Flex .My dash board vents were not working , then they were, then they weren't WHY??But you could hear the blower working but no air .What the heck!! I see water on the floor on the passenger side, watched this video ,cleaned my cowls which were plugged solid both sides.Turns out that whenever the water backed up and came in thru the air vent it must have passed over a sensor or capacitor preventing the vents to open up. By running the car with the blower on full it would dry the sensor up and the vents started working again. No more water inside and the vents are now working .Keep those cowls clean.
Great video. Thank you. Cleaned mine this morning. And you can also just pull the rubber drains out and clean them instead of vacuuming them. (I accidentally pushed mine both down and fished them back up because both sides were filled with water)
Thank you for showing us this! I have repeatedly asked several times at dealerships and independent mechanics to fix this or how do I fix it. All I got was, just take an air hose and blow it out once in a while! Which DOESN'T FIX IT!
While I have the cowl off, I'm going to use construction adhesive to put aluminum window screen on the bottom side to prevent future issues. Thanks for the fix!
You just saved me $173.62! My windshield hose broke and I wasn't sure how to take off the cowl. In addition to that I have to clean the cowl drains my car has a slight mildy smell when the heater/cooler comes on and our front passenger side floor was wet the other day. My husband says it's all in my head, but I know otherwise! Thank you so much you completely answered all my questions and erased all my fears!!
Very same reason why I came looking for the video. Very appreciative of the demo and earned a subscriber. Just need to locate washer hoses and parts before disassembly! (And I'll clean the drains while I'm in there.)
Thanks for the video!! My husband has been trying to figure out this issue for a long time and I finally helped him figure out why and man those were plugged and nasty!
Thank you so much for this, I’ve had 2 different mechanics look at this problem, could never get a car wash without water filling up my passenger side. With your video it’s finally fixed thank you !!!!!
Thank you, I've had this problem for a couple years, and I didn't think I would find the solution online; thanks to you I know how the drainage works, and I just subscribed!
Super helpful, great instructions including clip and snap removal. If you’re having trouble removing the wiper arms, he includes it following the main part of the video.
It was a very awesome accurate demonstration. My self a senior female and my nephew walked him and I through it. We done it Thanks to your very descriptive video. This saved me from taking it to the dealer which saved me money.Thank you
I needed to locate the Engine Computer PCM ECM ECU on my Flex and couldn't find any videos about it and whaaa-lahhh! Your video revealed it right under the passenger windshield cowl and how to get there!! Thanks!!
Good job, thank you very much. I used a set of extended needle nose pliers (they have 3 sets of pivots so you can reach far) and pulled them out to wash them under a faucet. Easy peasy. Had to lightly tap the wiper pivots with a smooth hammer to get the arms of, just go lightly and square to the bolt so you don't wreck the threads. A wiper pivot puller might work better but I don't have one.
Fantastic video, informative, good photography, and spot on, I have a 2016, they made an improvement, on the driver side, just above the drain, Ford made a slot, you can run a coat hanger thru the top cover, down thru the slot, and clear out the drain without taking anything apart. Ran a coat hanger down, and a flood came out !!, Nothing to access passenger side though. I Made a 90degree bend in the hanger and managed to work it up the passenger side from the bottom, again, more water and junk, but that vent tube is loose. it rocks back and forth easily. Maybe unglued or not set in properly. I'll take it all apart this weekend. Thanks for the great info, You ROCK !!
I could Not find the location of the PCM and watching your video showed me where it was and how to get to it. Thanks!!! Now hopefully it wont be to expensive!
Those two ‘rubber boot’ (passenger and driver’s side) drains can be easily pulled out and cleaned. No need to vacuum or poke them clean. They slip right back in. Hope that saves time and helps.
Great video. Figured something was not right cause it just started happening out of the blue. Was thinking of removing the front passenger tire for further investigation. Seen you video and immediately noticed all the leafs all the way to the cowl!😳 solved, thanks 🙏
That was a Great instructional on how to solve this issue. I was able to knock this out in an hour and only bashed my hand once! Dick Singer, Great note about removing the rubber boots and cleaning them out, they were completely clogged and packed with debris. Thanks Guys!
Many thanks for this! I just completed this on my 2010 Flex which was flooding in heavy rains and car washes. I agree with the suggestion below to pull the rubber boots out completely...easier to flush them out.
Nicely done video. I'd agree with a couple of other comments regarding the difficulty in removing the wiper arms. I needed to use a puller & the POP was kinda scary when the arm finally broke loose - especially the first one. I used some anti-seize on the stems when I put the wiper arms back on.
I feel like a super woman. Lol. Terrible rain here in Dearborn, Mi this weekend and my floorboard has 3 inches of standing water. Thanks for making this video!
Another tip so you don't have to do this again, remove the rubber boot and clean it good. Then cut the lips off the bottom of the boot so the junk will not collect in the boot. They just drain into the engine compartment. You could probably just leave the boot out entirely.
this is relevent to a 2019 flex also, both sides. there is a bulkhead seal around the harness where it enters the driver side firewall just above the drain level
Great video, thanks! Two things I did differently which may be helpful: -used a puller to remover wiper blades. The hammer method didn’t work for me. -the ‘drain’ itself is actually just a plastic cup with a slit in the bottom. It very easily removes and reseats by hand. It’s much easier to remove and clean rather than get a vacuum down there. Thanks again for a very nice step-by-step!
I've had water on the passenger's side, too. My cowl is pretty corroded and beat up from an ice scrapper and sun/frost. I thought that was where the water was coming from and, sure enough, taping along where the cowl meets the windshield stopped the leak, but looks awful. Should I replace the cowl while it's off or just clean out the plugs? Thoughts?
I got a question, would help nit get into the bcm so system faults don't go off? I put a new bcm in and after about 4 months, it started popping up again. Usually after I wash the car.
A thousand "thank you's", DIY chicken, for this video on cleaning out the cowl drains!!! A couple of weeks ago my 2011 Ford Flex suffered this water inflow problem while sitting in my driveway during a heavy downpour. I didn't see it until a couple days later. I had no idea what was going on or how to fix it!! Discussions on Ford Flex forums led me to RU-vid, from... www.fordflex.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17219. As with most auto body repairs, things didn't go as easily as the instruction video implies. One wiper arm popped off easily with prying and tapping, but I had to buy a wiper arm removal tool to get the other one off. Only Advance Auto locally even had one for sale. Also, I broke one of those white connectors and a tab or two on the cowl cover. I bought some substitute fasteners at the local chain parts store to make do for reassembly. When I got to the drains, I pulled out the liner cups -- which were plugged solid with debris -- cleaned them out and cut off the bottom curved part to leave a straight downspout before reinstalling them. They shouldn't clog again, I'm confident. Before getting at the clogged drains, I baled, pumped and sopped up maybe four gallons of water from under the carpeting on the passenger side, both front and middle floor areas. Drying it out took a long time, but you have to do it or you will likely get mold and mildew, ruining your vehicle! I had to remove the door trim and passenger seat to get under the wet carpet padding, baled, pumped, and mopped up, then used a ceramic heater for hours and hours to dry it out. The whole project took me over a week, mostly time to dry out the padding and carpet. NOTE: for safety sake, do not leave a heater running unattended, like overnight. I checked on mine every hour or so, to see that progress was being made and to be sure the heater wasn't itself overheating.
I just found out on my own that these fricking boots were the cause of water getting into car pass side. It already cost me a fan🤬 I also decided to just not put them back on. Screw it, I honestly think they are just there to look pretty.
As for removing the cowl drains, I did that and had a heck of a time getting the driver's side drain back into place. Next time I'm not removing them and I'm going to use a baby bottle brush with some soapy water to clean them out. Thought of it after I finished ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I just pulled up on them with my hand while hitting down on the shaft (with the nut in place to protect the threads). If yours won't come off, you may need a small puller - which you can usually borrow from an auto parts store.
Mine came off easy - i just loosened the nut until flush with the top of the stud, pulled up on the arm (by hand), and hit the stud with a hammer. Do NOT get rough with it, or you will damage the threads. If necessary you can borrow a small puller from many auto parts stores.... this will make it much easier.
