(This guide is applicable to the Ghibli and Quattroporte as well but the Levante is the most common sighting of this issue)
There are multiple water drains on the 2017-2024 Levante, there have been revisions to them almost every model year with the 2020+ models being the most resilient to these issues. Keeping the drains clean and clear will prevent water ingress into the BCM gateway module (located on LH front floor (USA Driver’s Side). The Levante has a false floor setup, so there’s actually about 3″ of space between the carpet and the floor itself where water would accumulate, so wet carpet is only a symptom when you’re well past the point of damage.
Here’s the drain locations including the best method for cleaning them:
- Sunroof drains (There are 4 drains on the sunroof in each corner). If the fronts of these are clogged, water will usually drip from the headliner by the vanity mirrors. If the rears are clogged, it will drip from the rear of the sunroof headliner. These are best cleaned with a can of compressed air (avoid shop/compressor air as excess pressure can cause the internal tube to dislodge)
- Front Windshield Cowl drains – Arguably the most critical drains. If clogged, water will enter past the firewall into the front floors where the BCM and multiple other connectors are housed. These are best cleaned with some weed whacker string since it’s a gentle plastic but rigid enough to snake each drain. There are 4 drains, they are all accessible with the hood opened.
- Fuel cap drain – there is a single drain behind the fuel door cover, less critical but if clogged or missing, water can get trapped and cause rust on parts of the rear chassis. We often see the tube damaged/missing, if that’s the case, water will still migrate fine so long as the hole isn’t clogged.
- Rear Liftgate Drains – There are two drain cutouts behind the rear hatch on the Levante, usually only large leaves or debris can clog this, If any debris, just run some water through to clear it.
