Clearing Clogged MX-5 Miata ND Convertible Drains

[@DvsDex]

When you pull out the back panel, look on the back wall closer to the floors there is a service hole big enough for you to get your whole hand through and you’ll see the bottom of that drain. You can pull it out and clean it out instead of fishing a wire through that hole at the top.

[@profrobbob]

Great tip!!! Thank you. I could add this info to the description if I had all the details.

[@RJMarkey]

How does that botton drain hose pull out?

[@JonathanCastillo-wg7yk]

@@RJMarkey wondering the same thing! I have opened it up enough to see the bright orange painted plastic bottom of the drain. I've tugged on it a little but havent figured out how to free it completely and dont want to break something

[@FuminFireUK]

@@profrobbob Hi mate. Did you manage to get a picture of this service hole you can fit your hand in at all? I'm having to do some fishing tomorrow as my ND passenger is filling with water and would rather not use the rod method (but I will of I have to!) Cheers Rob 😄

[@profrobbob]

@DVSDex any possible feedback to the questions that followed your comment a year ago?! I have never known any other way and have not pulled the panel off again on mine. Someone found a bright orange painted plastic bottom but wasn't sure if that was it, how hard to pull so as NOT to break anything?!

[@andrewbarton-willson495]

MX5ND2 Thank you for your videos. As a result of viewing them and reading the comments I was able to complete these tasks and learn a lot in the process. 1. The hole behind the seat belt may be covered by a centre pull stud (same as those that hold the plastic panels on) 2. The one- ended trombone can be fished or fiddled down the hole but there are a couple of obstructions that make it hard to get it all through 3. Prising off the large circular stud (one of two low down in the panel behind the seat) allows access to an oval cover labelled out with an arrow pointing to the side of the car. On the other side is a catch which can be released with a short flat bladed screwdriver slid in horizontally along the axis of the ‘out arrow’ from the inboard side of the cover. 4. Reach in behind the cover and prise the white plastic tube off the vertical surface (there is one small lug held in a notch which holds the tube in place). Once the tube was held vertically I found I could fiddle the trombone cleaner right down and out through the sidewall. UPDATE: The passenger side is slightly different. The white flexible tube - that runs right down to the outfall on the vertical surface tucked in just in front of the rear wheel - terminates in an orange section (on the driver’s side it is white all through) which I found to be clipped in very firmly and I didn’t want to break it. Fortunately with a lot of fiddling I got the trombone cleaner to go all the way through and then I could pull it through easily from below). Having done this once on both sides of the car - and found no obstructions or detritus- I plan to check the filter cage and sponge regularly but use the trombone cleaner less frequently so long as the water flows through to the ground.

[@NoahBB]

Hey Prof, it's so funny how the world works! I used your videos throughout university to study and was able to land a great finance career because of my grades (helped by you and your videos, no doubt) and because of that I was able to comfortably purchase new 2021 ND (GS-P aka Club trim) soft top this past spring. Thank you for helping out a fellow enthusiast!

[@profrobbob]

You are awesome and just made my day!!! Congratulations on earning your degree and landing a job that you love. I am honored I could help a little bit through my KZbin channel, but you did all of the hard work and found extra resources when needed. I still have my Miata and love it. It is so much fun… even though I cannot help but constantly annoy my wonderful wife dreaming about other cars. But looking is free😂🤣👨‍🏫. 24,000 miles later it still drives like new and my smile is just as big when I get a little crazy in it🏎🚙.

[@adamski-l5w]

Yes it is fiddly but it is a small price to pay for the most fun car in the world to drive! Thanks for the second video Prof! Greetings from 🇦🇺

[@sisyphus1811]

I am incredibly grateful to you for this - I would never have worked this out myself. Ridiculous drain system! After weeks of struggle with my Fiat 124 Spider (same hood and drain mechanism) filling with water every rainstorm, now safe and dry. Thanks a lot!

[@rigrentals5297]

I bet you saved a lot of money doing the job yourself. Good on you Professor.

[@profrobbob]

Yes. It is crazy the dealer wanted to charge me a diagnostic fee to do what should be a maintenance item. So now I am trying to help others save money, and the small amount of ad revenue is a nice gift in return:)

[@johnkavanagh3670]

Mud plug. That’s what I had. Not the drain hose blocked but rather the flap on the outlet under the car was jammed shut due to a mud plug. Spent hours pulling out panels the trying to get something down the drain tube. Eventually got my air line in enough to give it a blast. Lying under the car was a mud plug which the air had popped out. Felt around underneath and found the drain outlet and could press on the soft flat. Squirted water into the hole and came straight out the bottom. Next time I first look underneath and with a power washer give a clean around the outlet. No more pulling panels out for me. My tip start underneath with a hose. The outlet is just ahead of the rear wheel inboard 14 inches or thereabouts.

[@romario5080]

I was looking for this.

[@jaybd9329]

What about using compressed air instead of a wire? Just attach a small clear plastic tube to the end of the air compressor nozzle and blow it out.

[@mikeb9569]

Weed wacker string might work better. I suggest only running the wire/string down from the top since earlier generations had one way valves that could be damaged by going against the normal flow.

[@brucecurrie6913]

Thanks. Have you figured the correct procedure for removing the orange/black drain pipe for cleaning...once the large plastic access cover's been removed? Seems the way to go...

[@PinChE_LoCo]

You have saved me some serious trouble.

[@profrobbob]

Happy to help...I couldn't find any, even from the dealer when my wife stepped into the passengers seat and the floor was wet :(

[@seanwoodcock7840]

Trombone brush/ cleaner works well also. First used on my nc2, just used it on my wifes '17 RF. On the RF, you dont even need to remove interior trim pieces.

[@profrobbob]

Thanks for the suggestion. Glad to hear the RF is a bit easier.

[@craig9417]

My RF is blocked passenger side..I'm struggling to unblock it ..any suggestions please please please?

[@AlumarsX]

If you still have the GWR SSST exhaust installed, could you upload a video with in cabin sound on how the sound settled after a few thousand miles?

[@shugd3]

Just had my RF flood, made myself some filters to sit in the side scoops, hopefully this will prevent this from happening again 🥴🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@nitronixus9402]

Can we get further information? Thanks.

[@craig9417]

Please help! I'm struggling to unblock my RF drains

[@shugd3]

@@craig9417 I put my RF in to Mazda, it was still under warranty at the time, the garage tried to charge me, i went to straight to Mazda UK and I got it done for free, mechanic told me to use a vacuum cleaner with an attachment ( thin pipe) to keep them clear, good luck 🤞

[@sammietam4201]

Do you get a more often clogged up because of opening the roof too often? Or it’s the same? I heard some daily driver never had an issue for years and I also heard driver come across with this issue after.

[@zedali2579]

Can you get to the filters once the panels you've just removed are off?

[@marmac567]

Just vacuum clean the hood/body interface area regularly, that's where the debris sits first,, if you let it get to the catch basket you loose,

[@wakemeupjpg]

Jesus Prof you’re out here living

[@profrobbob]

Life can't be all about teaching..but 75% certainly is:)

[@terrulian]

The Miata is a car designed by very clever folks, except for the dude that engineered this little nightmare. Could they have made it a little less difficult? Does it not rain in Japan?

[@profrobbob]

Maybe all of the cars in Japan are parked in garages?! It took me a long time to figure out anyway to unclog my drains without paying the dealer a diagnostic fee…. REALLY LOL. Since then I have been checking my filter boxes every six months and clearing out any debris with no clogging issues since. I hope is stays that way! My car is still parked outside with multiple oak trees in close proximity. Keep cleaning those filters!

[@terrulian]

@@profrobbob Yep, moi aussi. It has stopped raining here (San Francisco area) and so I've been lacking the motivation to resolve this issue, but I really appreciate your help.

[@profrobbob]

@@terrulian happy to help:)

[@mattfreeman2648]

The only question I have is - what if there is a blockage before you get to the 90 degree turn downwards? Is it a case of using a trombone cleaner down through the hole under the sponge filter but not pushing it too far? I must add that this is a terribly bad design. Most owners aren't willing or capable of taking off panels to do maintenance. Cleaning the drain filters should therefore be part of the annual service.

[@anesuify]

Nice

[@profrobbob]

Thank you:)

[@emhezmfe]

Instead of that wire, what about blowing some air through there?

[@profrobbob]

If you have a way to try that I could see that working:) Let me know if it does!

[@zmohp.2060]

If you use a trombone brush, will it go through all the way to the ground?

[@profrobbob]

I'm not sure...I heard it works on older models but never tried one myself:(

[@seanwoodcock7840]

2 years late, yes it does. Although, it takes a lot of twisting and shoving to get past the final drain cover underneath.

[@Randmness]

There is an access port behind the seat that gives you access to the tubing that funnels the water to under the car. Ive cleaned this out before on my ND, but I havent tried fishing wire up to the junction point shown in this video. It may give you better access to clear this point.

[@LuisMiranda-go7kx]

Mine is fixed on the hole and cannot be moved. How did you do it?

[@DaveSimkus]

But how, how do you remove that tube? Do you just yank on it, twist it? I don't want to break anything.

[@MrThebeast115]

This is a very common issue with convertibles. Thanks for sharing :)

[@profrobbob]

Thank you for watching and commenting:)

[@andreibonteanu3655]

What ended up coming out of the hole, or did you notice it punctured or went through debris that was clogged?

[@profrobbob]

The wire broke up the debris so it washed out to the ground below the car when I ran water through the pipes. A lot is Miata owners buy trombone cleaners on Amazon which I may also purchase now. But I am not sure if it will fit through the tiny hole or hold a curve to be able to fish it through all the plastic while also curving under the seatbelt. If a trombone cleaner does work it would be more gentle to any non corrosive finish may be inside the drain tubes... if they are metal ?

[@nawmean]

@@profrobbob Did you have any issues running the trombone brush cleaner down the drain?

[@profrobbob]

@@nawmean sorry, no experience because I did NOT use a trombone brush:(

[@wc8245]

My one has a trim clip there....no hole

[@LuisMiranda-go7kx]

same

[@andrewbarton-willson495]

Yep - pull out the clip and you’ll find the hole

[@TheGeraldpenangzaii]

How do you remove the plastic trim on top of the drain hole?

[@andrewbarton-willson495]

On mine it is the same type of circular clip that holds all the other panels in. Just use a small screwdriver or finger nail and pull out the centre first then lift out

[@ckyliu]

Just wish I'd seen this second video before I put the car all back together, never mind, hopefully I've fixed it coming in from the bottom with some wire

[@marmac567]

You can get drain cleaner fluid which disolves organic matter, , syringe it down that hole and leave it to do it's work

[@DaveSimkus]

But that could be damaging to plastic no?

[@marmac567]

​@DaveSimkus look under your sink, , plastic,,, look at the bottle of drain cleaner, plastic

[@22jeepmojave75]

I sold my mx5 for sti and I missed the car so I planned to buy one more this year. After this video, I will passed.

[@schla66]

This isn't correct for a 2017 nd. There is not one hole. The filter is on top of a plastic enclosed trough amd I don't see such a hole. Seems best to open up the trough amd find where it drains. Seems like a plug at the end of the drain may actually be the issue. Can't find this hole

[@DaveSimkus]

What the heck is "trough amd" ?

[@maxamedaxmedn6380]

But i don't have a car so

[@willburrito9710]

This is the worst farking design I’ve ever seen or had to deal with. I had so much water in the truck and under the seats. I made the mistake the other night of leaving the windows shut, and when I woke up the next morning I had about a millimeter of frost on the INSIDE of the windscreen. I’m selling this fun car asap. Dealer wants 300$ to take it apart and clean.

[@Unclebrud]

No kidding! You figure most owners will run into this. At least Mazda should explain how to deal with this. Mine just started taking on water.

[@mattfreeman2648]

Totally agree. This procedure isn't something most driver would want to take on so it should at least be part of the annual service. It's not though and, as you say, dealers will charge for 2 hours of work for them to do it. It's also not covered by the Mazda warranty - I called them and said I had water in the driver's footwell - not covered by the warranty, they told me and it will cost you over £300 for us to sort it out! This is a major design fault, in my view.

[@josephbasha1926]

BAM!! YOU'RE BACC

[@profrobbob]

I want to make a lot more math videos, but my time is taking up doing solutions in two new math books our county bought recently.

[@thebusinessend1]

jeez this makes me not want to buy a ND miata now. great video though

[@Audit-The-Auditors]

Complete and utter lunacy.

[@jamesdonnell3288]

Very Bad design unless you have tiny tiny hands there is almost no way to do this. I sucked almost a gallon of water out from under the passengers seat. Next time this fills up, and it well, I'm just gonna drill a hole to let that water out. it should be simple.

[@profrobbob]

Since clearing the filters the first time I have been checking them every 6 months. I not had any more problems with the drains clogging thankfully and my car is parked outside. I agree the design needs to be more owner friendly.

[@dhess34]

Calculus AND Miata’s?! We were likely separated at birth ... and 15 years. #NBgang

[@profrobbob]

I am so happy to meet my long lost brother:D:D:D BAM!

[@tommyquiles2884]

This is ridiculous