The possible sources of leaks in the rear footwell could potentially include:

Sunroof drains if you have a sunroof (more common)
Roof rack leaking (rare but it does happen)
Rear door seals are not known to leak but if the drain holes in the door aren't working or the vapor barrier isn't well attached I suppose water could seep between the door and the door card, drip over the threshold into the rear foot wells.

Also please check the bottom of your spare tire compartment.

Can you mention if you went through automated car washes, high pressure washing of the car, torrential rains, anything?

 

The dealer has the car atm so I can’t check the rear tire spare well.

it has rained heavily, but I wouldn’t say torrential. I only wash my car by hand never with a pressure washer or at an automatic car wash.

I do park it in my drive which has an incline - I wonder if this has anything to do with it????

 

Ask the dealership to check the rear tire spare tire compartment because although rare sometimes there's water in there as well and you don't want to overlook that. If there's water in there then it's less likely to be the doors.

Parking at certain angles can make a difference - it did for front door leaks.

 

In my mind, No angles should cause a car to leak - So far, none of my cars have leaked from any make.

 

I believe @SilverOnyx point was to put the car on an angle to assist in locating the source of the leak, not that the leak was to be expected.

 

Dealer just rang back, they said the problem is the ac drain was fully blocked – I told them I didn’t think this was the case due to the volume of water.

They swear it was completely blocked with dirt (did I mentioned the car is 2mths old).

Asked when they are replacing the carpets, they said they couldn’t as it was a technical fault with the ac hose. I said no – the carpets are damaged because of an acknowledged fault with your car, please fix it.

 

I thought the a/c drain ran near the front footwells, so how did the water make it to the back? SOA will hopefully help you with new carpet if the dealer is problematic.

 

Just go the car back from the dealer, no new carpets. I explained I was highly scpetical of the blocked ac drain causing that volume of water in the rear footwell (both sides), esp as the front is dry.

was told that was the fault as diagnosed by the technican.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't buy that, either.

Funny this should come up. Just a couple of days ago I was thinking about the old threads where people, lots of people, had trouble with the front doors leaking into the car. Hadn't seen a complaint in a while so thought maybe Subaru found and fixed the issue at the factory.
But then I see this.

 

-- UPDATE --

It rained overnight and today, reasonable amount but not torrential. Went out to the car and lifted up the mats in the rear passenger footwell to check. What should I see, condensation and evidence of water.

Back to the Scooby dealer????

 

Yes go back as many times as necessary, document everything including verbal communications. Take photos, videos, whatever - but keep them free of commentary.

 

Water source evident. When I opened the drivers door water sloshed out

 

I'd love to hear if they find a fix, mine still leaks. I should bring it in again but they make it such a hassle. All 4 of my doors show water on they lower edge of the inside panel but it's never gotten into the car beyond that.

 

There are drains in the door metal and drains in the plastic trim - check all of them to make sure they're clear, and the most problematic one seems to be the forward most hole in the front door, which may be practically a pinhole. Moisture in doors

 

Car was back at the dealer earlier in the week for another day - no success. The strugle continues

 

Update?

 

The car went back to the dealer yesterday. They organised me a loaner for 3mths while they try to resolve the issue. I now have a base mode Forester to scoot around in. No heading to the snow in my new outback :-(

I guess the best thing I have on my side is the consumer laws in Aust. Which do provide some fairly strong protections. Fingers crossed they can find the source of the problem.

 

Oh boy. I'm sorry to hear about that. What a mess!

 

My car was recently looked at. No resolution for the door leaks, but I figured it would be a miracle of they did. Really I just want it documented. Water plus electronics is not a good mix.

I think the only fix would be to trade it for another and hope that one is not a leaker.

 

Car has come back from the dealer (they had it for the better part of a month). They have patched the joins on the seams, and replaced the carpets.

I will report back if that fixes the issue if if it persists.

In fairness they have made a sincere effort to resolve the problem.

 

How has the repair held up? my recent purchase of a 2014 outback has water filled back footwells and passenger side. Should I remove the foam under the carpet that doesn't get dry in the sun? its 2 " foam soaked. could be sun roof leak, roof rack leak, or door hole leak!

 

My 2022 Outback has the exact same issue. Park on an incline, water pools in rear passenger footwells when we have a reasonable amount of rain. The vehicle has been to the dealership x 3 times (first visit was determine where the leak was which they couldn't ascertain. 2nd visit they thought it could be blocked sunroof drains which they cleaned, the last visit was to reseal all trims according the Subaru bulletin). This has not resolved the issue. I am now in the process of requesting a refund or replacement vehicle as this is a major fault.