Mysterious water

[Stix]

Just a quick one here. On getting my 3yr old out of her seat(behind passenger) I noticed a pool of water in that little cubby hole at the side of her seat nearest the window. Now I can't be 100% that it's from my daughters beaker of water but IF it's not where has it come from & how do I stop it from happening again. No windows were partially open and can't see any wet patches to show where it may of come from??

 

[skard]

If your daughter had water then I'd suggest that is your answer.

Otherwise pour jugs of water on the rubber seals or hose down that side of the car to see if there is any ingress.

 

[Stix]

Thanks skard

 

[Stix]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but water has returned even though my daughter has had no drink in my car!! Is there any drainage that runs past passenger rear side door that could be blocked. My car has a sunroof, could there be a drainage pipe loose . The water ONLY appears in this little cubby hole/bottle holder that us set into trim alongside top of wheel arch? Has anyone else had this? I'd upload photos but I am not allowed for some reason?

 

[Dai_O]

Hi guys, I always read the forums and I must say I snigger at a few, this was one, BUT yesterday I too noticed the cup holder on the side of the rear seat (drivers side) had water in it. No kids, no water bottles in my car, Stix did you get to the bottom of it?????

There seems to be water marks from the white c pillar meets the black plastic door trim area almost at seat belt level, how easy is it to remove this white trim???

Thanks and promise not to snigger again

Dai O

 

[Mao]

I've had this too and also have the daughter. But it happens whether she's there or not, but rain is always involved. As its always just pooled in the cup holder thingy I'm not to worried. Maybe its designed to collect water?

 

[celt120]

water leak

this seems to be a common fault in the altea, ive the same problem had the car at the seat dealers for a week because of leaks, but water still gets into the small holder at the side of the rear passenger seat, the water has to be coming in high up, and i am started to suspect the roof bars,will let you know if i find this anoying fault

 

[Stix]

Please do buddy. I'm only worried as to what damage the water maybe doing. Worst thing about it is it only happens randomly so can't pin point where leak is!! Even after washing car with pressure washer I find nothing,then weeks later there it is!!! Grrrr

 

[celt120]

its the same thing with me, ive tryed the power washing, no leaks, then during heavy rain, ive actualy sat in the back of the car, still cant see the leak, next day, there is water in the cup holder, i am not going to let it beat me though lol

 

[Stix]

You go Celt!!! Lol. PLEASE PLEASE let me know the results.

 

[Dai_O]

I too have the water. and mine too seams rain related, defo not kiddy related

I did open the rear drivers door the other day after heavy rain to find water running down inside which was filling the cup holder

If you look at these photos you can see where I tracked it to, I think the next step is to remove some trim,


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6izbAo2JZjkS0JFa3Z3LWZIUGs/edit?usp=sharing

and

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6izbAo2JZjkd2ItTU9NTVV2Y3c/edit?usp=sharing
Sorry you might have to rotate this one, can seem to get it to stick the right way up???


If you know how to remove the rear white inside quarter panel this would help I reckon

I am off on holidays for 2 weeks so cant get the spanners out at the mo

Another tip I was given was talc powder, squirt a fine layer over the panel any water coming in will leave a trail

Keep the info coming

Good luck
Dai O

 

[celt120]

Hi fellow water sufferers , as these Seat ALTEAS have bad inner door seals, i think the water is coming in there, when it rains, the water builds up inside the door seal, its not visable when its raining, and it the drips in down the plastic cover were the seat belt comes out , and collects in the cup holder, what i did was , were the inner door seal joins the inner white trim, was lift it and put a layer of silicon along the top part of the seal , so far so good, but i could be back again lol , its worth a try

 

[celt120]

UPDATE, no more water in the cup holder

 

[Dai_O]

Hi Celt120

I know it was 2 years ago when you posted this, just wondered if your fix held up for any length of time

this is now happening to both rear water catchers in my 2007 Altea XL lol

The water is coming in under that white panel then down the door into the cup holder
(well placed by the design engineers) I can see where it has run down the inner door so I really don't think its coming from anywhere but upwards
(the only logical places for it to come in is either top of the door / or roof bar fixing or aerial fixing, but I have no water marks on roof liner so I reckon it has to be door seal issues)

Any info is good

Cheers
Dai O

 

[E17OTL]

I've had this happen to me and it drove me up the wall.

It was my Thule roof bars that were the cause. They crush the door seal and let water by. It's only by chance that the bottle holder at the side of the seat catches the leak otherwise we'd all have very soggy rotten carpets!

I liked running round with my roof bars on but after I had established they were the cause of my damp problem they had to come off.

 

[mastahh5]

Hi,
I would like to ask if anyone found any another root cause then some leak due to roof relings - for the leak coming from above pictures?

I have exactly same case, water coming under airbag covers up to cupholders.

Thanks.

 

[Danncus]

I have this exact issue on my rear passenger side. small cup holder filling with water. @celt120 did your fix work? Where did you used the sealant? I cant see where the water is coming in from. is it along the door seal?

 

[Mingh1940]

I too have the water. and mine too seams rain related, defo not kiddy related

I did open the rear drivers door the other day after heavy rain to find water running down inside which was filling the cup holder

If you look at these photos you can see where I tracked it to, I think the next step is to remove some trim,


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6izbAo2JZjkS0JFa3Z3LWZIUGs/edit?usp=sharing

and

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6izbAo2JZjkd2ItTU9NTVV2Y3c/edit?usp=sharing
Sorry you might have to rotate this one, can seem to get it to stick the right way up???


If you know how to remove the rear white inside quarter panel this would help I reckon

I am off on holidays for 2 weeks so cant get the spanners out at the mo

Another tip I was given was talc powder, squirt a fine layer over the panel any water coming in will leave a trail

Keep the info coming


I’m off on holidays for a couple of weeks as well, so while I can’t get spanners out either, I’ve been keeping myself busy checking cricket scores online and even trying my luck a bit on https://mostbet.com.pk/ — a fun way to pass the time while waiting to dive into car repairs

Good luck
Dai O

Hey Dai,

Yeah, looks like we’re dealing with the same rain-related leak. I had water pooling in the rear cup holder too after a heavy downpour, so it’s definitely not a “kiddy spill” situation .

From your photos, it seems like the water’s coming in around that corner trim, so removing the rear quarter panel might be the next logical step. If you haven’t done trim removal before, just go slow and keep track of all the clips/screws — those little plastic pieces love to disappear.

The talc powder tip is actually a good one. I used something similar when I had a minor leak, and it made tracing the exact path of the water way easier. Once you see the trail, you can figure out if it’s a seal issue or a gap somewhere in the panel.

Enjoy your holidays! Hopefully, when you get back you’ll have a clear path for fixing it. Meanwhile, it’s nice to know someone else has the same issue — makes it a bit less frustrating knowing it’s not just your car being weird.