Leaky Leon - rear nearside footwell full

[djcombes]

I've read the FAQs, checked the pollen filter and the doors. None of the above, but the rear footwell (passenger side) fills with water very rapidly when it rains. Very suddenly started to leak. Had the car serviced recently and this is the first major rain, and I was convinced that it must be the pollen filter, but that looks fine. Any other good ideas for where it might be coming from?

Leaks when not moving, otherwise I'd suspect a problem under the car - ran over rock a while back (narrow road, direct sun, hidden in shadow).

 

[Ryeh82]

leaky doors

I had the same problem with the rear doors,it was the drainage holes on the underneath that where blocked so they were just filling up slowly everytime it rained!Ended up in the garage for 2 days.

 

[Arctic]

Ive had same problem today but with the front, rang seat and got it booked in for thurs, but had a look tonight after searching forum and think i fixed it, pollen filter

Door sills on yours maybe?

 

[Leigh15]

Have you checked the front door? Because of the layout of the floorpan a front door leak can flood the rear footwell - this is what happened to mine

 

[djcombes]

Have you checked the front door? Because of the layout of the floorpan a front door leak can flood the rear footwell - this is what happened to mine

Haven't had it to bits yet, but the door sill is completely dry, so I can't see how water could be coming through the door then down the sill into the back well? Maybe I should take it to bits tomorrow.

 

[Leigh15]

The water can leak when the seal between the ancillary carrier and the main door fails - this means the water basically pours straight into the car avoiding the door sill completely.

 

[CupraUK]

I had the exact same problem and it was the ancillary carrier on the drivers door as stated above.

 

[777cupra]

sorry to sound stupid....but by ancillary carrier you mean where? as its possibley the one thing I haven't looked at in my leaky leon...although it seemed to be more behind the glove box where the water has been coming in....and then running on throught to the back??

 

[CupraUK]

everything you ever need to know is here:

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44216&highlight=leak

 

[bigfella_V5]

I bet its the leaky door panel. They are easy to remove and reseal, if you need a hand let me know!

 

[smoothuk]

I had this problem too, it was leaking in under the door itself, when i took the inner door card off, it was easy to see where the water was seeping through under the inner skin, the rubber seal had failed. I backed all the nuts off, around the bottom of the door, checked the drainage holes were all clean, then guned in a nice line of gutter sealent and re tightened the bolts. Not a drop in the car since

 

[Phil 633]

Mine had a cracked speaker case on osf door and leaked into the rear foot well as this is the lowest point.

 

[djcombes]

update

Right - I've had both front and rear passenger side door trims off and the ancillary carrier doesn't leak. I've run some more seal around them to make sure but I'm certain that's not the problem - I've sat in the car in a thunderstorm, and you can't see any water coming in from the doors. It's not the pollen filter either.

I've found the best way of drying things out is to park the car on a steep slope (nose down), and lift the front carpet. The water all runs straight there (from the back too), and you get a deep pool on the metal which can easily be removed with a sponge. There was a good few inches there - removed about a bucket of water.

I've booked it in to a dealer for a fix next week, but if anyone can give me a clue to fix it before then, great. Speaking to the dealer it sounds like the most likely cause is condensation from the AC dripping into the car over a long time? I'm not happy about ripping the dash to bits without knowing what order to tackle it in - it's not obvious looking at it.

 

[bigfella_V5]

I feel you man, mine doesn't leak as much as that but it still fills the sill up with water and just past the seal on the drivers door making the car steam up a little.

No water gets into the footwells, but it is still very strange as I properly sealed the drivers door panel and it had 16 hours to go off before it rained again, doubt the water would have got throught that.

What sort of price do garages charge to seal up all 4 doors?

 

[Johnny Leon]

Given what you've already looked at, I would suspect the front bulkhead seal to be the problem. AC v. unlikely to create amount of water described.

You can take the glovebox out without too much trouble and then if you spray the windscreen with a lot of water you'll probably find a trickle of water running off the sound-deadening material under the dash and on to the fan housing. Water can then run down the metal of the inside of the wheel arch and under your carpets. A few people have had this and it results in the rear footwell pool as described. I suggest you tackle from outside rather than by removing the dash. You can get to it by taking the wipers off and removing the scuttle trim underneath. The wiper motor then unbolts easy enough to improve access at the driver's side and you can unbolt the pollen filter housing on the passenger side. Two bolts but there's also a sticky foam seal to overcome that will need replacing (or substituting with silicone sealant) so you don't create an extra leak point ! You can then see the join/weld between vertical and horizontal surfaces at the back under the windscreen. Suggest running silicone sealant along this and running finger over to ensure the join is covered. Wait til well dry and then try leak test again. Worth a try for a couple of hours work, assuming dealer isn't fixing it under warranty.

 

[djcombes]

Cheers for the info. It might be a bulkhead leak. When I had the carpet up at the front I looked for signs that it might be coming from the bulkhead but couldn't see any.

I'll try to take a look at the front bulkhead tonight. It sounds like more of a job than the other simple fixes, but I'm poor.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[bigfella_V5]

Let us know how you get on. I think water leaks on cars are the most frustrating problem.

 

[djcombes]

Further update - couldn't find any sign of leaks coming from the front bulkhead under the glove box. I think the whole dash needs to come off and maybe the carpet to properly work out what is going on. I've run out of time and it's now at the nearest VAG dealer (VW). I don't have time to do the job properly myself.

I told them what I had already checked when I dropped it off this morning. They phoned this morning and said that they couldn't see an obvious source for the water, but that the car was seriously wet, and it needed properly drying out or risk of future problems with electrical connections etc. They are still looking for the source, and are having to take out the seats and the carpet, and lots of dash to try to track it down. They agree that it's not the usual suspects. Indications are that I will end up paying around £500. Ouch.

Why couldn't it have been the pollen filter or doors like everyone else? That would have taken less than an hour to sort out and cost nothing at all.

 

[bigfella_V5]

Ouch! Sounds like yours is far worse than mine, keep us posted.

 

[djcombes]

Right - just got back from the garage to pick some essentials up from my car (pushchair, pass for work). They've taken out all the underlay which is a total right off. I'm getting them to put new underlay in, but the carpets are OK and will dry easily. I've been given a VW Fox for a courtesy car which is pretty nasty TBH - not what I'd expect from a VW interior wise at all.

But anyway, they've found the source of the leak. Johnny Leon got the closest - apparently not the bulkhead seal itself, but the grommet carrying the wiring loom through the bulkhead into the engine bay was leaking, then the water was running down the wiring loom into the passenger footwell. They've swapped out the grommet for a new one and tested by liberal spraying. No leak now.

Total damage - around £550. Maybe this type of leak (along with the bulkhead leak described by Johnny Leon) should be added to the leak FAQ along with a decent set of instructions on how to fix to save other people the hassle.