Soggy toledo!!!

[TDIRichy]

Hi Guys I really need some help here.

I bought my toledo 1.9 tdi (02 plate) about 6 months ago, over the past 3 or 4 months ive noticed that the carpets and mats, both front and back were soaking wet.
I removed the back seats and pulled the carpet back to find puddles of water hanging around under the carpet.
I took it to my local garage who kept it for a few days, they even sat in the car while someone put a hosepipe on it....and still no idea as to how the HELL the water is getting in.
They were however kind enough to dry the carpet out for me (which lasted about 3 or 4 days) and i'm back to day 1 with a soggy carpet that causes condensation on all windows in the morning! Annoying... and its starting to smell of damp!!! any ideas???

thank you in advance.....

(If it makes and difference, sometimes in heavy rain overnight when i open the driverside door there is a little puddle of water that falls out from ontop of the sill, that doesnt make it into the car though.)

 

[Muttley]

This is in the Guides section:

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44216&highlight=dodgy+seal+info+DIY+repair+guide

 

[car_guy143]

Don't worry, as you can tell by the need for someone to make a guide, this is a very common problem. My Toledo suffered from this when i bought it. The car had coincidently been valeted before i got it, so didn't notice the car had this problem until i had owned the car a few weeks.

 

[TDIRichy]

Cheers

Thanks for that fellas, ill give a few things a try this weekend.... i read something about cutting a small slit into the door sill seals.... can somebody clarify which seal that is? that last thing i wanna do is turn my door into a wateringcan without need....

Also would like your opinion on these performance chips you see for TDI's on Ebay for about £30.... i thought it would cose around £300!!! is this just a cheap alternative?


Thanks again...

 

[car_guy143]

Thanks for that fellas, ill give a few things a try this weekend.... i read something about cutting a small slit into the door sill seals.... can somebody clarify which seal that is? that last thing i wanna do is turn my door into a wateringcan without need....

Also would like your opinion on these performance chips you see for TDI's on Ebay for about £30.... i thought it would cose around £300!!! is this just a cheap alternative?


Thanks again...

They're a con. It's basically a resistor which is connected to a sensor to "fool" the engine into dumping in more fuel. It can cause long term engine damage and does not give much in performance gains at all.

 

[WeeJase]

Thanks for that fellas, ill give a few things a try this weekend.... i read something about cutting a small slit into the door sill seals.... can somebody clarify which seal that is? that last thing i wanna do is turn my door into a wateringcan without need....

Also would like your opinion on these performance chips you see for TDI's on Ebay for about £30.... i thought it would cose around £300!!! is this just a cheap alternative?


Thanks again...

i seal my doors,and water still got in.since slicing a few small slits into the door seal(which was new when we got the car hmmm ) we have had no leaks to date.This includes the huge storms we had on Saturday.

 

[TDIRichy]

I guess we are talking about the seal that runs along the bottom of the door? I think the back floor is just wet because i OCCASIONALLY park my car on a friends drive which is sloped, so the water would just run down to the back.....

Thanks for the info about the cheap engine chips too, will defo give them a miss!!

 

[ironside]

Back carpets tend to get wet as floor slopes to back even when car is on level,also you get a kind of capillary action from underlay soaking water up,just check out many,many threads on these pages,removing door trims and resealing inner panels ,and cutting a bit from door seals where they cover drain holes along bottom of doors seems to be the most popular ways of solving the prob,just do a search! Worst bit is drying it out

Good Luck

Dave

 

[TDIRichy]

Thanks, i keep meaning to try some of those things, however its rained for the past week or so in Newcastle so i havent had the chance, incidentally, what do ya'll think of the leon cupra... 55 plate.... 1.8T.... i want one but am unsure.... how does it compare to the latest hot hatches on the market?

Cheers

 

[GarryRF]

The rubber seal on top of the sill needs a slot cutting into it to allow rainwater to run away. Otherwise it spills into the footwell. Open the door- look at the rubber seal BEFORE it starts to turn upwards towards the door hinges. This part often looks wet when you first open the door. Cut a gap with a craft knife at least 1/4 inch wide. between the plastic trim and down all the way through the rubber. Less than 1/4 and the door closing will close the gap. I have 2 TDI Toledo's. ( Me and Mrs) 2000 year (200,000 miles)and 2001 (137,000 miles) This has worked on both. Similar worked on rear doors too. Looks cruel but it works.

 

[Toledo Steve]

Glad everybody have given you the cutting the slots in the seal info...(saves me doing it) But I will say, they are expensive looking seals....but its got to be done, sharper the craft knife the better, go right through, about a quarter inch wide, one at the front, one at the back and you,ll have no more of that wet carpets nonsense. It doesn,t look pretty, but its better than wet carpets. regards Steve (ps that,s in each door aperture)

 

[tolly_tdi]

How to cut the seals

Cutting the seal is only the first part - here is the link to the official recommendation from Seat

http://www.seatcupra.net/files/Leon door leaks mod Jan-02 bulletin 086.ppt

The next step is replacing the internal seal inside the ancillaries carrier.
Removing the ancillaries carrier is not necessary nor is buying the expensive replacement seal that Seat mention in the above guiide- follow Andy's guide that muttley linked to earlier and use lots of exterior grade silicon sealant.

 

[Toledo Steve]

TRy the SEAL Cut first

I recommend cutting the rubber aperture seal first and see if this method dries out the carpets....if so don,t disturb the door card seals unless you have to. I have heard more stories of the cuts working than of replacing (time consuming and expensive) door card seals.l (on the other hand) If the problem persists it may be that the drain holes in yr doors are blocked (but you would hear the water sloshing in the doors).Along the bottom of the doors are rubber seals, hidden up in them are the drain holes, poke something up and ensure they are clear....it doesn,t hurt to cut away the rubber a little around these holes (again the sharp craft knife comes in handy) I personally think the rubber door seals are just "too good" and would do credit to a submarine, they trap the water that runs down from the top of the door and let it spill inside....but they do a great job if you drive through floods or 'fords' in keeping the water out of the car (so long as you don,t completely submerge - then it comes over the top just like wainwater ha ha) just as an aside....my wife drives my Tolly now and I had to show her how the traction control works: ie allow the car to pull away on tick-over, traction control now cuts in and takes you through snow others can,t tackle and up slopes you wouldn,t believe.... dont spin the wheels or the traction control thinks you are going faster and cuts out....mine worked a treat in all the recent snow!!!!!!