Water leak into footwell - dodgy seal info and DIY repair guide (Image links dead)

[goAMinD]

Hi,

Well, I too have a pond under my rear carpet in the driver side. I assume the inner seal is broken on my driver front door, since this is where the water is always trapped and splashes out on the ground when the door is opened.

After reading this fabulous guide AND the complete thread, I still have one question though.... I will try the silicon trick, but do you guys remove the old seal first or do you apply the silicone on the old seal?

 

[goAMinD]

In addition... I'm not going to completely unmount the inner panel. I will try loosening all but two bolts and then apply.

 

[33754k]

I pulled all the old seal off, well atleast the loose bits anyway

 

[brightsideteeem]

thank you! i feel like a gonad, i posted a thread asking about this. sorry >.<

<----n00bie >.<

 

[goAMinD]

I have successfully sealed my front driver door today following this splendid guide. Normally I would have taken the car to the stealer, but following this guide made it a simple process of 30 minutes. Thanks a lot.

 

[judith]

hi, i've just bought a 'B' reg leon, immaculate with very low mileage.....only problem being the water leaking in (like all these posts on here) and sitting in the footwell at the back passenger side. Being second hand what worries me is what the state of the floor might be like under the carpet....has anyone come up with problems with this? Has anyone in the Weston area done the repair thing who'd be willing to show me (mere female... but not helpless!) how to do mine?

 

[kw_maher]

I'm not sure how useful this is to others..

My nearest Seat dealer is quite a way away, so have gone about sourcing a suitable seal from VW. I've got a part which is similar to the standard foam beading, but is actually rubberised, and slightly thicker. Apparently it's what is in the mk4 Golf doors - although it may be a replacement part used by the technicians when they're dealing with a water leak problem.

From what I can gather, it's either the same, or very similar to the Seat cord seal kit.

The best bit however is, it only cost me £5.54 +VAT for enough for two doors.


The VW part number on my receipt is V1H0 803 535 A - 022C05 CORD SEAL



HTH

 

[markmck]

I initially used Silicon to fix mine but this did work too well so used the SEAT rubber cord stuff. This is good but getting the inner panel off after using it can be difficult as I found out when replacing a window regulator on wife's Leon. It was even more fun when I had to open it up again to re-attach the central door locking as it hadn't got it connected right the first time and it dropped off

 

[Al]

I had a look at the other halfs car tonight and got the handle off no problem, but I had a problem getting the actual door trim off. I may be wrong but it looks like it is in 3 bits - grey plastic at bottom, material bit in middle and plastic on top.

Using a screwdriver, I successfully managed to put some scratches on the inside of the door and chew up the trim, but i was scared to pull the trim too hard.

I read that it is neccessary to remove it up and off, but dont you have to pull the clips out the door first?

 

[2slim]

I had a look at the other halfs car tonight and got the handle off no problem, but I had a problem getting the actual door trim off. I may be wrong but it looks like it is in 3 bits - grey plastic at bottom, material bit in middle and plastic on top.

Using a screwdriver, I successfully managed to put some scratches on the inside of the door and chew up the trim, but i was scared to pull the trim too hard.

I read that it is neccessary to remove it up and off, but dont you have to pull the clips out the door first?

Pull it out from the bottom working towards the top, once all the clips have been released lift it upwards to clear the door lock pin, and yes you do have to pull it fairly hard to release the clips, the door card looks like 3 bits but is infact only 1. Once off you can release all electrical connections!

 

[Desumacchi]

I've had a couple of emails regarding the state of play and how I got on with Seat re my door seals so thought i'd update the helpful peeps here.... i'll keep it short

We are talking about some months ago now, but at the time my car was only just outside of 'warranty' ...

I made sure i followed the small claims court procedure (this is a MUST) .... but got my iro £400 bill reimbursed because of it....

Will i buy another Seat? maybe - (but i seriously doubt it) because all cars are crap these days - they knock them out too fast.

Was I wrong? - NO! ,....... because cars shouldn't leak like they have done with the Leons....

you guys shouldnt be having to fix this stuff yourselves.... they know full well there is a problem with the seals.

 

[markv]

Just found this place after Googling for, guess what, Seat Leon water leak.

Having just sprung for a £690 service (they finally persuaded me to have the cam belt and water pump done), I was not too happy when my request to look into water running out the bottom of the door when you opened it after rain, resulted in a quote for £134. Per door. Plus VAT. That sounds like six hundred quid to me.

I'm SO pleased to have found this site and in particular this thread; thanks a million guys. I'm no mechanic, but I'm not afraid to give it a go.

Will order the Seal Cord and some spare door trim clips and see what kind of a mess I make of it

Do I have to order from a Seat Dealer, or from any VAG dealer? I normally use Seat Spur Garage, Hampton Court, but that's quite a trek (bought the car from the dealer in Chiswick... who promptly closed down).

Mark

 

[markv]

Follow-up thought. If I understand this problem, doors naturally admit rain water. It mostly stays inside the door until you open it, which opens the seal at the bottom and lets it run out. That's completely normal.

Strange I'd never noticed it dribbling out before I noticed the leak, but there we go.

Eventually the foam seal inside the door packs up, and the water building up inside the door leaks through. This water ends up in footwells and sitting underneath the door seal, resulting if the small rush of water when you open a door after it's been raining (and it can still be there several days later).

Am I with it so far?

So... even if the foam seal is completely shot, there isn't a problem if you don't let a couple of inches of water accumulate inside the door...? That doesn't sound too difficult if you open them now and then. Or am I missing something?

But what happens with the rear doors? I suspect mine doen't get opened from one year to the next. Does that mean they're permanent fish tanks with a foot or more of water? I've never heard water slopping about.

Mark

 

[Three Leons]

Same story, or is it?

Sorry to drag this up again but with the current weather I guess a few of us have the same problem

"So... even if the foam seal is completely shot, there isn't a problem if you don't let a couple of inches of water accumulate inside the door...? That doesn't sound too difficult if you open them now and then. Or am I missing something?"

Opening the doors regularly doesn't help - I'm getting the leak over night or basically whenever it rains. The strange thing is my driver's side carpet is soaked right in the middle but not at the edges i.e. the water doesn't seem to be coming from over the plastic 'lip' at the bottom of the door frame. Is it possible for the water to be coming from somewhere else? Can it get in behind the pedals somehow?

And, without lifting the carpets is there a simple way to dry them out?

Cheers in advance

 

[LEE69]

Has anyone uncovered the three holes on the bottom of the doors?
Just looked at mine,and the seal that covers them is very tight to the holes, i'm wondering if they are actually too tight, and snipping the rubber would allow the water to escape far more easily.

 

[Hooper]

Leaky Leons

Lee, Snipping the outer part of the seal to expose the holes in the inner part of the door seal is a standard fix as used by the main stealers. This helps the doors drain when closed.

If you get down underneath the doors poke a suitable blunt instrument up through the holes in the seal into the door to make sure they are lined up with the drain holes in the door and that they are not obstructed. However, the main problem is not so much the door filling with water, it is that the rain coming in at the top of the door is able to travel onto the inside face of the ancilliaries panel and run down it. The ancillaries panel is the steel panel that houses the electric window motor, the locking mechanism, the speakers and is mounted to the door underneath the interior trim panel. All that seals it to the door is this miserable foam seal. Clearly this was realy designed as an anti-rattle gasket rather than a water seal. After 2 or three years the foam is dry and disintegrating any way. So the water just percolates through, bypassing the main the main door seal straight into the car from underneath the trim panel. There are various guides on this site telling you how to sort these seals out and the dealers now use a very sticky rubberised replacement or some sealing cord.

NB Leons and indeed much of the VW Audi range leak in various places. For the Leon the other popular ones are that the pollen filter cover is not on right, as there is a rubber deflector on the underside which can be folded over. There is a gromit on the baulkhead which leaks and a seal a the top of the door, but that would probably drip on your head I suspect. Again use the search function as these are all well documented on here.

Hope that helps

Hoops

 

[LEE69]

Ta for that i did read the whole thread before i posted but couldn't see a post about opening these holes up.

Thankfully i don't get it in the footwells. just a touch on the sills when opening the door.
As for the sealant they use i swear i have used some in the bathroom before, thinking of the cost here for others too, but the link to the vw stuff might be worth the shot rather than getting it from a Seat dealer.

 

[markv]

Ta for that i did read the whole thread before i posted but couldn't see a post about opening these holes up.

Thankfully i don't get it in the footwells. just a touch on the sills when opening the door.
As for the sealant they use i swear i have used some in the bathroom before, thinking of the cost here for others too, but the link to the vw stuff might be worth the shot rather than getting it from a Seat dealer.

I can see exactly what you mean about the water seeming not to have a path to drain... but I don't think that's a problem. I've been monitoring my doors for a couple of months since I found this thread. After tons of monsoon rain, I opened a rear door that had been unopened for 2+ months.

Expected a flood of water running out but no water inside at all. It must seep out somehow despite the tight-looking rubber at the bottom of the doors. So I'd be reluctand to start cutting holes...

Like you I get water on the sills when I open the door, although have had serious condensation on the windscreen.

After removing the door trim from one front and one rear door I could see that my inner seal had failed along a short stretch, roughly below the speaker (front door only). Rear door seal was completely intact. This is a 51-reg.

Bought the sealing cord from a VW dealer (nearest Seat dealer is miles away). Just need to pull my finger out and finish the job!.

 

[Hooper]

Leaky Leons

PS I have had one of the back doors actually fill with water, a build up of dirt between the seal and the fact that the car had been unopened for about 2 weeks. I prised the seal apart and it came gushing out!

Condensation means you have wet carpet some where!

 

[LEE69]

Bought the sealing cord from a VW dealer (nearest Seat dealer is miles away). Just need to pull my finger out and finish the job!.

Was it cheaper than the Seat one?
Also what are the dimensions (ish) of the actual sealant on the roll?