last week i noticed if it had been raining the driver side door seemed to be holding water somewhere because when i opened it quite a bit of water came off the it onto the sill. im also having a problem with both the front and back windows steaming up when its raining. ive searched on here and no-one seems to have had exactly the same problem but others have had door seals fail so i presume this might be the cause. anyone know of anything else to look out for?
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condensation and door holding water
- Thread starter dkw
- Start date
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- Tags
- condensation door holding water
I have an Altea 2008 xl and at the first sign of rain the car steams up have to use the aircon to clear the screen any ideas folks
Windows will steam up if any water is in the car, even if you soak your carpets with water from your shoes. It's nothing to worry about, as long as you aren't leaking but the footwells will be soaking so that'll be easy to tell.
dkw, I can tell you exactly what it is, like Neil says, your inner door seal.
You need to removed your door card, there are a succession of screws that hold it on along the bottom of it and also two in the door handle (big black chunky rail, not the chrome release handle). For these you need to get a small flat-head screwdriver and remove the front half of the handle by forcing it gently apart.
Once the door card is removed and all the wiring is disconnected, you'll see a large silver plate with foam sealant right around the whole edge. You'll spot the problem, marked with a dirty water stain where the rain water has been dripping through the seal. Simple losen (but dont remove) the metal plate by losening the bolts that hold it on, then get your silicone sealant gun and reseal the part where the foam sealant has perished. Mine perished at the bottom of the metal plate, so I resealed the whole bottom of it so I don't have the issue again. Since doing this and the 3day of heavy rain we have had this, it's fixed and no longer leaks
!
dkw, I can tell you exactly what it is, like Neil says, your inner door seal.
You need to removed your door card, there are a succession of screws that hold it on along the bottom of it and also two in the door handle (big black chunky rail, not the chrome release handle). For these you need to get a small flat-head screwdriver and remove the front half of the handle by forcing it gently apart.
Once the door card is removed and all the wiring is disconnected, you'll see a large silver plate with foam sealant right around the whole edge. You'll spot the problem, marked with a dirty water stain where the rain water has been dripping through the seal. Simple losen (but dont remove) the metal plate by losening the bolts that hold it on, then get your silicone sealant gun and reseal the part where the foam sealant has perished. Mine perished at the bottom of the metal plate, so I resealed the whole bottom of it so I don't have the issue again. Since doing this and the 3day of heavy rain we have had this, it's fixed and no longer leaks
!
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jaggy2
Guest
Definitely agree with door seal leak but also v seal that deflects water out could be dirty and not letting the water out ...have a look under the door pull the rubber strip away from the door a little and you should see small holes on the underside of the door . Use a cotton bud to make sure these holes are clear. I have done the door casing seal repair with silicon sealant and its been perfect since HTH
this WILL BE THE DOOR CARRIER/PANEL SEALS.
If you remove the inner door trim, you will then see the carrier which hold the speaker, window mechanism etc... this has a seal running around the edge to seal it to the door.
Thsi perishes over time and allows water through and down the inside of the door and down onto the sill, which cant run away as the door seals against the sill when closed.
I know i know you are thinking it makes no sense and wont be that.
But it will be.
here is a link to a good thread on this issue which explains the issue and repair. Tried and tested the fix myself
http://seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44216
If you remove the inner door trim, you will then see the carrier which hold the speaker, window mechanism etc... this has a seal running around the edge to seal it to the door.
Thsi perishes over time and allows water through and down the inside of the door and down onto the sill, which cant run away as the door seals against the sill when closed.
I know i know you are thinking it makes no sense and wont be that.
But it will be.
here is a link to a good thread on this issue which explains the issue and repair. Tried and tested the fix myself
http://seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44216
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ps dont try and seal it with bathroom sealant etc. it just doesnt do the job.
here are part numbers for alternative seal to replace it with:
seat:
Part number on the side of the box: AKD49701004R10
Description on invoice: "SAKD49701004R10 BC4.1* SEAL CORD"
Price: £25.37 (£29.81 inc vat)
its a black fat rubbery sticky seal...
alternatively vw do a similair product which they use for this issue, which i think is not quite as thick as the seat one and is cheaper:
AKL 450 005 05 at £16.04 incl VAT is very similar although not as fat as the AKD 497 010 04R10
here are part numbers for alternative seal to replace it with:
seat:
Part number on the side of the box: AKD49701004R10
Description on invoice: "SAKD49701004R10 BC4.1* SEAL CORD"
Price: £25.37 (£29.81 inc vat)
its a black fat rubbery sticky seal...
alternatively vw do a similair product which they use for this issue, which i think is not quite as thick as the seat one and is cheaper:
AKL 450 005 05 at £16.04 incl VAT is very similar although not as fat as the AKD 497 010 04R10
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ok i will get proper stuff, i was just wondering where my bathroom sealant was!. if im gonna take the door apart i want to do it properly. the girlfriends ford focus window aint working either so have to get at the motor, so ill practice on hers first to see if i break anything...
also:
Things to think about:
What I did find when taking off the rear door trims was that the clips that keep the trim attached to the door break VERY easily. I managed to break a total of 8 out of the 16 that keep the rear door trims on (the front seemed fine)!
In trying to buy some replacements I spoke to nearly everyone at the stealership so I thought it wise to post the part number and cost for anyone else looking to buy some too.
3B0868243 - Door trim clips pack of 10 - £7.90
Things to think about:
What I did find when taking off the rear door trims was that the clips that keep the trim attached to the door break VERY easily. I managed to break a total of 8 out of the 16 that keep the rear door trims on (the front seemed fine)!
In trying to buy some replacements I spoke to nearly everyone at the stealership so I thought it wise to post the part number and cost for anyone else looking to buy some too.
3B0868243 - Door trim clips pack of 10 - £7.90
for a quick fix, fasten a sheet of polythene onto the bottom of the door card so that it deflect the water back out and not over the sill and hence into your car/footwell. I have done this and works fine until i can get round to fixing hopefully later this week.
Curious as to why people say not to use a decent silicon sealant ? If the seal cord failed in the first place, why replace it with the same product ? provided the sealer you use is flexible and not the type which ends up like tile grout/or an adhesive, it will be fine.
Curious as to why people say not to use a decent silicon sealant ? If the seal cord failed in the first place, why replace it with the same product ? provided the sealer you use is flexible and not the type which ends up like tile grout/or an adhesive, it will be fine.
ManOnTheMoor wrote
for a quick fix, fasten a sheet of polythene onto the bottom of the door card so that it deflect the water back out and not over the sill and hence into your car/footwell. I have done this and works fine until i can get round to fixing hopefully later this week.
Curious as to why people say not to use a decent silicon sealant ? If the seal cord failed in the first place, why replace it with the same product ? provided the sealer you use is flexible and not the type which ends up like tile grout/or an adhesive, it will be fine.
The replacement is not the same as the original seal, which is a tacit acknowledgement by VAG that the original is faulty (but not a recall item, grr). The original seal is self-adhesive foam and eventually starts to fail where it is forced to go round tight corners (or at least that's where mine started, back corner of the door and by the speaker) The replacement is almost like underseal, a black sticky non-setting compound. Because it doesn't set it copes well with vibration and expansion.
My theory is that the failure is brought on by door slamming. It always seems to be the drivers door that fails first, then passenger, then nearside rear - which corresponds to the number of openings each is likely to have had.
DIY sealants are not meant for such harsh evironments, and set relatively hard. Depending on how well you clean out the old seal and apply the bathroom sealant, it may work well or not.
for a quick fix, fasten a sheet of polythene onto the bottom of the door card so that it deflect the water back out and not over the sill and hence into your car/footwell. I have done this and works fine until i can get round to fixing hopefully later this week.
Curious as to why people say not to use a decent silicon sealant ? If the seal cord failed in the first place, why replace it with the same product ? provided the sealer you use is flexible and not the type which ends up like tile grout/or an adhesive, it will be fine.
The replacement is not the same as the original seal, which is a tacit acknowledgement by VAG that the original is faulty (but not a recall item, grr). The original seal is self-adhesive foam and eventually starts to fail where it is forced to go round tight corners (or at least that's where mine started, back corner of the door and by the speaker) The replacement is almost like underseal, a black sticky non-setting compound. Because it doesn't set it copes well with vibration and expansion.
My theory is that the failure is brought on by door slamming. It always seems to be the drivers door that fails first, then passenger, then nearside rear - which corresponds to the number of openings each is likely to have had.
DIY sealants are not meant for such harsh evironments, and set relatively hard. Depending on how well you clean out the old seal and apply the bathroom sealant, it may work well or not.
when the weather is hot its very sticky.. it wouldnt even peel off the backing paper..
I stuck mine inthe fridge for a bit prior to use, made it much more manageable.
I simply cut polythene length of the door and used black gaffer tape to fasten it to the lower edge of the door card. No need to take door card off, then ensure polythene is taped up at the ends. Shut the door to ensure ok, trim off any hanging below door. Will try and take photo tomorrow
may order some of the new cord then to give it a go tho have got industrial flexible sealer which dries like rubber, decision decisions
may order some of the new cord then to give it a go tho have got industrial flexible sealer which dries like rubber, decision decisions
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