Water in both front and rear footwells :(

[Stunts]

Hi all, I have an issue with water ingress into both front and rear passenger footwells on our Altea XL 2.0tdi DSG and I can't tekk where it's coming from. The pollen filter is below the dash on this model and I popped it out to check - it isn't wet so I'm not convinced the water is coming from there.....

Could it be the common Toledo/Fabia problem of water ingress from the doors? How do I find this out - is there some common sign? How do I get the door cards off anyway? The armrest covers don't seem to want to budge.

Whilst looking under the bonnet I noted that there was some detritus under the front scuttle, so deciding to try to sort it I attempted to remove the wipers. For some odd reason the nut helpfully sheard the post on which the wiper sits. Very P'd off!!!

Any advice on the water would be great. Cheers
Simon

 

[martin.cat]

I had same problem and it was the air con drain. Thankfully it was all sorted under warranty with new carpets fitted.

 

[Lewwy]

Warning - only attempt to take the door cards off if you have the patience of a saint or are insane ;o)

 

[martin.cat]

I think its unlikely to be doors / windows as water would drain at bottom on to sill rather than carpet also would it wet carpet on both sides?
Door seals would be more likely but only if on one side

 

[muffins]

I have this problem in the front passenger footwell.

I have an 09 Altea XL that I've owned for the last six months. Just notice the other day that the front passenger footwell is soaked where one would rest the heal of their left foot if they had their foot right up to the seat.

Had a look at the pollin filter when I slid off the little plastic cover the slides over the filter the filter just fell out. Is that right? filter felt dry. What's this rubber seal people are talking about? Am I missing it?

Not had the filter changed since car was bought and never noticed the footwell being wet before.

Checked the door seal and it seems fine. No other wet patch except for that specific area.


There is absolutely no water at the bottom of the door or the sill and even the carpet by the sill is dry.

It's just that patch. I soaked up all the water yesterday just checked again now after the car has been parked overnight and it's been raining all night and the water is back.

 

[dazjstuart]

Fret not, I had this problem when I first got my Mk1 Leon a few months ago. It is most likely to be leaking door seals. There are loads of threads on here explaining how to fix them, in the main site one of the guides by "pabs" was the one I went by.

Its a bit of a fidley job but after you do the first door and know what your doing it doesnt take long. They often leak around the speaker on the drivers and passengers door, the bit that actually leaks is the seal round the metal panel behind the door card that all the window gubbins attach to.

So basically to summarise what you do (like I said theres loads of threads with diagrams and pics and everything) is take off the door cards (be careful not to break any wires or clips) then take out the bolts holding the metal panel in place, however leave in one of the top ones (just slacken it a bit) so you dont actually remove the panel. At this point when I did mine water actually poured out the bottom! Pull out the old seal it will probably break into bits they seem to be made of absolute rubbish. Watch your fingers on the edge of the metal panel its pretty sharp. To replace the seal I used a roll of double sided sticky sealing foam stuff for windows that I had lying around, its a good bit thicker than the original seal so should provide a good seal (has done up till now ). Its a bit fiddly to do but just work your way round the panel using a screwdriver to push the seal into place. I also went mad with the silicon gun around the speaker on the drivers door just to make sure as it was there the water was coming in the most. Put everything back together and jobs a good un. A roll of that sealant stuff is only a few quid in B&Q so its a pretty cheap fix.

Although It was only really the drivers side doors that were leaking I did the passengers side too as apparently its a pretty common fault and after you do the first door its easy.

Drying the car out was another matter, took ages, must have been at least a gallon of water in there!

Hope this helps!

 

[dazjstuart]

In reply to some of the other points made on here,

To remove the door card you pop the cover off the door handle (the big one not the one that actually opens the door lol) and there should be a couple of bolts under there. After that you just pull off the card but watch out for those ******* plastic clips breaking!

Muffins, when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with mine the bottom of the door and sill were also dry which I thought was a bit strange and lead me to believe it couldnt be the door seals, but it was ! If you lift the carpet you will see that the floor isnt flat, all the water gathers in the low areas which will be why its only wet in one place. Alternativley you could have lost one of the rubber bungs that go in the floor, I would say this is pretty unlikely though it's far more likely to be door seals.

 

[muffins]

I'll have a go at pouring water through the door when it's open and see if it comes out the bottom?


Another thing that comes to mind. When I put the car into reverse there is a sound like a flap opening. Don't know if it's anything to do with

 

[dazjstuart]

I'll have a go at pouring water through the door when it's open and see if it comes out the bottom?


Another thing that comes to mind. When I put the car into reverse there is a sound like a flap opening. Don't know if it's anything to do with

I tried holding the power washer on mine but I couldnt see anything, after your finished though when you open the door if you run your hand along the underside where the plastic of the door card meets the metal you should feel it wet there though, its difficult to tell though if you have been throwing water around everywhere. The only way to tell is to nip off the door card and have a look inside, you should be able to tell by the look of the seal if its shot or not, (bits of mine were rotten and hanging off)

No idea about the reversing thing mate, I doubt it would be related though.

 

[muffins]

Just had a look now and the rear passenger side is soaked too. Wasn't wet before today. Is it because I touched the pollen filter?

 

[dazjstuart]

Just had a look now and the rear passenger side is soaked too. Wasn't wet before today. Is it because I touched the pollen filter?

Might be but its more chance of being the door seals

 

[muffins]

Well I'm going to contact the dealer. Car came with a years warranty so hope it's covered.

 

[martin.cat]

The flap closing in reverseis for air recirculation so that exhaust fumes don't enter car so normal

Door seal would leave carpet wet on one side both foot wells suggests air con

When mine was air con drain I vaxed up 5 litres and it only seem to get wet when i drove car. I actually thought there was a hole or dodgy seal under car but factfully all sorted under warrenty

 

[muffins]

The plot thickens...

Never had the time to contact the dealer but have been keeping an eye on it.

The leaking seems to have disappeared. It's been pouring rain here and also hot enough for extended use of the air con. And no wet carpet. Since I dried it out a couple of weeks ago it's been bone dry.

The only thing I can think of is that when I removed the pollen filter it dislodged whatever water was trapped there? Causing the back passenger side to become wet too?

 

[Stunts]

still leaking but......

From my investigations it seems the actual rubber seal around the door is leaking. It only happens during rain. The sill under the plastic at the front of the door is wet which is what leads me to believe that this is the cause. It's booked in to the local stealers on the 29th for diagnosis. I'll keep this thread updated with my progress.....

 

[jontbone]

From my investigations it seems the actual rubber seal around the door is leaking. It only happens during rain. The sill under the plastic at the front of the door is wet which is what leads me to believe that this is the cause. It's booked in to the local stealers on the 29th for diagnosis. I'll keep this thread updated with my progress.....

Will be interesting to see what the dealers think, I found the front passenger footwell soaked yesterday on my freetrack. I only realised because the car smelt damp, so had a look around.

 

[dazjstuart]

I'm telling you its the inner door seals, don't waste your money with the stealers!

 

[jontbone]

I'm telling you its the inner door seals, don't waste your money with the stealers!

I certainly don't have any money to give dealers! Done that enough in the past....

Just had another look, found water collecting on the seals around the door opening. Also appears to be coming from behind the door card, which is probably why the water is collecting on the seal around door opening.

Unfortunately don't have the right torx bit to undo the bolt at bottom of door card. I'm expecting water to come out when I do loosen it though.

 

[muffins]

Just to update.

Still dry and it's been bucketing here and it's been hot and humid too, so had the air con on.

Passenger front and back footwell still dry.

Since I only touched the pollen filter when checking for the reason for the water, I think it was the reason?

 

[Godders]

Did any of you have any success if fixing any of your water leaks?

I found my drivers side footwell wet in February. I dried it out and kept an eye on it, but the probelm is now back and worse than ever. The drivers footwell and the one behind are sodden.

I've checked what I think is the a/c condensate drain and that looks fine. I've also had the hose on the windows to check the door seals but didn't noice any ingress. I'm starting to think it might be something underneath the car...