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

[Grippo]

Hi,

New to the forum and relatively new to Seats in general.

I purchased a 53 plate Leon 6 months ago and was enjoying a dry summer until it started raining.

Main issues are the misty windows when driving, damp smell and not to mention the soaking carpets.

Ive read through a lot of this but not sure i know how to start with removing the door panel. Out of interest, if I went to a seat service station (assuming they are well aware of the fault), how much would they charge to fix it???

So, another point that i havent seen mentioned on here. I though i had solved the problem by opeining the doors before i set off and letting the sitting water run outside - it only seems to come in the front when i drive if there is water sat on the step under the door. However, in the back, I have noticed that rather than coming in under the back doors it seems to come from underneath. where the front seats are fixed to the floor and the runners to move back and forward, under these fittings seems to be where it comes in.

anyway, it rained all night last night and this opened my eyes to how severe the problem is. Front footwells are fine, as i say, only seems to come in if i dont let the water drain out and im driving... but both back footwells are completely soaked.

Does this sound familiar to anyone, re the seat fittings rather than the door panel??

Im going to ask a seat dealer about the problem on Monday.... if i dont think it can be fixed i might sell the car - which would be a shame cos i love it so.

hope someone can offer advice?

 

[]D) - |F|R/A(G]

All my doors are leaking into the footwells, is this going to be the same problem??
When I leave my car in the rain and it dries out every door i open holds water inbetween the footwells and if it rains alot it goes onto the carpets.... any advice????

 

[Grippo]

also to note..... The view from underneat my door looking up does not have any drain holes as shown on the first page...

Im sure the water is coming in from underneath or something where the front seats are bolted to the floor as this seems to be the wettest/dampest point. And the edges under the door leading to the footwell are bone dry, even this morning when i had a pool of water on the rear footwells..

Im sure my doors need re-sealing also as water does sit on the step when it rains, im just not convinced this is where the majority of the water gets into the footwells.

 

[irishmanr26]

Sounds a bit like mine Grippo. I took the door panel off and the seal looks in good condition and i cant see any drain holes either. The water seems to be coming in under the plastic trim at the very front of the door and running down into the corner of the footwell. The water sits on the sills on mine as well. It seems like the water is getting in under the rubber seal on the sill itself

 

[Grippo]

Sounds a bit like mine Grippo. I took the door panel off and the seal looks in good condition and i cant see any drain holes either. The water seems to be coming in under the plastic trim at the very front of the door and running down into the corner of the footwell. The water sits on the sills on mine as well. It seems like the water is getting in under the rubber seal on the sill itself

Ah, i didnt think of that.. so possibly the seal on the door frame (not the door) is where the water may leak into to get under the footwell and come in from under the carpet..
having said this, re-sealing the door itself would stop the water getting onto the sills to leak into this in the first place.

It would explain why only 3 of my 4 footwells leak when all of my doors leak onto the sill of the door frame. possible the seal on my drivers door frame is ok.

 

[irishmanr26]

Mine comes in from the seal on the door frame i think and runs down the carpet onto the floor, i can see it dripping down the carpet so know exactly where its coming in at. Cant get a decent enough day to get a proper look at it though. I had the door panel off on Saturday and it started raining! Had to wait 2 hours to put it back on again!

 

[]D) - |F|R/A(G]

Im thinking of putting rubber strips at the top of the door to make it a tighter fit, while I was looking at the rubber around the door arch I found that at the top there was a lot of crap stopping the rain from running around the door and out so I cleared it out but it didnt fix the problem. This problem seems to be common so shouldnt this be a manufacture fault? dont know any other car that lets in water within 8 years.. can we get it sorted for free by seat dealers ????

 

[JW.CupraT]

Hi guys, where do i seal on the pollen filter? i can see alot of water at the bottom of the pollen filter and the sponge at the bottom of the filter is soaked..

 

[LEE69]

You don't seal it you just make sure the flap is fitted correctly.
Change the filter if it's wet.

 

[JW.CupraT]

Ah ok, the filter itself is dry its just at the bottom of the filter theres a build up of water?

 

[LEE69]

The cover needs to be on correctly.

 

[JW.CupraT]

Right ill double check it. If the cover wasnt correctly on how would that explain the filter being dry but the bottom of the box being wet?

 

[dribbler]

Tolly Tdi door selas.

Hi, Have just done the two front door inner seals. Cost? Two hours of my time,one tube of silicon sealant.Am now trying to empty the swimming pool in the rear footwell! Certainly the repair is within the realms of even the most incompotent(me) DIY'er! Thanks to the OP for the hints

Regards

Dribbler
Tolly 1.9Tdi 2003 125k on the clock.

 

[irishmanr26]

I take it that its the seal around the metal part inside the door panel that needs to be replaced?
Its absolutely pi$$ing down here today and the water is coming into the passenger footwell

 

[LEE69]

That's the one.

 

[irishmanr26]

Bought me some sealant today so gonna give it a go when the rain stops.

 

[LEE69]

To give the sealant a chance to go off, on the out side glass put some tape so it goes down the outside of the door, rather than down the glass and into the door.

 

[irishmanr26]

Good idea, never thought of that

 

[LEE69]

Nor me i saw it on here

 

[irishmanr26]

I couldnt be bothered reading it all, i just read the first few pages then looked for pictures!