I was just cleaning my octy and the mrs' leon and i noticed loads of dirt behind the rear-side of the front wheel arch cover at the bottom. I mean behind the plastic covering, which acts as the funnel to clear rainwater.

Anyone else noticed this?

When i removed the plastic cover and flushed it all out it was almost half a bucket full on both side and both cars. Nice design feature from VWAG ;-)

might account for why some rust is showing on the leon... hmm.

living on a dirt road i found the wheel arches managed to collect ALOT of dirt, you know where i park my car at work, there was a 6inch high mound of mud from the back wheels.

Yes, I found a small compost factory behind mine when I removed the wheel arch liner to fit a TT air vent.So much in fact that I removed the passenger side and cleaned it out as well.

When i fitted the front mudflaps on my car, i managed to salvage about half a bucket of accumulated debris from behind each of the Splash shields!! Mind you, they hadnt been disturbed for 6 years, so they shouldnt need doing again for a while!

It somewhat defeats the object of a splash shield if all sorts of soggy rubbish collects behind them anyway???:confused:

I found this on mine recently. It was about 5 inches high behind both front wheel arch liners. There was also a rather large dead beetle sitting on top of the mound on the passenger side.

I reckon cleaning the crud out got me back at least 1 bhp or so

It somewhat defeats the object of a splash shield if all sorts of soggy rubbish collects behind them anyway???:confused:

It is the collection of leaves and generally rubbish from above. It collects under the scuttle panel and then when it rains, the water washes said leaves down the drainage ducks, where it then gets stuck, and you find a nice gathering of compost a bit later.

If it blocks up enough, it can cause water to get into the passenger footwell, and in via the pollen filter.

how do you get these wheel arches off?

maybe some pics would be very helpfull indeed!

how do you get these wheel arches off?

maybe some pics would be very helpfull indeed!

Just noticed from your other post - all the above are talking about the Octy - don't know if the same's true for the Fabia...

how do you get these wheel arches off?

maybe some pics would be very helpfull indeed!

Just undo a couple of the torx screws towards the lower rear end of the liner, that should be enough for you to get your hand inside and start pulling the compost out..... and then flush through from above with a hosepipe, or watering can.

will try tomorrow

Depending on your torx bits, you may find it easier to have the wheel on a lock in one direction....

Cleaned mine out today, four inches thick with silt :eek:

Bad design or what!

Hmmm I may have to check mine out when I get a moment

Cleaned mine out today, four inches thick with silt :eek:

Bad design or what!

I expect a lot of the rubbish with gathers there is dependant on where you park, for instance under trees while at work to keep the car in the shade, but then it means there is a greater potential for leaves and the like to drop and in.....

I had exactlty the same problem with my Octy. So bad infact that water did pour into the passenger footwell. To me ages to dry the poxy thing out. The wheel arch lining is very easy to remove. I actually removed the wheel to gain better access. From what I can remember, there are about 8 screws to undo and then the cover just pulls out. Well worth doing, especially considering the recent bad weather.

Did mine a while back and had about 5-6 inches of crap in there both sides.

I also have a Vento and when i removed the mud flaps after lowering it i noticed they where full, about 14 inches so its not a new design fault.

Think everyone should keep a check on this area.

Did mine a while back and had about 5-6 inches of crap in there both sides.

I also have a Vento and when i removed the mud flaps after lowering it i noticed they where full, about 14 inches so its not a new design fault.

Think everyone should keep a check on this area.

Why? Just sell it on

just checked my octy,OMG!! :eek:the inside,s of the wing,s were full of wet mud & cr*p,it took me all of 10 mins to sort it,recomend any octy owner to check their,s asap!.

I'm getting worried now... :eek: mine will be coming off at the weekend...

my fabia had this at the back

will check the fronts later

pulled my fabia one off tody drivers side not so bad maybe about half an inch deep, but the passenger side!

was about 6 inches of the stuff and all the way in!

An interesting post. Im not very impressed with the notion that a device desinged to prevent mud getting into creviced actually helps to do the opposite!!!

Those torx screws are mounted to high, I can pull the bottom of the liner away from the edge of the sill with out even slackening them off! So its no wonder the crud finds it so easy I also noticed that the shape of the liner does not match the shape on the tumblehome created by the body profile, instead of curving with the side profile it does in a series of short stright lines and leaves a small gap just right for the crud to get blasted in by the tyres.

I compared minw with a coleagues VW Golf parked nest to my octy, the Golf in far neater with no gaps etc. Im not at all impressed with this coble up and this sort of stupidity has put me off buying another Skoda!!

Hmmm as soon as i get a moment i will be checking mine too!:eek:

Hand full of cress seeds down the plenum chamber? I am surprised that Skoda marketing department haven't cottoned onto this feature to make an additional environmental benefit.

Finally got round to sorting mine out on Saturday morning.

There were about 2 mugfuls of crud, dirt, leaves etc. in both sides. I knew it was bad before I'd even taken the liner off the passenger side as there was a small seedling growing out of a small hole between the liner and the edge of the wheel arch! :eek:

The drivers side was hard work as the torx screws were so corroded I couldn't undo them and had to just peel the bottom of the liner back with one hand and scrape the stuff out as best I could with a stick.

Edit: Pics of the patented Skoda compost bin...

Edited 1 September, 200817 yr by chicken_eyebrow