Condensation on the rear hatch window

[Jonathan_1.8T]

Hi all,

I did a search & not much as regards the Mk 1 turned up.The car is an 02 elegance 1.8t

As title,the boot window get pretty wet with condensation,no apparent wet carpets anywhere,& I've not checked the spare wheel well yet.

Is this common this time of year cos of the very frosty/cold weather, or is there something else going on? (it's our first winter with it btw)

tbh,the mrs says it gets pretty steamed up even when she's using it,so maybe the pollen filter?I don't know, just an idea.I've not checked it,I do have a new one,& intended to check/replace but couldn't work out how to get the trim off for fear of breaking anything,clips etc

thanks in advance

[ExAudiSi]

My 53 plate Elegance TDI is the same. No obvious leaks either.

Might just be a "characteristic of the vehicle" as VAG like to call them :wonder:

[tsp]

I get it too.

The boot has been adjusted, it fits snugly and the seal is fine.

Who knows what else it could be

[Jonathan_1.8T]

thanks for the replies'

"who knows what else it could be"

well one theory which makes sense that I've read is this;

when you use the car,the inside temp gets much warmer than outside.And warm air = holds more moisture.Then,when the outside temp is so cold,the warm air condenses on the coldest bits....or something like that.Bit like water droplets on a beer glass in summer maybe.I don't know.

But that still leaves the question;

why are some cars more prone to it than others...

off topic,when I click multi quote,nothing happens,what's going on!?

[lordrobs]

My one gets a bit wet inside. I put it down to:

1) the angle of the rear window, and more importantly...

2) the 1/2 litre of water you end up with in the boot when you open it during/after rain :p

[agent47c2000]

2) the 1/2 litre of water you end up with in the boot when you open it during/after rain :p

that is so annoying, it runs into your speakers most the time, I got fairly good spec after market speakers and i dont want them fried due to water ingress into them.

Is there no cure for this at all, or is it just slow opening of the boot??

[sparky93]

that is so annoying, it runs into your speakers most the time, I got fairly good spec after market speakers and i dont want them fried due to water ingress into them.

Is there no cure for this at all, or is it just slow opening of the boot??

Bit of bluetack on the ends where the water comes from( the strip on bottom of the glass?)

As to the other post, I cant work out where the scuttle panel unclips. It seems to be in 2 halves so looks like no need to remove a wiper. but it dont want to budge.

[agent47c2000]

Bit of bluetack on the ends where the water comes from( the strip on bottom of the glass?)

As to the other post, I cant work out where the scuttle panel unclips. It seems to be in 2 halves so looks like no need to remove a wiper. but it dont want to budge.

to get the scuttle pannel off to check the pollen filter you need to:

remove wiper arms

remove the rubber seal

Get a small flat blade screwdriver under the trim against the glass and very very very carefully prise up just enough to get a finger nail under it

pull genlty and slide finger all the way along the trim and screen til it pops off

then you ccan disconnect the washer pipes and remove the trim

Becareful, someone removed the trim off my car before i bought it and had broken it, so when i took it off to install my sound system i found the broke peices and had to glue back in place.

[Interphase]

I found you could pull the rubber seal and flex the front right side of the scuttle panel upwards enough to pull out the pollen filter holder with no problem. That's probably not the recommended method but it seemed to work

[sparky93]

I found you could pull the rubber seal and flex the front right side of the scuttle panel upwards enough to pull out the pollen filter holder with no problem. That's probably not the recommended method but it seemed to work

I tried that, but not enuf movement on mine, 1inch gap max :-( too wet to try the other method yet......

[mbames]

I found you could pull the rubber seal and flex the front right side of the scuttle panel upwards enough to pull out the pollen filter holder with no problem. That's probably not the recommended method but it seemed to work

That works for me too, but I have had the panel off before, so changing the filter was not too bad as I was familiar with the layout, plus I have little hands. With some careful work you can just get one side of the scuttle cover off:

[ExAudiSi]

Off topic, but does everyone else have those plastic covers on their strut tops?

I had them on my Bora, but the Octy doesn't have them.

[PeteG]

I've got those covers. Maybe grab a pair from a breakers?

[Bowders1]

that is so annoying, it runs into your speakers most the time, I got fairly good spec after market speakers and i dont want them fried due to water ingress into them.

Is there no cure for this at all, or is it just slow opening of the boot??

You can fill up the gap between rear window and boot with a bead of sealant. This does work reasonably well. Does not stop water running off boot, but makes it run off at a wider angle thus missing the speaker self and generally outside of the boot.

You would probably get less water opening boot quicker as it is when the boot is initially raised when water hits the speaker brackets.

Edited 30 December, 2009 by Bowders1

[mbames]

Is there no cure for this at all, or is it just slow opening of the boot??

Buy an estate

[colin42]

My estate had water in the boot - turned out to be a split in the rear washer hose, so each time i cleaned the rear window half the water ended up in the left hand wing (there is a storage cover there in the estate

Worth a look (and easy to check!)

[mbames]

My estate had water in the boot - turned out to be a split in the rear washer hose, so each time i cleaned the rear window half the water ended up in the left hand wing (there is a storage cover there in the estate

Worth a look (and easy to check!)

Mine did that too :-)

[Bowders1]

But that still leaves the question;

why are some cars more prone to it than others...

One answer to that maybe down to how good the seal to the interior is. i.e cars without Aircon may not have a good seal as car with aircon so the condensation can escape slightly.

Only theory i guess.

Also if the car has had or continues to have even a small water leak or holds water somewhere in the initerior, that is sufficent to keep the interior damp to allow condensation to continue.

Edited 31 December, 2009 by Bowders1