Hello All,

After the mad downpour yesterday I went to my car in the evening, which had been parked all day, and noticed some water drip down in the passenger footwell, I thought I had imagined it, so went round to the passenger side and felt along the underside of the glovebox. It was soaking wet!!!

I undid the two plastic wingnuts / screw things that hold the foam in place under the glovebox, and pulled it down. This is where you access the pollen filter, which is at the back of the footwell (you slide the cover one way, and the pollen filter drops out). I removed the filter and it was soaking wet!

Did VW not think to resolve this water ingress issue when designing the MKII Superb??

Anyway, I put my fingers up inside where the pollen filter lives and this was wet, also i felt all along the bottom - where the heatre motor is also, and this had water dripping off it. I then took my investigation further and looked under the bonnet (under the plastic tray at the base of the windscreen) There were no leaves, debris or anything in the drain holes.

So my question is.... HOW is the water getting in there?

Please help! I managed to cure this problem three times in past on my Superb 1, but this one has me stumped!

Looks like a trip to the garage this morning!

Kind regards and thanks in advance for ALL replies.

SJ

I can't help you with a solution I'm afraid as I don't have my Combi yet, but thanks for the heads up - this will now be one of the first things I look into!

Are there the same type of rubber bungs in the plenum chamber as fitted to the MKI? these would be the first things I would be looking at removing, as despite there being no trapped leaves in your car they may still get blocked up with other muck.

PLEASE do get it into the dealers and make sure you get written proof of the defect, this will be invaluable when SUK deny there is a water ingress issue with the Superb MKII!

How old is your Superb out of interest?

I am not really surprised about this as most VAG cars seem to suffer with water ingress in one way or another, but I am VERY disappointed! :(

I can't help you with a solution I'm afraid as I don't have my Combi yet, but thanks for the heads up - this will now be one of the first things I look into!

Are there the same type of rubber bungs in the plenum chamber as fitted to the MKI? these would be the first things I would be looking at removing, as despite there being no trapped leaves in your car they may still get blocked up with other muck.

PLEASE do get it into the dealers and make sure you get written proof of the defect, this will be invaluable when SUK deny there is a water ingress issue with the Superb MKII!

How old is your Superb out of interest?

I am not really surprised about this as most VAG cars seem to suffer with water ingress in one way or another, but I am VERY disappointed! :(

I also looked for rubber bungs and the like, the engine bays is VERY confined compared to the Superb 1, and I couldn't find any. Water seemed to flow down the bulkhead and away, so wasnt sitting anywhere I could see. The air intake / grille for the cabin is at about 45° compared to almost flat on the Superb 1. This is under a plastic splash guard but in a similar place to the pollen filter on the Superb 1.

My only theory was this intake grille is fixed to the bulkhead with that same sh ite foam that they used on the MK1.

My superb is 13 months old!

Ouch 13 months!! :no:

Personally I would put a washing up bowl inside the car under the pollen housing then get someone to use a hosepipe or watering can on the windscreen pouring slowly but heavily to a/ see where the water runs out of the plenum chamber and b/ to see it it does indeed come through the intake grill - I would rather do this myself than to trust someone who doesn't have to live with the car (or care about it leaking) to find the fault.

I would then however get the dealer to repair the car under warranty, when you go to collect the car ask what work they have done, don't just accept "we have fixed it".

Also check with them if the CCM unit is still situated under the passenger side carpet.

The central locking control unit is no more, it's combined with central electrics elsewhere.

Superb II actually has more in common with the Octavia II than the first Superb.

Edited 2 October, 201015 yr by Tech1e

The central locking control unit is no more, it's combined with central electrics elsewhere.

Superb II actually has more in common with the Octavia II than the first Superb.

If it's like a B6 Passat, the bung is in the drivers side wing under the wiper panel, and it does block up.

My 2008 car is bone dry inside, despite yesterdays really heavy rain in Dorset. I suspect you have a blocked drain and the scuttle is filling up with water, I seem to be forever cleaning leaves and other debris from this area to stop water build up.

Just thought I would update this after the visit to the garage - where they carried out an 'extensive water test'. This test is running a hose over the car for around half an hour.

The conclusion of this test was "couldn't find any water ingress!" Which I was a bit miffed about as I had witnessed water entering the car, and DID tell them that I tried to replicate it myself with a hose but couldnt, so could they investigate further which turned up nothing.

Skoda have recorded it and said to keep an eye on it, and bring it back if it does it again.

I did however speak to a Passat (2009 model) owner who had experienced similar and was told that they resealed his pollen filter, so this is something that could potentially cause problems in the future on the Superb II.

Upon further inspection the pollen filter intake is at 45° and set further back along the scuttle plate whereas on the Superb I was almost flat and had a 'gutter' above it. The newer design has simply a plastic splash guard.

if anything else happens, I will post it up for you all to read.

The pollen filter is inside the car, but as you say the intake is inside the scuttle. As correctly mentioned there are drain holes in the scuttle which need to be kept clear of leaves and debris.

Hello All,

After the mad downpour yesterday I went to my car in the evening, which had been parked all day, and noticed some water drip down in the passenger footwell, I thought I had imagined it, so went round to the passenger side and felt along the underside of the glovebox. It was soaking wet!!!

I undid the two plastic wingnuts / screw things that hold the foam in place under the glovebox, and pulled it down. This is where you access the pollen filter, which is at the back of the footwell (you slide the cover one way, and the pollen filter drops out). I removed the filter and it was soaking wet!

Did VW not think to resolve this water ingress issue when designing the MKII Superb??

Anyway, I put my fingers up inside where the pollen filter lives and this was wet, also i felt all along the bottom - where the heatre motor is also, and this had water dripping off it. I then took my investigation further and looked under the bonnet (under the plastic tray at the base of the windscreen) There were no leaves, debris or anything in the drain holes.

So my question is.... HOW is the water getting in there?

Please help! I managed to cure this problem three times in past on my Superb 1, but this one has me stumped!

Looks like a trip to the garage this morning!

Kind regards and thanks in advance for ALL replies.

SJ

Hi,

I have had a similar issue of the water leaking into the passenger footwell when the car was parked out in the rain.

The issue it seems was that the Sunroof drain was blocked and water was leaking through the pillars down into the footwell and the area of the pollen filter.

Regards,

K

Hi,

I have had a similar issue of the water leaking into the passenger footwell when the car was parked out in the rain.

The issue it seems was that the Sunroof drain was blocked and water was leaking through the pillars down into the footwell and the area of the pollen filter.

Regards,

K

I no longer have that vehicle, but it did not have a sunroof, so it was nothing to do with the drain pipes for that.

Has anyone seen instructions on how to resolve the leak where water collects inside and around the pollen filter case?

I've seen discussion about

* Cleaning out leaves inside the wheel arch at the bottom (done)

* Cleaning up leaves on the scuttle plate (done)

*  Checking for leaks around the sunroof....(done...I poured about 2-3 litres of water around the front of the sunroof while it was open, and watched it drain freely into the front door jams without delay or slow flow, which indicates the drain tubes are not kinked or blocked.  No water ran into the passenger foot well.

* Removing the scuttle plate below the windscreen to access whats underneath, or removing the front left wheel & wheel arch cover to access from underneath.....but then what? 

 

Do you silicone around some join or hose or something?

 

I poured about 4 litres down the windscreen and then found some small amounts coming into the passenger footwell.

Problem seems worse when parking facing up a hill/driveway.

 

Would really appreciate some direction on what to seal or fix behind the passenger dash to stop the leak.

I just used this stuff...black so if any squeezes out it's not instantly visible like white silicon sealant...either should be satisfactory to provide a seal though. I just covered the existing seal (which was visibly wet at the bottom when I initially removed it to inspect) with a line of the sealant and replaced the cover.

Make sure you clean the two surfaces well first to ensure it seals nicely.

Inspected - filthy, lots of gunk.

Spent a good hour clenaing. Degreaser, wd40, more degreaser.

Tested drainage hole by tipping in 1/2pint of water and watched it all drain away nicely and exit by mudflap.

Dried the whole area. Sealant applied to plastic cover (which was also thoroughly cleaned) and then refitted.

When I initially removed the plastic mesh cover, the lower part of the seal was visibly wet and obviously not doing it's job properly.

Explains why the passenger and rear footwell were saturated. Never had any problem up until last week when I noticed some wetness on the mat...I put it down to water from my mates boots as we'd just been out in the rain all afternoon. Didn't use car for a couple of days and then when I got in to go to the supermarket, noticed a puddle in the rear footwell. (Horrified as you'd expect!)

 

Noticed water droplets on the carpet by the footwell lamp/bonnet release (tell-tale sign it seems). Removed cover beneath golvebox and saw droplets hanging from wiring coming from heater/ventilation fan. Fan removed and dirty water spilled out. Pollen/cabin filter removed and lower 1/4 dark and damp. It wasn't in bad shape and was date stamped which matched date of my last service. I know from reading threads on this topic that some have moaned that their service techs have skimped on replacing this cheap part (£8.24 carbon jobby from ECP with regular discount code), so thanks Truscotts Skoda/Helston.

 

Fan has been doused in wd40, new pollen filter fitted and the carpets cleaned and sucked dry with a new VAX platinum carpet cleaner...back to dry and fresh in the cabin again.