Warning: Fabia Door Leaks

[Warby]

Hi all, could well have been a false alarm. Tried the various tests mentioned on previous pages but couldnt see any leaking. Spoke to the dealer that sold me the car and swears blind that this car has not suffered any issues before (it was his mothers for 12 months prior to this week). He suggests that the price board on top of the car whilst it has been on the forecourt may be to blame. The bungee that secures the board breaks the door seal and he has seen some leaking into the cars caused by this before. I think I will just keep an eye on it and continue to dry out as much as I can. Will report back if leak continues.

Softscoop, thanks very much for your offer, hopefully I wont need to carry the fix out. Always very impressed with these common interest communities and their willingness to help each other out, very much appreciated.

[Jon_woo]

Skoda have today water tested my car.

Water was pouring in from around the rear wiper so they took it out and sealed the hole to carrying on testing... after a bit of work they have decided the actual rear windscreen is letting floods of water in and filling up my brake lights as well!!

[old289]

I know this has been covered in great depth over the years, but I will just add my 2p's worth as a result of recent experience and following corsur's excellent video on You Tube:

It's a good idea to buy some new clips in advance of starting the job.

The revised clips (7 each side, total 14) are VAG part number 5J0 867 276.

If you reuse old clips, do make sure that the felt/rubber washers are in place otherwise the water can leak through the clip retaining holes! If you are paranoid you can add a smear of sealant to these as well.

I had difficulty in levering off the door trim. A body shop friend recommended a firm, sharp pull on the door pocket. This worked brilliantly.

I also disconnected the speaker wiring and unhooked the door lock cable so that I could remove the panel completely, unlike corsur in the video.

This gives much better access when you apply the sealant to the joint.

My Fabia has riveted panels and I was not going to drill them out, since corsur's method works without doing this extra work.

The only proviso is NOT to use a silicone sealant, because it will probably leak again!

I used Unibond's Roof & Gutter Sealant which did the trick.

It is available from B & Q etc:

http://www.diy.com/n...8?skuId=9262047

To prepare the joint, I pressed the metal panel (at the bottom) against the door to squeeze out surplus water. I then used a hair dryer on the joint, until it was bone dry.

After applying the sealant to the joint, I left the sealant to cure for a good 24 to 36 hours as recommended.

I then tested the job with a fine water spray BEFORE refitting the panel. Water should only runfrom the door drain holes (it did), as Skoda originally intended.

Do make sure that the 4 elongated drain holes (2 per door) are completely clear of any obstruction or dirt. Use a thin screwdriver or welding rod to check.

To avoid the “mobile fish tank” look, use an Aqua Vac to thoroughly dry the soggy carpets. You will be amazed at how much water (several pints/litres in a bad case) is removed.

Your local plumber, garage or Skoda mate should have one you can borrow for a few minutes for the price of a drink.

Edited 13 January, 2013 by old289

[old289]

A further update:

My previous effort ended in failure, so my friendly body repair man did the job for 2 hours labour plus clips and rivets.

I supplied the Plumbers Gold:

http://www.ebay.co.u...L-/290591990246

The gutter sealant was useless, by the way. An excellent alternative is “Caravan sealant” (as recommended by bodyman) which is the only one approved for sealing caravan panels.

If you have a late Fabia with riveted panels, you will need to use rivets for reassembly. The rivets are 0.25 inch (6.3mm) and a standard rivet gun is useless on these.

You will need something like this one from Wickes.

Spiralux long arm riveter:

http://www.wickes.co...es/invt/215981/

NB The bodyman strongly advised against removing the 3 holed bracket!

It is there for a good reason, namely to reassemble the door, handle, lock and fittings.

Edited 31 January, 2013 by old289

[vRSAnt]

Mine has predominately been a rear doors problem, and I almost nipped in the bud in the past with the gutter sealant.

To say its useless is a bit strong, its the original foam that is useless in comparison because of the massive gap in some places - like trying to seal the gash that appeared in the titanic with a cork.

I've done mine again recently (2nd proper repair attempt and still using the gutter sealant I have left from last time).

It wasn't actually that bad but thought no point having any condensation at all.

I even looked at the front left too, which has the same inadequate foam, and probably leaks just a tad but probably not enough to cause major issues so I didnt bother with the other side as it will be a non issue.

Had no condensation in the last few days so obviously dot on for the minutes

but I'd love some warmer weather so the gutter stuff can dry as best possible as I did find in some places on mine it was really dry in some places whilst obviously has problems curing because of the damp in others.

Its so simple to do plus I have spare clips that I've just habitualised to doing it now. I'm sure I haven't got gallons of water in the back like suggested in other cases as mine feel dry to touch

[Breezy_Pete]

...NB The bodyman strongly advised against removing the 3 holed bracket!

It is there for a good reason, namely to reassemble the door, handle, lock and fittings.

But that's not necessary if you haven't removed the (outer) door handle and lock assembly; which you don't need to...

...unless you don't wish to undo the plastic bracket from the door carrier, or risk breaking it. Circular argument.

Shouldn't be an issue, as long as the sealant went far enough up the rear edge of the carrier, so that the stream down from that bracket meets new sealant, not just old foam.

[DavidB82]

I've successfully done the back doors on my fabia a couple of weeks ago, and the rear foot well on one side is now dry (with help of Jcloths and silica gel), but i couldn't figure out why the passenger side rear foot well wasn't getting any dryer. last week i discovered the front passenger door is also leaking. I assume its the same process to fix but thought was wondering if there is anything i should be wary of? ie electric windows, speakers etc?

Any thoughts

[giandougl]

There are pictures of this operation,to sort the leaking water business out, I do wish I could locate them.

Anyone ??

[djdazzy]

There are pictures of this operation,to sort the leaking water business out, I do wish I could locate them.

Anyone ??

Not seen pictures but there is a good youtube video in this thread.

[millmeister]

I have a 2003 Fabia with leaky rear doors. Not entirely comfortable carrying out a DIY job on this myself. Can anyone recommend a dealer / garage in the South East that could sort this? Caffyns up in Tunbridge Wells would be my nearest official Skoda dealer.

[Blanco]

Its a really easy diy job, give it a shot you can't go wrong

[millmeister]

Okay thanks... will roll my sleeves up and have a go. Anything that can save some £££'s. Is there a definitive guide or should I dissect this thread and see what works?

[micklecats]

I found that the youtube video is great, shows it all and does it the easy way. Aluminium foil tape is also really good for covering the joints over afterwards. This addes a second leyer of sealing and also covers all the sticky sealant that otherwise gets everywhere. PLUS, and this is a biggie - always check the grommets in the carrier, one loose one = big water ingress.

[millmeister]

I found that the youtube video is great, shows it all and does it the easy way. Aluminium foil tape is also really good for covering the joints over afterwards. This addes a second leyer of sealing and also covers all the sticky sealant that otherwise gets everywhere. PLUS, and this is a biggie - always check the grommets in the carrier, one loose one = big water ingress.

Excellent! thanks.

[giandougl]

I did my rear doors on the old 2005 Fabia VRS and was surprised how easy it was.
With the addition of pressing out the door handles from (situ) beneath allowed the complete removal of door panel which made the job so-much accessible and easier.
The only delicate bit was getting the tiny speaker covers out, without any damage.

I made a further mod to the base area of both door cards as both were bulging outwards between the rivets along the bottom.
I cleaned the degraded foam sealer out, then gave a generous amount of sealer in its place to begin with.
Then I drilled three holes between the original rivets and placed some rivets into the holes.
This squashed the cards up against the inner door panel and squeezed-out excess sealer to make a more tighter seal/bond.

[bikermike]

I have this problem with my 2007 VRS.

Is it just the rear door seals that leak or do you have to do the front ones as well?

 

Thanks.

[GottaFabia]

Ours was rear doors only.

fairly easy job to do and all has been well since.

Drying out the floor carpets with newspapers and heavy bricks on top took longer

[DRJ]

Is it just the rear door seals that leak or do you have to do the front ones as well?

 

 

Mine was the rear door carrier seals and the windscreen pillar issue detailed elsewhere - which meant I had to take the seats out twice   

[Getulus]

Did mine today,simple 20 minute job.....except for scraping off the black sticky gunk applied badly by someone previously.

[stuart vrs]

i had to re-seal mine on the driver's side lastnight as water had got through somehow, with the carpet it was easy to remove and then dry in the house.

i also had water pooling in the bottom corner and this was trickling into my car, so i've put a piece of material to absorb the water, seems to be doing the job so far.  

[fifeskoda]

Yep, had the same thing with my 06 estate. Can quite easily be fixed with some basic tools and some silicone. I would recommend purchasing some of the panel retaining plastic clips before trying to remove the door panel. They are brittle due to their age and some will snap off when removing the panel so good to have spares before you start this repair.

[colzie64]

Cracking video by Colin Wilson on this subject thats worth posting imho.

[BlackOutPaul]

My car has been plagued over the last month or so with a very 'wet' windscreen on the inside, in the mornings. Now i've noticed the rear door seal is leaking and the carpet is damp. Should have read this post before but I was convinced it was just the way the Fabia was e.g poor ventilation. Off to the dealer soon I think.

 

Hi!

 

Same thing was happening to mine before I went and did the seal myself on the rear doors. Now it's much better and the carpets in the back are dry for some months now (we had lots of rain also).

 

But you should consider changing also the interior air filter (the activated carbon filter) - as mine was very old and clogged up and was keeping moisture in the car.

 

 

P.S. I followed the video above and it was pretty much on point.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited 11 August, 2014 by BlackOutPaul

[softscoop]

Is this the oldest thread on the forum that is still going yet still relevant? 

[BlackOutPaul]

softscoop, yes