Hi guys I'm new here, just got myself a Fabia VRS (2004) and I'm finding the same problem. My mechanic reckons replacing the door seal is pointless, in 6 months time you're just going to have exactly the same problem.

A few references on other sites say it's worth complaining to Skoda and see if they sort it out, apparently theirs some new sealant they can use to sort it. Some other sites say this video here is the way to sort it:

Personally I was just going to put some rubber or something underneath the carpets in the back so it doesn't rot out the whole floor of my car.

Other than that I'm not sure how to proceed.

Fantastic video!!!

I'll try it as soon as I bail out the footwell and dry it out.

I have owned my Fabia for nearly 3 years and have tried twice to fix this problem with limited success. This time after stripping off the door panel I realised the real reason for the problem. The door carrier is made of aluminium and is quite soft. The area where the leaks occur is at the lowest point and this area is not supported due to the long span between the fixing bolts. It therefore bows away from the door making the job of sealing it even more difficult. I decided that the best way of reducing the possibility of leaking was to force this area onto the door and the simplest way to do this was to use self tapping screws. I therefore drilled 3 holes knowing there was nothing behind to damage. Then I put in the 3 self tappers as shown in the link below. I then covered the offending area with Wickes Roofing Felt Adhesive (as I had a tin already and it had worked well on my flat roof). I have yet to prove this works but I feel more confident. I will post again after some heavy rain to confirm success or otherwise!

http://www.morozj.plus.com/

Edited 5 March, 201115 yr by morozj

When I washed my car yesterday and opened all four doors there was water present on all four sills. Now is that in itself normal or does it mean all my door seals are kaput? They look like they are in good condition and I only get wet carpets in the back.

Did this job on rears using the vrs.com guidance. I used some roof and gutter sealant, very sticky and awkward to work with. If you're going to do this make sure you get some trim clips off ebay first. You will break some if not most taking the trim off! Just waiting for the rain now!

... make sure you get some trim clips off ebay first....

Please note there's no need to buy them off eBay - they're just as cheap at your Skoda dealer - they should be - they must sell enough of them! 30p each

Fair point but some of us are lazy! Hehe

When I washed my car yesterday and opened all four doors there was water present on all four sills. Now is that in itself normal or does it mean all my door seals are kaput? They look like they are in good condition and I only get wet carpets in the back.

Water pooling by the seal indicates that the doors are suffering from this problem. It is nothing to do with the rubber seal though, the problem is inside the door. See fabiavrs.com for guidance on the door carrier repair. I did this on the weekend and was very obvious when i took apart the door where the water was getting in. Very common problem i'm afraid. I followed the guidance and carried out the job this weekend, results are good. Just waiting for a heavy downpour now though. Good luck!

Water pooling by the seal indicates that the doors are suffering from this problem. It is nothing to do with the rubber seal though, the problem is inside the door. See fabiavrs.com for guidance on the door carrier repair. I did this on the weekend and was very obvious when i took apart the door where the water was getting in. Very common problem i'm afraid. I followed the guidance and carried out the job this weekend, results are good. Just waiting for a heavy downpour now though. Good luck!

Take the door card off and you will see where the water has been leaking through like this piccy. The water leaks through the sponge rubber seal between the carrier (bare aluminium) and the door (red).

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab3/djdazzy/door.jpg

The carrier was very proud of the door so I applied lots of sealant this afternoon. Hopefully it has fixed the problem.

Anyone tried this sort of tape to seal their door carriers?

http://www.sylglas.com/products/wptape.htm

Looks like it will give the added flexibilty between the 2 pieces of metal.

Edited 8 March, 201115 yr by djdazzy

Anyone tried this sort of tape to seal their door carriers?

http://www.sylglas.com/products/wptape.htm

Looks like it will give the added flexibilty between the 2 pieces of metal.

I'd suggest sealant will be much easier (Toolstation Plumbers Gold) particularly for later cars with riveted carriers - assuming you mean to loosen the fixings to try and push this product in.

I'd suggest sealant will be much easier (Toolstation Plumbers Gold) particularly for later cars with riveted carriers - assuming you mean to loosen the fixings to try and push this product in.

I was thinking more of a taped seal over the 2 metal surfaces instead. Mine is riveted but the carrier is standing very proud of the door with a big gap between it and the door filled with a loose leaking foam rubber seal. I packed it with SX SURESEAL ROOF & GUTTER SEALANT but it is still curing as it is quite cold - data sheet suggests it could take 2-4 days to cure fully on the surface.

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab3/djdazzy/DSC01562.jpg

I was thinking more of a taped seal over the 2 metal surfaces instead. Mine is riveted but the carrier is standing very proud of the door with a big gap between it and the door filled with a loose leaking foam rubber seal. I packed it with SX SURESEAL ROOF & GUTTER SEALANT but it is still curing as it is quite cold - data sheet suggests it could take 2-4 days to cure fully on the surface.

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab3/djdazzy/DSC01562.jpg

I would advise you seal over the rivets as well, as the water has been known to leak through those too... up to you though. Looks like you've done a fairly decent job, however, most guides suggest going a bit further up the carrier.

Good luck, I've had this problem and have never been happier since it's been fixed!!

I would advise you seal over the rivets as well, as the water has been known to leak through those too... up to you though. Looks like you've done a fairly decent job, however, most guides suggest going a bit further up the carrier.

Good luck, I've had this problem and have never been happier since it's been fixed!!

Thanks, I will seal over the rivets later. I have done up to the side rivets as in this picture.

http://www.fabia-vrs.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/fabia_door-carriers_4.jpg

I think my leak was made worst by my drive being sloped, it seems to leak more when parked nose down and it was left standing for 3 weeks in the wet weather. Now notice the water drains out of the doors once it is parked on the flat after being on the drive. It must collect as the drain hole aren't as efficient when the car is on a slope.

Thanks guys Did this fix on both rears a month back and after a week or so of drying out now no steaming up windows at all + car has gotten back its new car smell This problem sort of creeps up on you

Do the front doors need sealing as well? I noticed very small amount of water in the front seals (nothing like the back was though!!

Thanks guys Did this fix on both rears a month back and after a week or so of drying out now no steaming up windows at all + car has gotten back its new car smell This problem sort of creeps up on you

Do the front doors need sealing as well? I noticed very small amount of water in the front seals (nothing like the back was though!!

According to my dealer they would have sealed all 4 doors for about 180 quid but who knows. I have only had serious leaks through my back doors and I can only see one post regarding a dealer sealing the front door.

Anyone else had there front doors sorted?

Anyone else had there front doors sorted?

I haven't had the front door cards off mine but I can see excess sealant on the metal underneath - so yes mine's been done - pity that's not the source of the present leak - I could have sorted it then...

According to my dealer they would have sealed all 4 doors for about 180 quid but who knows. I have only had serious leaks through my back doors and I can only see one post regarding a dealer sealing the front door.

Anyone else had there front doors sorted?

I sealed my front doors because I thought the passenger side might be leaking, and I wanted to be sure. Had some help from a guy on here, so while he was there to help we took all the door cards off and sealed all the doors. All dry now anyway. It was a pain to get drivers side door card off because of the electric window switches. Took us a while to sort that one, but managed it in the end. I probably wouldn't bother doing them until they are actually leaking, it does seem to be the rears which go more often than the fronts.

I sealed my front doors because I thought the passenger side might be leaking, and I wanted to be sure. Had some help from a guy on here, so while he was there to help we took all the door cards off and sealed all the doors. All dry now anyway. It was a pain to get drivers side door card off because of the electric window switches. Took us a while to sort that one, but managed it in the end. I probably wouldn't bother doing them until they are actually leaking, it does seem to be the rears which go more often than the fronts.

Are the door cards the same as the back door to take off please?

Anyone know how to completely remove the door card? I followed the video on page 18 and can get it off so its hanging and can rest on seat but I want to remove it completely. Is there any way as I would like to remove them today and then I have time to get sealant and have a look at why the central locking mechanism doesnt consistently work in the rear. Cheers.

Are the door cards the same as the back door to take off please?

As far as I remember, yes they are. You just have to work out what to do with the electric window switches, I can't remember what that entailed though - if anything. Apart from that, they're the same I think.

To remove the door card entirely you have to lift the card upwards. I think you have to disconnect the locking pin and door release or something. You should be careful not to rip/tear/split the door card, as they are quite expensive to replace apparently.

Are the [front] door cards the same as the back door to take off please?

No - there are three screws along the bottom edge in recesses - I suspect the remainder is similar but I haven't got further than looking presently since I'm pretty sure mine aren't leaking - the water's getting in elsewhere...

Just did mine over the weekend. I used everbuild silicone sealant, just making sure I got the door panel dry first and squeezing all the water out from behind the carrier. It did take 2 attempts though as after the first try it started raining half an hour after I applied the sealant and started to seep through. I re-sealed it a day later though and made sure to smooth the sealant heavily (a lid off a butter tub worked well here). Its been drizzling here all week and so far so good. Just waiting for a heavy shower.

just re done mine today, first time i done it it rained about an hour after i finished and it hadn't set right, this time i used "1 hour shower" fast drying silicone... heres hoping it goes well.

I sealed mine on Friday.

Central Skoda has already made a feeble attempt about 2 years ago, but it made no difference at all.

I used the new type clips which are excellent and used Tompson gutter seal from B and Q.

I removed the silicone that Central put on, but did notice that they had just wiped it over the top of OE the foam seal, leaving large sections with no real coverage at all. I could see white corrosion on the aluminised carrier where the water was passing.

So once I got the silcone off, I cleared out as much of the foam seal as well.

I then drilled 3mm holes in between the rivets near the edge of the carrier for some stainless steel self tappers and then opened up the holes in the carrier (not the door material!!) up to 5 mm to enable the two skins to pull up together.

I sealed around the carrier, ensuring loads went up into the gaps, put sealant in the holes I drilled, then screwed it all down tight. This was a big difference as there was at least 3mm gap between the carrier and the door.

I also filled around the little white clips coming through the carrier and thre rivet heads, just in case.

Put it all together and left it 3 days. Washed the car yesterday with some good blasting of the hose at the windows and door handles. It was dry as a bone when I usually had water on my door seals.

Theres a post by someone else (morozj) on the sticky about the self tappers so many thanks to him for the idea. I put two in each gap between rivets along the bottom edge and up the rear slope of the door.

Next step is curing the root cause of the problem - it happens because the carrier protrudes inside the door, past where the water drips through the window. The water then drips onto the carrier and runs down it to the foam seal, which absorbs the water which then drips through and into the car.

All that is needed is a 'window sill' glued or welded inside the carrier, which protrudes far enough in and the drips will then come off that and fallinto the door instead of running down to the seal.

Hope this helps, if anyone tests my theory out please let us know how you get on.