Warning: Fabia Door Leaks

[VWD]

I had thiss problem few years ago - the garage tol me that there was two types - one where the cards were screwed on -cure remove an replace & one where the cards were rivited on -cure silicon sealer .

[DRJ]

The situation is that the earlier cars have an inner door carrier (not card) which is screwed/bolted on and the later cars have it rivetted on. In either case the sealant is the quickest solution, and even with the screwed version, since the seal itself is defectively designed, the sealant is probably more effective and more guaranteed to work.

Whilst silicone sealant is OK, it has to be applied to a totally dry situation - which with a foam seal is tricky to achieve. Better to use either gutter sealant or a more sophisticated one such as "Plumbers Gold" which works even in damp conditions.

[DRJ]

Just checked mine,back all wet,iv been in touch with skoda,waste of time,iv even got 6 months warranty left,there saying its not covered,wots the point of there warranty :'(

A used car warranty is usually more targeted at mechanical items rather than bodywork problems. Have you actually checked the same print to see what's covered?

[djdazzy]

Whilst silicone sealant is OK, it has to be applied to a totally dry situation - which with a foam seal is tricky to achieve. Better to use either gutter sealant or a more sophisticated one such as "Plumbers Gold" which works even in damp conditions.

Gutter sealant is the same, it will bond to the damp surfaces and never really properly sets inside so the sealant never breaks because it is very flexible.

[DRJ]

For clarity my response was to say gutter sealant or Plumbers Gold work in damp conditions - and I still think it reads like that having reread what I typed. I was contrasting both those to silicone, wasn't I?

For the record I much prefer Plumbers Gold as being easier to apply with less mess. But I acknowledge gutter sealant works. For the record I've used the remains of my Plumbers Gold as gutter sealant!

[djdazzy]

For clarity my response was to say gutter sealant or Plumbers Gold work in damp conditions - and I still think it reads like that having reread what I typed. I was contrasting both those to silicone, wasn't I?

For the record I much prefer Plumbers Gold as being easier to apply with less mess. But I acknowledge gutter sealant works. For the record I've used the remains of my Plumbers Gold as gutter sealant!

Sorry must have skipped a line when I read your post. Damn eyes are playing up again

Does Plumbers Gold actually set like silicone? The gutter sealant has remained tacky after months and it seems to only set as a skin.

[DRJ]

It does set but it's relatively easy to peel off.

[Bumble487]

Have been reading this with interest. I have my eye on a vRS SE at the moment. Test drove it on tuesday and again today following reading this forum. I discovered damp rear footwells and the bottom inch or so of the door card on the rear passenger side was wet so i suspect this issue.

Rear screen wash doesnt work either. The salesman says he will fix the rear wash but that the carpets are damp from him washing them and putting the mats back straight after, and also washing the door sills in the morning and he says that nothing is wrong. Its a small independent garage, not a skoda dealer.

So, my big question is - Would this issue put you off buying the car in the first place? other than this issue i am happy with the car. I'm happy to do the fix myself as described in this topic but I don't want it ruining my experience of owning what is otherwise a great car!

[DRJ]

It would put ME off - but that's because I had so much trouble with mine. Are they just "damp" or "saturated" as mine were - with visible water on the carpets? Have you tried pressing down - is there a lot of water in there? Remember I had to take the driver's seat out to get the underfelt out to dry it - twice!

The rear screen wash might be a broken pipe connection in the vicinity of the left hand seat back - which might result in damp carpets on the nearside only. But one of the other connections might have gone too - water at the rear of the engine bay? Or in the tailgate? Or a non-operative pump? Anyway he's agreed to fix that - but it would be worth finding out what he's actually done.

And the base of the door card being damp certainly points to defective seals in the doors not just someone washing a car...

[Bumble487]

It would put ME off - but that's because I had so much trouble with mine. Are they just "damp" or "saturated" as mine were - with visible water on the carpets? Have you tried pressing down - is there a lot of water in there? Remember I had to take the driver's seat out to get the underfelt out to dry it - twice!

The rear screen wash might be a broken pipe connection in the vicinity of the left hand seat back - which might result in damp carpets on the nearside only. But one of the other connections might have gone too - water at the rear of the engine bay? Or in the tailgate? Or a non-operative pump? Anyway he's agreed to fix that - but it would be worth finding out what he's actually done.

And the base of the door card being damp certainly points to defective seals in the doors not just someone washing a car...

I did notice that you seemed to have a particularly hard time and thats whats worrying me!

They were just damp. Pressed down and they didn't seem saturated but the passenger side rear was definitely a lot wetter than the drivers side. There was what looked like mould starting to form on the carpet under the mat on that side but it didn't smell horrendous. My wife thought it was just carpet shampoo. I'm wondering if it wasn't mould that it may be screen wash (maybe wishful thinking!)

And yes, the base of the door card was definitely damp on that side, to the point that when i touched it my hand was wet so there must be a fair bit of water in there. The rubber seal around the door opening was also a bit wet at the bottom. It does seem that there is a leak inside the door. It's such a shame because it really is a nice car otherwise!

Yea - i dont know what the issue is with the rear washer. the wiper works but not the wash. As you say it could be a number of things. Had the same issue on my old A3.

Edited 5 November, 2011 by Bumble487

[stormcloud32]

just fixed both my back doors this afternoon,wasnt to bad,hope it stays dry now lol :yes:

[peterpickles]

just fixed both my back doors this afternoon,wasnt to bad,hope it stays dry now lol :yes:

It rained just after I did mine, I put tape on the window seals to keep some of the rain out for a while!

Worked out OK in the end....

[Bumble487]

Right, I got the car through the week and taped the window to stop any more water getting in. Today I took the door card off and it's been sealed before with black rubber like sealant. i poured some water down the window to see where it was leaking and there's a small part at the bottom of where its been sealed before that's failed and is letting in water.

I have some gutter sealant here to do the job. Question is, do i attempt to take all the previous sealant off (will be pretty difficult!) or just patch it up with my gutter sealant??

Thanks for any advice.

[Huxley vRS]

Patch it and see, if that fails then redo completely.

[Bumble487]

I ended up taking all the old sealant off last weekend and re-doing it with roof/gutter sealant. It was leaking again through the week. Just managed to take the door card off and there is a hairline crack in the sealant where its coming in again (same place as before). have now put LOADS of it over the crack and that should hopefully stop it!

Lesson learned: the well known phrase "Less is More" is definitely not true with this issue!

[Kev627]

I finally got round to re sealing my rear doors this morning and removed all the relevant screws but despite looking for 30 minutes I couldn't find the clips to enable the plastic covering to be removed.

Can anybody offer any advice on how to find them?

[DRJ]

Not sure what you mean by "plastic covering" - have you watched the video? That should make everything clear

[Kev627]

My wife was chatting with an RAC breakdown recovery man earlier today and my leaking Fabia door was mentioned and he said that it might not be the doors that need resealing but the rubber door surrounds need replacing. He had a look at my car and he noticed the rubber around the windows was looking very worn and he said as there is no water pooling in the base of the door that he thinks the condensation problems I'm suffering would be better fixed by replacing these than doing doors.

Has anybody else done this and fixed the problem?

[DRJ]

You're not clear when you say "rubber door surrounds" whether you mean the main seals on teh doors or the seals around the opening windows to which your subsequent comments appear directed. I'd suggest water will inevitably flow into the doors through the window surrounds even with new seals. That's why there are drainage holes at the bottom. The defective design of the carrier and its seals is why the retro-sealing is necessary.

[djdazzy]

My wife was chatting with an RAC breakdown recovery man earlier today and my leaking Fabia door was mentioned and he said that it might not be the doors that need resealing but the rubber door surrounds need replacing. He had a look at my car and he noticed the rubber around the windows was looking very worn and he said as there is no water pooling in the base of the door that he thinks the condensation problems I'm suffering would be better fixed by replacing these than doing doors.

Has anybody else done this and fixed the problem?

I would pop the door card off, it becomes immediately obvious where the water is coming from when you do this. Normally water stains can been seen on the door coming from the join between the carrier and the door - if you push the carrier the foam seal normally drips water.

Look at the video in is posting and all will become clear - if you are too lazy to look it is here

Google is my friend. It is a simple job but make sure you have some replacement clips because they normally break. Like a lot of VAG parts, these have been redesigned and are now easier to pop apart without self destructing with the new design.

Watch the video, take the door card off and let us know....

Edited 15 December, 2011 by djdazzy

[drcarlos]

I would suggest actually using Caraseal rather than a setting sealant. Caraseal is designed for caravans that move and flex continuously and never fully sets remaining pliable but not sticky to the touch. It's only about £5 for a large tube from caravan accessory shops. This between the door and carrier should cure any problems permanently as it will not have to endure the elements and flex that it has to on a caravan.

If I have the problem with my Fabia I will repair it with that.

Carl.

[fabdavrav]

Doing mine soon........have a full set of spare plastic clips......and the dealer gave me a tube of this stuff.....Loctite 5910 in a self dispensing can......marked "OEM sealent/ gasket" (by Loctite)........so will report back....spec sheet is good......was going to use Everbuild's "Sticksall extreme"....but will use this instead...

Tech spec linky....

http://www.loctite.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/henkel_uke/hs.xsl/fullproduct-list-loctite-4995.htm?iname=Loctite+5910&countryCode=uke&BU=industrial&parentredDotUID=productfinder&redDotUID=1000000IYNE#a

[Dave1953]

Doing mine soon........have a full set of spare plastic clips......and the dealer gave me a tube of this stuff.....Loctite 5910 in a self dispensing can......marked "OEM sealent/ gasket" (by Loctite)........so will report back....spec sheet is good......was going to use Everbuild's "Sticksall extreme"....but will use this instead...

Tech spec linky....

http://www.loctite.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/henkel_uke/hs.xsl/fullproduct-list-loctite-4995.htm?iname=Loctite+5910&countryCode=uke&BU=industrial&parentredDotUID=productfinder&redDotUID=1000000IYNE#a

I can't help but think you're all barking up the wrong tree, chaps. Have you ever wondered why it is that so much water collects inside the doors when there are two drain holes in the bottom to let it out? The RAC man mentioned a few posts back was right in thinking the door seals are faulty, but not because they are leaky: they are just too short!

See the thread here and save yourselves a lot of work! http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/215472-wet-floor/page__hl__wet+floor__st__20

Edited 15 December, 2011 by Dave1953

[DRJ]

With respect if you had had the door cards off your car and witnessed the amount of water that comes through the faulty design of inner carrier and seal you'd understand why this topic is 24 pages long.

Edited 16 December, 2011 by DRJ

[fabdavrav]

I can't help but think you're all barking up the wrong tree, chaps. Have you ever wondered why it is that so much water collects inside the doors when there are two drain holes in the bottom to let it out? The RAC man mentioned a few posts back was right in thinking the door seals are faulty, but not because they are leaky: they are just too short!

See the thread here and save yourselves a lot of work! http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/215472-wet-floor/page__hl__wet+floor__st__20

Aware of that.........BUT I have seen the water leak out from under the join between the inner trim and the door at the bottom of the trim....with the door open whilst testing it.....also my drain holes are all ok etc.

Why do think that even Skoda issused a technical notice/fix etc....and why do you think that this topic is quite long etc!!!...the fault is that some of the water that falls inside the door cavity lodges in the ledge between the door and the window mech carrier...then is seaps through the foam seal and runs down the inside of the door(trim side) then onto the carpets etc.etc.