Warning: Fabia Door Leaks

[blowpipe]

New owner here, just discovered I may have this problem on my 04 Fabia. Loads of great advice on solutions, many thanks. Until I get the time to fix it I'm keeping a sponge in the car 

[Adam_]

New owner here, just discovered I may have this problem on my 04 Fabia. Loads of great advice on solutions, many thanks. Until I get the time to fix it I'm keeping a sponge in the car

If your not planning on using your rear windows anytime soon you could put some tape where the door meets the windows. Until you get time to seal the door carriers.

[Getulus]

If your not planning on using your rear windows anytime soon you could put some tape where the door meets the windows. Until you get time to seal the door carriers.

That's what i did til i fixed mine,black insulation tape over the joint between glass & rubber,make sure everything's dry before you put it on & it sticks ok.

 

If you're doing the repair now use plumbers gold as it sticks to wet surfaces.

[blowpipe]

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

The only thing I'd add to this video is to remember to remove the little round inset for the door lock nob on the top panel. It will otherwise break as you pull up the door card.

[SkUG]

Aye I'd agree with that! Any idea where to get spare ones? Or even a part number? 

[TMB]

Aye I'd agree with that! Any idea where to get spare ones? Or even a part number? 

 

Near side rear: 6Y086726147H 

 

Off side rear: 6Y086726247H 

[SkUG]

You legend!

 

Thank you!

Edited 10 November, 2014 by SkUG

[blowpipe]

Easy job. The proof will be in the next few days as plenty more rain is forecast.

 

Just make sure you get a decent supply of the plastic door card retainers - they're a brittle as you like and WILL break.

[blowpipe]

Easy job. The proof will be in the next few days as plenty more rain is forecast.

 

Just make sure you get a decent supply of the plastic door card retainers - they're a brittle as you like and WILL break.

 Still got a leak in right rear door. Still, I'll have the disassembly down to a fine art and have plenty a plastic clips..

[Pinchy]

Windscreen frozen on the inside this morning   ...... Time to seal my rear doors I think  :p .

[Jrjg]

Taped mine up with insulation tape, make sure there is a good seal on both window and the rubber itself.

That'll hold the vast majority of it out this winter

JRJG

[DRJ]

Windscreen frozen on the inside this morning   ...... Time to seal my rear doors I think  :p .

 

 

I'm not convinced that's always a connected problem. My windscreen was also frozen on the inside but the rear carpets are bone dry.

[Jrjg]

I'm not convinced that's always a connected problem. My windscreen was also frozen on the inside but the rear carpets are bone dry.

I had a Peugeot 206 as my first car, I used to have a frozen windscreen (on the inside as well as the outside) when I had been shooting and left damp jackets/leggings/boots in the car overnight.

Try one of those little dehumidifiers in the footwells and see how much moisture it takes out of the car in a week or so.

JRJG

[Toxicvrs]

My Clio seat was frozen this morning, remains of damp from sunroof leak

[Swimmyfishy]

My story, bought my beloved Skoda Fabia vrs 2006 in black 4 weeks ago. I was aware about the doors leaking and when purchasing it from a dealer in Bristol I tried to check under the mats but as they were glued in I couldn't. The car was mint, super shiny, refurbished alloys, new turbo and cat etc. After 1 week of owning it and the rain coming I had a mobile sauna with steamed up windows all round. After peeling the rear carpet mats back I found inches of water under there. Drove it to my mechanic £30 later he had fixed both rear doors, they still needed a second visit back to him as the one door needed a bit more silicon. After hoovering out with a Vax 2 litres of water out of the carpets and then leaving. 2 kW electric heater in it for a few hours holding it over the rear carpets I now have a dry car. My rear wiper does not work and is completely intermittent and also some times triggers the intermittent front wipe. I am tempted to go for the clean look on the back and just get my mechanic to remove it,

MPG is on these isn't great but I'm not driving it sensibly at the moment.. Most of the time I get about 45 mpg and this is short town journeys. I do love this car though, it is the quickest car I have ever owned and I like keeping it clean. 6 speed on the motorway is well torquey. I hope after these initial hiccups I should have some trouble free motoring.

It wasn't frozen inside this morning either but I have an extra large moisture absorber pack on the rear parcel shelf, I also leave all the vents shut and the heater setting on feet. Also air con is the way to go all year round unless it is below 5 degrees.

Edited 24 November, 2014 by Swimmyfishy

[DRJ]

Off topic but since you mentioned it.

 

My rear wiper does not work and is completely intermittent and also some times triggers the intermittent front wipe. I am tempted to go for the clean look on the back and just get my mechanic to remove it,

 

Check the relevant fuses - I found one of mine was either loose or dirty and a new, slightly thicker as it turned out, fuse sorted it out.

[Jrjg]

Also air con is the way to go all year round unless it is below 5 degrees.

Try turning it off - you'd be surprised at how much it can (negatively) affect the fuel economy.

JRJG

[RM3]

Evenin' all

Would anybody here be located in the Cardiff area and be able to help me with the "seal up the doors" project?

Else, would anybody here be able to recommend a good body shop?

I'm convinced it's a straight-forward repair, but I'm also convinced that doing this myself might not be my best idea.

Thanks

[Jrjg]

Evenin' all

Would anybody here be located in the Cardiff area and be able to help me with the "seal up the doors" project?

Else, would anybody here be able to recommend a good body shop?

I'm convinced it's a straight-forward repair, but I'm also convinced that doing this myself might not be my best idea.

Thanks

I am not mechanically minded, but I would highly recommend you buy a Haynes manual and a couple of dozen of the 'door clips' (they are notorious for snapping) that hold the trim in place, and give it a go.

With some patience and some tips from the guide on here, it is a job that can be done without paying labour.

Although I can understand and agree if you do not want to damage your car and would rather pay someone to repair the job instead. I suppose you could very easily find yourself in a situation with pieces of broken door surrounding you, wishing you would of paid the money!

JRJG

[NathanG]

Evenin' all

Would anybody here be located in the Cardiff area and be able to help me with the "seal up the doors" project?

Else, would anybody here be able to recommend a good body shop?

I'm convinced it's a straight-forward repair, but I'm also convinced that doing this myself might not be my best idea.

Thanks

Im in Cardiff most of the time but i wont be around this weekend and by the time i finish work its always bloody dark. If your doors can wait a week or 2 i'll give you a hand mate. Its not hard but you will need clips.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DRJ]

Not sure what benefit the Haynes manual would be for this fix - just watch the video...

[Jrjg]

Not sure what benefit the Haynes manual would be for this fix - just watch the video...

I suppose if the video covers it all, it's a cheaper alternative

JRJG

[Breezy_Pete]

I can't remember whether I've already mentioned this in this thread but here goes anyway.

 

It's easy to imagine that this is a trivial sealing job, just 'tacking together' a couple of objects that don't move relative to one another, with something waterproof.  Think about this though; that carrier panel is pretty flexible, and only fixed at intervals round the edges with bolts or rivets. There's a particularly large gap between fasteners in the lower rear corner.

 

Now imagine what happens when someone slams the door, perhaps someone lacking mechanical sympathy. That carrier panel will try to keep going inwards when the door stops abruptly, and all those areas between the fasteners will 'flap' for want of a better description.  If you don't put in the effort preparing/cleaning the surfaces, or don't put on enough sealant, bonded to big enough areas and thick enough, it's easy to see how it may fail and leak again.

[RM3]

JRJG & DRJ -- I really appreciate your encouragement (and all the encouragment in this thread). I'm sure this is mostly straight-forward for most cars. But I can see myself ending up on THERE, I FIXED IT. haha!

 

Wino -- as you say, straight-foward doesn't always equate to trivial, "because physics". (I'm pinching your phrase "lacking mechanical sympathy" for future use.) And yeah, I agree about proper preparation and thorough sealing. Of course, it's a bit of a crap shoot that a body shop will do a thorough job. Ahh ...

 

Coping with brittle clips and applying sealant liberally are things I can do. It's all the "oh but also this" stuff that I'm wary about -- some posts here talk about drilling holes and extra this-and-that, which is beyond my current project expertise. Or things like "whoops that's the door lock broken now" or the "oh, I'll just take up this carpet ... wait, it's glued down?! now what?"  

Also the "it's wet weather now and I have no carport / garage to work under" issue.

[Jrjg]

Also the "it's wet weather now and I have no carport / garage to work under" issue.

+1

Same situation here, hence why I have taped the bottoms of the windows as a bodge to reduce the water flow and will wait till next spring when things have started to dry up slightly, not likely in not-so-sunny Lancashire!

JRJG