The rear hatch seal on my octavia 2 saloon ( 59 plate) is retaining water due to the air vent holes being positioned on the top of the seal and allowing entry of water into the interior of the seal . (if water leakage flows on top surface of the seal.)

Water is not designed to flow on the top of the seal , but it now does, and if it reaches the bottom lip it just trickles into the exposed top positioned air vent holes and fills the closed tubular seal. This is a design / manufacturing issue,in my opinion.

The quantity of water entering the seal depends on the inclination of the vehicle, and clearly how effective the seal is in preventing a pathway of leakage water to enter in the first place.

With the bottom lip of the seal now retaining some water, when the hatch is shut the water (and air) is ejected form the holes like a water pistol.

The jets of water spray the hatch bottom, and a fine mist or droplets can enter the car.

With the hatch open, while depressing the seal to simulate a hatch closure I have observed jets of water shoot into the car.

It does not take a lot of water to cause misting of the rear screeen which has intermittently been bothering me for some time and is a potential safety issue due to poor visabilty. That apart, the boot seal will freeze solid in cold weather, causing more damage to the seal or may possibly prevent the hatch from opening if frozen to the seal.

All in all not good.

I have examined a 62 plated Octavia Estate, a 62 plated Superb Saloon and Estate and a 61 plated Fabia, and they all boot / hatch seals with vent holes on the underside of the seals ...... the correct design that will not allow water to fill the seal. I have also seen some very recent octavia saloons with incorrect vent holes on the seal top.

I am having an issue with Skoda presuading them that they have a problem, and my dealer is having difficulty in sourcing an effective seal with vent holes positioned on the seal bottom. Why not check yours ? and see if we have a common design issue or more likely a manufacturing issue !!.

Clearly I could punch 1mm holes in in the bottom lip and let the water drain out, but this is not a good solution since the existing seal is not really fit for purpose since water is leaking past it, and the car is still under Warranty, but I may have to do this before the cold weather bites.

It's a well known common fault on most including mine too. Some people have cut small holes in bottom of seal to allow drainage. The water on mine sits in the small recess after the seal on the inner side but hasn't yet gone into the boot. It's always dry.

Misted rear windows are another common Octavia problem with most of us suffering from it.

Might be worth ordering the tailgate seal for a new Octy and see if its been corrected as you say the new ones are. I will certainly consider doing it as they are not too expensive.

just to clarify, my previous post indicated that I have been unable to determine if a new Mk2 Octavia saloon has a redesigned tailgate seal. I have seen some showroom 62plate Octavia saloons that do not...... also I have seen some showroom octavia estates that do have the correct orientation of vent holes. ( that is a different part No, but shows that Skoda know how to keep water from entering the bottom lip of the seal, albeit on different variants )

Sorry for any confusion.

My Skoda dealer has ordered replacements, the fist arriving with a wrong profile and a second with vent holes still in the wrong orientation, and I am trying for a third time ! The part number is the same for all Mk2 Octavias I am told, so I am not holding my breath, but I will keep trying.

It's a hatch, not a saloon.

I noticed this issue too. And created my own holes in the seal along the bottom edge. Problem solved.

I suffer from rear window misting

Any chance a picture could be posted of the seal/holes

Thanks Andy