Water retention in doors

[Tricky Red]

Never had this with my Mk2 but heard that it can be an 'issue' on the Mk3. Not sure whether this causes any issues

I had the occasional draining of water from the doors, but never thought of this as a long term problem. I guess if your car is laid up on a sloped driveway for a long time then you could have a problem. 

[jtypecav]

I've realised it's in the "uphill" door. So they obviously only tested the waterproofing on the flat!! 

[RapidRonnie]

This is also a standard feature on the Rapid. Cure is cutting away a small area of the rubber seal where the drainage holes are.

[SILVER ONE]

Interesting, I have had my VRS for 6 weeks today and it has rained here every day since. I reverse onto my drive which slopes down hill towards the garage and park on the flat at work, initially when opening the doors I had water falling off the top of the doors onto the seats  which I was a bit concerned with, this happened every time after it had been parked up in the rain for a while. 

 

After two weeks it stopped raining long enough for me to give the car a good wash and wax all over including the door shuts and edges of the doors, this does seem to have reduced the problem a little but I still get a rush of water from the bottom of the door apertures upon opening the doors after periods of rain.

 

It may be useful to have a new thread where people could register this problem , we would then get some idea of the scale of this problem,

 

Cheers,

 

Ian

[Guest Hydragas]

Same problem with my Mk3 Octavia, particularly the front passenger door.  I pulled off both front lower door edge to sill rubber seals which revealed the holes the rubber seal was attached to. Whilst this means that the door sills are more prone to collecting dust and dirt, it does mean the doors drain.

 

Note that almost all car doors leak to some extent as it is rather difficult to make a 100% tight seal along the top of any door that has a movable window.  That is why drain holes are fitted on the underside of the door which helps naturally occuring condensation to evaporate too.

 

The problem is that the rubber seal on Skoda vehicles is poorly designed, effectively sealing the drain holes !

[jtypecav]

Right. Today I spoke to one of the UK technical specialist bods via SUK who have been chasing down a couple of niggles on my VRS.

 

*CATEGORICALLY* And I quote. "The doors holding water back is by design..." it's due to a new two seal system designed to improve the in-cabin environment and increase protection from the elements.." 

 

They also stated, again categorically, that there were no bodywork issues due to this due to a new production process on the metal, some epoxy zinc coating, even before paint, so that, in effect there would not be a tougher water resistance on a new car today.

 

Crazy but true! *apparently* 

[Neily03]

Pretty sure I said ages ago it's normal, they've been doing it for years, bought my first VAG car in 2006 (fabia vRS) and that did it too.

[Rob123]

I haven't noticed this on mine yet and its been washed twice. I'll have to get the hose out and give it a good soaking this weekend to make sure it collects water and floods the footwell. If the carpet is still dry, it'll have to go back to Skoda

[Neily03]

I haven't noticed this on mine yet and its been washed twice. I'll have to get the hose out and give it a good soaking this weekend to make sure it collects water and floods the footwell. If the carpet is still dry, it'll have to go back to Skoda

.

It's doesn't get in the car though, it's just sits on the sill under the door and pours out when you open, only really happens when on a slope.

[CumbrianYeti]

Mine does this but it holds a fair amount of water in the passenger side door when on our drive (on an angle) and can take a minute or more to drain.

I first noticed this getting that bad when after a few days of storms I got in the car to drive to work and could hear the water splashing about in the door. I had to stop, open it and wait for it to drain.

To be fair I've never noticed this if the cars been on the flat. Even if I've washed it or it's been torrential rain for days. Guess I'll have to change how I park.

[Daveinuk]

I visited my dealer showroom today and whilst waiting for attention I wandered over to a new Octavia III for a closer look. I opened the passenger door and noticed a small amount of water running off the sill onto the showroom floor. Remembering this thread, I pulled the door to sill seal away at the front drain hole and a substantial amount of water and gunge ran out onto the floor, leaving quite a puddle.

Having read the problems highlighted in this thread and having witnessed it myself, I'm now concerned that my soon to be delivered Octy will also suffer. Despite Skoda's claim that this is a "design feature", it seems completely unacceptable to me that some owners are experiencing water splashing about in the doors. I thought this was something that was the reserve of the bad old days of British Leyland in the 1970's, not something arising from a cousin of more upmarket stablemates produced in Germany.

I find it quite alarming that people seem to readily accept that they shouldn't park on a slope, leave the car in rain for two weeks or simply stop the car and open the door for a few minutes.

It think it would be useful to understand the full extent of this problem and to establish a suitable permanent solution. Haven't got mine yet, but I will certainly be keeping my eye on it to see what happens after rain, or a car wash.

[PUFPAF]

I think this is a serious design flaw and should not happen in a car from the 21st century.

Even though I don't have the issue of water coming in the car, due to the fact that I park in a garage on a level surface, it is just as annoying to have the waterdrops on your sills all the time.

After rain or after car wash when I leave the car in the garage for a couple of days the water is still there. I try to wipe it every time but still there are drops remaining. I didn't have this on my mk2 octy

[Neily03]

I think this is a serious design flaw and should not happen in a car from the 21st century.

Even though I don't have the issue of water coming in the car, due to the fact that I park in a garage on a level surface, it is just as annoying to have the waterdrops on your sills all the time.

After rain or after car wash when I leave the car in the garage for a couple of days the water is still there. I try to wipe it every time but still there are drops remaining. I didn't have this on my mk2 octy

But after it's been raining the whole car is covered in water so why does it matter that the sills are wet too?

My mkII did exactly the same thing.

[andyvee]

So did mine, free clean of your shoes every time you get in the car. Simply Clever.

[PUFPAF]

But after it's been raining the whole car is covered in water so why does it matter that the sills are wet too?

 

Well, it is not the end of the world of course, but for me it's annoying. The difference is that water below the front doors takes much more time to dry up. It is like raining in the pocket of your jacket, which is plainly wrong

[Daveinuk]

Neily03 - It's not the sills being wet that bothers me, it's the potential for lord knows how many litres of water there might be swishing about in the doors. Some have reported that there is so much water it is overflowing and running into the footwell inside the car? Can this be right on a new car in 2014

In the good old days, swishing water inside doors didn't take too long to show up as a nice rusty line about an inch up from the bottom of the door, where the inside frame met the door skin. Might take a bit longer to show up in 2014, but............

[SJFISHER67]

Would it really be that hard to pull the seal away from the holes in the door and cut holes in them? I had the same issue on my SEAT Leon in 2001, did the modification myself in about ten minutes, will be doing the same to my Octavia when it arrives. VAG cars have had this issue for years, it's fact!

[Web Ferret]

My Octy II holds water in the two front doors when it rains so this is quite often! I noticed its worse when parked on a hill pointing uphill even on a slight incline.

[skGOda]

I am not sure if the seals are the same on the Octavia but, as a recent convert to Skoda, I vaguely remember Technical Bulletins issued for previous VW Group cars I have owned.  They recommended cutting small notches in the weather seal along the bottom edge of each door to allow water to drain away from the drainage holes in the bottom of the doors when they were closed.

 

I wonder if this will also work on the Octavia and help with this problem.

 

 

[skGOda]

The problem of drain holes becoming blocked by a combination of wax/gunk and the rubber seals along the bottom edge of the door also seems to be affecting Rapid owners.  See this thread on the Rapid forum... http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/276763-water-collecting-in-rear-doors/page-2

 

From that thread, there appears to be a Skoda Technical Service Bulletin related to the problem on the Rapid with reference TPI 2034980/1 (modification to rear door seals to stop doors filling with water).  The fix being to clear away any wax/gunk from the drain holes at the bottom of the door and to also cut small dove tailed pieces out of the seals to allow water to flow away from the drain holes when the door is closed.

 

If the Skoda dealer has a similar set of instructions for the Octavia then it could be the answer to this problem.

[Matt Pez]

The problem of drain holes becoming blocked by a combination of wax/gunk and the rubber seals along the bottom edge of the door also seems to be affecting Rapid owners.  See this thread on the Rapid forum... http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/276763-water-collecting-in-rear-doors/page-2

 

From that thread, there appears to be a Skoda Technical Service Bulletin related to the problem on the Rapid with reference TPI 2034980/1 (modification to rear door seals to stop doors filling with water).  The fix being to clear away any wax/gunk from the drain holes at the bottom of the door and to also cut small dove tailed pieces out of the seals to allow water to flow away from the drain holes when the door is closed.

 

If the Skoda dealer has a similar set of instructions for the Octavia then it could be the answer to this problem.

They did that to mine at the 10k service, it didn't work! I have enlarged the cut outs around the drain holes myself and it is slightly better but not cured.

[V6Jules]

My 06 passat did this in the front and rear doors, however my octy 3 doesn't, maybe I'm just lucky.

[Matt Pez]

I can't understand why it only affects some cars, I have had 5 VAG group cars now and this is the first that is affected by this problem, despite some saying it is normal, I don't accept that stance, which is about as feeble an excuse as the booming rear end affected by some cars which has also been passed off by SUK as normal!

[Neily03]

I've had 4 VAG cars, all Skoda's and they've all done it.  My brothers mk6 golf does it too. 

[Matt Pez]

I've had 4 VAG cars, all Skoda's and they've all done it.  My brothers mk6 golf does it too.

So I guess you are saying that you accept it is normal. I've also had Fords, BMWs, Vauxhalls, oh and I forgot I had a Seat back in the 90s and none have ever had this problem, only the Octy III.