So, I'm perfectly aware of the issues the Furby has with rear door seals, and the previous owner of my recently acquired vRS had this sorted out by a main dealer.  But I'm not aware of any issues with front seals.  So I was quite surprised when I went through a car wash a couple of weeks back and soapy, waxy water started to pour into the car from the top of the passenger door!  Door was fully closed and locked, window was fully up and quite a lot of water was coming in over the frame of the door, past the seal.  Was very lucky that my wife had left her waterproof jacket on the back seat. It quickly got spread out under the leak and probably prevented the seat from being totally wrecked - I don't think she was hugely impressed that this became a protective sheet for the seat though.

 

Has anyone encountered this before?

It's the second time I've taken the car through an automated wash; same one in fact - one of the ARC machines - and I had no problem before. Understandably, I'm a bit p****d off with it, as it has left a nasty watermark across the passenger seat (I knew that grey upholstery was going to be a problem).  I've inspected the seal but can't find any problems - no perishing, splits, deformities.  It's a mystery.

 

Any thoughts?

Maybe someone tried breaking into by levering the door open? Does the door sit flush on the outside?

Exactly the same problem happens with the front doors as it does with the back.

 

People get hung up on the rear footwells being wet so it must be the back doors. This is not always the case. The floorpan slopes backwards and the rear carpet is a lot thinner than the front. So any water leak into the front normally will become apparent in the rear first.

 

The technical bulletin covering the issue stated all four doors must be sealed when carrying out a repair.

I paid about £25.00 from Skoda parts dept for nearside front door seal, as the rubber was ripped and bits missing near door catch.

DIY job, a bit fiddly around the top plastic cover, but still OK.

Drivers side ripped where my tail catches the same area getting in/out..LOL but doesn't leak YET!!

 

 

With the back doors, the leak usually can be cured with door-card removal cleaning old sealer out from window card and replace with fresh mastic..

The first thought it is the rear rubber door seal, but closer inspection reveals a fault with the break-down of the door card sealer/mastic.. 

OP has a problem with water coming in over the TOP of the front door window frame.

 

Check the state of the door seals and the shut position of the door in relation to the front wing, rear door etc. Seals should be in good nick and tightly clamping onto the door aperture. Hopefully it'll be the seal or just requiring the lock striker adjusting and not something "hinge" related or something bent.

Maybe someone tried breaking into by levering the door open? Does the door sit flush on the outside?

 

Looks fine on the outside. No evidence at all of forced entry.

 

OP has a problem with water coming in over the TOP of the front door window frame.

 

Check the state of the door seals and the shut position of the door in relation to the front wing, rear door etc. Seals should be in good nick and tightly clamping onto the door aperture. Hopefully it'll be the seal or just requiring the lock striker adjusting and not something "hinge" related or something bent.

 

As above, thing's looked pretty ship shape when I inspected them at the time. I'll have a closer look later today when the rains tops though, particualry at the shut position and panel gaps.

So we had a very heavy downpour today. Checked the car out afterwards and sure enough, there were several drips on the passenger seat :(

Nothing like the car wash, but the door should be able to keep rain out, even in torrential conditions.

 

Seals are in good condition and don't appear old, perished, flat, cracked or anything else. They look fine.  Panel gaps between door and A-pillar, roof line and B-pillar all look even, so the door isn't misaligned. The only thing I could spot was that that against the roofline the door sits proud a tiny bit, Maybe a millimetre or two. It seems unlikely that would make a difference, but if there were a way to adjust it to close a fraction deeper it would probably make a better seal against the rubber.

 

As there's nothing obvious, it looks like I'm going to a garage. Boooo.

Edited 24 May, 201412 yr by Maieth

If the profile of the front door skin is aligned with the back door then the top of the door frame is bent. This is surprisingly easy to do, wind, someone leaning on the top of the door when open can all bend the frame. Normally I place a block of wood in between the door and the b post and push the top of the frame in towards the car. Then have a look and see if it needs more.

If the profile of the front door skin is aligned with the back door then the top of the door frame is bent. 

 

Am I understanding this right that the front and back doors should therefore not be in line?

Am I understanding this right that the front and back doors should therefore not be in line?

 

They should align and the top of the door shouldn't appear to stand proud or leak. If it does, and there's nothing fouling it or holding it "ajar", bend it slightly back in.

 

If they obviously do NOT align, suggests that something else to do with the hinges or lock striker is the problem.

Look how they make final adjustments to car doors at the factory. They just bend the **** out of them  

 

Look how they make final adjustments to car doors at the factory. They just bend the **** out of them

 

 

Very interesting. Wouldn't have considered such a straightforward, brute force approach. Definitely something to take a look at before the next round of storms roll through.  A bit of gentle manual persuasion is certainly worth trying before going to a garage (As they'll probvably do just the same).

Cheers matey.