One thing that annoys me on my Octavia is that after washing it the top of the air box, the wiring beneath it and the top of the fuel filter are sitting in water. On previous cars the wings had 'guttring' where they met the bonnet which channelled water away to the front of the car. The Octavia only has a small lip which does not appear to serve any useful purpose. I am not worried about the top of the air box as it is pkastic but the wiring and the fuel filter lid sitting in water cannot be good. I have read of the fuel filter lid corroding and assume that this is the source.

Does anybody have a fix to stop this happening? I have done a search and cannot find anything. I have thought of using some draught excluder in the panel gap between the wing and the bonnet but this would only trap water and not drain it away safely.

Are you using a high pressure hose directly on the grille or edges? I have never managed to get any water under the bonnet. Perhaps I am not trying hard enough.

Mines an 06 model.  So far no noticeable corrosion in the areas you mention after 7years. 

But then I don't wash the engine bay. 

Maybe just a wipe down with an oily rag, but only the once.

I do not wash the under bonnet area either,

 

I normally wash the car with a wash mitt and a bucket. I then use either a normal hosepipe or buckets of water thrown over the car to wash off the suds before leathering the windows.as I have always done in 40 years of car ownership. When I then open the bonnet to check the oil, water and washer fluids the top of the fuel filter is wet as is the top of the air box and the wires beneath it.

I get the water on top of the fuel filter too. I've painted mine with hammerite gloss black to stop it rusting, but still have to use a mf cloth to soak it up. Guess one option is to put aplastic bag over it before getting the hose out, not forgetting to take it off afterwards.

my fuel filter gets wet too after washing but the water evaporates after a drive so not really an issue

I just flooded the top of the filter with Waxoyl.  It was rusty from day1 in 2004 but it hasn't got any worse since, despite being repeatedly drenched .  The dealer wouldn't accept that it is a design flaw but you and I know that it is!

 

Dave

I am (sort of) glad that others have the same problem.

As drefaldwyn says it is a simple design fault that could have been easily cured by using a bit more steel.

I will have to have a better look in good weather and see what can be fashioned to deflect the water.

I assume that the same must happen when driving or parked in heavy rain but I have never looked and the car is usually garaged.

For water to travel upwards and horizontally to get to those areas as you're saying would be defying gravity!

Those areas do get bonnet runoff when you open it and it drips down which is annoying, I often had drips down the back of my neck.

I've also Hammerited the top of my fuel filter housing, wrecked injectors aren't my idea of fun, a bad design that traps spilled screen wash when refilling.

totally agree about being a poor design but they seem to have solved it with the mk3 as the filer is now totally flat with no recess

 

Edited 2 January, 201511 yr by wiilydog

totally agree about being a poor design but they seem to have solved it with the mk3 as the filer is now totally flat with no recess

 

Obviously officially recognised it as a design flaw!

 

Dave

Never noticed a problem. Anyway it dries out . A real problem was the bonnet of an Austin Maxi dumping water straight onto the brake servo and master cylinder. Corrosion of both and a sticking rusted brake master cylinder was not a trivial event.