I've had the car a week, but it's a 52 reg & I seem to have discovered 2 common faults already. Grrrr.

Firstly the rear screen wash has failed I assume a hose has come off "somewhere" (-I had a Mondeo with the same problem! Why don't car manufacturers put the hoses on more securely?????? Grrrr!)

I've discovered today that the FRONT passenger footwell has water in it.

(-I had a Focus with this problem!) The water appears to be coming from above, from behind the centre of the dashboard, as there is some moisture on the top side of the soundproofing in the top of the footwell. It is not leaking into the driver's side.

It's a possibility that the two problems are connected although the water on the carpets doesn't smell of screenwash.

Where are the joints in the spray hoses?

There is a connection under the bonnet , one behind the tailgate trim panel , and apparently one under the carpet. I'd start with the one at the back as it's easiest to get to , but when you come to re-attach the panel , remove the clips and attach them to the car first. It's much easier to get it back on that way.

As for the wet carpet , I believe that a badly fitted pollen filter can cause this. Open the bonet and remove the rubber strip at the base of the plastic scuttle panel below the windscreen. This will let you lift the panel enough to see (and refit) the pollen filter in the middle

I've had the same problem with my rear washer and damp carpet in the rear passenger side footwell. It was a hose problem which the dealer fixed... I think they went in behind the trim in the boot. Fabia VRS.

I had the same problem with the rear washer when I first got my Octavia. It turned out the non-return valve was the wrong way round- so the fluid didn't leave the resevoir. Dealers did the job as part of a service.

Thanks Folks. It's just what I wanted to be doing on Christamas Day..... Hmmm, I think I'll leave it until Boxing Day....

I'll check the rear wash hose and probably secure all the joints with copper wire, which I did on my old Mondeo as I don't want to have to take the car apart every time it freezes.

The Pollen filter brings Deja Vu, that's exactly the problem that my Focus had. Different manufacturer, same faults! Drying carpets takes ages, especially at this time of year.

Well the rear washer was easily fixed. The hose had come off that the nozzle end. I've re-fitted it without any further securing as I'd prefer that end coming off to a joint coming apart inside the car and it was only a 1 minute job to carry out.

I've almost dried the (top layer of) carpet out in the front footwell. I had a look at the pollen filter but it does appear to be positioned properly. It looks very old and dirty however -when are they supposed to be replaced, during a 3 year/27,000 mile service by any chance? There are also a lot of of leaves in the channel around the filter.:thumbdwn:

I will be phoning the dealer tomorrow to book it in for them rectify the water ingress problem -It's still very much under warranty so this WILL DEFINITELY NOT cost me....

The rear windnoise problem (also seems common from a search on here....) has manifested itself too:thumbdwn: .

Hi

I am going to sound really dumb, but do all 5 door Octavias come with rear wash jets?

I have an 02 elegance and cannot find a jet anywhere. When I push the washer stalk backwards I can hear the pump working and the blade moves, but no water appears.

I had assumed it was not fitted to my car but am not sure now.

Hi

I am going to sound really dumb' date=' but do all 5 door Octavias come with rear wash jets?

I have an 02 elegance and cannot find a jet anywhere. When I push the washer stalk backwards I can hear the pump working and the blade moves, but no water appears.

I had assumed it was not fitted to my car but am not sure now.[/quote']

The washer jet is actually mounted on the wiper arm itself, and squirts fluid onto the rear screen as it wipes. The only problem with this is at speed the top part of the screen doesn't get washed too well, but otherwise it does mean you get an even spread of screenwash.

If you look under the rear wiper arm you will see the washer pipe.

You may also be suffering from the pipe having popped off the spigot on the rear washer motor.

If you open the tailgate you should be able to pop off the trim panel inside by putting your fingers under the edge and giving it a good tug (it may require a little force if it hasn't been off before). When the panel comes off, you will probably find some metal clips still attached to the trim panel. Remove these and put them back on the car in the appropriate positions, as the panel will go back on much easier if you do.

Locate the pipe, which will be loose somewhere in the tailgate cavity, and put it back onto the 'spigot' on the side of the rear washer motor. Might take a bit of finding (it does for me and I've done it twice before ) and pop the pipe back on. Then push the trim panel back into place. It's a relatively easy job and will save you spending some money at the dealers.

I'm getting fed up with the rear washer not working. Is there an official Skoda recall / modification for this ??? Other solution is just not to use the damn rear wiper !

Thanks for that, thought I was going mad.

It might just be blocked as I have never had wet carpets.

I take it that it runs from the same feed as the front jets?

Cheers

Mark

Yes, it runs from the same feed, and you won't notice wet carpets, as it drains out through the bottom of your tailgate and down the bumper.

I reckon it happens when the jets on the rear wiper get frozen and the pressure in the system causes the pipe to pop off the connection.

Pain in the ar*e, but fairly easy to rectify.

Well, in last night's rain, the carpet (well, the newspaper covering it and under the mats just in case!) got wet again :(

As the Skoda Dealer can't fit my car in for inspection umtil next week, when I'm back at work, I thought I'd have a look at it myself -It obviously started raining within minutes of lifting the bonnet.

I skinned my knuckles whilst attempting to remove the scuttle panel so I phoned the Skoda dealer (Horners Bury) about it and the guy was very helpful, "but you're going to struggle". In the end it wasn't too bad, if a little fiddly.

There was a lot of leaf mulch in the tray around the pollen filter housing so I scraped it all out to ensure a good route to the near- side wing drain hole.

I then took the filter out, which was very wet at the near-side.

I observed that the drain channel from the base of the windscreen that catches any water that gets past the upper scuttle 'seal' empties directly onto the pollen filter! WHO THOUGHT OF THAT??? I've improvised a deflector from the top of an old CD jewel case and some duct tape so that should stop that issue.

There appear to be a recess in front of the pollen filter box where water may drain.

It remains to be seen if the water ingress continues....

Use genuine skoda screenwash, it stops the jets getting blocked which causes the hoses to come apart, and it doesnt freese. Its also cheap. The wrost place the pipes come appart is in the n/s/r three quater pannel, in the boot near where they mount c.d changers. If its wet there chances are all the multi plugs that feed the rear light etc are soaked, they then rott and cause lots of problems. so watch out for that one!

Well, so far so good. there was no water ingress on New Year's Eve....