Damp smelly carpet in the Drivers footwell

[davydites]

I began to sense an odd smell in my 2014 Octavia Elegance Est a few months ago, a bit like a stagnant water. On checking inside the car I found the drivers footwell carpet wet under the rubber mat.

The dealer in Leeds had it for 12 days and found the underfelt was soaking wet, then thought it was the door seal so changed it along with the undefelt and cleaned the carpet.

However after getting the car back and driving it approx 400 miles in dry weather, the carpet is wet again. I thought it might be the air con condenser draining into the car but they reject that idea.

So where else could water be getting in? I'm losing faith in the dealers ability to sort the problem.

[glosrich]

Maybe try another dealer.

 

Or is it screenwash leaking from the pipe to the hatchback wiper?

[davydites]

The screenwash level hasnt changed. It's originating from the base of the centre console towards the drivers door. The dealers been jet washing the car above and below but cant get it to leak in, which makes me think its coming from inside. I contacted SKODA UK technical help but they were clueless as to any similar faults. I want to know where does the puddle of water under the car comes from when you stop after a drive in warm weather?

[CainDingle]

I want to know where does the puddle of water under the car comes from when you stop after a drive in warm weather?

 

I've always thought this was condensation from the aircon. Before I read the end of your post (where you mention it specifically having been ruled out by the dealer) I was going to suggest that as a possible cause.

[CFBScout]

Air con condenser drain could be the source, not sure how it routes on these cars but its very common on the LR Discovery, a rubber drain tube comes away from the evaporator under the dash and the water ends up in the footwell.

 

Would need to see a diagram of the components to know if that is a possibility though. Does anyone have access to a workshop manual or exploded parts diagram of the HVAC components in the dash/centre console?

[davydites]

I've always thought this was condensation from the aircon. Before I read the end of your post (where you mention it specifically having been ruled out by the dealer) I was going to suggest that as a possible cause.

 

This is what I thought also and still believe it may be the case. There was a small puddle directly under the drivers footwell once which made me suspect the condensate from the car was routed down the drivers side from the Aircon condensor. What I should have done was drive the car a long distance with the air con switched off and heating on, to test my theory.

[cheezemonkhai]

Leak in the heater matrix?

How is the coolant level looking?

Edited 8 September, 2016 by cheezemonkhai

[davydites]

Coolant level is on max and not changed since the last service.

[Gabbo]

Do you have a sunroof as there have been problems with these leaking on the 03 I think.

 

There is a thread on door seals retaining water & an updated part for that (with some nice pictures of the interim & final corrected parts).

Might be worth a read just to rule it out.

[Black_Sheep]

I had a similar issue to this when my car was circa 3 months old (63 Plate MY14) - there were two of us on the forum at the time with the same problem, where a weld was missed in the bulkhead (under the plastic scuttle grid where the leaves collect at the bottom of the wipers). Took several visits to figure it out over a six week period.

Needed whole interior out, and for soundproofing to be replaced.

[Mallettsmallett]

This was a common fault in Seat Leons and was due to water ingress through a hole in the bulkhead when the air-con pipes came into the car. It could also be down to water leaking down the scuttle into the cabin filter.

[davydites]

I had a similar issue to this when my car was circa 3 months old (63 Plate MY14) - there were two of us on the forum at the time with the same problem, where a weld was missed in the bulkhead (under the plastic scuttle grid where the leaves collect at the bottom of the wipers). Took several visits to figure it out over a six week period.

Needed whole interior out, and for soundproofing to be replaced.

Ive read the thread and sounds very similar. I hope I dont have to go through the same hassle as that, but only time will tell.

[davydites]

Dealer now admits there is a leak after finding water in the footwell but cant trace it. The saga continues.....

[Phil-E]

It's taken them this long to accept that there is a leak?! lol

 

I'd be tempted to leave the car with them, get a courtesy car provided and tell them to call you once they've found the leak.

 

Surely the best thing to do would be for them to remove the carpet, dry it all off then do some tests and they will be able to see where the leak is coming from? Or is that too much of a common sense approach?

[jonnybgood]

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/338158-water-in-drivers-footwell/

Edited 15 September, 2016 by jonnybgood