Octavia mkII water in boot

[lukemc]

Hello all,

I am aware this topic has been discussed before. However the suggested fixes have not worked for my leak.

On recently cleaning out my octavia it would seem a small pond has developed in the boot, were the spare wheel sits.

My first course of action was to dry out the boot. Then on to the "fixes"

No. 1. Check washer pipe that sits behind boot lining on the passengers side.

Result - pipe attached at elbow and no sign of water leak at joint. I do however have water behind the boot lining on the left near the wires etc.

No. 2. See if boot seals are full of water.

Result - boot seals were indeed full of water, as advised cut holes of the underside of the seal which has allows water to drain away.

And that's it so far gentlemen. Went back to inspect today, sadly still water getting in, pooling in boot and also wet behind boot lining on the left as you look into the boot.

Any further suggestions that have resolved this issue for other octavia drivers would be most welcome. Without being rude im not after guesses, I just want solutions that have worked for people in the past to resolve this issue once and for all.

A list form of potential problem areas and fixes would be spectacular if anyone could provide such information.

Cheers fellas

Luke

[mikey vrs]

I had the boot seal issue but i also had water getting in via the rear light seals,i removed the lights & applied some sealant & that cured it for me,i did still get water in the boot seal,i also drilled some holes in the rubber grommets in the spare wheel well so at least the water can drain out but it rarely was a issue after that. 

[lukemc]

Hello Mikey,

Thanks for the reply, I'll give a look over the back of the light clusters and seals tomorrow to see if fix No. 3 resolves the issue.

Will be sure to post the outcome

Cheers

Luke

[King85]

How big were the holes you put in the seal?

[lwalker]

Had this issue it turned out to be the boot seal had two small holes in the rubber. Bit of tec 7 and plumped up the seal. I also tighened the lock so that it pulled it closed more no problems since.

[lukemc]

Update,

Basically attempted all what was advised.

No. 1, gasket seal on rear light cluster.

Result, no visible water ingress so gave it a clean anyway and replaced.

No. 2, lower bolt that the boot lock attaches to.

Result, gave a tighter seal around the boot but meant the light saying the boot was open stayed on the dash board as the mechanism was longer pushed up enough to make the connection realise the boot was shut.

No. 3 Boot seal. Me in boot with father applying water from hose.

Result, identified area of water ingress, to resolve I put another hole in both the top and both of the seal which allowed the water to drain away.

To conclude the fault on my car regarding water ingress seemed to be the seal. Whether a new replacement from skoda would fully resolve this I don't know. Mine at the moment seems to be cured by the addition of extra holes

[ADOKS13]

I have read all the Q&As on this thread, but believe non answer my problem !

I keep a caravan in storage in Spain. Travelling down through France in April 2019 to collect the van from its depot and start a holiday, we encountered torrential rain. When we got to the depot, the lights would not work on the caravan. This was diagnosed as water having got into the 'well' on the left-hand side of the boot where the 7-way bypass relay is installed. Water had shorted-out the relay. I managed to get that fixed (6 days waiting for parts); but, today a new/similar problem has arisen in the UK. Namely, we have had heavy rain this week. This morning the car would not start. Again, water was in the left well and had shorted the relay - flattening the battery. After isolating the relay and charging the battery, the car runs again. However, I am looking for two solutions:- (1) The ingress of water does not seem to be coming from underneath the wheel well from the outside, because the liner is intact. But, when the rubber seal on the edge of the boot at the bottom is squeezed - water spouts out. There is no water in the spare wheel well. (2) Has anyone experience of installing the 7-way bypass relay anywhere else (more remotely), than its current location; and, if so where. This is not a long term solution to the water problem, but, my repair in Spain was very costly and if the relay has not been permanently damaged on this occasion - I would like to move it somewhere different.

I have watched various YouTube videos on this subject and realize it is easier to come up with a solution if you can "be there" and diagnose the problem firsthand. Nevertheless, I would appreciate any constructive suggestions.

[J.R.]

Rear washer pipe joint disconnected.

[silver1011]

You've already identified the issue, the boot seal. It holds water, and everytime you shut the boot the seal is compressed and the water is injected into the cars interior. However this almost always fills the spare wheel well.

 

What is this "left well" you mention. There is the spare wheel well, but I am not aware of any other areas on the boot floor?

 

Are you referring to the compartment behind the boot carpets down each side, where the CD multichanger is located?

 

If so then water in this area is most likely to be a disconnected feed to the rear washer, but these tend to pop off in the winter when the screen wash freezes, and again it is usually the spare wheel well where the washer fluid ends up.

 

The other possible explanation are the foam seals around the rear light clusters, these have been known to let in water...

 

 

[ADOKS13]

Thank you J.R. & Silver1011 for replying to my query.

'Silver' - water is collecting in the area in your second photo where all the wiring is located to the rear of the lights cluster. There is a metal lip approximately 1/2" high and a tray of water can be formed if there is any ingress. This is where my 7-way bypass relay is installed and hence it is getting soaked. However, I may be onto a remedy.

I guessed, from the large quantity of water that collects when it rains heavily, that it is flowing down the left hatch channel from the roof and is filling the lower rubber seal. Then returning, somehow, into the area in question. To stop this I placed masking tape on the left-hand inner lamp housing, to ensure the water runs the full extent down to where it can escape through the bumper. Since this was done there has only been one night of rain, but, "the tray" was dry next morning. If this continues, I am going to remove the temporary masking tape and use translucent silicone seal to permanently close the 1/8" gap between the lamp cluster and the inner bulkhead. Then drill three small holes in the lower side of the lower rubber boot seal, to allow water to escape from there.  Fingers crossed - this will work.  

[Scoondal]

I had a problem of water lodging in the spare wheel area. 

I drilled a hole to give drainage. I am not being funny here ... water was lodging so I let it escape. Perhaps there is leakage underneath the car but I never saw wet/damp in the boot.

 

[silver1011]

11 hours ago, ADOKS13 said:

Then drill three small holes in the lower side of the lower rubber boot seal, to allow water to escape from there.  Fingers crossed - this will work.  

 

It's widely acknowledged that the rubber boot seal doesn't contain sufficient drain holes, or the ones that are there are positioned incorrectly.

 

Good luck.

[benquw]

On 20/08/2019 at 21:16, silver1011 said:

 

It's widely acknowledged that the rubber boot seal doesn't contain sufficient drain holes, or the ones that are there are positioned incorrectly.

 

Good luck.

 

👍  - This was exact root cause in my car , the drain holes are facing up rather than down. 

[JSme]

Hello all, having owned 5 octavia's I think I've finally cracked this issue. 

 

If it's the boot seal filling with water (check by squeezing it and see if water shoots out the holes); then you need to make some on the bottom of the seal so it can drain.

 

I did this with a revolving leather hole punch tool; easy to find and purchase, designed for punching a hole in leather.

 

I chose the size that matched the exisiting holes, then popped the tool in the exisiting hole, and punched down, thus making a hole is the bottom of seal. 

 

No more soppy boot!

 

I did this in line with the exisiting holes, but you could do as many as you want.

 

Works a treat. Good luck :)

[Mazzer]

Just wondering I've got the dreaded seal issues as we seem to have had lots of rain lately. Do you reckon it would be worth while blocking the upper facing and punchin say 3 holes. Downwards..? 

[erindad]

I too had this water in boot problem , Didn't leak in with hose running on top of roof,  no wet carpet etc , no sign at all of where it was coming in. Dried it all out and went for a run on a wet day and boot was filling up again . It only leaked when driving on a wet day .  Painted lines around likely areas for leaking with kids water based paint , and found a water track.

 The cheap plastic bung on n/side/left rear was loose and any spray from underneath was being sucked in past the bung.

 Removed bung and sealed up hole. no more water in boot 

 

Edited 22 December, 2020 by erindad