Water ingress

[Tony R]

A few  months ago when we had a bout of extreme rain puddles on the roads I went through them at normal speeds, mainly on the l/h side of the roads and thus that side of the vehicle, hoping to wash  the underside of any winter salt etc and one or two that washed the r/h side.  I have Superb supplied extra mats  on both of the front footwells with rubber ones on top of them.  About three weeks ago I noticed the fitted " carpet" and mat on the r/h side to be soaking in water so I removed both the extra  mats to leave the fitted carpet exposed.  I then set about drying it  by various means and succeeded to a large extent but not fully and expected to complete the exercise in time. Heavy rainfall making the roads very wet  did not help and inhibited the drying out process but today I had a shock.  Yesterday in the storms there was also very heavy rain downpours, the car not having been used for many days but this afternoon when I went to use it I found the fitted carpet in the r/hand foot well very wet. The thought had occurred to me a week or so ago  that maybe the water was not getting in  from underneath but from up above somehow and checked the water escapes down  either side and could not see anything amiss either side, the channels being  protected at the entrance by covering.  I checked the w/screen for any possible leaks and could not see any areas of concern, nor at the panoramic sunroof. So I am at a loss where the water is getting in, which by today's " event " must be getting in NOT from underneath due to the car not having been used until today. Have any other  owners experienced similar problem and managed to find out what and where?

[Solarstorm]

There have been other cases reported on here; from memory they were to do with the seals around the windscreen, or the drain channels for the sunroof being blocked/pinched.

[Tony R]

15 hours ago, Solarstorm said:

There have been other cases reported on here; from memory they were to do with the seals around the windscreen, or the drain channels for the sunroof being blocked/pinched.

Thanks, I will investigate the sunroof first, today's rain caused much  dampness in the driver's footwell.

[S555NOB]

I seem to have same problem but passenger side how the hell do we remove the head lining to get in the leak and donyou think it could transfer water to rear passenger footwel and mines a swimming pool lol

[Tony R]

2 hours ago, S555NOB said:

I seem to have same problem but passenger side how the hell do we remove the head lining to get in the leak and donyou think it could transfer water to rear passenger footwel and mines a swimming pool lol

Do you have a panoramic sunroof like I do. Yesterday I opened the roof up and poured  water in the channel which ran towards the front and ended up coming out the r/hand  drain  from just under the hood by the  windscreen, same with water that I poured into that channel. There are  two other water drainers  in a plastic covering under the windscreen wipers, where they drain I do not know but the mystery remains. I wonder if  the Skoda dealers  have any suggestions to make?
 

 

[chimaera]

If you have the panoramic sunroof on the estate, there are 4 water drains, 2 front and 2 rear. The front ones drain to the wheelarches. The rear ones either drain to the wheelarches or to the top of the boot door opening, depending on year.

 

They can get plugged up which results in water getting into the car. Skoda's official repair is to use some wire cable (repair manual mentions using a 2.3 m long Bowden cable) from the sunroof end to push through any crud stuck in the lines.

[Tony R]

23 minutes ago, chimaera said:

If you have the panoramic sunroof on the estate, there are 4 water drains, 2 front and 2 rear. The front ones drain to the wheelarches. The rear ones either drain to the wheelarches or to the top of the boot door opening, depending on year.

 

They can get plugged up which results in water getting into the car. Skoda's official repair is to use some wire cable (repair manual mentions using a 2.3 m long Bowden cable) from the sunroof end to push through any crud stuck in the lines.

Thank you, very helpful, so it looks as though there is something  wrong with panoramic roofs, shame as they are pleasant in use. They are fitted to many other makes, including Mercedes, I wonder if they have troubles or are  better designed?

[Tony R]

The suggestion has been made re the pollen filters  being the cause as they were made of poor quality materials, which  degraded and blocked outlet facilities.  My car  seems to have an unhindered supply of water into the driver's footwell  even when  there has been no rain, so where it is coming from I cannot imagine.  There used to be a company in Southampton that dealt with Skodas before the VW takeover so I have managed to track them down, a family run business and who still work closely with Skoda vehicles despite no longer having a franchise.  I phoned them and  they are aware of water ingress problems but say my cause  cannot be the pollen filter as in my case , it is inside the vehicle. I have booked it in for  the 26th by which time I should be back in Southampton. Fingers crossed and it is beginning to smell musty inside and hope no rain before 26th.

[bigjohn]

10 hours ago, Tony R said:

My car  seems to have an unhindered supply of water into the driver's footwell  even when  there has been no rain, so where it is coming from I cannot imagine.  

 

Could be from the air con condensation drain. Not sure where it drains from on the Superb but on my wifes Punto a few years ago this blocked causing water to back up and leak into the cabin. At his time of year the air con / climate control can produce large amounts of water and should create a puddle under the car (not in).

 

 

[Tony R]

1 hour ago, bigjohn said:

 

Could be from the air con condensation drain. Not sure where it drains from on the Superb but on my wifes Punto a few years ago this blocked causing water to back up and leak into the cabin. At his time of year the air con / climate control can produce large amounts of water and should create a puddle under the car (not in).

 

Thanks bj, I will mention this to the Jean Pierre garage when I take the car into them, but I rarely use the A C, maybe that is the cause, it is all an annoying mystery which hopefully J P will  be able to find and cure. Damages  my faith in Skoda, which has slipped because of you know  what!

 

[Tony R]

I duly took my car into Jean Pierre in Southampton mid-morning  yesterday, re-iterated the problem to them and received a call from them late in the afternoon saying car ready to be collected!. As I would have to walk 1.5 miles  I declined and did so this morning. The problem seems to have been a kinked/twisted  pipe from the Air Conditioning unit, a cause they had apparently experienced before, so hopefully that will solve the problem, time will tell. They also replaced the pollen filter which they said was in poor condition?. I was also told the floor is a 2 level construction with all sorts of electrical units/ devices down there ,probably swimming in the water, most of which they feel they have drawn out. Seems a daft place to fit units of importance where they can get water damaged/affected. I noticed they a had a Merc there for sale so I asked their views of that make, very good they said but B M W not so, have turned out unreliable rubbish in past 2-3 years? The emissions fraud, VAG's lies and deceit following, plus the water leak have  dented my faith in Skoda,so my thoughts are turning to other makes. And petrol.

[Tony R]

It is now over a week since the attempt was made to  seek and repair the water leak into the driver's footwell, and the area is still wet, feels dry at times but the carpet becomes wet  after a while. I have used  moisture absorbing crystals, absorbing paper, towels etc  and wet/dry suction machine. But there is still water underneath which eventually and hopefully will  be got rid of, but there must have been helluva lot there at one time. I only hope the remedial  work, ie the twisted pipe involved with the aircon unit was the cause. I will keep posting as maybe of help to others who experience the same problem.

[bigjohn]

On 7/5/2017 at 23:40, Tony R said:

It is now over a week since the attempt was made to  seek and repair the water leak into the driver's footwell, and the area is still wet, feels dry at times but the carpet becomes wet  after a while. I have used  moisture absorbing crystals, absorbing paper, towels etc  and wet/dry suction machine. But there is still water underneath which eventually and hopefully will  be got rid of, but there must have been helluva lot there at one time. I only hope the remedial  work, ie the twisted pipe involved with the aircon unit was the cause. I will keep posting as maybe of help to others who experience the same problem.

 

It's worth running the air con for a while to see if water drips under the car (it should). At this time of year when hot and humid it should drip a lot of water!

 

The under carpet sound proofing material can absorb loads of water. When this happened on another car (Punto) - I removed a seat and partially lifted a carpet and pointed a fan heater underneath for many hours

[Tony R]

1 hour ago, bigjohn said:

 

It's worth running the air con for a while to see if water drips under the car (it should). At this time of year when hot and humid it should drip a lot of water!

 

The under carpet sound proofing material can absorb loads of water. When this happened on another car (Punto) - I removed a seat and partially lifted a carpet and pointed a fan heater underneath for many hours

 

   Thanks, when I get back to Southampton in a few days I will resume using the wet/dry suction machine, that seemed the most   effective means of extrction, water actually collecting in the bottom of it. Since then in London I have been using towels with weights on and each replacement has absorbed  liquid, which seems to be more than just pure water, and when  using the suction machine, there was a glistening to what was drawn to the surface of the carpet and a feel of something slightly more than mere water.

[bigjohn]

1 hour ago, Tony R said:

 

  feel of something slightly more than mere water.

 

Dread to think!

 

Possible types of er "water" leaks:-

1. Air conditioning drain (as mentioned)
2. Water leaking from outside of the car (rain, washing etc)
3. Coolant - if heater matrix/pipes leaking (is the water being sucked up coolant colour at all?)

Gone are the days of oil pipes inside the car - I once had a capri where the oil pressure gauge pipe was damaged behind the dash and caused oil to drip into the footwells! Super slippy pedals and a very damaged carpet

[Tony R]

On the way from London to Southampton on Tuesday pm, the rain was torrential, sadly the water in the driver's foot well became much apparent, so it would seem it is getting in from outside somehow and somewhere. Booked in again at Jean Pierre in Southampton who said they will have another go/investigation but I am losing faith?.The rain on that day was the first we had had for a long time and the first  since the water trouble was noticed.Whether there is a clue  but the windscreen " steamed up  " at the base in the middle and I assumed on the inside but it was on the outside!, EVENTUALLY cleared  by the wipers.

[Tony R]

Following the further  influx of water I  booked  the car into Jean Pierre  in Southamton  from whom I picked it today. They spent 4 hrs yesterday searching for the leak and told me the front  driver's /passenger 's floor wells are the lowest points of the vehicle and found that the carpet protruding from the rear seats on the driver's side  was wet  and so was the base of the cubby hole on the r/h side of the luggage  compartment.  So it seemed  that the water was coming in the back and travelling forward as far as the driver's footwell and could only be coming from the panoramic roof.   And they discovered something they had not known in that at the top at roof line when the rear  tailgate is opened, there is on each side  a drain hole from which water is supposed to run down in the side channel of the bodywork ,only able to be seen  when the tailgate is open, BUT those drain hole have rubber plugs with small holes which seem to get bunged up, so they have almost disengaged  the bungs by making the holes much bigger. So let us hope THAT is the reason and which may be useful info for anyone else who experiences the same problem?

[chimaera]

3 hours ago, Tony R said:

Following the further  influx of water I  booked  the car into Jean Pierre  in Southamton  from whom I picked it today. They spent 4 hrs yesterday searching for the leak and told me the front  driver's /passenger 's floor wells are the lowest points of the vehicle and found that the carpet protruding from the rear seats on the driver's side  was wet  and so was the base of the cubby hole on the r/h side of the luggage  compartment.  So it seemed  that the water was coming in the back and travelling forward as far as the driver's footwell and could only be coming from the panoramic roof.   And they discovered something they had not known in that at the top at roof line when the rear  tailgate is opened, there is on each side  a drain hole from which water is supposed to run down in the side channel of the bodywork ,only able to be seen  when the tailgate is open, BUT those drain hole have rubber plugs with small holes which seem to get bunged up, so they have almost disengaged  the bungs by making the holes much bigger. So let us hope THAT is the reason and which may be useful info for anyone else who experiences the same problem?

So what I said could be the problem in this post a while back:

 

[Tony R]

On 19 July 2017 at 23:16, chimaera said:

So what I said could be the problem in this post a while back:

   So you did, I must have missed  it, I promise to do better next time !

 

[Wheelnut]

I recently noticed a damp musty smell in my superb and found that water was getting in to the boot. Took the spare wheel out which we half submerged in water.  Dried this area and the mat/cover but water still coming in at rear of boot on left hand side, maybe from rear light cluster area? Have to check further tomorrow.  My superb is an SE hatch model not an estate. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.