Hi

 

It seems like an issue that pops up now and then on these forums - I guess it's my turn now.

2005 Skoda Fabia 1.2. After being parked in moderate to heavy rain, the carpet and the underlying sound dampening in the driver's side footwell is soaked. As in, I can put a little pressure on it and water will bubble up around my hand. I used a wet vac and sucked up 0.75L of filthy water (* filth may be due to dirty carpet). There's no obvious point of entry for the moisture - no dripping from the ventilation system, no moisture on the door sill or grommets in the latch or leaking from the bonnet release. My best guess is the water enters from somewhere in the engine bay, perhaps through/behind the firewall, as there's no visible water trail? My knowledge of cars beyond the driving of them is very limited...

So far the following has been tried:

• The driver's side front door has had its seals replaced.
• The plastic surround above the bonnet has been removed (along with the wiper arms) and drainage channels cleaned and blown through with compressed air
• Drainage channel in engine bay above the suspension mount, driver's side, has been cleaned out.
   

 

So with that in mind, I'm crossing my fingers that some of you have suggestions. I'm worried about rusting through the footwell at this pace. Thanks.

Oh, and just to preempt any automatic directing to the excellent "Fabia Door Leaks"-thread - I've read the entire 34 pages already and haven't found any tips that seem to fit my situation.

Is the pollen filter on that side in LHD cars? Maybe pull it and make sure it's dry.

Have you ruled out water entering through a leaking rear door carrier and running forwards along the floor? I seem to remember this can happen.  Do you normally park on a gradient with the nose of the car lower than the tail?

Quote

Is the pollen filter on that side in LHD cars? Maybe pull it and make sure it's dry.

No, it's on the passenger side, unfortunately. I've checked, and it's bone dry.

 

Quote

Have you ruled out water entering through a leaking rear door carrier and running forwards along the floor? I seem to remember this can happen.  Do you normally park on a gradient with the nose of the car lower than the tail?

 

I should have mentioned that I previously had that door resealed. I'm parked on a slight gradient, but running the other way, so the nose is higher than the tail by a tiny bit. Rear footwell is dry.

 

OK, have you looked at these three possible places for water ingress:

 

 

It may be worth adding a little sealant to the upper two of these just to help the rubber grommets seal fully. It's very hard to tell if the upper one is properly seated behind the bellows, unless you can get the white part out fully that it clips onto and then refit both together. The risk there is breaking the retaining clips of the white part and making the situation worse rather than better.

 

I'm not even sure what the middle grommet is for below that, but check that it looks properly seated.

 

The check-strap gasket is something another member posted about recently. He could reliably get water to go into the a-pillar by wetting that. I'm not sure if the normal drainage path always goes across that one, but it probably sometimes does depending on the angles that the vehicle is parked at.  

 

Having said all that, if the leakage path was through the A-pillar, I think you'd see evidence of where it was coming out of the a-pillar into the cabin.

 

I wonder about the aircon condensate drain, and where water would go if it wasn't correctly attached to the evaporator housing?

 

I'll have a look at some photos I may be able to find.

 

The car has A/C, and you use it, right?

 

I'll inspect those when my wife comes home with the car (if there's any light left). Thanks. The car has A/C and it works and has been used regularly over the summer. This water issue hasn't been there for *that* long though. A/C has previously been a problem with blocked plenum channels/mold etc - it stood parked for half a year at the former owner's. 

The bellows/harmonica sleeve is not connected properly, and the white plastic housing behind isn't either! It seems entirely plausible that water could drain down and in that way.

Oh, I am at the same time overjoyed at possibly having found the solution and angry with myself for a) not finding it myself and b) not posting here sooner. Any tips for reattaching them properly?

Good news!

 

I haven't ever removed the white plastic part, but if I remember rightly there are two or three locking tabs down each vertical edge that would need some sort of hooked tool to release.

Some of yours may be broken, as it sounds like a repair of some sort has happened in this location previously on your wife's car.

Once released, I think it would be easy(ish) to attach the bellows properly to that white part, and then push both into place.

 

@TMB's image in this post in  a recent thread of mine shows the two locking tabs on the nearest side (can't tell if there's a third higher up, out of shot):

As you can see from my picture, I need to visit the area on my partner's car soon; I've received the repair wires for the job, just need to find the time.

 

Struggling to find the bellows or the white part in the parts catalogue at the moment.

Edited 28 October, 20196 yr by Wino
link with image added

If want Wino suggested does not work perhaps it is around the adhesive / sealant around Windscreen failing and letting water near a pillar or behind dash? 

I had promised myself that I wouldn't be that ass who posts a question, gets an answer and then buggers off. Well, I was. I apologise, Wino and bmbmdmb.

Following the fix the car was dried out and because of random circumstances it stayed in the dry for the last month and a half. Well, for the past 4 days it's been in a constant drizzle and parked outside, and today the carpets are wetter than ever. Not just the front footwell now but the rear as well (I'm assuming this is simply because it's parked on a slight incline and the amount of rain has been massive).

I don't have access to a garage, and I'm not all that handy to begin with - and with two small kids in daycare/preschool we can't be without the car for very long - so I'm wary of any major overhaul. But I'm at the end of my tether with this and seriously considering just tearing the seat and the carpet out to try and find the leak. I wouldn't back me to do it without messing something up in the process, though.

@danevb - The car's mostly "just sitting" yes? That seems to indicate it's not spray through a floor bung if that's correct.

 

So, does it have a sunroof? The sunroof drains are a common problem on Skodas. And is there water build up in the plenum under the windscreen wipers>

The car does drive on weekdays, but its demonstrably not (only) from road spray. Bone dry and then after three days of being parked outside in the rain, not being driven, it's soaked.

No sunfroof. Mechanic claimed to have removed windscreen wipers + motor and cleaned out the chambers there.

1 hour ago, danevb said:

Mechanic claimed to have removed windscreen wipers + motor and cleaned out the chambers there.

The key to that is to clean out the plenum drains, which descend in backs of the wheel arches, behind the front arch liners.

 

On a dry day, pour a measuring jug of clean water into the plenum, and it should come out the back of the arch, between the plastic liner and the A post. If it doesn't, remove the arch liner and clean the leaf mulch away.

10 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

...a dry day

 

🤣🤣🤣

27 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

 

🤣🤣🤣

It'll happen! You wait and see, one day it will happen!

Hi all,

I know this is a very old thread (last reply I saw was 2019) and I couldn’t find anyone posting a confirmed fix, so I’m adding this in case it helps someone in the future. I had this problem myself this year on my 2006 Fabia Mk1.

I was getting water under the carpet and I also found water inside the A-pillar itself, not directly from the door. In my case it was the passenger side, but on UK cars this will likely be the driver’s side.

After checking all the usual things like door seals, speaker membrane, grommets, etc., the real source turned out to be the door check strap (door stop).

The metal arm of the door check goes into the A-pillar and is held with two Torx bolts. Around its base there is a rubber seal/gasket where it sits against the pillar. On mine that rubber was not sealing properly.

I should also mention that Breezy_Pete had actually pointed to this area in an older post, but at the time I couldn’t believe water could come through there because it has a rubber seal. Turns out he was right. I saw it with my own eyes: water was running down the pillar, collecting around that opening and forming a small “pool”, and then the water in that little pool suddenly disappeared as it got pulled inside through that point.

During heavy or continuous rain (I could never reproduce it with a hose), water running down from the roof and windscreen area flows down the A-pillar and directly over the door check area. Once enough builds up around that opening, it enters the A-pillar, which then fills up and eventually overflows into the cabin and under the carpet.

That’s why the door interior was dry, the seals looked fine, and the leak only showed up in heavy rain, with water appearing inside the pillar.

I removed the door check strap, applied sealant/silicone all around the base where it contacts the pillar, then refitted and tightened it properly. Since doing this, after a full day of rain, the pillar is completely dry and no more water under the carpet.

It’s a very hidden leak point and easy to miss because it’s not a typical seal area. Hope this helps someone finally solve this issue.