Hi,

 

After some advice/thoughts on this issue if anyone's got any please. Vehicle is a 2018 Karoq SE (1.0) manual, purchased about 15 months ago from a large established dealership (not a Skoda one though).

 

The issue is persistent damp in front passenger footwell, ending up with the carpet feeling damp and there being damp under the carpet itself on the foam padding  - which then leads to problems with heavy condensation etc. Damp has only been noticeable in the autumn and winter months. It's also never had pools of water or noticed massive drips, just felt damp.

 

Skoda looked at it recently (end of November last year) and said they have carried out "extensive water ingress testing" including removing the seat and carpets and having it under water for a long period. They also said they had tested underneath the car for water getting in that way.

 

However they apparently couldn't find any water coming in. I'm not sure how much I trust what they actually did (communication from the dealer about what they were doing was dreadful - long story). However the car appeared to be fully dried out when we got it back at start of December (no evidence of damp in the places I had felt it before). Car has been used regularly since we got it back and over Christmas. I've obviously been checking it regularly and over last couple of days have felt it starting to appear again! First noticed it (as before) on the underside of the floor mats- presumably as the moisture gets trapped.

 

Picture (hopefully attached) shows where I can feel it coming from: near where the floor meets the central console. Can feel under the carpet where circled and it's clearly a bit damp on padding underneath (can poke finger through). Other side (i.e. near door) is dry at moment. Also can't feel any damp anywhere else in the car. Only other thing that I can think is noteworthy is that we've noticed water under the car in the same area (front passenger) - can see it on the drive after rain when the rest of the drive has dried off. Have attached a picture of the underside of car - it drips from this plastic casing and there clearly water about when you press the casing a bit.

 

I've had a nose around, particularly on this forum for previous advice. Car doesn't have a sunroof. We always have the A/C running. Someone did mention "sealant between the bulkhead and wing area" but couldn't find much else that would fit my problem.

 

I suppose there's either water coming from outside the car (and Skoda just couldn't find the leak) or there is water leaking from somewhere internally, if this is possible?. At a bit of a loss about what to do or try next but don't wanna leave it as I know it will just get worse. Also to be clear I don't know much about cars!

 

Any input gratefully received. Cheers for reading and apologies for the essay! 

 

 

Interesting.  I'd suggest blocked drains in the scuttle area just in front of the windscreen or ingress via the door through a breach between the wet outside of the door and the dry inner facing.  I'd have hoped the dealer would have found those though.  What's the highlighted hole in the carpet about?

As said by Dappernut above clear the void between the rear of the bonnet and below the windscreen wipers, a good place for leaves to collect.

 

tom

I'd be taking that wheel arch liner off and looking behind in case it's all flagged up with leaves and mud so not draining, filling up and getting back into the car via a loose grommet or similar. 

 

For reference, in my experience with our Kodiaq my local dealer was useless at finding a leak and the service manager didn't even understand how the drainage routes worked etc. Suggesting it was normal for water to drain through the interior of the car!! 

Cheers for replies. The dealership did mention the drains in the front of windscreen as a common issue - so have assumed they did check that. I haven't personally checked it though, so can do provided it's easy enough to do. Same with looking behind the wheel arch liner I suppose!

 

Dappernut - the highlighted bit is where the carpet has two small slits in like a cross shape. So not a proper hole, it just looks a bit like that as I had poked my finger through, so carpet has lifted a bit. There's similar slits elsewhere in carpets so presume (or hope!) it's normal.

 

It absolutely tipped it down for hours last night so was thinking it might be worse this morning. However interestingly couldn't feel any difference in the damp at all!

 

Just a thought...   Feel around the back of the glove box for any sign of drips and maybe check the pollen filter cover is fitted properly just in case it's something g to do with the Air Con. 

Anyone know where the aircon drain is?  If it is in that area then dry the carpet with a hair dryer and then turn OFF the aircon.  If the carpet remains dry then you have isolated the problem.

 

Similarly, dry the carpet and put water into the well underneath the wipers, nowhere else.  Again this may help to isolate the problem.

 

After the above, if the carpet is still dry then pour water over the windscreen and see what happens.

 

tom

Edited 8 January, 20233 yr by Sanqhar

It absolutely tipped it down for hours last night so was thinking it might be worse this morning. However interestingly couldn't feel any difference in the damp at all!

 

This made me think the water may be coming in from underneath the car, when it is driven, rather than coming in from above when sat on your drive??

Obviously no direct corelation however this makes you think: