Hi all,

 

I’ve got a 2019 vRS estate that has developed a horrendous damp smell inside the car.

There’s definitely water getting in somewhere, but strangely I haven’t been able to find anywhere in the car that’s actually wet.

I’ve checked the carpets, seats, headlining, boot & spare wheel well and they all feel dry.

Has anyone had anything similar & could point me in the direction of where to check? 
It doesn’t have the pan roof option.

 

Many thanks!

Could it be your aircon?

Might be worthwhile using an aircon cleaner. 

4 minutes ago, JD52 said:

Could it be your aircon?

Might be worthwhile using an aircon cleaner. 

Haven’t had the aircon on for a little while so doubt it’ll be related to that - the smell appeared literally overnight, the day after a storm

How do you know there’s definitely’ water coming in if you can’t find it?

 

Have you checked under the carpets?

 

Have you checked your pollen filter? - they can get mouldy and manky quite quickly.

 

Agree with JD52 about aircon and using a cleaning/sanitising bomb.

 

Gaz

18 minutes ago, Gaz said:

How do you know there’s definitely’ water coming in if you can’t find it?

 

Have you checked under the carpets?

 

Have you checked your pollen filter? - they can get mouldy and manky quite quickly.

 

Agree with JD52 about aircon and using a cleaning/sanitising bomb.

 

Gaz

The pollen filter is all clean and smell free.
I just lifted up the carpet in the rear and had a whiff of the underlay and although it was bone dry it stunk of damp

Think I'd be checking the door cards and door seals for signs of water runs then.

 

Do you have a rear wash/wipe and is it washing fine? Sometimes elbows in the pipe run lines can loosen.

 

It'd be a good idea to leave your aircon on all the time, all year round.  Not only does that keep seals lubricated (and therefore gas in), but it also helps to dehumidify damp and condensation.

 

Maybe run a dehumidifier in the cabin, to see how much water it extracts?

 

Gaz

 

Edited 29 September, 20232 yr by Gaz

Are the windows misting up more than usual? Any coolant loss? Do you have a sunroof?

Check spare wheel well, check level of windscreen washer fluid.

 

1 hour ago, Gaz said:

leave your aircon on all the time, all year round.  Not only does that keep seals lubricated (and therefore gas in)

 

It doesn't but I agree with the other statements.

3 hours ago, J.R. said:

It doesn't but I agree with the other statements.

 

I've always been under the impression that the oily part of a refrigerant was also a sealing agent for seals and hoses, but that's just me regurgitating advice from others as I'm by no means an expert, so I bow to your greater knowledge 👍

 

G

Not really but its true that a compressor that does not turn can have the seals harden and leak when re-used but all modern compressors turn all the time even when the AC is switched off, they do not have an electro-magnetic clutch like the earlier generation but instead a modulating valve to regulate the flow, when it is not pumping refrigerant it is stirring it around in the pump so the seals are always lubricated.

 

Also the modulating valve is never turned off 100% so a small amount of refrigerant is circulated all the time the engine is running.

9 hours ago, J.R. said:

Check spare wheel well, check level of windscreen washer fluid.

 

 

It doesn't but I agree with the other statements.

Spare wheel well is dry

Windscreen washer level hasn’t changed & the rear is working as expected so no sign of a leak from there

The following is going to sound very stoopid  ( I know it is ) but how often are the other 3 doors opened ?.
The reason I ask is my car normally has me only in it, as a result the only door normally opened is drivers door . Not so long ago the 3 other doors were opened while I cleaned it & I  was amazed @ the amount of water that pi55ed out of the doors.
The "seal" twixt window and door is not watertight , it cant be hence water gets into the door , if the drainage holes are blocked you could  unknowingly  have a few pints of water inside the the doors not normally opened.
It seems to me that the placement of drainage holes in the bottom of the door means they work best with the door open.
Like I said sounds stoopid but
Just a thought.

Daftbugga you just helped me cure a problem of water sloshing around in an infrequently used door. The rubber strip at bottom edge needed gentle massage. Substantial amount of water quickly drained.

Do you have a sunroof?

the drain pipes in the A-Pillar can get clogged and cause a slow leak into the driver or passenger footwell from behind the glovebox.

You won't notice the water until it builds up high enough to come over the carpet.

I too had a sloshing sound coming from behind the passenger seat area. It turns out the NSR door had a considerable amount of water in it. I unclipped the door seal and a considerable amount of water drained from the door drain holes, only after the seal was removed out of the way. The seal was holding back the water in the door bottom and obstructing the drain holes. Worth checking regularly.

Yes
It's surprising how much water the door can hold isn't it ?.
It seems that with the door being closed the seal is compressed which actually blocks the drainage hole, as a result water will only drain with the door open.