My car is now less than 2 weeks old and I have just extracted a good bucket full of water from my rear footwells carpets, my air conditioning is intermittently making a grinding noise from the front passenger footwell, water can be seen dripping from the bulkhead into the footwell (accompanied by a sound like that of a garden fountain) and my air conditioning emits a constant stream of vapour into the car.

Something is very wrong...booked in on Wednesday....any similar experiences? can anyone shed any light?

Dan:(

Methinks this one has been done before

Kinked hose on the aircon evaporator drain.

Try to avoid using the air con (stick it in ECON and leave it there) until it is sorted by the dealer.

Make sure ALL carpets and fittings are 100% dry afterwards or you could get mould in the car and you'll never lose that horrid damp smell. The carpets will probably have to come up to make sure the soundproofing is dried out.

It's a warranty job so make sure Skoda do what's necessary to eliminate any dampness in the car.

Let us know what they do to the car.

Best of luck bud.

Methinks this one has been done before

Kinked hose on the aircon evaporator drain.

Try to avoid using the air con (stick it in ECON and leave it there) until it is sorted by the dealer.

Make sure ALL carpets and fittings are 100% dry afterwards or you could get mould in the car and you'll never lose that horrid damp smell. The carpets will probably have to come up to make sure the soundproofing is dried out.

It's a warranty job so make sure Skoda do what's necessary to eliminate any dampness in the car.

Let us know what they do to the car.

Best of luck bud.

Could a blocked condensate (evaporator) drain pipe really generate this much water?

Thanks for your replies.

I think it is something to do with the aircon, but I agree with the last post; there is an incredible amount of water...on the other hand we have had very hot weather in the last 2 weeks so I presume that would give more condensate?

Also have driven through a day of torrential rain so may be some kind of leak.

I'll post the answer on/after Wednesday.

Dan

Could a blocked condensate (evaporator) drain pipe really generate this much water?

yes , have you ever seen the puddle of water thats produced under the whilst its running with the air con on , the aircon specialist at the garage i work for is always using the mop to dry up the water

You have an air con specialist? Handy i suppose with the Galaxy..lol.

You'll be amazed how much condensate an air conditioner will produce, particularly with the high humidity we have had of late.

I've had a stream of water running across my patio over the last week of hot weather. I should save it for watering the plants what with the water shortages down here.

The Octaiva A/C is also very effective and would be pretty good at dehumidifying the interior of the car IF the hose wasn't kinked.

You have an air con specialist? Handy i suppose with the Galaxy..lol.

he does 99% of the electrical work on all the vehicles too, which is good because i hate doing it

Well car finally went in today. All the carpets are sodden and are going to be replaced, this will involve removing all the seats.

Not bad for a 2 week old car eh?

Does anyone know if I am able to reject the car at this stage?

Thanks

Dan

It's good that they are going the full nine yards and not trying to fob you off with having them cleaned and dried.

Make sure they replace EVERYTHING under the floor. It might be wise to inspect it yourself when the carpet is up.

Bear in mind it's all been saturated under those carpets for the last 2 weeks, who knows what damage has been done.

A damp enviroment can cause damage to electrical connections and allsorts.

A call to Skoda customer services might be an idea if you are not happy with whats being done.

Read this little snippet:

There are laws in place to protect your rights as a consumers, and it's worth checking with your local Trading Standards office to see which laws apply to you.

One of the most important laws for consumers is The Sale of Goods Act which says any goods sold must be:

* of satisfactory quality

* fit for purpose, and

* as described

This means the vehicle must be in the kind of condition you'd expect. So if it's a new car, you wouldn't expect any major faults. To say it must be 'fit for purpose' means it must be safe and capable of carrying out the tasks it was sold to do. The car must also be 'as described'. For example, the dealer isn't allowed to sell a car advertised as having a 1.8L engine when in fact it's 1.6L.

It is up to the seller and not the manufacturer to ensure the car meets these standards before selling it.

If you think your dealer has sold you a car that is in breach of the law, contact your local Trading Standards office - it's their job to enforce consumer legislation. Find your local Trading Standards office.

This applies to new cars only - if you bought a used car the law is a bit different.

And...........................

If you're having problems with a car that you bought, and the dealer's offered to repair it...

If you decide to let the dealer repair the car, give them a reasonable amount of time to do it.

Agreeing to let the dealer repair the car doesn't affect your consumer rights - if it's still not up to scratch (see the Sale of Goods Act), you can ask for it to be repaired again or replaced.

If the repair is going to take some time, you can ask for a courtesy car. If the dealer doesn't provide one, you can ask for compensation for the cost of hiring an equivalent car while yours is being repaired.

You don't have to accept a repair - you can insist on a refund. However, you'd have to reject the car very soon after purchase. The longer it's been since you bought the car, the less likely you'll get all your money back.

You could get the car independently assessed before you decide to let the dealer repair the problem. That could give you a better idea of the extent of the problem, and help you decide if it's better to accept a repair or hold out for a replacement or refund. Both the RAC and the AA do car checks, as do many other independent and accredited garages.

Thanks for your advice dstev.

I saw the car this morning, it is an empty shell, even exposed metal on the gearstick.:( Technician said with the aircon on it was gushing water into the car(That would explain the garden fountain noise!). It was exactly what people on here had said; a twisted/kinked drain pipe behind the centere console.

All the carpet and soundproofing is going to be replaced...I do trust them as they said it must be done as (as you have said) it will rot, stink and cause all sorts of problems...I think I will ask to see it after it is removed and destroyed.

The bottom line is my car is on a 30000 mile a year lease and every day they have it it isn't racking up miles....they have given me a brand new Octavia courtesy car (albeit the old model) to use and I'm piling the miles onto that. It's giving 50mpg so I'm making more money on my business fuel allowance.

I have phoned Skoda customer services and suggest they make a goodwill gesture when this over.

All in all I'm being treated well by the dealer (who didn't supply the car) and I'm not in the mood to go for rejection of the car. It will be like getting a new car again in terms of excitement when it is finally ready.

Anyway this is probably all a punishment for getting the car for a good price!

Dan

UPDATE Everything is now ripped out, I'm going to see for myself on Monday, plus as they want their courtesy car back they are transferring me into a relief car, a brand new Octavia which is currently being PDI'd.

I think you are lucky with your dealer, they seem to be bending over backwards to help you and from what you are saying they are giving it the full works.

Rejecting the car would be a total nightmare as the dealer is putting the defect right.

I think your car will be fine after they have finished with it and they'll want to do a first class job because they know you will be all over them like a rash if it isn't good enough.

As long as they keep the supply of new courtesy cars coming who can argue!

Thanks for your reply.

It's reassured me that I'm doing the right thing, as you say rejection would be a nightmare as they are doing everything possible in terms of putting the problem right. The carpets are not in stock in the UK and are being ordered from the factory. There is no estimated delivery date....could be in for a long wait.

Dan

Probably will be a wait but at least you are trundling around in a brand new Octavia so all is not lost.

You'll probably get that new car smell back again as well once the new carpet is in:D

Anyway this is probably all a punishment for getting the car for a good price!

Dan

No matter what price you pay for a brand new car Dan, you should expect it to be 100 percent and nothing less.

Hope all works out for you.

Picked up my car this afternoon, all the work is done, looks great...valet and all.

Nice one, glad it's all been sorted.

Here's to trouble free motoring from now on:cheers:

Thanks dstev.

Had a 170 mile round trip today, it is great to have the aircon working (37 degrees:eek: indicated today) without the internal sprinkler system!

I'm still angling for a free 1st service from Skoda HQ as a good will gesture.

Dan

Skoda have agreed to a free first service as a goodwill gesture , how much has that saved me?

Dan

Mine were comming between £250 & 300 on a MK I so thats a nice discount.