I have a 2001 Fabia 1400 16v - lovely little car, first time Id not bought a VW Golf. I have had it 2 years, no probs, had full service couple of months back.

Since weve had heavy rain, the carpet in the well of the passenger side is soaking wet.

Ive checked that there are no leaves or anything blocking the tube things that take water away and there arent. Ive even poured water on the bonnet and watched and the water is taken away. But still the carpet gets soaked. Ive actually got a bowl in there permanently now.

The other day I drove down the road, turned the corner and whoosh, a deluge came down on that side onto the carpet (it wasnt raining at the time). I just cant work out where its coming from - obviously it must be trapped somewhere and building up but where?

Id be so grateful for any advice (words of one syllable please!!):confused:

Where is it coming in, from behind the dash or over the sill?

Well underneath somewhere - blowed if it will do it when you are watching!

But as I said, the other day it came down right under the fascia bit at the back of the well, in a torrent as I turned the corner. So its a mystery where its hanging about???

Has it has a windscreen do you know?

You mean a new windscreen - nope, dont think so, it had only done about 20k when I got it and all the original stickers and stuff on it.

I just found this whilst trawling:

i found on my old fabia the "water leaking into heating system and draining into passenger footwell" problem due to leaves clogging the drains below the windscreen. this was also a known problem by the dealership however they said it wasnt covered by the warranty and only cleaned the drains once as a good-will gesture.

But that chap seems to have had leaves clogging the drains and I cant see any in mine. I did have the same sort of problem with an old VW Golf 2 cars back and that was the tubes clogged but this one seems clear. One thing I have noticed that when the heater is on full blower it is very noisy now. I wonder if there is anything caught in that.

Have to nip out to shops now - if anyone has any bright ideas Id be so grateful - the car is smelling of damp all the time now.

Ive just found another posting concerning same prob which they put down to the pollen filter casing. Can anyone tell me how to check this and remedy it please?

i would check the door seals at the back doors and see if water is coming in there! its a very common problem. prod the carpet in the rear footwells might be stodgy and wet.

I have two 2003 Fabia estates - they both let in water through the rear doors. Apparently it's called 'water ingress', Skoda are aware of the problem and there is a bespoke 'fix' kit available from authorised dealers/garages. However, unless this problem is reported during the first three years of ownership, owners have to pay. Apparently, a design bug means that water cannot drain away properly through the rear door channels and pools on the sill, eventually running into the car. So all you owners with less than 3 years on your warrantly - GO GET IT FIXED!!

No, this is definitely coming in from the front, it was like a mini waterfall coming in from the front of the foot well passenger side.

Any idea on the cost of the bespoke fix for the water collecting in the sills??

Ooh.. I vaguely remember having the same problem in my Fabia, although it wasn't a great deal of water. If I remember right, It was something to do with a blocked pollen filter. If you stick your head in the passenger foot well and look up, you will see a maybe 4" black casing that slides to one side. I think there may be clips too, then basically the whole unit comes out. It's a block of black plastic which holds the papery pollen filter. Quite easy to change (i'm just writing from memory so not explaining v well!). Last time I pulled mine out to hoover I was rained on by a thousand tiny pieces of leaves!

*edit*.. hang on.. actually.. I think it was a combined problem. Something also to do with a rubber plug which you access from under bonnet (near holes up by windscreen?) which Skoda admitted was made badly. The mechanics I worked with simply removed it altogether and everything was fine. I cant remember much more than that I'm afraid, but may give you a basic idea of what to look for?

Thanks, I took the black thing off because the water was coming through that but when I got it off I didnt know what to do then! The filtery thing is sodden.

Last night I was driving along and as I turned I could actually hear water sloshing about in the engine somewhere and then coming out into the bowl I had in the foot well. Its ridiculous isnt it. I cant see where its getting in and where it is building up to that extent.

Wouldnt removing the rubber plug thing allow more water in?

If your pollen filter is wet, but not full of leaves etc, then i guess the block is somewhere else and the water is just using the pollen filter as an escape route!

I thought the same thing about removing the plug bit, but apparantly no, it doesnt let more water in! I'm sorry I can't remember any more details :( It was a good 5 years ago this happened to my car, and I currently don't own a car to go have a look at to be able to tell you exactly.

Perhaps if you go to a dealer and ask about the plug with too small a hole, they may know what you are on about? (or they may look at you like you are nuts!)

Like i said, the dealer I worked at knew about it instantly and it was quite common as far as I know!