Fabia Door Water Leaks

[stuart.cookson]

My 04 vRS rear doors leak - they were 'fixed' a few weeks ago under warranty by DM Keith (Bradford). First sign of rain and they were exactly the same. All 4 seals replaced Tuesday this week, so I'm waiting for rain to see if they've managed this time!

This was the result of the first sign of rain after they were 'fixed' first time:

Stu

[ap0gee1978]

^^ It's successful repairs like that that made me glad I decided to plump straight for the sealant option!

[Clive618]

Well off topic I know and apologies for this but I notice in Stuart's photo that the Vrs rear mats have securing clips on them, same as the front. Does anybody know if you can buy "standard" mats like this as the ones in my Elegance get scrunched up under the front seats every time anyone sits in the back?

[r_holmes22]

Both rears on my 53 Fab VRS leaked (previous owner used little & garaged so presume didn't know). Skoda totally disgraceful re: refusing to admit design/build fault. Fixed myself with 'Bostik serious stuff' silicone from B&Q. Easy job but the principle stinks; heard they're making the new ones out of confectionary so don't imagine they'll perform well either.

Chortle. You're referring to their latest advert? It always makes me fancy a slab of angel cake watching that!!

Oh, and can anyone provide a brief guide in removing the 'inner trim panel' to apply sealant? The Haynes manual suggests using a wide-bladed tool, but what have you guys used and where's the best place to start? I can remove the handles and all that, it's just the cardboard panel (the bit that actually gets wet) I'm worried about busting!

[Clive618]

I bought some trim removal tools from ipodcarkitdirect which included a forked, wide bladed lever which made life a bit easier. The trim panel itself is tough enough and won't break but the clips holding it to the door will, so make sure you have some replacements available. I didn't bother to completely remove the trim from the top of the door as there's enough access to apply the sealant just by releasing the clips. Also the small retaining screw by the door handle is a bit fiddly to replace, I blocked up the gap with masking tape to make sure it didn't drop down inside the door! The other thing is to make sure you remove all the excess original seal from around the carrier before applying the sealant.

[georgef]

I have an 03 Tdi 1.9 which had a wet n/s rear footwell pre-purchase. I was ignorant of this issue pre-purchase and bought the car having been assured by the dealer all 4 seals would be replaced. I have left the car out in heavy rain to test it and so far the car is dry. The dealer is Alex Laurie in Liverpool and they have been true to their word, so far as I can tell.

I am interested in in R_holmes' replacement front ARB. any symptoms beyond pulling to the left. My car has been 4 wheel aligned and all appears well but it is terribly sensitive to road cambre and the like. I just wonder ........

[ExAudiSi]

Well Skoda UK have finally accepted that there has been an issue with the sealing of the doors on our cars, but the message is, if it's out of warranty they aren't interested. Please see below for an excerpt form the email which I received from one of the Customer Service Specialists;

"I can confirm that whilst we have received reports of some difficulties with water ingress into the Fabia’s passenger compartment, these incidences have usually been resolved within the warranty period.* The difficulties were found to be caused by a particular type of sealant used in the factory to proof components within the doors.* An improved type of sealant is now used, which has resolved this difficulty, and explains why retailers are treating all four doors, should such water ingress be brought to their attention.*

We feel it is not unreasonable that three years of driving in a temperate climate is a sufficient period for any manufacturing or material defect in the sealant or its application to be revealed.* Therefore, I can confirm our previous responses that approximately two years after the expiry of the warranty we are unable to assist with a contribution towards your repair costs."

They suggested that if I was still unhappy I should write to the SMMT. I still think that as they have accepted that there was a concern during the manufacture of the vehicles that they should repair Fabias presented to the dealers with leaking doors even if they are outside the warranty period, but I suppose I expected this attitude from them.

[Blade404]

In the 18 months I had my 06 reg Fabia vRS I never had a problem with leaky seals and my car was outside during the heavy rain that flooded the city back in June...

[ExAudiSi]

I think you must have been one of the lucky ones!

[Blade404]

It certainly looks that way

[gecko]

55 plate fabia VRS, both rear doors leaked to an extent that carpets were sopping and needed replacing, luckily under warranty. Dont know if the front doors were fixed at the same time or not though

[cam7777]

Fixed my back doors for under a tenner, will post a 'how to' guide if anyone is interested.

Regards

[ap0gee1978]

Fixed my back doors for under a tenner, will post a 'how to' guide if anyone is interested.

Regards

Very kind of you to offer (hope everyone's OK with me saying that on their behalf! ) but Stu beat you to it!

[cheeky]

Both my rear doors leaked; both seals replaced under warranty by Caffyns in Tunbridge Wells and the problem hasn't come back.

[Blade404]

hhmm... Looks like the Fabia wont make a very good car-boat then! :lol:

[GnatG]

Just got the fab back from having work done under warranty. Car was washed by the dealer - lo and behold, water ingress from the n/s/r door! Might do a diy fix as it's an 02 plate.

As a point of interest, is the problem compounded by parking the car on a slope?

[GnatG]

Meant o/s/r door - haven't had a cup of tea yet!

[paddyskoda]

Hi I am a new member with a common problem, the water leak in the rear footwells, dealer fixed it once but it has returned:mad: any guidance please on finding the source of the leak?

[Phil9]

Swedish Skoda owner here. I bought my fabia just before the model changeover (april/may 07) and now have discovered leaks in both back doors and the rear hatch. Car is now booked in and we'll see what happens.

[colkai]

This, alas, is a well known problem, a search around would show just how many of us have suffered. :(

Fabia-vrs.com - Re-sealing Fabia Rear Ancillaries Carriers

Just the job, note though, it isn't just the rear door which can leak, but they are the most common.

[paddyskoda]

Hi, just remove the rear door panel last night and the door seal was potruding out from the bottom of the seal carrier. I remove the carrier and sealed it all round with silicon, hopefully this will sort the problem

[AndyPandy]

When I sealed around the carrier , it still leaked . As PaddySkoda has done only when I removed the carrier applied silicone , and refitted carrier did the leak stop. I remember a post a while back about not using silicon sealer , my car has been watertight for 5 months now, regarding the ' hard to remove silicon 'quote , I dont think I will ever be removing mine for a long time!!

[jasc1988]

Just to add my mid year 2004 04 VRS had leaky rear doors, just sealed them myself with lots of silicone, was a pretty easy job! now no more leaks, door cards are a bit marked with water marks though but im not worried as they will be leather soon

[Hazy Fantazy]

I have an 02 model and yes the back doors appear to be leaking. Not had the car long so mentioned it to the dealer who sold it to me who sounded surprised!!!

Will try the home fixing problem - don't trust the "professionals" to care about what they are doing!

[Matt Bodycombe]

Got an 05 VRS and yes I had this problem. Took the dealer several times to fix but they were good about it and hopefully sorted under warranty. A little water still seeps over the sills after a very heavy downpour but the footwells do not flood anymore.