Leak into passenger side rear footwell. Any ideas?

[JOH]

This appeared a week or so ago in the heavy rain we've been having. The boot lock seal was fairly perished so I replaced it with a new one and thought it'd cracked it (seemingly dry inside after another bout of rain).

Washed car the other day and have just noticed that same area is soaking wet again. The boot is bone dry (as it was prior to replacing the boot lock seal) and it is only the flat floor area of the carpet that is wet i.e. where the carpet rises to the door is absolutely dry (I'd have thought that dodgy door seal would mean carpet rising up to door would be wet too?)

Drain holes in door are clear. Badges on back are tight and secure. Oh, and front is completely dry.

At a loss as to where the water is getting in - anyone any ideas?

thanks

[dozzum]

Door seals are easy to test. Sit inside while someone hoses loads of water down the side windows.

[ianaudia4]

Check the grommets on the bulkhead, if there are any missing the water will flow through and settle in the rear footwell.

[G Beats]

If you have a sun roof you need to blow the drain holes with air line as these get blocked up over a period of time.The drain holes are either side of the sun roof you can see these when it is open. The drain holes are at either side of the sun roof at the front left and right. I have it happen twice on our car and the other mk 2 we have had hopefully this will solve the problem.

[JOH]

Cheers guys. Grommets all present and correct. Car is non sun roof so no issue there.

Going to go round with a hosepipe when I get a minute and se if I can find the source...

[GTXTRA]

with the recent amount of rain it's no surprise that an old scirocco is going to let some water in at some point.

also worth checking/pushing the rear side windows - they are very easy to pop out and worth just pushing the seals in at regular intervals into the frame.

this - and ingress via front door seals/window seals - can allow water in, manifests itself in wet seatbelts as per ians car at inters.

[JOH]

Thanks.

Gave it a good going over with a hose today and, guess what? No sign of a leak. Typical. Will inspect window seals in more detail tomorrow... Think I might also have a look at the door membrane as I've been told this is also another potential entry point.

[dozzum]

Point the hose down the outer window seal of the front door windows so plenty of water runs down then then you will soon know if it is the membranes or not.

[Blueshark]

Also check the rear hatch next to the hinges there are 2 grommet where the cables go through.

These are fitted on the roof and hatch side, you will be amazed how much water comes of the roof and slips in very easy.

Result is that water runs down the C-pilar and into the boot without realizing where it really came from.

Same goes for the water running down the rear hatch, there are a few holes at the bottom and when you open it you could think it came through the boot loch seal.

Good luck with your search, we have all been there once I think.

Joost

[wassell]

check the seal around the heater blower in the rain tray. these perish and can let water into the passenger footwell which makes its way back to the rear. you can just silicone around the blower to give it a seal. Id put sealant round it anyway to make sure it doesn't leak later on, but may solve your problem.

[JOH]

Ah ha! You might be on to something there. Has just chucked it down (again) and noticed that water is pooling quite badly around the blower. More importantly, having cleared out all the muck / dead leaves around it I can see where the seal has perished; i.e. right at the front where the water is pooling.

So, will let it dry, give it all a good clean with white spirit etc, dry again and silicone all round.
Hopefully should sort it. Will post results in due course.

Fingers crossed..!

[wassell]

good luck! great feeling when you find the cause! haha. have you also cleaned out the gutters so water can drain away from the rain tray? these are below the bonnet hinges. if the car is likely to be stood for a while, you could also drill a hole in the rain tray front face in the low spots to allow water to escape. just put some paint on the holes to stop the rust :)

[JOH]

More heavy and persistant rain and all looks dry. Result!

cheers guys!

[wassell]

nice one :)