Annoying water leakage problems

[Jadefalcon]

I'm getting extremely annoyed with my Mk V.

Not so long ago I noticed I had been getting a lot of condensation in the inside, frequently having to wipe the interior of the windscreen.  Not too long after that it was discovered there was water pooling in the drivers footwell.  That was apparently cured by the local garage, after THAT the passengers footwell in the front started the same problem.  Apparently one of the problems with the drivers side is that the door was slightly misaligned due to someone trying to lever the door whether to try and steal the car itself or something in it.

I got the pollen filter replaced which seemed to solve the problem on the passengers side, hooray all is well. 

Not so, I took it to get pressure washed, came out a couple of days later and there is water on the rubber mats.  I lift the mat on the drivers side and the carpet is absolutely sodden, you can hear the damned thing squelch as you get into it.  I had been out today and left my reading glasses in the car.  Went out to get them and noticed that the condensation problem was back.  On a hunch, I lifted the passengers rubber mat in the front, and it is wet, not as bad as the drivers side, but the carpet is rather wet and the underside of the rubber mats are soaking.

I got this car when it was about 14 years old, with a low mileage of about 70k and it has been fine, until recently.  Recently it has been a new wing on the drivers side (apparently there are grommits missing which might be the cause of the drivers leak), a timing belt, new brake discs and pads, new pollen filter, a service, a new suspension coil spring, a tyre, replacement of the bonnet release cable.  The tyre and pads are just basic wear and tear, but I'm getting increasingly frustrated that its beginning to be a money pit.  I spent a good few hundred pounds a couple of months ago to solve this water leakage problem and I feel its been money wasted as it didn't do the job as its starting to happen again.

I have checked the door seals, I always make sure the doors and windows are securely shut.  Does anyone have any advice.

[Jb55]

Do you have a sunroof ? Also check under the windscreen cowl make sure it isn’t blocked up with leaves and crap , you can lift the corners and see underneath.

[ald1717]

recently had water pooling in the rear passenger footwell which was a leak in the plastic tubing fot the rear water jets which runs along the sill with the wires, pull up the rubber and look for water dripping when the water jets on,   also a friends car was recently full of water and im not joking when i say you could have kept fish in his footwell..lol
turns out his drainage points under the wiper cowel were blocked and the water was running down into drivers footwell,  unblocked it and spent 3 days with vax machine and dehumidifier and car was sorted, if you pour water over the windscreen it should pour straight out the bottom of the wheel arch,

[Jadefalcon]

The thing that is really angering me is that I have recently spent a good chunk of money which was meant to sort this out.

The front drivers wing had a really badly corroded wheel arch and I got it replaced.  From what I've been told some of the rubber grommets haven't been replaced when the new one was put on.  Also, I'm led to understand that the bonnet release cable can be an issue.  It was the whole cable and catch.  My brother says using rubber car mats are more likely to trap water between them and the carpet, the previous ones were thin rubber with a shiny metallic plastic coating but they were cracking.

The replacement pollen filter was meant to sort out the passenger side and I checked today and its damp, though nowhere near as bad as the drivers side.  The condensation was gone from the interior of the windscreen which is something.  I never use the sunroof (I live in Scotland, explanation enough :) ), but I know that doesn't preclude the drains from clogging.  The carpets on the rear all seem fine.  Door seals are all good, no sign of perishing, cracking or splits.  I really don't want to get rid of this car as its been mechanically reliable.  Its a 55 plate but only has 72k on the clock.  For curiousities sake I looked at used cars online and my licence is automatic only and it was mainly BMW's and Mercs for sale in my area, one Fiesta (no thanks), and another Golf which had substantially more miles on it.

This is my first diesel and while the fuel is dearer I'm finding the 1.9 TDi engine is relatively economical.

[ald1717]

The thing that is really angering me is that I have recently spent a good chunk of money which was meant to sort this out.

The front drivers wing had a really badly corroded wheel arch and I got it replaced.  From what I've been told some of the rubber grommets haven't been replaced when the new one was put on.  Also, I'm led to understand that the bonnet release cable can be an issue.  It was the whole cable and catch.  My brother says using rubber car mats are more likely to trap water between them and the carpet, the previous ones were thin rubber with a shiny metallic plastic coating but they were cracking.

The replacement pollen filter was meant to sort out the passenger side and I checked today and its damp, though nowhere near as bad as the drivers side.  The condensation was gone from the interior of the windscreen which is something.  I never use the sunroof (I live in Scotland, explanation enough :) ), but I know that doesn't preclude the drains from clogging.  The carpets on the rear all seem fine.  Door seals are all good, no sign of perishing, cracking or splits.  I really don't want to get rid of this car as its been mechanically reliable.  Its a 55 plate but only has 72k on the clock.  For curiousities sake I looked at used cars online and my licence is automatic only and it was mainly BMW's and Mercs for sale in my area, one Fiesta (no thanks), and another Golf which had substantially more miles on it.

This is my first diesel and while the fuel is dearer I'm finding the 1.9 TDi engine is relatively economical.

from ni, so weather wise not that different mate, if water is getting in on both sides i would say its either the drainage channels under the plastic cover on the wipers or the windscreen,

[Rado16v]

As it has a sunroof there's a good chance it's the drain pipes that clog up, they run from the front of each corner of the sunroof (if you open it) along the A pillar, round the back of the dash  and finally out behind the wing.

This video shows the part that clogs, it's the black rubber ribbed pipe at the end"

https://youtu.be/xa-5lnqp8s8

If you have a thin plastic wire or similar it'll be worth poking it inside the hole at the top. I had to remove the a pillar trim and cleared out that smaller pipe. There'll be videos on YouTube on how to remove the trim. It is finicky to reconnect the 2 pipes, I have fat sausage fingers.

It's also worth checking the scuttle area for debris, leaves etc and clearing that out.

Good luck.

[Jadefalcon]

Bit of a necro I'm afraid but an update.

The drivers footwell was like a lake, but now it has apparently been drained.  It was the sunroof.  The carpet is dry but just doesn't feel 'right', if you know what I mean.

However, the passengers footwell (and back passengers) is soaking through again.  So much so that a paperback that had fell on the rear carpet was ruined (it was a charity shop buy so no loss), but that showed how bad it was.

I just feel that this is never ending, and I've even got to the stage that I'd be wary taking it to the car wash for a pressure washing.  I have started looking at the used car market which is in a rotton state as I'm really losing faith in this car, which is a damned shame considering that its mechanically reliable.