GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

The inside of my golf is extremely wet and I’m in panic mode...

demongolf

New member
Location
Lancashire
did you manage to find out what the problem is?



I'm having the exact same issue and I've checked everything that was mentioned here. At a loss what to do besides taking it to the stealers.


Carpets are soaked if i drive in heavy rain. But no water seems to come in when i jet wash the car.
 

Bäsemödel

Go Kart Champion
Location
Lancaster PA
so sealed the speaker area with silicon just to be sure and the shop i took it to said there was a bad seal around where the fresh air comes. i guess that would be the seal around the inlet for the cabin filter. I tend to think that isnt it but it could have been... but as of late, the car has been dry as best i can tell... i think there is still some residual dampness in the larger thick pad that is below the carpet as the floor starts to angle up towards the firewall. other than that, its been dry...

when we were testing, we sprayed the windshield, doors etc... didnt find any new water coming in...so if there is indeed still a problem, it really only leaves water coming in from below... i will continue to monitor things and report if anything changes.
 

pgh_dshaw

Ready to race!
Location
Pittsburgh
My 2016 GTI was bought back due to the mold/smell caused from all four door seals leaking. In my 2017 GTI, 3 of the 4 door seals failed so far. All four were replaced. Also had water pouring out of the cabin filter slot which soaked the front carpet/padding. That was due to some drain under the windshield cowl was bent and redirecting water. Overall I've been to the dealership 10 times due to water issues. Probably be my last VW until they redesign stuff.
 

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
Probably be my last VW until they redesign stuff.

LOL, they're always redesigning stuff, with every new generation. What boggles the mind is that the redesigns are for redesign's sake, not to fix issues. This is not high tech stuff... this is the kind of stuff that most automakers sorted out decades ago. I don't understand how VW can make a turbo direct injected motor for the masses, but can't build a car that won't leak water after a year?
 

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
so sealed the speaker area with silicon just to be sure and the shop i took it to said there was a bad seal around where the fresh air comes. i guess that would be the seal around the inlet for the cabin filter. I tend to think that isnt it but it could have been... but as of late, the car has been dry as best i can tell... i think there is still some residual dampness in the larger thick pad that is below the carpet as the floor starts to angle up towards the firewall. other than that, its been dry...

when we were testing, we sprayed the windshield, doors etc... didnt find any new water coming in...so if there is indeed still a problem, it really only leaves water coming in from below... i will continue to monitor things and report if anything changes.


Has your car interior remained dry since your last post?

I have a hypothesis about some of the passenger side water leaks that various people report.

Today I removed the wipers and L/R fresh air intake plenum covers to install the OEM chirp siren. On the passenger side, there is a removable plastic panel below the plenum cover whose only function is as a water shield. It prevents any drips that make their way past the plenum cover retainer at the bottom of the windshield (the rubber strip along the base of the windshield glass where the intake plenum pops in). I noticed that there is quite a bit of wobble to this shield, which is very flimsy, and if bent just a cm by hand forward of the plenum retainer, water droplets can fall right onto the top of the cabin air filter. Having the car parked on a steep uphill incline would exacerbate any such dripping onto the cabin filter. I have not had any leaks (knocks on wood...) but honestly, the panel is so flimsy and flexible that if one were warped or not popped in place correctly from the factory, I could see how water droplets would fall directly onto the cabin filter, causing water intrusion onto the passenger side floor.

Part #33 in the diagram: https://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/usa/golf+variant+sportwagen/gov/2016-796/8/819-819030/#33

On a side note, when I removed all four door cards to install the warning lights and 3-position door checks, I ran a bead of silicone caulk around the speaker frames. When I removed the front speakers to install the door checks (not necessary on the rear doors), I noticed that some areas of the gasket (close to the rivets) were highly compressed, while areas farther away from the rivets were barely compressed, indicating that water could conceivably breach. While at it, I also ran a bead of silicone around the plastic pop-in panels (designed for accessing the window regulators). These too are held in place by an extremely flimsy pressure fit that could be prone to leaking (and rattling). If you can't tell by now, I'm pretty paranoid about leaks :).
 
Last edited:

Bäsemödel

Go Kart Champion
Location
Lancaster PA
car has been dry since last post... i did the silicon around the speaker on the passenger side and the shop did something too but at the moment i cant remember what... i will say, the cabin filter did not seem wet nor did the box it slides into...
 

Bäsemödel

Go Kart Champion
Location
Lancaster PA
so i noticed that same funny smell in the cabin the last two days... sure enough, the same spot is damp... not anywhere near as bad as before but still damp... im going to pull it all apart today and dry it out...

wtf
 

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
I would definitely remove the right side plenum cover (easy since you don’t need to remove the wipers) and assess whether water from the lower edge of the windshield is dripping down through where the plenum cover attaches to the glass, and then bypassing the plastic baffle below it and dripping onto the cabin air filter. That baffle is mere millimeters away from not directing the water properly away, and allowing water to drip onto the filter.
 

Bäsemödel

Go Kart Champion
Location
Lancaster PA
i believe i may have found the/a problem...

I had the sill trim torn apart on the passenger side... i noticed that the rear sill guard (the front and rear are both the same piece of plastic) has a bit of discoloration underneath. I also noticed some water had collected in the door gasket which could be flowing down to the floor pan. I also recalled how, back in the summer, the area that was most wet was the rear passenger area. I thought this was due to water coming in from the front and making its way back... now i think it could be the other way around...

Im going to take the door panel off today with plans of silicon sealing the speaker area like i did for the front speaker.
 

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
i believe i may have found the/a problem...

I had the sill trim torn apart on the passenger side... i noticed that the rear sill guard (the front and rear are both the same piece of plastic) has a bit of discoloration underneath. I also noticed some water had collected in the door gasket which could be flowing down to the floor pan. I also recalled how, back in the summer, the area that was most wet was the rear passenger area. I thought this was due to water coming in from the front and making its way back... now i think it could be the other way around...

Im going to take the door panel off today with plans of silicon sealing the speaker area like i did for the front speaker.

When you say sill guard do you mean an aftermarket product, like the RGM Sillguards? Those are installed on my car and I have recently noticed water inside my rear driver side door, most recently when picking the car up from the dealer after them getting the waterpump/t-stat work done. It had/has been raining a lot here in NorCal and there was a puddle on the sill area when I opened the door.

I need to pull the door card and have a look behind there too to check the speaker area.

If you can remember, take some pics of what you're discovering and show us :)
 

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
i believe i may have found the/a problem...

I had the sill trim torn apart on the passenger side... i noticed that the rear sill guard (the front and rear are both the same piece of plastic) has a bit of discoloration underneath. I also noticed some water had collected in the door gasket which could be flowing down to the floor pan. I also recalled how, back in the summer, the area that was most wet was the rear passenger area. I thought this was due to water coming in from the front and making its way back... now i think it could be the other way around...

Im going to take the door panel off today with plans of silicon sealing the speaker area like i did for the front speaker.

When I had all four door panels off to retrofit the warning lights and Jetta door stops, I silicone caulked all the speakers. The rears especially showed uneven pressure on the gasket (most pressure closest to the rivets). Since the lowest part of the speaker gasket (at 6:00) is the furthest point between two rivets, that part of the gasket showed the least compression. Could very well be the leak is coming from there. I do not like VW's design for water intrusion prevention.
 

Martin398

Ready to race!
Location
MA
you guys are removing the speakers and then sealing behind correct? anyone have a link handy to the rivets needed to replace the stock ones? presuming I drill them out to get behind the speaker.
 

southpawboston

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Somerville, MA
you guys are removing the speakers and then sealing behind correct? anyone have a link handy to the rivets needed to replace the stock ones? presuming I drill them out to get behind the speaker.

I removed the fronts because that was required to replace the front door stops, and I ran the caulk over the stock gasket before reattaching the speaker. I did not have to remove the rears in order to replace the stops, so I just ran a bead of caulk all the way around the speaker frame base.

Yep, a simple matter of drilling out the old rivets. 3/16" width by at least 1/4" depth (more is okay).
 

Martin398

Ready to race!
Location
MA
I removed the fronts because that was required to replace the front door stops, and I ran the caulk over the stock gasket before reattaching the speaker. I did not have to remove the rears in order to replace the stops, so I just ran a bead of caulk all the way around the speaker frame base.

Yep, a simple matter of drilling out the old rivets. 3/16" width by at least 1/4" depth (more is okay).
thank you
 
Top