Water in the boot wheel area and right hand side floor

[Mike1977]

Hello

I have discovered water in the boot where the spare wheel is and on the floor (wet mats) on the right hand side of the car rear and front.

The water is sitting there , so apart from a rag to remove, is there another way?

I dont see any obvious area where the water is getting in, any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks in advance

 

[SRGTD]

Water ingress with the mk7 / mk7.5 Golf is something that crops up from time to time on various forums - including this forum. If you use the advanced forum search function, you’ll find other water ingress discussion threads.

Over the years, a number of potential sources of water ingress on the Golf have been identified - below is a summary of those that I’m aware of (there may be others). I’d say that the cause of your water ingress is likely to be one of items 6. to 13. in the list.

1. blocked cabin pollen filter
2. a/c drain tube becoming detached from the evaporator, draining into the car interior rather than onto the ground under the car.
3. damaged / distorted or poor fitting door or window seals.
4. replacement windscreen not bonded correctly to the car bodyshell.
5. blocked drainage hole in windscreen scuttle panel.
6. cars with a sunroof - blocked drain pipes
7. damaged / broken rear door speaker seals, resulting in water draining into the rear footwells. This is quite a common issue.
8. damaged / perished grommet on the bottom of the drain pipe from the hatch release handle, allowing water to collect inside the tailgate and drain into the boot underfloor area and spare wheel well. Again quite a common source of water ingress.
9. damaged / cracked rubber sleeving covering the wiring from the car into the tailgate above the tailgate opening (between the tailgate hinges).
10. poor seal between the tailgate hinges and where they’re attached to the bodyshell above the tailgate opening.
11. damaged seal between the roof and roof mounted aerial (tell tale signs would be water staining on the roof lining and possibly a damp rear seat).
12. damaged or perished seals between the rear light clusters and the body panels the lights are fitted to.
13. failed seals around the air pressure equalisation vents in the lower rear quarter panels either side of the boot (these vents are ‘hidden’ behind the rear bumper cover). A tell tale sign of failure of these vents is water in the spare wheel well and / or in the small storage compartments either side of the boot floor.

If your carpets are wet, then it’s very likely the sound deadening material under the carpets is also wet and if left, could result in mould growth and an unpleasant musty smell, so IMHO it’s quite important to find and fix the cause of the issue.

Good luck - I hope you find the cause and get it fixed soon.

 

[golfdave]

All the above...^^^^^


Sorted most of mine before I had problems as "preventative maintenance"...

..still got to do the shark fin (seal it properly) & double check the tailgate wiring external boots...again as "preventative maintenance"

 

[Mike1977]

Is there a easy way to remove the water in the boot ?

 

[SRGTD]

Is there an easy way to remove the water in the boot ?

I don’t know if there’s an easy way. What I’d do is pick a dry, warmish day and remove the spare wheel and anything else stored in the spare wheel well, along with the spare wheel well carpeting if it can be removed. Then use a wet vac to suck up the water and / or some large absorbent towels to soak it up. If possible, leave the car outside with the hatch open while drying out, but only if you’ve somewhere safe and secure (from theft) to do so. After that, you might want to consider putting some absorbent towels in the spare wheel well to soak up any residual dampness - especially if the wet spare wheel well carpeting can’t be removed. Once everything’s dry, reinstall the spare wheel along with any other items stored in the spare wheel well.

Don’t forget to also check the storage areas either side of the boot floor for water and dry out if necessary; any water in those storage areas could be a strong indication that either the pressure equalisation vents and / or the rear light cluster seals may be the cause - or one of the causes - of your problem.

If you don’t have a wet vac, an internet search should help you find places near to you that hire them out.

Once dry, as said in my previous post, its important to identify and fix the source of the problem, otherwise you’ll be forever mopping up and drying out, and mould growth is a hazard to health.

 

[amsr]

The pressure vent on my drivers side leaked and I ended up with a spare wheel well full of water. It had been going on for some time before I realized it so I ended up with some mold on the carpet below the spare. I had a body shop re-seal the pressure vents and replace the carpet and everything in the trunk. I then cleaned the interior of the car with microfibers and a hepa vac. It’s more or less ok now.

 

[Mike1977]

I don’t know if there’s an easy way. What I’d do is pick a dry, warmish day and remove the spare wheel and anything else stored in the spare wheel well, along with the spare wheel well carpeting if it can be removed. Then use a wet vac to suck up the water and / or some large absorbent towels to soak it up. If possible, leave the car outside with the hatch open while drying out, but only if you’ve somewhere safe and secure (from theft) to do so. After that, you might want to consider putting some absorbent towels in the spare wheel well to soak up any residual dampness - especially if the wet spare wheel well carpeting can’t be removed. Once everything’s dry, reinstall the spare wheel along with any other items stored in the spare wheel well.

Don’t forget to also check the storage areas either side of the boot floor for water and dry out if necessary; any water in those storage areas could be a strong indication that either the pressure equalisation vents and / or the rear light cluster seals may be the cause - or one of the causes - of your problem.

If you don’t have a wet vac, an internet search should help you find places near to you that hire them out.

Once dry, as said in my previous post, its important to identify and fix the source of the problem, otherwise you’ll be forever mopping up and drying out, and mould growth is a hazard to health.

Hello, thanks for your detailed reply which I did, what are do you mean by " Don’t forget to also check the storage areas either side of the boot floor" ? Thanks

 

[Mike1977]

I'm not to sure where to look for the leak but I did notice this, don't know if the water is running through these gaps and into the boot?

Is there a link with the most common area to look for , with picture for a non car person?

 

[golfdave]

Behind that are the foam seals that seal the light unit to the bodywork which fail...get new foam seals....also behind the bumper & just below the light unit are the one way pressure vents which also leak around the foam seals to the bodywork..get new revised vents...

the above has been mentioned before...

 

[Mike1977]

Behind that are the foam seals that seal the light unit to the bodywork which fail...get new foam seals....also behind the bumper & just below the light unit are the one way pressure vents which also leak around the foam seals to the bodywork..get new revised vents...

the above has been mentioned before...

Appreciated