Water leak in passenger footwell

[lwbracks]

2015 golf gti.

Ive recently noticed that ive a leak which is causing the passenger footwell to be wet. After removal of my seat, pulling the carpet back.as best I can ive tracked the leak to immediate left corner.

After a water test it looks to me that the water is running through the car properly ( coming out just beind the wheel) but this is also causing water to seep into and run into the foot well. What is the route the water takes when it runs through the right hand side of the picture. The picture shows the right wing ( looking rearward) scuttle panel has been removed.

From what I can work out the water travels as shows in the picture below.

Has anyone else had this? And possible fixes?

Also - the foam on inside of the wing seems to be retaining lots of water. Could this be a cause? Im almost out of ideas other than p/x the car.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[SRGTD]

I would have thought the more likely possible causes are;

1. Faulty door seal.
2. Failed door speaker seal.
3. Blocked pollen filter.
4. if you have a sunroof, a blocked drain pipe.

Number 2 is quite a common fault. If the speaker seal has failed, then when it rains or the car is washed, water enters the door cavity between the window and rubber strip at the bottom of the window, some of this drains into the footwell around the speaker seal, rather than draining outside the car (as it should) through the drain holes in the bottom of the door.

Worth doing an internet search on ‘mk7 golf failed door speaker seal’; you’ll see quite a few owners have had water ingress issues via this route.

 

[Carlosfandang0]

It’s not related to the foam, and water cannot enter the cabin from the bonnet hinge/wing area marked in your picture, have someone thoroughly hose the car with water while you watch inside, remove all the lower front trim on that side so that you can clearly see the route of the water, most likely one of the four possibilities posted above ^,
https://www.autoinstruct.com.au/manufacturer/volkswagen/mk7-golf/mk7-golf-sill-panel-trim-removal/

 

[The Fed]

Never had it with a GTI but I did have a blocked air conditioner evaporator hose on a couple of cars. That will cause water to wet the passenger footwell.

Keep looking. You might want to drop the glove box door and pull the cabin filter and look.

 

[dietcokefiend]

Has the windshield ever been replaced? Might be a sealant issue. Besides seams or wiring inlets, that area is pretty water tight with welded metal.

 

[southpawboston]

You're in the UK, so your steering wheel is on the wrong side ;-), but I do know that some US cars have leaked water through the cabin air filter housing. Water draining down the cowl breaches the seal to the fresh air inlet. Check your cabin filter for wetness.

Also, under the cowl cover, there is a plastic water baffle designed to route dripping water away from the top of the fresh air inlet. If that baffle has come loose (it's just popped in place), it may be allowing water to drip directly into the fresh air inlet. Again, checking your cabin filter would be informative here.

I'm linking to a LHD schematic here, but it should apply the same: part 26 is the fresh air intake where water may be entering. Part 33 is the water baffle designed to route water away from the inlet.

https://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/golf+variant+4motion/golf/2016-746/8/819-819030/

 

[Navi]

Could be drain plugs that are clogged allowing water to pool. Some water might be getting through to the bottom of the car, but it might be overflowing and allowing some water to find a way into the car.

Check this video at the linked current time:

Lot of useful information in it regarding water leaks. I recommend watching the video from the beginning as well as the second part of the video linked below, but the above link is at the time in the video that I feel might be most useful to you.

part 1:

part 2:

 

[lwbracks]

I would have thought the more likely possible causes are;

1. Faulty door seal.
2. Failed door speaker seal.
3. Blocked pollen filter.
4. if you have a sunroof, a blocked drain pipe.

Number 2 is quite a common fault. If the speaker seal has failed, then when it rains or the car is washed, water enters the door cavity between the window and rubber strip at the bottom of the window, some of this drains into the footwell around the speaker seal, rather than draining outside the car (as it should) through the drain holes in the bottom of the door.

Worth doing an internet search on ‘mk7 golf failed door speaker seal’; you’ll see quite a few owners have had water ingress issues via this route.

Thanks for your reply.

I have looked into all of the above and unfortunately water only travels into the car when it runs through the area ive shows above. No water is present on sills or beside the speaker, its physically running from right in the corner ( shown above).

Surely water would only come through the pollen filter if it entered into the intake area for it?

My thoughts are maybe the water is building up on top of the foam and running though a grommet or something? I can't find a picture of the front without the wing on to see what actually is behind it.

I've just compared with a friends and he has no foam on his 16 plate gti. I've also read that the foam shouldn't absorb any water?

Cheers

Lee

 

[uberdot]

I have this problem in my MK4. Car hasn't been driven for months and there's still water in the footbed on the passenger side. I thought it was the sunroof tube, but I cleared it out and it still happened. Speaker seal was tight as well.

 

[lwbracks]

Has the windshield ever been replaced? Might be a sealant issue. Besides seams or wiring inlets, that area is pretty water tight with welded metal.

Windshield hasn't been replaced. Are they likely to fail after time?

Do you know where the wiring inlets are?

Its strange as I can water test down the side shown and it leaks. So it has to be ingress from the wing side inwards.

 

[Carlosfandang0]

Take the wheel off and wheel arch liner out, there may be a load of crap behind it forcing water in where it usually would not reach, and this will also allow a better inspection, there is a drain hole either side where it joins the wing under the scuttle panel as well which could also be blocked up, when water testing don’t pour water directly in holes and openings, you could end up putting water in areas that would under normal circumstances remain dry, instead put the exterior parts back in place and test liberally with a hose, but don’t jet it at the car, make it land on the car from above like a heavy rain shower and look up under the dash for the drips while doing so, be sure to remove as much trim as you can to allow a good view, peel back the carpet also, there is also a chance the water is coming in at the rear somewhere and running forward depending on how the car is angled when you park!

 

[lwbracks]

Take the wheel off and wheel arch liner out, there may be a load of crap behind it forcing water in where it usually would not reach, and this will also allow a better inspection, there is a drain hole either side where it joins the wing under the scuttle panel as well which could also be blocked up, when water testing don’t pour water directly in holes and openings, you could end up putting water in areas that would under normal circumstances remain dry, instead put the exterior parts back in place and test liberally with a hose, but don’t jet it at the car, make it land on the car from above like a heavy rain shower and look up under the dash for the drips while doing so, be sure to remove as much trim as you can to allow a good view, peel back the carpet also, there is also a chance the water is coming in at the rear somewhere and running forward depending on how the car is angled when you park!

I never thought to look from the arch up! This will be my next step in the hunt.

I'm positive the water is coming form the front as I can see a visible trail of flow along the foam which is behind the wiring looms at the bottom of the left hand pillar A.

 

[southpawboston]

Windshield hasn't been replaced. Are they likely to fail after time?

Do you know where the wiring inlets are?

Its strange as I can water test down the side shown and it leaks. So it has to be ingress from the wing side inwards.

The main harness grommet [on US cars] is on the driver's side, through the firewall, near the clutch piston. Not sure if it's the same on UK cars. EDIT: come to think of it, on UK cars, I think the main harness comes in from the same side as in the US (left side) because both US/UK mk7s have the fuse box on the left side.

I am a little unclear about your first photo. Is that the base of the windshield (windscreen) near the top of your photo? If I look below the base of the windshield, it looks as if you've removed the cowl cover. Is that correct? If any water gets in that space, to the left of the photo (and see water droplets there), water may get into your fresh air inlet.

EDIT: aha, ok, now I do see in your second photo that you have removed the cowl cover. That grill you see in the photo is the fresh air intake. Any water that enters that grille is going to end up on your passenger footwell.

 

[lwbracks]

The main harness grommet [on US cars] is on the driver's side, through the firewall, near the clutch piston. Not sure if it's the same on UK cars.

I am a little unclear about your first photo. Is that the base of the windshield (windscreen) near the top of your photo? If I look below the base of the windshield, it looks as if you've removed the cowl cover. Is that correct? If any water gets in that space, to the left of the photo (and see water droplets there), water may get into your fresh air inlet.

You've ruled out a bad door seal and bad speaker gasket with your water test. I would focus on the fresh air inlet.

Correct I've removed the scuttle panel and the protective cowl for the inlet for inspection so I could see where water flowed. Attention was paid to prevent water entering the inlet. Its something I've not looked at but I will get in the car and check it. Its strange that this has just happened all of a sudden. The car was serviced back in November, sure I would have noticed this sooner if this had happened then, especially with the amount its cleaned.

 

[Carlosfandang0]

Yeah, definitely have a good look at the fresh air inlet under the scuttle, if the scuttle drains are blocked up it may allow water to seep behind the exterior of the inlet and then down the inside of the bulkhead.