Water leak in passenger footwell

[Carlosfandang0]

There is a couple of other spots there that look similarly un sealed, all of which look like there is some sort of crease/buckle, probably not, but I wonder if the car had sustained any damage before your ownership? If you were curious as to whether there had been accident repair, you could check the manufacturing dates on various components that side, such as fog light, washer bottle/motors etc, even the forward chassis leg will be date stamped.

 

[southpawboston]

Well done, and good sleuth work.

Surprises me there would be such breaches in a modern platform with computer optimized and roboticized assembly. In fact, I've never had a car for as long as I've been owning cars (35 years) that has had a water leak of any kind, including sunroofs, so I assumed leaks were a relic of the past. Since becoming an MK7 owner and frequenting these forums I learn this is not the case. My MK7 has been water tight, but as you say... knock on wood...

Well, we finally had a dry Saturday in Devon so i could take a look at the issue.
Turns out it was a poorly sealed seam, similar to what the OP had found.
Take off NSF wheel and liner, see a tiny gap in the seam (red circle). When parked facing up hill water would run from the drain hole in the scuttle, down the inner arch and into this little gap. With this February being the wettest on record in the UK was enough to soak the sound deadening through and create a puddle in the foot well.
To resolve i applied a liberal amount of seam sealer to that area, and all the seams i could see just to be safe (don't cover the drain in the a-panel!)

Absolutely pi55ed down last night and all was dry this morning, so appears to be resolved (touch wood)

 

[Mumford2008]

Adding to an old post that may help others.

I have had exactly same problem as above. Water leaking into passenger footwell of my 64 plate gtd 2 door. If It wasn’t for this thread it would have been traded in. All credit goes to the guys above, I’m just adding my bit.
I spent weeks trying to locate this leak. Using the information here I removed the whole interior (was saturated) only under the carpet, not on top of. This is what fixed mine. Under the scuttle, near side drain hole. Seam sealer didn’t go around the whole of the hole causing water to get between the skins. As you can see I used tiger seal not a drop, steamy window or smell since. All caused my lack of seam seal! Thanks guys above for finding this for me, I was out of ideas

 

[morleyg]

Adding to an old post that may help others.

I have had exactly same problem as above. Water leaking into passenger footwell of my 64 plate gtd 2 door. If It wasn’t for this thread it would have been traded in. All credit goes to the guys above, I’m just adding my bit.
I spent weeks trying to locate this leak. Using the information here I removed the whole interior (was saturated) only under the carpet, not on top of. This is what fixed mine. Under the scuttle, near side drain hole. Seam sealer didn’t go around the whole of the hole causing water to get between the skins. As you can see I used tiger seal not a drop, steamy window or smell since. All caused my lack of seam seal! Thanks guys above for finding this for me, I was out of ideas

Thanks for the post. My 2016 2 door, no sunroof, saturated underlay, passenger side: Not from HVAC condenser drain line. Not from cabin filter/fresh air manifold. I had a glass company perform windshield leak test - not the problem. No water under rear seat or spare tire well. Removed the passenger seat. Removed sill trim. Cut out the soaked passenger side underlay. Sealed a loose floor plug, as well as Parking Brake tube grommet that passes through body - grommet was full of water, (this is elevated about 1 1/2 inches off floor and should not be wet). Parked outside with a parking lot slope this tube runs downhill into the car. Near vertical rubber insulation pad front passenger foot well is dry except for bottom edge. Re-assembled car with no underlay passenger side. The cut-out (1x2 inch) under passenger seat allows easy check for wetness. If wet again, will be remove passenger side wheel and fender liner, and look for seam leaks. New underlay waiting in storage room. I have gone through automated car washes with this car in the past and with the carpet having a waterproof back, hard to know when it has become wet. Warranty expired. Complained of interior misting long ago and Dealer came back with a no fault found.

 

[southpawboston]

Adding to an old post that may help others.

I have had exactly same problem as above. Water leaking into passenger footwell of my 64 plate gtd 2 door. If It wasn’t for this thread it would have been traded in. All credit goes to the guys above, I’m just adding my bit.
I spent weeks trying to locate this leak. Using the information here I removed the whole interior (was saturated) only under the carpet, not on top of. This is what fixed mine. Under the scuttle, near side drain hole. Seam sealer didn’t go around the whole of the hole causing water to get between the skins. As you can see I used tiger seal not a drop, steamy window or smell since. All caused my lack of seam seal! Thanks guys above for finding this for me, I was out of ideas

Off topic question, but for the posters from UK, what does "plate" as in "64 plate" reference exactly as a descriptor for your cars? Is it a number that's part of your number plate that references a model year? Do your number plates stay with the car throughout its life as it passes to new owners?

 

[Mikeyd1]

Yep . 14 plate would mean 2014 registration car and 64 plate means registered after September 2014 , I know it’s a bit wierd. And the registration now means after September 2020 you would have a 70 plate and after March 2021 you would have a 21 plate. Lol

 

[Dav26]

Hi all, joined because having this issue on wife's Golf
Last year carpets were sodden only on drivers (RH) side so after some searching for causes I resealed the speakers in the rear doors dried it out and thought I was done.
This winter the problem was back but also this time the boot was sodden also. I suspect the water has been building up and was bad enough to show by the time winter came around.
On inspection the boot handle drain grommet was perished to nothing so I've replaced that as well.
I've also recently removed the wheel arch liners and cleaned out and sealed the underside of the oval drain holes.
Hopefully that's it but I'm really not confident given the amount of water there was but I'm still drying it out.
My questions are:
Is there a way the water from the boot can find it's way into the main cabin or have we had 2 issues?

Also drivers electric seat adjustment stopped working, not surprisingly considering the water but are there any electrical connections under the carpet or are they all above?
Had a new battery coded in so wondered if it could be a coding issue and not water at all, doesn't appear to be power at fuse 45?
Sorry for long post but this car is close to being traded in before it's time which is a shame because it should be a cracking well specced Golf.

 

[Mikeyd1]

I think you have connectors from the seat that connect under the carpet. Don’t quote me on that , I swear I read it somewhere about seat swap

 

[southpawboston]

I think you have connectors from the seat that connect under the carpet. Don’t quote me on that , I swear I read it somewhere about seat swap

Hi all, joined because having this issue on wife's Golf
Last year carpets were sodden only on drivers (RH) side so after some searching for causes I resealed the speakers in the rear doors dried it out and thought I was done.
This winter the problem was back but also this time the boot was sodden also. I suspect the water has been building up and was bad enough to show by the time winter came around.
On inspection the boot handle drain grommet was perished to nothing so I've replaced that as well.
I've also recently removed the wheel arch liners and cleaned out and sealed the underside of the oval drain holes.
Hopefully that's it but I'm really not confident given the amount of water there was but I'm still drying it out.
My questions are:
Is there a way the water from the boot can find it's way into the main cabin or have we had 2 issues?

Also drivers electric seat adjustment stopped working, not surprisingly considering the water but are there any electrical connections under the carpet or are they all above?
Had a new battery coded in so wondered if it could be a coding issue and not water at all, doesn't appear to be power at fuse 45?
Sorry for long post but this car is close to being traded in before it's time which is a shame because it should be a cracking well specced Golf.

For certain, the seat harness terminates at a series of connectors under the carpet near the sill plate in front of the seat. I don't know how much water it would take to submerge them, a few cm at least. I would think it would take more than a soaked carpet, but actual standing water, before it could reach them, but I could be wrong.

 

[Dav26]

So can a battery change "lose" the coding for the seat adjustment? Because other than the water that's the only change to the car.

 

[southpawboston]

So can a battery change "lose" the coding for the seat adjustment? Because other than the water that's the only change to the car.

I highly doubt a battery change can alter the coding because it's stored in non-volatile RAM. Also, no coding change can cut power to fuse 45, that's hardwired. My money is on a short that blew the fuse, caused by the water intrusion. Have you tried replacing the fuse?