Water in Drivers Footwell 1.2 Match 2016

Chat about your 6R/6C model Polos here!
Post Reply
craig_fraser
New
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:47 pm
Drives: 1.2 Match
Location: Reading

Water in Drivers Footwell 1.2 Match 2016

Post by craig_fraser »

Hi,

Apologies for coming to the forum and immediately asking a question, but I wasn't really sure where to turn. I've just realised the drivers side footwell is soaked (we have had heavy rain lately.. as as most of the UK!), it appears that the most wet part is between the seat and the pedals. Feeling around the pedals the carpet feels dry and I've pulled the carpet away from the pedals to check behind.. again.. dry... Door seals are intact and I've been straying a hose pipe at the car for 10 minutes or so and noticed no obvious ingress of water into the car. Does anyone have any tips of diagnosing this they'd be happy to share? I've done a search and only found one reference for this model and their car turned out to have a windscreen fitment fault. This car is a 2016, I've owned it from new and this is the first time we've had a problem.

I've taken the following steps;

1 - Dried it out as much as I could.
2 - Cleaned out all the obvious places (that I know of) that allow for water drainage.
3 - Poured hot water down (what I think are) the drainage areas around the scuttle panel.

I can only describe it like, water seems to be 'seeping up' through the centre of the drivers footwell...

Any advice or obvious things to check? Appreciate I'm a complete noob.. also if I've missed a post on this topic for this model please point me to that and ignore this thread..

Thanks

Craig
veteran
Silver Member
Posts: 410
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:27 pm
Drives: TSI 90 Match Edition 1.2
Location: London, UK

Re: Water in Drivers Footwell 1.2 Match 2016

Post by veteran »

You appear to contradict yourself. In one breath you say there's water in the footwell but in another you say you've lifted the carpet there and found it all dry. Which is it?

If there is indeed some moisture found on or around the footwell carpeting, is it water? There's a possibility that it could be brake/clutch fluid, especially because, for example, the clutch master cylinder lies mostly inside the car, up top of the pedals of the footwell. Check the level of the brake/clutch fluid in the reservoir in the engine compartment. If you do then suspect it's brake/clutch fluid, proceed with caution, as that fluid is not only bad for your skin but also will attack the car's paintwork, eating away at the footwell metalwork if not cleaned off.

I've never been wholly convinced that there's a fully watertight barrier at the upper part of the bulkhead (maybe due to one or more missing grommets). The area around the w/wiper motor, in the scuttle tray, is where I mean. But this is a very difficult place to access, to check, I've found. If this is the case, then on occasions where there's heavy rain and the scuttle drainage ducts can't cope, water could pass from the eng. compt. side of the bulkhead to the interior side. On my own 2017 1.2 Match, I discovered some time ago that there was rusting of parts of the dashboard support metalwork, notably on parts that hadn't been properly plated. I'm convinced it's been there since the car came off the production line in South Africa. Check this for yourself on your own Match by popping off the end-covers of the dashboard and peering inside at the metalwork, especially where it meets the A-pillar.

One other possibility is that you may have a missing or damaged floorpan grommet that's allowing rainwater spray to enter the interior, from underneath the car. Whilst the plastic undertrays may keep a lot of muck and spray off the underside of the floorpan, there may be gaps between those trays in the region of the bulkhead and therefore footwells where, if a grommet was missing, water could enter the interior.

BTW, have you noticed that, unless you keep the windows firmly shut when you're driving along and it's raining, rainwater will pour off the roof and into your lap, into the footwell, and also into the door window-switches? I often get caught out in this respect after rain has stopped and I then drive the car, as the droplets on the roof then coalesce and drop off the roof edges. If the window then happens to be open, even very slightly, you end up with dirty rainwater in your lap. The roof guttering on these models is all but non-existent, making for a monumental error of design, in my view.

An afterthought is that the 'water' might be coolant that's slowly leaking out of the heater matrix, though I think the matrix and its hoses are more centrally placed than the footwells. Check the coolant level in its reservoir in the eng. compartment (Don't remove the reservoir cap until the engine's cooled down a bit).
rivatt
New
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:28 pm
Drives: 6C polo 1.2 TSI
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Water in Drivers Footwell 1.2 Match 2016

Post by rivatt »

Hi Craig,
I got what you said, you mean that although the carpet is wet in the footwell it is dry near the pedals (so you don't think it is running down from there).
Couple of additional things to look at which might help,
When you had the hose on the car did you try the side of the car ? It could be that the water is running down the outside glass and into the inside of the door and somehow finding its way inside from the bottom. Have a look at the side of the carpet to see if that is also wet. You might also carefully try to water the car door from outside with the door open to see if any water is coming out from the bottom of the door.

You should also look under the car, below the door area to make sure that the hollow section has not got damaged or has water inside, if it has, it could indicate that a bung is missing at the wheel arch end allowing water in but not sure if your car has this but worth a look.

My other comment is that just because it is wet in the drivers side does not always mean that is the point of entry. I agree that it could be coming in from a flooded scuttle and certainly seen that on a Clio and an Audi. You might also look behind the seat to see if it is wet anywhere there and travelling down to pool at the lowest point.
If none of that helps you might have to do what others have done and take the seats out and the carpet and give it anther soaking to see where it is actually coming in.
Hope that helps to locate and sort it.
SRGTD
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 3508
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 9:40 pm
Drives: 2020 AW Polo GTI+, Pure White.
Location: UK

Re: Water in Drivers Footwell 1.2 Match 2016

Post by SRGTD »

A known source of water ingress into the cabin of the mk7 Golf is water running down the inside of the door, past the door speaker seals and into the cabin footwells. I don’t know if this is a problem with the 6r / 6c Polo, but it’s worth checking this isn’t the route the water is taking into your car.
rivatt wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2019 5:09 pm You might also carefully try to water the car door from outside with the door open to see if any water is coming out from the bottom of the door.
When water enters the door - it will do when it rains or when the car is washed - the water will run into the internal door cavity, entering between the glass and the rubber strip along the bottom of the glass. However, it should then run out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the door, onto the sill area and then onto the ground outside the car. It’ll be a good idea to do this test as you’ve suggested (I’d use either a watering can or low pressure hose) to see where the water is getting out of the door cavity. If it’s getting out around the bottom of the door card instead of (or as well as) the drainage holes, then that does suggest the door speaker seals may be faulty.
exantas
Bronze Member
Posts: 147
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 5:14 pm
Drives: Skoda Fabia 5J 1.2 TSI
Location: Iceland / Greece

Re: Water in Drivers Footwell 1.2 Match 2016

Post by exantas »

Does your car have a sunroof?

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

Post Reply