Ridiculous condensation

[david.stark]

**MAJOR UPDATE** (and sigh of relief)

The dealer has phoned to report that they have found the source of the leak! It’s not the camera.

It is the small rear quarter window. It has not been sealed properly and is allowing water in.

The dealer will be removing and re-sealing the window ASAP and should be done before Christmas. Carpets all dried out with their equipment.

[RUM4MO]

Also, in this weather you're walking moisture in to the car. It was lashing it down on Monday morning, and as I have rubber front mats, I could see that there was probably 10ml pooled on the mats -

A 1cm pool of water on your mats...?
How?
Are you wearing waterproof clothing that the water is running off of and onto the mats?
That amount of water would be just as noticeable on carpets, they'd be ringing wet.
Mine aren't.

No monkeyhanger quoted 10ml which is a volume of water, you are quoting 1cm which is a depth of water and suggests 1cm all over the carpet, quite a lot more than 10ml.

[roywolfey]

I haven't had much luck with water ingress in VWs

I owned a B5 Passat which all suffered from the drain holes of the plenum chamber getting blocked up and the chamber filling with water and if parked nose up, the water flowing into the car via the pollen filter housing.

I currently own an Eos. Despite keeping all the drain tubes clear, and seals treated. It's currently sat with wet foot wells in the back and terrible condensation. The water dripping from the sunroof is like a cold shower when I set off in it. Eos roofs tend to be a bit of a lottery when it comes to water ingress.

The Polo does take a while to clear but it's infinitely better than the above.

My cars are parked in front of my house on a North Facing Aspect so they essentially don't get any sun in the Winter. I got some Pingis for the Eos on advice from this thread so let's see how that helps.

[monkeyhanger]

Also, in this weather you're walking moisture in to the car. It was lashing it down on Monday morning, and as I have rubber front mats, I could see that there was probably 10ml pooled on the mats -

A 1cm pool of water on your mats...?
How?
Are you wearing waterproof clothing that the water is running off of and onto the mats?
That amount of water would be just as noticeable on carpets, they'd be ringing wet.
Mine aren't.

1cm pool depth would be a lot of water, maybe a litre and a bit. I said 10ml - the result of getting in and out of the car a few times while it was lashing it down, taking kids to school and then off to work. But even 10ml (A tablespoon full is 15ml) could make more than enough evaporate to recondense and fog all the windows.

[RUM4MO]

I thought that all these cars with folding steel roofs needed to be parked on level ground before closing the roof as well as needing to have the sealing areas well covered with Krytec or similar lubricant.

B5 Passats, I had a really late one, end of April 2000 build date, and it never ever had any issues with the plenum holes getting blocked, I did take the precaution of buying a length of the "monkey dung" that was a replacement for the open cell or maybe nasty cheap closed seal pollen filter sealing gasket, but never got round to fitting it, still got it in an old biscuit tin for ??????, anyway I fitted the plenum area cover from the same age Audi A4 and later Passat B5.5 so there was plenty protection in that area and I kept an eye on these rubber drain "nipples" for the life of that car. The later plenum cover helped to keep out any leaves etc if I ever parked under trees, and so avoided what normally blocked these drain holes.

[Muldoon]

**MAJOR UPDATE** (and sigh of relief)

The dealer has phoned to report that they have found the source of the leak! It’s not the camera.

It is the small rear quarter window. It has not been sealed properly and is allowing water in.

The dealer will be removing and re-sealing the window ASAP and should be done before Christmas. Carpets all dried out with their equipment.

Great news David glad it's been identified but disappointing quality if poor window sealing. Hope it all dries out just in time for winter to reduce condensation levels.

Some useful posts on this topic about how much moisture air can hold before condensing, I will also be getting a windscreen cover to help with the morning defrosting routines when it gets properly cold. The trick will be to get it clear enough to be able to drive off a it seems leaving it ticking over won't generate any level of heat to help matters.

[david.stark]

**UPDATE**

Dealer has phoned to say that although the window is now sorted, the back camera is also causing a leak. I’m now going to have to pay for the fault to be rectified.

I’ve phoned Halfords to inform them and await a call back. Time to go into Liam Neeson mode if they refuse....

[Andy Beats]

Pingi pad is needing microwaved again.
So that's about every two weeks it's getting to the 'full' stage.
My wife asked me if it was doing any good, I assume it must be and the car would be a lot worse without it.

[monkeyhanger]

**UPDATE**

Dealer has phoned to say that although the window is now sorted, the back camera is also causing a leak. I’m now going to have to pay for the fault to be rectified.

I’ve phoned Halfords to inform them and await a call back. Time to go into Liam Neeson mode if they refuse....

How much are VW quoting to fix the rubber gaiter butchery (new gaiter and strip/reroute wiring through the new one and reconnect, I assume?). Halfords response will probably be black silicone sealant on the gaiter.

[david.stark]

They didn’t use sealant just tape. They have conceded straight away and will pay VW.

I’m waiting now for VW to provide a total cost and detailed report to prove the fault.

[monkeyhanger]

They didn’t use sealant just tape. They have conceded straight away and will pay VW.

I’m waiting now for VW to provide a total cost and detailed report to prove the fault.

If you can get VW to thread the dashcams cable through the replaced gaiter and into the lower half of the tailgate then they'll have done the hard work for you in getting it done properly. With what I anticipate they'll have to do to fix the situation in relation to the tailgate wiring, it will add 5 mins to their time to secure the bulk of the spare dashcams cabling slack and have your rear cam poking up above the tailgate trim and into the rear wiper swept area.

[mike sel]

They didn’t use sealant just tape. They have conceded straight away and will pay VW.

I’m waiting now for VW to provide a total cost and detailed report to prove the fault.

David, I am pleased they at least know what is causing it and that Halfords will pay up. Mine is still in the VW dealer in bits, last Friday after pressing the receptionist into passing me through to the service manager he simply said no news and I will call you when there is. I have a loan polo se 95 manual so I cant moan too much, but I paid for an SEL 115 DSG with all the bells and whistles so I am not best pleased at the moment.

Anyhow I did ask him if they found the leak yet and he said NO but they have determined that the water is getting in though the body somewhere! he then again stated he would call me when he has news. I pointed out I would be chasing him mid this week.

I don't want to push it too hard because I don't want the car back until they have found and fixed the leak and can prove it. If I push too hard I am likely to get the car back without a fixed leak. on the other hand at some point I do need to start asking why they have not simply done a smoke test to see where the smoke is getting out ..thus water getting in. also im concerned that when they reassemble the car that they do it properly, no lose items rattling, no large or uneven gaps + I obviously want everything working properly. so can they really do that ? as per factory? im going to have to get tough before accepting my car back. Or at what point do I start insisting on a replacement car? its over 6 months from my getting the car on 1st June. so im out side of the consumer act. I think I ca still push them for it especially as he has said its getting in through the body thus clearly a manufacture error.

[monkeyhanger]

If they ultimately can't fix it, they'll have to buy it back if you get the legal heavies onto them - and then they'll probably sell it to some unsuspecting mug.

If they have not fixed it within a month of having it, i'd start making noises about getting a replacement.

[david.stark]

The latest is that VW were waiting for a part landing from Germany which was due today. It'll be early next week when I have my car back and VW think they can do it so I can still have the back camera.

Halfords store manager has now made contact with VW to make himself known and to offer assurances that they will pay whatever the bill is. I can't fault Halfords response really. Yes legally they were in a no win situation but having made a hash of it, they have not had a tantrum and argued, they have been spot on with me really.