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I have a VW polo life 73 and it has a terrible damp smell.

Garage have done a water test and say they have found nothing.

Does anyone know if air con/heating can cause this?

To put it into context the car had a small damp patch in the passenger footwell which dried up one I took the car mat out. The car mat now has an obvious water stain on it.located under the heater part.I put a temporary rubber mat in the car and after a short journey the damp patch returned on the mat.
The garage said it can’t find a leak so I can have the car back but it hasn’t solved the problem on the damp smell. I think it has something to do with air con and moisture.
Wondering if anyone had any ideas. The car has only done 4500 miles and rarely has a passenger. So the smell is definitely not due to any spillages, car window being left open etc…
Any help greatly received as I’m not to knowledgeable with these thing.

@Rach119; welcome to the forum.

As your car is still under warranty, if you’re finding your ‘usual’ dealer unhelpful, could always try a different dealer to investigate and (hopefully) find the problem and fix it at no cost to you.

An ongoing leaking issue into the footwell will ultimately soak through the carpet and saturate the sound insulation material under the carpet, and if left unattended which could create a breeding ground for mould - if that happens, it would then become a health risk. Therefore, IMHO it’s important to trace the source of the issue and get it fixed. The fact that you’ve said you have a terrible damp smell suggests the sound deadening material might be water saturated. Does your car suffer from excessive condensation on the inside surfaces of the windows, which would be an indication of water being trapped in your car’s interior from a potential water ingress issue?

My ‘armchair diagnosis’ (i.e. opinion) would be it’s likely to be one of the following;

• A coolant leak from the heater matrix; the dealer you used said they couldn’t find a leak. Do you know what the dealer did to test for leaks? If it is a coolant leak, it will have that distinctive coolant odour and will be the same pink colour as the coolant in your cooling system expansion tank. Maybe put down some white paper kitchen towel on your temporary rubber mat to check the colour of the liquid.

• Air conditioning system evaporator drain tube leaking into the car rather than out onto the ground under the car as it should (did you have your air conditioning on when you noticed the leak?)

• The cabin pollen filter seal not providing a tight enough seal, and allowing water to drip into the car’s interior.

• Blocked drainage holes in the outer corners of the black plastic scuttle panel at the base of the windscreen (the panel that the windscreen wipers are attached to). The drainage holes can get blocked by leaves and other debris, especially at this time of year. If this happens, I seem to remember reading in the past that there have been instances of water finding its way into the car interior.

• If your car has a sunroof, it could be that one of the drainage tubes has become blocked and is leaking water into the car.

• If your car’s windscreen has been replaced, it’s possible it might not have been sealed / bonded correctly to the car, allowing water into the car’s cabin.

I did a quick search using the advanced search facility and found a couple of discussion topics concerning water ingress into the passenger footwell - links below. There may well be other similar discussion topics; suggest you use the forum advanced search facility - click on the small cog wheel at the top right of the screen and input your search criteria.

Passenger footwell water leak in the previous generation Polo
viewtopic.php?t=76479

Footwell water leak in the current generation Polo (pre-facelift model)
viewtopic.php?p=546497

Good luck; I hope you get this sorted sooner rather than later . Please keep this discussion topic updated with developments for the benefit of other forum members.

Many thanks for the reply,
Still has a two year warranty, it’s still currently at the garage I’ve said I didn't want it back until the problem had been resolved.Yes I think it is to do with the air conditioning it’s been on due to the weather being cold and was damp after a short journey.
I’ll let you know the resolution if I get one.
Thanks for you suggestions,very helpful