damp carpets

Does anyone have any reason as to why my passenger side.....just behind front seat and under the back seat are damp/wet. Cant see any leaks under the car. I know i need to renew the rear screen seal as its a bit dry. Surely it cant be condensation as it would be all round. Not noticed anything coming in from top of passenger window...Where shoul i start????

The alarm control module is under the passenger seat, and if it gets wet it can cause problems. The problem is most likely the roof drains are blocked. Or it might be a door membrane or blocked door drainage holes.

Thanks Richard...i will look into again in a few days. Not sure at the moment where these things are even with the diagram, but with a little more time im sure i will find. I took the car out just a minute ago and carpet is feeling even wetter. Its not raining so i dont understand. Lets hope it is blocked drains somewhere as im not aware of any water lines in the vicinity.

For the roof drains there are rubber nozzles at the bottom of the tubes. The front ones are in the door shuts, and the rear ones are in the rear wheel arches. The book says to close the sunshine roof, and carefully blow an airline in the nozzles. Then open the roof and vacuum out the debris. Don't let the alarm unit get wet, as it will damage the circuit board, and you won't be able to start the car.

Just checked the car again to see why the rear mat and under the rear seat is wet and still puzzled. Richard, i dont have a sun roof but checked the rubber stoppers in the rear wheel arch and door recess and they seem to be just blanks with nothing behind them. Also checked door drains which were completely free. Also got the missus to throw bucket loads of water at the passenger door/window....no leaks at all. Is it a good idea if i remove the undertrays and see if anything is coming up from under the car?? By the way, the control unit is fine. Whilst the carpet is wet the bulkheads, ie verticals are dry. Any further ideas anyone!!!

Are you sure it isn't coming from the front compartment? The water drains around the front cowl area (where the battery is located) often get blocked, and the water spills into the front of the passenger compartment.

Sorry Richard...checked these as well. The wet carpet section is (under the removable rear seat and just in front of the rear seat on the floor). Both on the passenger side.

You could try removing the carpet panel behind the rear seats - it just lifts out - and seeing if it is dry under there. Maybe check where the shock absorber mount come through the body while you are there.

Will do Richard. Will have a look at the weekend.

Just looking my car for something my son lost & I have also found a damp patch under the rear passenger seat. Will try to find the roof drain (also don't have a sunroof) in the rear wheel arch. If I find anything out I will let you know. Stuey

Cannot find roof drains. Have taken passanger side back seat out and pulled carpet back to look around seat area. There is a small grommet ontop of rear shelf & a small collection of water can be found - (Don't know if this is the drain???). This could explain why it is damp under the passeanger rear seat - but I would have thought that the carpet would also be wet behind the back (vertical) but it is not. Seems odd - any ideas anyone? Stu

Took both back seats out & other seat had even more water underneath parcel shelf (but carpet not damp). Looks like rear window seal is letting water in both bottom corners, as bulkhead is also damp. Looked at back window seal & can pull it out with fingers - should I be able to do this?? Also lots of brown gunk in both corners, tried to clean up & put rubber seal back, but don't know how successful this will be. Just put into my garage to get closer look & bottom left corner of glass has started to mist up. Will get a quote for a new seal or maybe can get re-sealed? Any ideas of who would do this or can anybody recommend anyone? Stu

The front and rear screens are bonded in, so it sounds like the bonding has separated. The outer seals are just trim/fillers to keep the majority of the water out.

Have removed my carpet section today and removed rear bulkhead section at bottom of rear screen. My leak is definately on one side only and there seems to be a lack of sealer at this section. The sealer looks black and tacky. Is there a specific sealer to go for as i dont wish to do this job again. I think the best approach would be to apply from inside the car and then renew the outer rubber new as they do harden after a few years. So, i have 2 questions 1. Any ideas on a rellygood sealer ie glass to metal 2. How do you remove the rear seats....ive removed the end bolts but cant understand how the middle section comes apart many thanks

It isn't shown in the manual, but I would think that you slide off the cover (9) and undo bolt (10). As for sealer, I know Wurth make a really good black silicone sealer, but I don't know the product number, I'm afraid.

Dont know how you have got on stuey but, removed carpets and rear bulkhead. Loads of water found....now sucked out with the hoover. Checked rear screen which on the side where the leak was....seemed to be at least a quarter inch gap between window and car body. Once i had dried down area i filled with a sealant from halfords....black...same colour as the rest. Have thrown loads of water over the car and it now seems dry. Cant understand though as to why the water seems to have come into the car if the water is running off the screen...can only assume its been like this for a while. Am keeping the carpets out for a while just to be sure this has now been resolved. David

Hi Devans, Don't know why or how water was getting in, but car all no put back together & all ok. It has obviously been leaking for a very long time though - probably since the day I've had it and before that, but all ok now (fingers crossed). I did try what you did with some sealant, but firstly it was difficult too access the area & when we did do it, it did not work. So got rear screen out & resealed. Initially water was still getting in although not as bad as before. So we took out the 2 pieces of rubber on the exterior of the car (top panel above engine where the rear wiper is situated) & used compressed air to blow down channels & replaced them, hey presto no more leaks. Cost me £100, but happy now. With taking everything out & putting back together has had a few benefits. 1 - I now know how to do it, if required again to do so. 2 - Found at least £10 in pound coins & loose change in & around the centre console. Given to my son, so he's pretty chuffed. 3 - All the rattles & sweaks have dissappeared, these were mainly due to the bank of England moving around in the centre console, but back seats & all panels are now quite as a mouse. So cabin noise is really good & can now really appreciate the fantastic notes of the engine for the first time. Stuey Stuey

Thread bump [ ] I was getting a small amount of water in front driver footwell. Didn't notice it at first but that damp smell helped me notice. On investigation, both of the front drains (to the left and right of battery) were badly blocked. Cleared them out and now water drains away nicely. To test the roof drains, I opened sunroof and gently poured some water down the front and rear at the side. I was running out of time but could hear some water drip from the two rear arches but not as freely as I would have expected. Similar at front so I expect some clearing will be needed so I am going to investigate tomorrow evening. Couple of questions: 1) what is the best way to clear rears? Remove wheel and use airline as suggested? 2) if rear is blocked, where does water gather? I've never remove the roof liner so is there just a "gutter" leading down to drain hole or has the roof an inner layer above the roof liner? 3) on fronts, is it best to just probe gently at end of drain or is there anyway of getting at top of drain hole with sunroof open?

1) Maybe it is my old eyes, but I can't even see the rear roof drains at the top. If it was me, I would try to find where the drain tube exits at the rear, and put an airline on it at that end. Be gentle though. Failing that, I would take off the C pillar trims and inverstigate. 2) If the rear drains are blocked, it tends to drip down inside by the rear seats and into the rear footwells. 3) On the front roof drain, you can just see the drain hole in the corner. It exits in the door shut, through a grommet just below the top hinge. Give it a gentle blow with an air gun, or use nylon strimmer cable to poke down the hole from the top. HTH

Thanks Richard. I'll go have a look and report back.