Discussion
We have water in our car - a lot of water, so much that it sloshes around like the tide if we brake and accelerate too hard.
It seems to be centred around the rear left footwell, this is where the sloshing takes place. It is bad in the right rear footwell (the carpet is sodden), and also noticeable in the front passenger footwell. So far the driver's footwell seems fine.
It's a Honda Jazz with velcro-stuck carpet, so some if the spread of moisture may be due to wicking along the carpet. But there is the hump under the passenger seat to get over so that would be some determined water to make it all the way to the front.
We're going to do a hose test around the car to see if there is a weakness somewhere letting in rain - there is a small gap in the right rear bumper but that's the opposite side to where the water collects, and the boot is totally dry. The seats and doors also seem to be dry so we don't think it's coming through door seals.
Anyone had a similar problem? What did you do?
ETA: I am fully aware that there are thousands of people who currently have much more water in their car than we do, but at least their cause is immediately apparent.
It seems to be centred around the rear left footwell, this is where the sloshing takes place. It is bad in the right rear footwell (the carpet is sodden), and also noticeable in the front passenger footwell. So far the driver's footwell seems fine.
It's a Honda Jazz with velcro-stuck carpet, so some if the spread of moisture may be due to wicking along the carpet. But there is the hump under the passenger seat to get over so that would be some determined water to make it all the way to the front.
We're going to do a hose test around the car to see if there is a weakness somewhere letting in rain - there is a small gap in the right rear bumper but that's the opposite side to where the water collects, and the boot is totally dry. The seats and doors also seem to be dry so we don't think it's coming through door seals.
Anyone had a similar problem? What did you do?
ETA: I am fully aware that there are thousands of people who currently have much more water in their car than we do, but at least their cause is immediately apparent.
Edited by Twilkes on Tuesday 29th December 09:58
I had water ingress in my old Civic and did a hose test. It take a surprising amount of time for the water to start getting into the car where you actually notice it. The problem was the drain hole in in the trough at the bottom of the windscreen where the wiper motor live was blocked which let water dribble into it, but not enough that water was sloshing about, it just wet the top of my right foot.
Ok, it will be running in from the welded seam on the roof/rear quarter under the plastic trim. To confirm this remove the plastic trim in the side of the boot and you will see rusty water marks where it has been running down. The carpet then encourages it to creep into the footwells. You will lilely find the spre wheel well will be wet too. Also worth checking is the rear door seals, at the bottom i have had one that seemed to make the water run along it and then into the car, i couldnt work out why or how, but a simple cut in it stopped the direction of flow and it went outide rather than in. Good luck. I seem to remember there was a lot of info on leaking jazz on google.
Sloshing is usually in the sills. Sill drain holes probably blocked. Unless you can actually see the water in the footwells - buckets of it - no where else for water to slosh around except doors but the drains are unlikely to get blocked on those.
Rain water usually does come in via the doors however.
It's normal for water to enter the door shell via the window seals, which is why the drains exist. But if the plastic seal sheet behind the door trim is not present, or faulty, then water can dribble at the rear of the door trim panel and enter the passenger compartment from there.
Was the car purchased new, was there ever any work done to the doors?
Rain water usually does come in via the doors however.
It's normal for water to enter the door shell via the window seals, which is why the drains exist. But if the plastic seal sheet behind the door trim is not present, or faulty, then water can dribble at the rear of the door trim panel and enter the passenger compartment from there.
Was the car purchased new, was there ever any work done to the doors?
The wiper trough is a good place to inspect, these usually drain under the front wing and if the drain gets blocked then they fill up to a point where they overflow, often into the cabin. Door seals too, and in the days when we had them sunroof drains. Lights leak into boots but this affects, erm, the boot.
The weirdest I ever had was a Cav following accident damage that had a persistent leak into the boot. It was dry around the lights and bootlid but things were still getting wet. Eventually I climbed in on a wet day with a torch and sat there. A spot of water eventually appeared in the middle of a panel. I wiped it off and it returned. Rurned out that the mastic around a light had cracked and the water was creeping in, going under the mastic and popping out about 6" away, literally in the middle of a panel. Resealing the light fixed it.
The weirdest I ever had was a Cav following accident damage that had a persistent leak into the boot. It was dry around the lights and bootlid but things were still getting wet. Eventually I climbed in on a wet day with a torch and sat there. A spot of water eventually appeared in the middle of a panel. I wiped it off and it returned. Rurned out that the mastic around a light had cracked and the water was creeping in, going under the mastic and popping out about 6" away, literally in the middle of a panel. Resealing the light fixed it.
996TT02 said:
Sloshing is usually in the sills. Sill drain holes probably blocked. Unless you can actually see the water in the footwells - buckets of it - no where else for water to slosh around except doors but the drains are unlikely to get blocked on those.
Rain water usually does come in via the doors however.
It's normal for water to enter the door shell via the window seals, which is why the drains exist. But if the plastic seal sheet behind the door trim is not present, or faulty, then water can dribble at the rear of the door trim panel and enter the passenger compartment from there.
Was the car purchased new, was there ever any work done to the doors?
Called a weather sheet. If missing or not stuck to the frame water will drip onto the back of the door card & then into the car. Very common source of water ingress.Rain water usually does come in via the doors however.
It's normal for water to enter the door shell via the window seals, which is why the drains exist. But if the plastic seal sheet behind the door trim is not present, or faulty, then water can dribble at the rear of the door trim panel and enter the passenger compartment from there.
Was the car purchased new, was there ever any work done to the doors?
When I bought my RRC they were missing altogether & I could have kept fish in the footwells.
Some cars have smaller shaped covers that cover each aperture in the door frame. Pug 306 as an example. Cutting slots or holes in these for extra big door speakers will, unless properly sealed up, allow water into the footwells.
leefee said:
Ok, it will be running in from the welded seam on the roof/rear quarter under the plastic trim. To confirm this remove the plastic trim in the side of the boot and you will see rusty water marks where it has been running down. The carpet then encourages it to creep into the footwells. You will lilely find the spre wheel well will be wet too. Also worth checking is the rear door seals, at the bottom i have had one that seemed to make the water run along it and then into the car, i couldnt work out why or how, but a simple cut in it stopped the direction of flow and it went outide rather than in. Good luck. I seem to remember there was a lot of info on leaking jazz on google.
Have googled 'leaking jazz' (making sure to spell it VERY carefully) and the seam seems like a common problem. Will still hose test it once the weather has dried up.Yes, the boot carpet seems okay but there's a puddle in the spare wheel well. I would be amazed if it was wicking through the carpet all the way into the rear passenger footwells, or would it actually be flowing along the metal sections underneath the carpet? I could lift up the carpets to see but I doubt I'd be able to get them fitted back down again.
Twilkes said:
Yes, the boot carpet seems okay but there's a puddle in the spare wheel well. I would be amazed if it was wicking through the carpet all the way into the rear passenger footwells, or would it actually be flowing along the metal sections underneath the carpet? I could lift up the carpets to see but I doubt I'd be able to get them fitted back down again.
Don't rip up the carpets yet. For starters you will probably find a grommet in the wheel well somewhere, take this out to get rid of your puddle. If not you can drill a small hole. It's not a fix but it alleviates the symptoms a little.You can start your investigations while it's still wet. For starters get the boot as dry as you can, climb in, and get an assistant to start hosing the lights and bootlid. Or just lie there on a wet day and have a peer round with a torch. Take your time. Then same again for the door cards, and all the other risk areas outlined above. It's quite a restful and quiet way to pass an afternoon in between turkey and pudding fuelled bacchanalian feasts.
Ozzie Osmond said:
Never found the leak.
Eventually solved it by simply drilling a hole in the bottom where the water collected....
Erm, if you don't mind my saying, that's not much of a solution. It's pretty well what a mate did when his boot leaked, he now has no carpet in it and a drain hole. He is however the kind of bloke who deals with a faulty cooker by parking a camping stove in the kitchen, and a rubbing bedroom door by removing it.Eventually solved it by simply drilling a hole in the bottom where the water collected....
-Michael- said:
I have this problem with my Corsa, mould has started to grow now, all 4 of the same model corsa's in my carpark have the same problem 
Corsa C by any chance?Really common issue and one of which I've had the misfortune to try and solve. It's well documented on line but water comes in from a perished seal behind the brake servo and runs down the bulkhead.
f1nn said:
Corsa C by any chance?
Really common issue and one of which I've had the misfortune to try and solve. It's well documented on line but water comes in from a perished seal behind the brake servo and runs down the bulkhead.
Yep that's the one, I've taken it to my garage and they said that's not the issue Really common issue and one of which I've had the misfortune to try and solve. It's well documented on line but water comes in from a perished seal behind the brake servo and runs down the bulkhead.
Okay, some car porn for you, but be warned that it's nasty stuff:
Does the boot well pic indicate that it's coming in from the left somewhere? That's the only patch of rust that spreads across to the side of the car, and is also the darkest rust patch.
The left rear footwell is where most of the water is found, so that might tie in with the boot well rust pattern
Would the water really make it all the way to the front passenger footwell by wicking through the carpet?
Does the boot well pic indicate that it's coming in from the left somewhere? That's the only patch of rust that spreads across to the side of the car, and is also the darkest rust patch.
The left rear footwell is where most of the water is found, so that might tie in with the boot well rust pattern
Would the water really make it all the way to the front passenger footwell by wicking through the carpet?
Edited by Twilkes on Wednesday 30th December 14:14
OK, so you aren't kidding.
That is a bit of a video nasty. First off, pull that grommet out that's to the L of the spare wheel in the first pic. I take it that it's a grommet and not just some floating debris, the RNLI, or similar.
Put the boot carpet somewhere safe to dry. Then mop out the footwell and get the worst of the water out. You can at this point start investigating, my money says the leak is in the boot somewhere and the footwell is just overflow.
That is a bit of a video nasty. First off, pull that grommet out that's to the L of the spare wheel in the first pic. I take it that it's a grommet and not just some floating debris, the RNLI, or similar.
Put the boot carpet somewhere safe to dry. Then mop out the footwell and get the worst of the water out. You can at this point start investigating, my money says the leak is in the boot somewhere and the footwell is just overflow.
Ah ha! At last something I know about.
Our Jazz (52 reg) had this and was returned years ago to dealer to fix this known problem - twice!
Apparently it is the roof seam that leaks and requires the headlining to be removed to effect a proper job repair inside the roof. Needless to say, all we got was some gloop splattered around that did nothing.
The water will run down the L/R rear pillars and into the wheel well. When that fills up sufficiently, then the water will "slop" over into the rear footwells.
I'm afraid I admit that drilling 2xholes into the wheel well was the solution I went for as nothing applied to the outside seams made any difference.
Then it started getting wet on driver's side rear footwell. This was traced to the door inner plastic sheet leaking. This was removed in one piece and used as a template to remake the sheet using thicker plastic I got from Wickes. It was then resealed in place using Sikaflex EBT+ Adhesive sealant/filler all around the edges. This fix has worked perfectly.
In both instances removing the carpets/underlay is the simplest/quickest solution to getting rid of the damp IMO.
Good luck.
Our Jazz (52 reg) had this and was returned years ago to dealer to fix this known problem - twice!
Apparently it is the roof seam that leaks and requires the headlining to be removed to effect a proper job repair inside the roof. Needless to say, all we got was some gloop splattered around that did nothing.
The water will run down the L/R rear pillars and into the wheel well. When that fills up sufficiently, then the water will "slop" over into the rear footwells.
I'm afraid I admit that drilling 2xholes into the wheel well was the solution I went for as nothing applied to the outside seams made any difference.
Then it started getting wet on driver's side rear footwell. This was traced to the door inner plastic sheet leaking. This was removed in one piece and used as a template to remake the sheet using thicker plastic I got from Wickes. It was then resealed in place using Sikaflex EBT+ Adhesive sealant/filler all around the edges. This fix has worked perfectly.
In both instances removing the carpets/underlay is the simplest/quickest solution to getting rid of the damp IMO.
Good luck.
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