VW Golf Mk6 Convertible Wet Rear Passenger Footwell
Discussion
I had / have same problem as OP
I have an old Golf -1998. ( S reg)
Right rear passenger and driver footwell swimming pool
I cleared vents under dash / bottom of windscreen - these were already clear
Checked water ran through vents in sunroof - all four drained fine
Then I checked the drainage vents in driver and passenger doors , these were blocked with grit / stones from road - cleared with screwdriver
Since then appears to have stopped water entry ( touch wood) but also parking car so driver and passenger side tilting towards right side ( ie car not on level ground)
Car now mouldy as not 100% dry and no way of getting dry till the summer
I have an old Golf -1998. ( S reg)
Right rear passenger and driver footwell swimming pool
I cleared vents under dash / bottom of windscreen - these were already clear
Checked water ran through vents in sunroof - all four drained fine
Then I checked the drainage vents in driver and passenger doors , these were blocked with grit / stones from road - cleared with screwdriver
Since then appears to have stopped water entry ( touch wood) but also parking car so driver and passenger side tilting towards right side ( ie car not on level ground)
Car now mouldy as not 100% dry and no way of getting dry till the summer
So had the problem for many months and never knew how to get rid of the water
Finally today I found tones of it in the seals under the doors,
Towards the rear under the rear window poke around and you will see a seal, hidden behind the sealent stuff, I've pulled mine out completely for now
Not sure how to add photos but
Finally today I found tones of it in the seals under the doors,
Towards the rear under the rear window poke around and you will see a seal, hidden behind the sealent stuff, I've pulled mine out completely for now
Not sure how to add photos but
Hello,
I have had the same problem with my 2012 golf convertible, soaking carpets front and back on both drivers and passenger sides, I found the rubber seals along sill and pierced with small screwdriver water came out on every seal. I also loosened the inner wing where it meets the sills, and loads of water flowing out, this was for at least 30 mins. I also jacked the car up at front and then back which allowed more water to come out.
We had heavy rain today and thankfully could see water flowing out from inner wing and from the rubber seals, checked carpet and is still bone dry.
Thank you all for the advice on this thread it is greatly appreciated and saved me a lot of worry about a fault which I could not work out for myself, cheers.
I have had the same problem with my 2012 golf convertible, soaking carpets front and back on both drivers and passenger sides, I found the rubber seals along sill and pierced with small screwdriver water came out on every seal. I also loosened the inner wing where it meets the sills, and loads of water flowing out, this was for at least 30 mins. I also jacked the car up at front and then back which allowed more water to come out.
We had heavy rain today and thankfully could see water flowing out from inner wing and from the rubber seals, checked carpet and is still bone dry.
Thank you all for the advice on this thread it is greatly appreciated and saved me a lot of worry about a fault which I could not work out for myself, cheers.
So glad I found this post, had to register just to say thanks. We had left our 12 plate Golf Cabrio for 10 days with torrential rain while were away and have come back to sodden carpets.
A quick poke of the sill bungs and a torrent flooded out of the passenger side. Drivers side wasn't as bad but still came out and carpets also wet.
Must have got around 5 litres of water out of the carpets too. Will leave it until the next heavy rain to hopefully see if that is all we need before taking wheels and arch covers out. Can't say I would be much use for that.
A quick poke of the sill bungs and a torrent flooded out of the passenger side. Drivers side wasn't as bad but still came out and carpets also wet.
Must have got around 5 litres of water out of the carpets too. Will leave it until the next heavy rain to hopefully see if that is all we need before taking wheels and arch covers out. Can't say I would be much use for that.
Thank you so much for posting this!! I have had my car for just over a year and it has been back to the VW dealer twice with me asking them to show me the location of the drain holes. Both times they have fobbed me off with some other plug that I have already removed and verified as dry inside. After seeing your post I have had a poke around the rear wheel arch liner and dislodged enough crap to allow the water to flow! I’ll take it all off and clean it up properly at some point but this is a huge step forward for now. Water has been flowing for about 20 mins so far 
Hi all
Just wanted to huge thank you to everyone for all the tips about this.
I found sopping wet carpets front and rear drivers side yesterday and was absolutely gutted.
My first VW, and it's a cracking little car.
Have done my best to dry carpets with towels, etc and left running with heater on this morning, but will make a start on the bungs, etc tomorrow.
Surely this has to be a design fault if so many cars are having the same problems?
If we wanted our cars to fill up with water we'd get them from bathstore.com!!!
Cheers, Steve
Just wanted to huge thank you to everyone for all the tips about this.
I found sopping wet carpets front and rear drivers side yesterday and was absolutely gutted.
My first VW, and it's a cracking little car.
Have done my best to dry carpets with towels, etc and left running with heater on this morning, but will make a start on the bungs, etc tomorrow.
Surely this has to be a design fault if so many cars are having the same problems?
If we wanted our cars to fill up with water we'd get them from bathstore.com!!!
Cheers, Steve
SteveArcherUK said:
Hi all
Just wanted to huge thank you to everyone for all the tips about this.
I found sopping wet carpets front and rear drivers side yesterday and was absolutely gutted.
My first VW, and it's a cracking little car.
Have done my best to dry carpets with towels, etc and left running with heater on this morning, but will make a start on the bungs, etc tomorrow.
Surely this has to be a design fault if so many cars are having the same problems?
If we wanted our cars to fill up with water we'd get them from bathstore.com!!!
Cheers, Steve
Hello. Just wanted to huge thank you to everyone for all the tips about this.
I found sopping wet carpets front and rear drivers side yesterday and was absolutely gutted.
My first VW, and it's a cracking little car.
Have done my best to dry carpets with towels, etc and left running with heater on this morning, but will make a start on the bungs, etc tomorrow.
Surely this has to be a design fault if so many cars are having the same problems?
If we wanted our cars to fill up with water we'd get them from bathstore.com!!!
Cheers, Steve
When I was searching the German forums for this problem one forum poster said that they had been to a major dealership in Germany where they had 12 convertibles in. They said 10 of them had this problem. The car is more common over there and I believe the UK dealerships are not aware of this fault. That's why the Technical product fix I found was only available in German.
I'm sure it will cure your problem hopefully before any damage is done. I would really try to get the back seat out and carpet up. If it's like ours the will be water under the back seat and it will never dry out before it gets smelly. Buy beg or borrow a wet vac with the money saved by not going to VW. Good luck!
I thought I’d post on here to share my experience of this issue. I bought a convertible golf 2.0ltr TDI 15 plate a couple of months ago.
After a week of torrential rain noticed both passenger side foot wells soaking wet. I’m no mechanic and a single lady so took it straight to my trusted garage. Today, after inspection the mechanic told me that the drain holes had been sealed at the time of manufacture. Apparently all golfs are made at the same factory and the convertible ones are then sent on to have bits of the car reinforced (like I said, I’m no mechanic)! In my case they sealed over all the drain holes leaving nowhere for the water to run but inside the car. My mechanic said he got about 3 gallons out of it and has had to keep hold of the underlay to dry out as it was sodden!
So, if my mechanic is correct (and he usually is) it’s some sort of manufacturing error and the first thing to look for if you have a convertible golf with wet foot wells.
Sorry for long post and I hope it helps somebody
After a week of torrential rain noticed both passenger side foot wells soaking wet. I’m no mechanic and a single lady so took it straight to my trusted garage. Today, after inspection the mechanic told me that the drain holes had been sealed at the time of manufacture. Apparently all golfs are made at the same factory and the convertible ones are then sent on to have bits of the car reinforced (like I said, I’m no mechanic)! In my case they sealed over all the drain holes leaving nowhere for the water to run but inside the car. My mechanic said he got about 3 gallons out of it and has had to keep hold of the underlay to dry out as it was sodden!
So, if my mechanic is correct (and he usually is) it’s some sort of manufacturing error and the first thing to look for if you have a convertible golf with wet foot wells.
Sorry for long post and I hope it helps somebody
Thank you for the thread and the info. I managed to locate the bungs on the inner most part, and prised one off and punctured the rest.
Only the third one back on each side (looking from the front) yielded any water and it wasn’t much, but I guess is certainly more than there should be full stop. It’s a 16 plate car so I guess it’s had three years less to accumulate. I’ll try the rear arch liner at some point too
The bungs i prised off is a little loose, do you think it matters if it’s refitted or not? I come to this car from an MR2 Roadster where the subframe rots from the inside out so want to prevent anything getting in that shouldn’t.
Only the third one back on each side (looking from the front) yielded any water and it wasn’t much, but I guess is certainly more than there should be full stop. It’s a 16 plate car so I guess it’s had three years less to accumulate. I’ll try the rear arch liner at some point too
The bungs i prised off is a little loose, do you think it matters if it’s refitted or not? I come to this car from an MR2 Roadster where the subframe rots from the inside out so want to prevent anything getting in that shouldn’t.
Hi All
2012 2L TDI same problems
Took the rear wheel arch liners off and gallons of water came out as the plastic moulding that holds the front of the liner was removed.
There is a void/pocket in the LH rear of rear wheel arch which fills up with water. this water then runs into the spare wheel space and also under the rear seats and hence into the carpets of the foot well. is this the main water route to the carpets and perhaps independent of the cills issue?
VW garage said there should be a hole in the top of the liner to allow water from the collector to escape. My liners do not have any holes, do yours?
After rear seats soaked, I put a dehumidifier and a 1kw fan heater in the car, made a huge difference, Could this damage the hood by being damp and cold on the outside and warm and dry on the inside?
Good luck and stay safe
2012 2L TDI same problems
Took the rear wheel arch liners off and gallons of water came out as the plastic moulding that holds the front of the liner was removed.
There is a void/pocket in the LH rear of rear wheel arch which fills up with water. this water then runs into the spare wheel space and also under the rear seats and hence into the carpets of the foot well. is this the main water route to the carpets and perhaps independent of the cills issue?
VW garage said there should be a hole in the top of the liner to allow water from the collector to escape. My liners do not have any holes, do yours?
After rear seats soaked, I put a dehumidifier and a 1kw fan heater in the car, made a huge difference, Could this damage the hood by being damp and cold on the outside and warm and dry on the inside?
Good luck and stay safe
Hi thanks so much for all the info we undid wheel are and did what you said. Loads of water poured out. I will tried to attach video to this message but can’t. .
Just got to try and find water trays under roof now.
Thanks again.
Just got to try and find water trays under roof now.
Thanks again.
nickofh said:
The last photo with all the build up dirt seemed to be holding loads of water as when the cover was removed and cleared out my sills didn't collect the water that they did before.
Someone else in Germany posted this who had the same symptoms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmMkum-mPFY
I also used the wet and dry vac inside the larger hole and sucked up loads of water and gunk from inside using this crude but effective suction device ( next photo ). It will be useful later on when I post about the water collection trays.
Someone else in Germany posted this who had the same symptoms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmMkum-mPFY
I also used the wet and dry vac inside the larger hole and sucked up loads of water and gunk from inside using this crude but effective suction device ( next photo ). It will be useful later on when I post about the water collection trays.
New idea
There is a vent in the pocket behind the covers in the inside of the rear wheel arch. I now think this is leaking with water running inside the wheel arch liner from the collector (ref VW tech note mentioned earlier) and then running through the sides of this vent into the boot area.
There is a vent in the pocket behind the covers in the inside of the rear wheel arch. I now think this is leaking with water running inside the wheel arch liner from the collector (ref VW tech note mentioned earlier) and then running through the sides of this vent into the boot area.
Hi everyone.
Thanks for all posting here, it really is the best thread on this subject and I think this is the problem everyone is having...I wanted to share my experience.
We had water in our wheel well. It was coming in through the left hand compartment that contains the roof motor in the boot.
I had removed the gasket at the back of this compartment and it solved the problem insofar as no water in the boot, but it was still seeping in somewhere in the left compartment. But as it drained away immediately it solved the problem but not the source.
We took the car to a specialist who wanted £1,600 to reseal the roof...
So I took a closer look at this today so removed the left rear wheel arch liner etc. to check the drains everything was fine.
I thought lets have a quick look in the sills by removing the large bung at the front of the left rear wheel arch, behind the liners.
...full of water...
So I followed the guide and drained the sills. I also checked the other side which was dry, I have made holes in the bungs to keep the sills drained as well.
It is really funny to see the water draining from everyone's sills.
But I really want to solve the problem. Water is getting between the metal outer and inner panels somehow and not being able to drain away.
So I read the article from Germany in the earlier post. This really is critical. I opened it in word and translated it.
I had already checked that the water collection trays for the roof were clear, but I half opened the roof and felt the join between the water collection tray and the outside of the body (stick your fingers over the edge and along the top of the tray where it joins the body and curve them towards you) ...I could feel as small gap and the gasket. It felt like there may be some holes.
I then compared it to the other side, where the water collection tray is up against the body tight, we have no leaks on the right.
This is where the German PDF came in, instructions are in there.
I closed the roof and put my head into the gap between the roof and seat (it only just fits...) and removed the splash guard to the water collection tray. It is pretty easy to get off. There is a plastic screw...surprise surprise it was really loose. Tightening it up closed the gaps between the water collection tray and the body!
I suspect this is what is causing the leaks for everyone, which are then going into the rear left boot compartments and/or the sills, running between the collection tray and the body panels.
I think that my rear collection tray will need taking off and resealing (the German PDF explains about this as well) but that is a bigger job (if anyone has any way of getting access to this water collection tray removing as little of the roof as possible please let me know!).
I am going to see how it is for now but hopefully between providing drain points and tightening up the water collection tray that will solve it....
If you want more info let me know.
Fingers crossed...
Thanks for all posting here, it really is the best thread on this subject and I think this is the problem everyone is having...I wanted to share my experience.
We had water in our wheel well. It was coming in through the left hand compartment that contains the roof motor in the boot.
I had removed the gasket at the back of this compartment and it solved the problem insofar as no water in the boot, but it was still seeping in somewhere in the left compartment. But as it drained away immediately it solved the problem but not the source.
We took the car to a specialist who wanted £1,600 to reseal the roof...
So I took a closer look at this today so removed the left rear wheel arch liner etc. to check the drains everything was fine.
I thought lets have a quick look in the sills by removing the large bung at the front of the left rear wheel arch, behind the liners.
...full of water...
So I followed the guide and drained the sills. I also checked the other side which was dry, I have made holes in the bungs to keep the sills drained as well.
It is really funny to see the water draining from everyone's sills.
But I really want to solve the problem. Water is getting between the metal outer and inner panels somehow and not being able to drain away.
So I read the article from Germany in the earlier post. This really is critical. I opened it in word and translated it.
I had already checked that the water collection trays for the roof were clear, but I half opened the roof and felt the join between the water collection tray and the outside of the body (stick your fingers over the edge and along the top of the tray where it joins the body and curve them towards you) ...I could feel as small gap and the gasket. It felt like there may be some holes.
I then compared it to the other side, where the water collection tray is up against the body tight, we have no leaks on the right.
This is where the German PDF came in, instructions are in there.
I closed the roof and put my head into the gap between the roof and seat (it only just fits...) and removed the splash guard to the water collection tray. It is pretty easy to get off. There is a plastic screw...surprise surprise it was really loose. Tightening it up closed the gaps between the water collection tray and the body!
I suspect this is what is causing the leaks for everyone, which are then going into the rear left boot compartments and/or the sills, running between the collection tray and the body panels.
I think that my rear collection tray will need taking off and resealing (the German PDF explains about this as well) but that is a bigger job (if anyone has any way of getting access to this water collection tray removing as little of the roof as possible please let me know!).
I am going to see how it is for now but hopefully between providing drain points and tightening up the water collection tray that will solve it....
If you want more info let me know.
Fingers crossed...
I have followed most of the instructions. Took out the wheel arch liners at the rear and cleared the drains top and bottom front. lots of water came out of the drivers side sill, plus there had been audible "sloshing" as we accelerated and braked. Thought it was a noisy petrol tank with no baffles, it was not so do not be deceived. Waiting for rain to test my efforts.
I have put plastic in the footwells with towels rolled up under the plastic to catch any water. The rear carpets are still loose. I am using newspaper between the plastic and the sound deadening and the sound deadening and the carpet to draw off the water and dry the carpets. Passenger side is nearly done but drivers side is still very wet.
Once the water has escaped from the sill area it will float around the car and then leech out as you drive around for weeks afterwards. The plastic will keep it out of the carpets and you can mop it up with a cloth from the metal footwell. I reckon that it will take a month or two of the newspaper treatment with the car outside to get it dry and perhaps not until next summer.
I have put plastic in the footwells with towels rolled up under the plastic to catch any water. The rear carpets are still loose. I am using newspaper between the plastic and the sound deadening and the sound deadening and the carpet to draw off the water and dry the carpets. Passenger side is nearly done but drivers side is still very wet.
Once the water has escaped from the sill area it will float around the car and then leech out as you drive around for weeks afterwards. The plastic will keep it out of the carpets and you can mop it up with a cloth from the metal footwell. I reckon that it will take a month or two of the newspaper treatment with the car outside to get it dry and perhaps not until next summer.
Hi all, just 2 points for everyone, nappies are the best to suck the water out of the sound deadening (put them either side ie under carpet and under deadening against floor pan). If you drill holes on the rubber bungs you will probably find they self heal unless the holes are over 10mm, so either make them larger or just check and open them up with a screwdriver every so often.
I still doubt if I will get to the bottom of the source where the water gets in, but I think it fills the sills and when you sharply brake or go up or down a steep hill it fills the floor pan, or you just have so much water that it overfills the sills and flood the floor, hence you see the water running for 20mins so when you drill or take the sill bungs out.
The boot area flooding appears to be a seperate issue for some and covered in others forums (boot seal, rear speakers, blocked drain channels).
Funnily enough we decided on a change and swapped the golf for a bmw 2 series cabriolet and it drips on the seats on heavy rain!!! Best convertible we had and never leaked was a saab 9-3!
I still doubt if I will get to the bottom of the source where the water gets in, but I think it fills the sills and when you sharply brake or go up or down a steep hill it fills the floor pan, or you just have so much water that it overfills the sills and flood the floor, hence you see the water running for 20mins so when you drill or take the sill bungs out.
The boot area flooding appears to be a seperate issue for some and covered in others forums (boot seal, rear speakers, blocked drain channels).
Funnily enough we decided on a change and swapped the golf for a bmw 2 series cabriolet and it drips on the seats on heavy rain!!! Best convertible we had and never leaked was a saab 9-3!
Edited by Ducati_andy on Sunday 6th February 20:52
Hi there I have just bought a VW golf can 2012 and it chucked it down for a few days and the boot at the sides is full of water and some in the middle as well the boot floor is missing so I guess this has been an issue unfortunately I didn't notice the problem when I bought it. Someone mentioned there is a manual from Germany mentioning the I guess in the boot does anyone have the details for fixing this issue please. I am a lady with no car experience I'm afraid but I haven't the money to get it fixed so I want to try if possible. Thanks
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