Water coming in

[MissMarple]

I have noticed that my car is collecting water in the drivers side passenger footwell (puddles of it) and also a little in the drivers footwell. When the weather is nice (not very often recently!) there is no problem but with the rain pouring down these past few weeks its been getting worse and worse. I have spoke to my mechanic and he says leakage problems are a ba5tard to find. Its booked in the garage but i thought i should ask on here incase any one has had the same problem in the past.
Ive sat in the car when its raining and listened and looked around for any signs of where its coming from but had no luck.

[ad551]

Have you ever had the windscreen replaced?

[VEA]

What car is it?

[mnkiboy]

Drivers side passenger footwell? I presume you mean the footwell behind the drivers seat?

Obvious things to check are whether the rubber seals around the door are cracked or perished. Maybe take off the door card and see if water is running down the inside of the door when you squirt a hosepipe at it.

The other thing to check is the door may have drain holes at the bottom. These can often get blocked, and may require a knitting needle or something poking inside to clear it out.

What make of car is it?

[MissMarple]

Ive never had it replaced but maybe the guy i bought it from had. Could that be the problem? Most of the water is in the back footwell.

Its a new shape corsa

[Flintstone]

Other than using a hose or watering can to trace it (which is all your mechanic will do and charge you for) the only other thing I can think of is this. Wait until dark and park the car away from artificial lighting. Recline the passenger seat and lie upside down in it while an accomplice shines a powerful torch around the engine bay and firewall. Oh, and if you could wear something inappropriate and have your accomplice take photos for me I'll consider that payment for the tip*

• Seriously though, I've used the light trick on my old Chimaera and it works a treat. I was, however, accused of dogging.

[MissMarple]

Flintstone said:

Other than using a hose or watering can to trace it (which is all your mechanic will do and charge you for) the only other thing I can think of is this. Wait until dark and park the car away from artificial lighting. Recline the passenger seat and lie upside down in it while an accomplice shines a powerful torch around the engine bay and firewall. Oh, and if you could wear something inappropriate and have your accomplice take photos for me I'll consider that payment for the tip*

• Seriously though, I've used the light trick on my old Chimaera and it works a treat. I was, however, accused of dogging.

seriously?

[Flintstone]

MissMarple said:

seriously?

Well I typed all that before you said it was your rear footwell so maybe it's not going to help you. For front dampness (snigger) it's worth a try though.

[steve singh]

Check obvious things like door membrane, drainage holes, rubber seals - my money would be on the membrane.

[LuS1fer]

To complicate matters, if it is the rear footwell, it could be the hatch and the water running down. First thing to do is to fins any door and sill and wing drain holes and ensure they are clear.

[zollburgers]

Does it have a sun roof? Some cars have drain holes that can become blocked and the water finds its way into the car.

Otherwise the door seals may be to blame. Happened on an old car of mine and I ended up cutting a little slit on the outside of it to let it drain before it over-topped the seal into the car, which worked.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

ad551 said:

Have you ever had the windscreen replaced?

This ^. I had a car that had the windscreen replaced before I bought it. After finding the footwells (front and rear) on the drivers side getting steadily wetter I decided to investigate only to find that the replacement window hadn't been put in properly. This was allowing water down through the bulkhead into the interior of the car. Bloodly nightmare to get sorted.

[wolf1]

Scuttle panel (the bit under the windscreen where all dead leaves go to die) drains will be blocked with crap.

[TallPaul]

zollburgers said:

Does it have a sun roof? Some cars have drain holes that can become blocked and the water finds its way into the car.

Otherwise the door seals may be to blame..

Or possibly the rear screen washer, the pipe can get kinked/split where it goes into the tailgate, so it pumps water into the car as well as onto the rear screen.

[MissMarple]

Hopefully all is sorted now
Had a look at the bulkhead and found 2 small holes, put some sealent on them, hoovered up as much water possible from the footwells and it now seems to be fixed! Thanks for all the replys, much appriciated!