Water ingress under both seats

[inkey$]

After it rained and I noticed a leak in the A pillar roof join, I siliconed up the joint point and cleared the A pillar drains. All good and no leaking. However, after the recent deluge of rain I’ve noticed very damp carpets under both driver and passenger seats.

The firewall behind the seats seems okay and there doesnt appear to be any in the back carpet area under the rear screen. I’ve also had a roof cover on the car.

Obviously there is a lot of condensation in the car and that seems to be dripping down onto the seats too, so ultimately I need to dry the entIre car out at some point with seats out. For the time being though, I’ve put newspaper down under each seat in the hope to soak up some of the moisture, but also understand thats not going to remove much if there‘s water in the foam under each seat.

The carpet by the pedals under the dash feels okay - possibly a little damp but I cant tell if thats general moisture or heater matrix ingress yet (I’m yet to check and clear the scuttle).

At the moment the leather seats seem to mold up quickly due to the moisture in the car so I’m also fighting that, and this weekend I’m off to Suffok for the weekend and plan to use the break in weather to have the roof down and heaters on.

I think the full cover will need to be used going forward and I plan to leave the windows down halfway to help airflow so it doesnt get worse.

Any other areas I should be checking for ingress?

 

[Ianmc]

If you have aircon, use it frequently . Mine gets used more in winter than summer!

 

[inkey$]

Alas I dont have aircon!

Just been out to check around again while its sunny here and airing. Carpet directly under the passenger seat is worse than the drivers side. I also cant locate where the drain holes are for the roof as I was going to check those. This is all I see each side…

 

[RickyBobby]

Condensation is always a problem when using a cover so I always looked on their usage as only temporary until the source of any ingress could be resolved.

If you do have to use one it's best to leave the windows slightly open as you suggest and also introduce a couple of effective dehumidifiers - these not only remove moisture but also stop any mold build up and generally improve the smell of the interior. I've always used these - less than £15 off Amazon and found them very effective.

In terms of the leak - if you've resolved the A-Pillar issue I'd be looking at the waterproof membrane inside the doors along with the rubber seal around the doors particularly along the bottom above the sill kick plate.

Good luck sorting as I appreciate it's a nightmare chasing a leak to it's resolution particularly at this time of year.

 

[inkey$]

Condensation is always a problem when using a cover so I always looked on their usage as only temporary until the source of any ingress could be resolved.

If you do have to use one it's best to leave the windows slightly open as you suggest and also introduce a couple of effective dehumidifiers - these not only remove moisture but also stop any mold build up and generally improve the smell of the interior. I've always used these - less than £15 off Amazon and found them very effective.

In terms of the leak - if you've resolved the A-Pillar issue I'd be looking at the waterproof membrane inside the doors along with the rubber seal around the doors particularly along the bottom above the sill kick plate.

Good luck sorting as I appreciate it's a nightmare chasing a leak to it's resolution particularly at this time of year.

Thank you! Yes, its not ideal weather for leak location but I’ll take your advice. I just ordered a half car cover from Custom Car Covers which I know aren’t breathable but if I leave the windows open a bit, should help cover the suspect areas more than my current roof cover (Which fold/hooks into the roof leading edge and back).

I’ll also grab a couple of dehumidifiers too. The newspaper seems to be soaking it up pretty quickly and I cant remember it being too wet under the seats before we had the recent rain, so am hoping I’ve cuaght the issue in time.

 

[Peter1450]

Again another problem that has hopefully been addressed on my wife’s car, as above the door membranes were the main source of incress on the passenger side, also unfortunately the side BMW decided to put some fragile electrical components
The water had been there for some time as rust had taken hold around the rubber bungs on the floor but was only noticed when the warning lights for the accelerator and yaw sensor came on. I found the non setting guttering sealer easier to get a seal than the butyl tape ,when spraying the windows the excess water now drains out of the correct holes in the door!

 

[John_B]

Roof drains are located under the main roof hinge, I saw mine for the first time the other week and that is only because I was replacing the roof, I'm not sure how you'd access them (or if it's even possible) with the roof in place? Probably with the roof up and from the inside if it's possible. I can't say I have really looked tbh

Under the scuttle panel/around the heater matrix is a likely source, and it's not a hard or long job to remove the scuttle and check. Even easier if you have a wiper arm removal tool.

It took me months to discover my biggest leak was the drivers window closed too high and had pierced through the rubber moulding at the top of the quarterlight and left an open gap when the door was closed. There is a bolt that limits the window regulator inside the door which can be adjusted if your windows close to low or too high - that's a door card-off job if you need to adjust it though, in which case you can address the vapour barriers too. I managed to get new ones from Soper BMW in Lincoln, but there weren't cheap.

There are also 2x 10mm bolts in the bottom of the door which can be loosened to adjust the top of the side windows in or out (imagine it pivots around the top of the door panel, so pulling the bolts towards the outer edge of the door tilts the top of window inwards - pressing harder into the roof seals - if that makes sense, and vice versa)

 

[inkey$]

Roof drains are located under the main roof hinge, I saw mine for the first time the other week and that is only because I was replacing the roof, I'm not sure how you'd access them (or if it's even possible) with the roof in place? Probably with the roof up and from the inside if it's possible. I can't say I have really looked tbh

Under the scuttle panel/around the heater matrix is a likely source, and it's not a hard or long job to remove the scuttle and check. Even easier if you have a wiper arm removal tool.

It took me months to discover my biggest leak was the drivers window closed too high and had pierced through the rubber moulding at the top of the quarterlight and left an open gap when the door was closed. There is a bolt that limits the window regulator inside the door which can be adjusted if your windows close to low or too high - that's a door card-off job if you need to adjust it though, in which case you can address the vapour barriers too. I managed to get new ones from Soper BMW in Lincoln, but there weren't cheap.

There are also 2x 10mm bolts in the bottom of the door which can be loosened to adjust the top of the side windows in or out (imagine it pivots around the top of the door panel, so pulling the bolts towards the outer edge of the door tilts the top of window inwards - pressing harder into the roof seals - if that makes sense, and vice versa)

Very useful info. Thank you.

 

[Stevo7682]

Scuttle panel can leak gallons through the heater box into the carpets below
This is due to the butyl seal on the plastic wiper trim going hard and allowing water from windscreen to pass under it straight into heater box

Stephen

 

[inkey$]

Scuttle panel can leak gallons through the heater box into the carpets below
This is due to the butyl seal on the plastic wiper trim going hard and allowing water from windscreen to pass under it straight into heater box

Stephen

The underside of the pedal box and passenger footwells both feel pretty dry. Its right beneath and around the seat tracks - back and middle part of the carpet under the seats - where its getting super wet. This morning there were multiple drips on the seat bolsers too even though I had a roof cover on.

Think I need a dry day, hood up and get one of my kids to spray down the car whilst I'm sat in it.

 

[John_B]

Drips on the seat bolster indicates it's the top of the A-pillar. There is a nice fix involving cutting up a bicycle inner tube and using a cycle puncture repair glue to stick it to the top of the A-pillars.

With respect to which part of the floor is wet, that could depend a lot on whether your car is parked on level ground or not. The NVH insulation beneath the carpet is very thick and holds a ton of water, so a lot of water will have saturated the insulation before the carpet feels wet.

The carpet in my footwells was saturated, even though around the seat rails was dry, so i was convinced it was the scuttle panel/heater matrix. It was only when I got the carpets out and saw water pooling at the bottom of the footwell I realised it was because I park on a slight down-hill. Actually my water was all mainly coming in through the driver's door!!

 

[inkey$]

Thanks John. A-pillars I sorted (see photo), but I will triple check as the cover I was using for the roof actually creates a layer between the top of the A-pillar and the roof itself - it only covers the roof, not the windscreen and is fixed with internal velcro, closed roof tension and tucks into the rear of the roof and boot. Car is parked on level ground.

 

[t-tony]

For getting rid of damp in a car a coat effective method is to put long grain rice into an old ladies stocking up to the ankle and tie it off. It soaks up a lot of moisture and is recyclable too. Dry it in the oven or microwave and place back in the car.

Tony.

 

[Brian4]

To test if the door card membrane is the culprit try running a hose slowly over the door glass with the door open and you should see where the water runs out. If it come from between the door and door card the membrane seal has failed. Butyl sealant is the best for resealing.

 

[Brian4]

Also the foam under the carpet is great soundproof but holds a huge amount of water and drying out will need seats out and leaving drying for a goo period of time. Wee were fortunate with ours as we found the leak in the summer and were able to leave the car fully open in the sun.

 

[inkey$]

After leaving the windows down for 24 hours (with full car cover on), and newspaper under the seats, I think I’ve got most of it out. Windows now back up and one of these Unibond Moisture trap bad boys in the footwell working its magic.

View attachment 318461

 

[Z3Baddie]

Roof drains are located under the main roof hinge, I saw mine for the first time the other week and that is only because I was replacing the roof, I'm not sure how you'd access them (or if it's even possible) with the roof in place? Probably with the roof up and from the inside if it's possible. I can't say I have really looked tbh

Under the scuttle panel/around the heater matrix is a likely source, and it's not a hard or long job to remove the scuttle and check. Even easier if you have a wiper arm removal tool.

It took me months to discover my biggest leak was the drivers window closed too high and had pierced through the rubber moulding at the top of the quarterlight and left an open gap when the door was closed. There is a bolt that limits the window regulator inside the door which can be adjusted if your windows close to low or too high - that's a door card-off job if you need to adjust it though, in which case you can address the vapour barriers too. I managed to get new ones from Soper BMW in Lincoln, but there weren't cheap.

There are also 2x 10mm bolts in the bottom of the door which can be loosened to adjust the top of the side windows in or out (imagine it pivots around the top of the door panel, so pulling the bolts towards the outer edge of the door tilts the top of window inwards - pressing harder into the roof seals - if that makes sense, and vice versa)

Could this be a result of this issue? I’m unable to tell if it’s from too high windows or wear on the top. I had similar issues with water on the carpet in my footwells. Also use a half top, also actively fighting mold and mildew.

 

[Stevo7682]

Could this be a result of this issue? I’m unable to tell if it’s from too high windows or wear on the top. I had similar issues with water on the carpet in my footwells. Also use a half top, also actively fighting mold and mildew.
View attachment 318869

Top has shrunk
Stephen.

 

[B86un2003]

Scuttle panel can leak gallons through the heater box into the carpets below
This is due to the butyl seal on the plastic wiper trim going hard and allowing water from windscreen to pass under it straight into heater box

Stephen

I think I've got this exact problem. Can hear water bubbling in the heater box with the heater on, and almost kills the blower when steering left. Turn the blower on and set it to footwell and it dribbles water out. Thanks to you, I now know how to stop more water getting in, but how would you suggest getting the water out thats in there

 

[inkey$]

I think I've got this exact problem. Can hear water bubbling in the heater box with the heater on, and almost kills the blower when steering left. Turn the blower on and set it to footwell and it dribbles water out. Thanks to you, I now know how to stop more water getting in, but how would you suggest getting the water out thats in there

Once you’ve removed the scuttle panel you’ll need to poke something into the drain holes to unblock. Then simply clean up and reassemble.