Any ideas what the problem might be?

Julie · Any ideas what the problem might be?

Every time it rains water collects between the door and sill of my car and builds up to the point that it runs over and into my car footwells. All four doors are affected, more so if the rain is driving from one side or the other. I have to open and shut the doors every now and then on a wet day to prevent it from building up to the point where it can spill over into the footwells even more. The seals and rubbers appear to be in good condition and we can't find any blocked drainage holes in the doors. The angled seal at the bottom of the door which prevents water from being driven upwards into the car is also preventing it from draining away. I am 100% certain that the water isn't entering the footwells via any other route as I have seen it come in over the door sill when I go around corners and there are tide lines and trickle lines which are a dead giveaway.
We haven't had the interior door panels off to see if there is anything finding its way in through the exterior lower window glass seal yet. Before we do, has any clever bod got an idea where else to inspect first?
It would probably be helpful to mention it's a Seat Leon 1.4 S (52 plate) in case anyone is familiar with that model or has had a similar problem.
The damp smell from the carpets is driving me bonkers but it would be a stupid reason to change the car when it must be curable.

Lord_Azrael

That's not good, especially on such a new car. I would imagine it is most likely a fault with the door seals, If it had been an older vehicle, I'd put it down to seal wear but, as it's newer, maybe they weren't fitted correctly when the car was built.
I suppose your warranty is well out by now, otherwise I'd say take it to the dealer and complain.

I've just found this on a Seat site:

Waterleaks have been a "Leon Issue".........

I beleive there was a design change to the door seals. Your car is pretty recent though.....check the chassis number via the "windscreen aperture" ....if it is blah...blah...blah...MZ1R....followed by 5 numbers, it is a 2001 spec model.

If it is blah... blah...blah...MZ2R....followed by 5 numbers then it is a 2002 spec model.

In saying that, I have no idea when the seals were revised.

Looks like it's a common issue, maybe you need the revised seals.
The forum details are here:
http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/i...=142cb8ee5b60b84ef1a085b4c3eafd9b

Julie

Thankyou, that sounds promising. I have noticed that there is a design change in the shape of the newer models so maybe mine falls into the former, problem category. I will have to get Gordon to look for these numbers and investigate but I'll get him to look at the Seat link first.
This car was an ex demo model that had been supplied to Alan Milne in Elgin, by Seat. As they had already purchased two demo models already they gave it to the MDs wife - a non smoker who only pottered to the shops in it. I got a 3mth old car with 1500 miles on the odometer for a couple of grand less than the list price. I reckon it would be quite likely that Seat would supply an older spec model to a franchise to save money, don't you?
Wot a clever you are

I'll let you know how it pans out.

Smooth Hound

or you could drill your own drainage holes in the bottom of the doors

misteralz

There should already be some there, Mr. Hound.

Smooth Hound

oh, i thought julie said ironworker had looked for some and couldnt find any, agreed though there should be, which is why i suggested making their own

IainC

I wouldn't suggest to start drilling holes in a 7yo car

We've a Leon as well but never had an issue with water coming into the passenger compartment, did have (or rather still have) an issue with it coming in the boot, but that's due to the repair that was made on it after someone did a hit and run on it a while back.

Have yet to find the exact point its coming in to silicon it up.

It could be that even if the rubbers are okay, that they aren't sitting properly in the right place, and that is containing the water rather than directing it away.

Smooth Hound

i was just saying what i would do if water was collecting in my doors, a doors just a door, it can be fixd or replaced in the future, but if the floor etc rots ,then it would be alot worse. thats what i would do anyway

IainC

Just sounds like the water is getting on to the wrong side of the seal to me... could be more of an issue at the tops of the door, rather than with it at the bottom IYKWIM.

Sassinak

As I read it, the water isn't collecting IN the door, but UNDER the door, between door and frame at the bottom and then flowing under the door edge onto the floor.
Can you clarify this for us Julie please because the two problems would have completely different solutions

IainC

[quote="Sassinak"]As I read it, the water isn't collecting IN the door, but UNDER the door, between door and frame at the bottom and then flowing under the door edge onto the floor.
Can you clarify this for us Julie please because the two problems would have completely different solutions

[/quote

Thats the way I read it too, hence me thinking the seal thats there is doing it's job properly, in that it's stopping the water getting past... only problem is the water is already on the wrong side of the seal.

Smooth Hound

no thats what cars are like these days

my fiestas the same, i think they just forget to finish things, or they havent got time, something like that, youve got to adapt around these things

no your probably right, im probably a bit ruthless with vehicles

if in doubt, drill a hole

Julie

I might have confused you SH, what i said was we couldn't find any blocked drainage holes, they will be there if they are supposed to be i'm sure.
Sass and Iain read it right, it is actually sitting on the lower part of the door sill trapped between the car door and the door sill. It builds up until it actually spills over into the car. There is a seal at the bottom of the actual door, that is angled in towards the car and I had wondered if cutting a small notch out of the rubber seal would allow the water to drain away. I don't really want to do that though, I presume it is there to stop road water from being driven upwards into the car door. It would probably be better to find the cause and solve it properly.
LA gave a link to a forum for Seat owners that seems to suggest it is a common problem and there is a new type of seal now. In view of that, I might phone the dealership and ask if they have any experience of the problem. If it is common, they'll know which seals we need and I can buy the right ones from them. I had a squidge of the door seal this morning and the water does seem to be getting under it at the bottom, but I want to know why it is finding its way into the door opening in the first place, it never used to. There is a log V shaped seal that runs along the lower roof edge above both front and back doors and also an inner seal around each door apperture. It might turn out to be a combination of both seals.
The most baffling thing for me is that all four doors are affected, what are the chances of that happening eh?

IainC

Does definitely sound more of a design flaw than them being damaged somehow... unless it was the YTS trainee who fitted the seals on yours (or whatever the modern equivalent is of YTS).

Would be worth pushing to see if you can get the seals FoC, if it is a known issue then it's more of a design flaw that the car should have maybe been back in to get it done under a recall or something?

Smooth Hound

IainC

Smooth Hound

close

Smooth Hound

its just a big bit of metal

Julie

I had one like that......it was named 'Spot'

Smooth Hound

ive had a few

but i dont name cars, wouldnt like to become attached

a bit like chickens,

Maria

Called my first bought car 'Fredrick Polo'. Doctor in a BMW wrote it off at a roundabout. I shed real tears for my lil' VW. Never named a car since...apart from 'The Beast' or 'Hunk of Junk'. Refuse to become attached to a brrum brrum again.

Hope you find a solution soon Julie - I know it's driving you to distraction - not to mention the extra work of drying the beast out!

Julie

I found a temporary solution. I have rolled up two old bath sheets lengthwise and placed them to intercept any overflow until I get it sorted out. At least I can dry them out and keep the carpets dry - in theory.