Car boot full of water...

[zelig]

A bit of an odd one this - but there are car people on here, so hoping for some advice.

The wife complained that her rear seats were damp & on further investigation it turns out the spare wheel well had about 6" water in it.
I had to bail it out then dry with rags... is there supposed to be a drain hole in here ?

I suspect that it was sloshing up on the rear seats during driving - hence the dampness on the rear seats.

However, there are no obvious signs of water ingress.
I checked the boot/hatch seals & no signs it's coming in there.
I removed the rear light clusters, checked in the wheel arches - no signs of water getting in there.
There are no obvious streaks on the interior trim to suggest a route in either.

I just took it for a full valet to clean up the seats & the high pressure washers haven't forced water through the door/boot seals.

She assures me that she didn't spill anything in there - & given the volume I think she'd have noticed.

So where's it coming from ?

The car in question is a 2007 Skoda Fabia - if that helps narrow it down.

TIA

z

[Franky Four Fingers]

Good luck….water ingress is one the hardest things to diagnose on a car as where the water is pooling may not be the point of leak. First thing id check is the tail door seal and make sure you have good closure against the frame and seal. You can do this by closing the tail door with a piece of paper in there to see if it traps it. Look to make sure its aligned correctly and visually check the seal itself. Other than that it could be literally coming in anywhere

Edit…no theres generally no drain holes in the boot floor…however if you cant find the leak it may be worthwhile temporarily making one!

[walkerwek1958]

If you can’t find a point if ingress despite exhaustive tests it’s unlikely to happen again. Possibly it was a one- off, the hatchback door may not have been closed properly and that’s allowed water in.

[Iceblue]

Mk1 Fabio s were prone to washer jet being partly attached and when ever it’s used it leaks worth looking into it

[lewie]

This might help
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topi...re-wheel-well/

- - - Updated - - -

Mk1 Fabio s were prone to washer jet being partly attached and when ever it’s used it leaks worth looking into it

6” in a wheel well is a lot of water to loose from the washer

[mrushton]

Had a Honda Jazz with this issue (known problem with the first run). Leaving it rotted the car from the inside over a number of years so best looked at

[pete-r]

A lot of VAG cars of that era has issues with door seals that trapped water. I ran a 2003 Leon track car for a while and cut a 2 inch strip from the door seals and it worked great.

Before drastic measures though, I would put some talc around the door and boot seals which is an easy way of detecting where the water is coming in as you'll see the witness marks.

[zelig]

Thanks chaps - this place never ceases to amaze me !

Reading this https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topi...re-wheel-well/

I think the vent could well be the issue - as the car did have a rear end shunt a while back that could've unsettled them.

Like others on that thread, it was misting up a lot - not surprising with all that water in the cabin !

z