Wet Floor???

[nicklght]

Right everyone i need help urgently, i washed my car earlier and then hoovered it. When i was hoovering my car i noticed a smallish wet patch on the floor behind the drivers seat when i removed my mat ,hoovered it but thought nothing of it and carried on moved my car went inside and then returned to the car about 3 hours later went to put the mats back in the car and saw it was still wet so looked under the car and saw a wet patch under the car!!!!

Looked under the car and directly where the carpet is wet there seems to be some sort of seal, does anyone have any idea why its leaking and why its making my carpert wet or if it needs replacing????

Thanks

Nick

 

[AndyMac]

Doubt the wet patch is related to anything directly near it. Probably more to do with a blocked drain hole (which plagues A4 B5 models). The water will run in through the bulkhead underneath the carpet and settle at the lowest point i.e. behind the drivers seat. Check under the scuttle under the wipers and remove any debris/leaves etc. Look for areas that are still wet and clear any debris nearby.

 

[planetflash]

This sounds like the same problem my A4 has. I've just discovered a large wet patch, and when I go round steep corners after it's been raining I see water come out of the bonnet - ok, I should have thought something was amiss.

Any idea where I need to actually look and unblock? I can't find any referance to 'scuttle' in either ElsaWin or Haynes manual.

Is it fairly straightforward?

 

[Bignick]

Try checking all your door and window rubbers, if they are tired give em a rub with some vaselene it brings the rubber back to life. But hey it is probably under the wipers as suggested before.

 

[AndyMac]

On the A4 (B5) the main culprit is the drain hole directly under the battery. It has a ridiculous rubber grommet that seems specifically designed to catch even the smallest debris and block itself up. I went through this a couple of years ago, spent the day drying out the passenger side carpet removing over 5 litres of rain water that had been soaked up by the sponge backing. Then dried it out with the carpet propped up away from the floor with a blow heater for a couple of hours. Unblocked both drain holes, only to find 6 months later the stupid grommet was blocked again with just silt, and the carpet soaked. Repeated the hole thing again and simply removed the grommet as it seems to perform no useful purpose.
Stupid grommet:

Drain hole locations with battery removed:

This is the drain hole with the grommet removed:

 

[cabby86]

I have not had any problems with my S3 and leaks, but I did own a 3dr MK4 Golf and leaks were a common problem in the MK4 (I know the A3/S3 and MK4 are similar), resulting in a wet patch behind the drivers seat, a common cause of this could possibly be one of the following:

Either:

1. A blocked drainage channel on the sunroof (if your car has one fitted).

2. A seal on the window regulator mechanism has gone and is letting water past into the car. The inside of the door on a MK4 is a 'wet area' hence the drain holes in the door bottom. If the seal goes water runs down between the door and door card inside surface, not sure if this is the same on an S3.

2. The door seal itself may have gone or the door is out of alignment.

3. The cabin air vents behind the rear bumper could have perished and water is getting in there and running forward into the foot well, this is common on MK4's and is a relatively cheap and easy fix, I know the S3 has similar vents as I checked mine when I took the rear bumper off last week.

Hope the above might be of some help.

Cheers

Chris

 

[Dean_Audi_S3]

i've got the same prob with my car but its only happened once even when it rains or wash the car since its ok.. but it happens just on the pass side foot well!! Any thoughts cheers

 

[RyanJonS4]

my old a3 did this, as did my brothers Mk4.

The source of the problem on both has been the seal under the pollen filter housing.
It is prone to perishing on both models and the easiest fix is to take the filter housing
off and use silicone around the old spongy seal.

To dry the cars out fully, the carpet and foam underlay needed to be taken out.