Water Leak in the Cabin

[bampy]

Had my S3 for about 2 months. Last week we had some heavy rain with high winds. The car was parked overnight on the drive. My drive drops from the road down to the house and the car was parked nose down.

When I went to use it in the morning there was a pool of water in the passenger footwell. I have checked the door seal and that seems fine. The window was closed and I could not find any areas of damp anywhere other than on the floor. The water does not contain any coolant, so I think that would illiminate the heating and aircon system. As it was parked nose down, it illiminates a leak from the engine compartment.

If I park the nose up there are no problems. Before I start removing the trim and carpets, has anyone come across this problem or can give me any advice. If I need to remove the carpets where do I start?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[S3tony]

i could be way off here but my mate has just had a similar problem with his focus st170. somethin to do with his pollen filter not bein sealed propaly after he had it serviced! dont know if its the same on the audi.

cheers tony

 

[S3tony]

cheers khufu. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

bampy, you might want to check this. ford told my mate in his 02 st170 that the pollen filter is not covered by the warranty after a year as it is disturbed during the service, so he could get it done under the warranty! but got it fixed about £90 i think they stung him for it, but as he had only just got the car from carcraft! he made them pay for it.

cheers tony
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[dickys3]

I'm sure I have read about this before on a S3. check it out.

 

[LYRAC]

I know aomeone who had the same problem and there is a modification from Audi out and they replace a gromet in the bulkhead. Also this can be caused if you have had a windscreen replaced and it was not sealed correctly.

 

[SimonP]

One other thing to check, check that the drain holes in the chamber where the wipers live are not clogged up with leaves etc. If this fills up then it will get in through the cabin intake (through the pollen filter).

 

[Luuc]

I have exactly the same problem at the moment! I thought it had gone away but thanks to the rain it seems to have returned. I've done a bit of research and the following link may be of help:
http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/heatac/exaporatordrains.html

I think it was posted by Sven S8 and explains how some of the drainage pipes fill up and overflow. I am going to have a go at cleaning them tomorrow.

I don't suppose you have a problem with your blowers too? I can't seem to get any hot air out of my main blowers (hot air will come out of the one under my windscreen). I still don't know whether the problems are related but it would be very interesting if someone experienced something similar!

Let me know how you get on /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[bampy]

Don't have a problem with the blower. I am going to tape paper across the entire footwell tonite off the and hope it rains. I am hoping that it will give me an indication of the path of the leak.

I did have a new windscreen fitted when I bought the car, but it has rained lots since I had the car with no leaks.

 

[bampy]

Removed the pollen filter and there is water in the tube underneath. Been to the dealer to order a new gasket. Looks kie it is causing the leak.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Luuc]

Well I think I've found my problem. There is a big gap between the bottom of the windscreen and the plastic cover that I assume is meant to sit flush with the windscreen. The gap is only on the passenger side which explains my problem. I'll try and attach an image to show it.

Does anyone know if there is any special seal that is needed or is it attached from below?

Goodness knows where else the water is going. I guess it could be screwing up my air con but it scares me to think of what other damage it could be doing! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Guess I'll be visiting Audi very soon and try to blag an out of warranty fix somehow.

 

[bampy]

That won't be causing your leak, that plastic panel is there for decoration only. If there is a big gap on the passenger side you are either missing some fixing clips or you just need to give it a heafty thump to fix it back in place.

Re: My leak when I removed the pollen filter housing I notice that there was a rubber gromit missing from a hole in the top right of the bulkhead. I have replaced this and cleaned and re-sealed the housing while waiting for the new seal from the dealer.

If only it would rain so I can check if it has worked.