Who to send my car to for a water leak in the cab?

[_James_]

Noticed the smell of stale water returning to the 1series today, lifted the carpets a tad and the foam was wet again! I pulled the interior apart and couldn’t identify where the water was coming from earlier this year, so just dried it out but don’t have the time to do this again, who would you recommend to sort this out?

 

[Ben P]

Feck sake. What a pain in the hoop mate.

Has the windscreen ever been replaced?

 

[_James_]

Feck sake. What a pain in the hoop mate.

Has the windscreen ever been replaced?

Don’t think so. When I had the carpet lifted and had the power washer in and around everywhere including the screen and couldn’t see a single drop enter the cab,

 

[Ben P]

Usual Google which I'm sure you exhausted last time, just states usuals.

Door membrane behind door card.
Door seals.
Grommets in engine bay.
Windscreen seal.
Rear pdc.
Rear vents.

Took me ages finding one in an older smart car.
After brand new door seals it turned out to be the non removable rear quarter windows ffs.
Removed and resealed and all good.

Good luck!

 

[ChrisR]

Prob not be of any help given it’s a BMW but my Škoda Karoq had a leak into the passenger footwell and it was caused by the foam membrane having lifted slightly in one corner allowing the water in.

Depending on the angle I parked it also meant I could have no leak if the water was running away from where the foam had lifted.

 

[vw1500]

Does it have a sunroof?
Have you checked the plastic membrane behind door card?

 

[_James_]

I can safely say I’ve checked all known failure points to the best of my ability. At this point I just need someone more methodical than myself.

 

[Nicky]

Don’t use the pressure washer. Just hold the garden hose over any joints/seals/possible areas of ingress.

My X5 got a new screen 9 months ago and the seal isn’t sitting right just above the rear view mirror, letting water in. Pressure washing it doesn’t seem to let water in, but rain or just the hose seems to flag it up and allowed me to identify the exact area, so I’ll be pulling the trim from around the glass and sealing it with windscreen bonder when I get a chance. Should have taken it to the guy that fitted the screen, but it was a month or 2 after I got it back before I realised. My old Passat was the same with a rear door seal; the power washer was too aggressive or something and didn’t give the water a chance to get past the seal, but when the rain was aiming towards to back of the car, the rear footwell filled up ridiculously quickly…

 

[DaddyCC]

Since you've sprayed all main areas on the external, what about the channels where the wiper mechanism etc sit? Had a grommet fail in there before and water coming down the inside of the bulkhead at my feet.

 

[_Mackers_]

If you need any help with it mate I'm only up the road and can lend you a hand

 

[Apis]

If you haven't already, check the heater matrix. Low coolant could be a clue as well.

 

[Steve750]

I can safely say I’ve checked all known failure points to the best of my ability. At this point I just need someone more methodical than myself.

No one is going to want to take that on.
My f31 was leaking through the door cards. The plastic grommets holding the door card on was letting in water.

Does it have a sunroof?

 

[_James_]

No sunroof it, interesting about the clips @Steve750

I know it would be a job that would cost horrendous man hours to do but I just don’t have the luxury of time to strip it, dry it and retest it.

 

[Ben]

Noticed the smell of stale water returning to the 1series today, lifted the carpets a tad and the foam was wet again! I pulled the interior apart and couldn’t identify where the water was coming from earlier this year, so just dried it out but don’t have the time to do this again, who would you recommend to sort this out?

Colm Hyland at Banbridge Motorworks. Exact thing happened my M3 and he sorted it out.

 

[_James_]

Just off the phone to Colm, he’s not taking on new customers at the mo.