Cayenne water leak into driver's (RHD) footwell

[AlistairF]

Hi, I wonder if someone can help me? My 2004 Cayenne 3.2 has a water leak into the driver's footwell. I have researched this and and am running out of ideas:
- I have checked the sill drain plugs and the main bulkhead drains (the X like teat things) are missing but the holes are clear.
- The A/C drain on the passenger side is dry and clear of blockages.
- and it doesn't have a sunroof!
The only other clue is that there is damp behind the soft covering on the bulkhead under the carpet and behind the pedals :



Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks…
Alistair

[Maxheadroom]

open the bonnet and clear out the 2 slats/vents near the windscreen. Leaves build up inside and can cause issues.
This happened to me on passenger side and ended up costing me a pretty penny. de-humidify it for a few days and see if it reoccurs.

[AlistairF]

Thanks for the reply. I have removed the two plastic vented covers in each corner next to the windscreen and there is no debris beneath and they are relatively dry. I may remove the wipers and whole cover for a better look tomorrow and see if there are any other things to see?

[Maxheadroom]

the only other thing it can be that i know of is the drainage system from the roof rails, get those check out as well. other that i can't help you. good luck

[AlistairF]

Well, I still have a leak in the driver's footwell.

There is no sunroof so no drains from there and no evidence of leaking on the headlining or pillars.
The A/C drain is clear.

The drain plugs behind the arch liners and ion the sills are all clear.

So the only other thought I have is a bulkhead or windscreen leak. Does anyone have pointers on hw to investigate and resolve these or any other suggestions?

Thanks

Alistair

[AlistairF]

Well, I still have a leak in the driver's footwell.

There is no sunroof so no drains from there and no evidence of leaking on the headlining or pillars.
The A/C drain is clear.

The drain plugs behind the arch liners and ion the sills are all clear.

So the only other thought I have is a bulkhead or windscreen leak. Does anyone have pointers on hw to investigate and resolve these or any other suggestions?

Thanks

Alistair

[Cayenneand996]

Dry the car out and then have someone play a low pressure hose at various points on the outside of the car (start low down and move up the car), get yourself inside the car with a good light source and see where its coming in

[Dollyman1850]

Remove your A pillar trim.
Lever out the airbag motif and a screw is behind, remove the screw and the panel can be carefully levered off from top to bottom and then pulled backward as you do so.. You have a screen wash tube which goes to the rear wash wipe and a non return valve at base of screen behind pillar. This always fails and if not repaired will cause all sorts of electrical issues in the body control module which gets wet.

The other possible source is blocked bulkhead drain tubes which is similarly common, These can be found by removing both front wheels and part removing the wheel arch liner..They are rubber tubes which go like a welly boot top and prevent debris from escaping causing the bulkhead to fill and associated footwell leaks.

Porsche repaired my washer pipe but not properly and it popped off again so I ended up using screen wash tube which I araldited back onto the non return valve and then wrapping in self amalgamating tape so it couldn't pop off again..

The screen wash leak is easy to check.. Open your door and pull your washer jet on.. You will see the water dripping in the vicinity of the engine pull handle..

Does you rear screen washer work?? another test but not 100% since the pipe may be just split and still allowing water to get through!!

N.

[AlistairF]

Thank you for all your advice.

So far the screen wash system looks fine so and it seems to get wet when raining and standing still so its the pressure test working up from the bottom. It's finding time to do it when it's dry is a bit problematic!

I shall post a note on how I get on.

Thanks!

[btcc123]

Have you checked the window seals and door seals.This is based on when Wheeler Dealers bought an Aston Martin to do up it had a wet drivers floor,they checked all the obvious things it could be and so they did a smoke test in the car and it was escaping through the seal at the top of the door.They put a small piece of rubber pipe behind the door seal in the effected area and then did another leak test and no smoke escaped.Just a thought.

I hope you get it sorted soon.

[Pope]

It is likely your bulkhead panel seal is leaking - Porsche have covered it in a WM / TI bulletin. The panel allows the body to be made RHD/LHD without major pressing differences and is bonded to the body.

Resealing the panel involves removing the heatshield panelling and any components fitted around the area, loosening the panel, cleaning and resealing the join.

I'll try to find the resealing bulletin......

[Pope]

The Workshop Manual entry for the repair is WM501451 Sealing front panel; your OPC should be able to show you what's involved if you give them the WM number

[AlistairF]

Thank you for the latest suggestions. I shall pursue these asap… I am getting to know the Cayenne quite well with this investigation!

Your help is really appreciated.

Thanks

Alistair

[AlistairF]

Just an update. I concluded this was in fact a bulkhead leak and not having there Porsche service bulletin I tried a quick fix that has worked. I managed to insert an A4 sized sheet of plastic sheet underneath the plastic grille that provides access to the brake master cylinder reservoir.

This essentially covers the area under the grill and diverts water towards the wing. The car has been dry ever since!

[Cybercookee]

I realize that this is an 8-year-old post but I'm hoping you can help me out. I'm having the exact same issue on my 06 Cayenne, left hand drive. I have confirmed with my eyes that the seam is bulkhead panel is leaking water. Do you have a picture of the fix that you came up with? I understand what you did just don't understand how that solved the issue. Thank you for your help.

[sgrimshaw]

This video helped my leak to be diagnosed and fixed.

Problem was the first one in my case

https://youtu.be/0WSgpniOgYA?si=rvIdri-G5y9T2GJe

[AlistairF]

Hi, sold my Cayenne about 5 years ago so it’s difficult to remember exactly and I don’t have any photos. As I recall the problem was water running down the bulkhead from the grilles in front of the windscreen. I used an A4 sized sheet of plastic from a stationery binding kit to sit under the grille and shaped it to divert the water away from the bulkhead. I think it went forward to the inner wheel arch.

The sheet was a flat sheet and I shaped it like an S profile and I think it stayed in place without any cable ties, but I can’t be certain.

Sorry I can’t offer further help.