Water leak - anywhere I should be looking

[StescoG66]

Just seeking a few pointers as this is driving me potty.

Sons car, 2017 Corsa, so Corsa E in Vauxhall parlance. Water pooling in drivers footwell at base of a pillar. The sill was full of water the amount that came out was just crazy.

Checked scuttle panel, it’s clear, no drain blockages
Checked the inner plastic cover on the door and there was some damage about half way up. Sorted anyway but doubt it’s that.

I have already stripped and dried the inside twice, just to find more water tonight at the base of the a pillar.

Have stuck a big microfibre cloth under the carpet in that corner and sealed the windscreen edge with duck tape.beyond that I am stumped. Anybody have any advice or pointers as to how to trace this?

[Mad Maximus]

Not familiar with corsas internal but could it be coming through the blower system?

[Robertb]

Have you tried sitting in the car while someone runs water over it… you might see where it’s coming in?

Edited by Robertb on Wednesday 31st January 19:56

[georgeyboy12345]

Honestly sorting out leaks into the interior is such a pain, I'd just look to trade the car in and buy a new car that hopefully doesn't leak. Garages are usually equally unhelpful in solving these issues.

[anonymous-user]

My daughters old one, water was finding its way past the door seal, the one on the body.
To prove it I prised it off, put vaseline before putting the seal back.
Voila, no more ingress!

Got lucky

[StescoG66]

James6112 said:

My daughters old one, water was finding its way past the door seal, the one on the body.
To prove it I prised it off, put vaseline before putting the seal back.
Voila, no more ingress!

Got lucky

Please tell me more? Did you put the Vaseline on the U shaped part of the seal that attaches to the flange on the body? I do periodically spray the door rubbers with silicone

Robertb said:

Have you tried sitting in the carn while someone runs water over it… you might see where it’s coming in?

Yes I thought I spotted a trickle coming in the bottom of the door, but fixed what I could see then checked again - seemed ok. Also tried pouring water over certain points with food colouring in it, to no avail....

Edited by StescoG66 on Wednesday 31st January 20:45

[stogbandard]

Base on my experiences:


Back rear light clusters on Audi 80 - silicone sealant wouldn’t stick, but found that automotive sealing cord does. Also a slight leak via the bonnet release cable grommet.

Pollen filter housing - my VW Passat had a foam seal at the base of the housing that let water in. Fixed by using sealing cord. I also had water getting past a metal cover behind the door card.

Audi A6 - the most weird, with water draining from one the plenum drain onto the wrong side of the heat shield, straight into the passenger chassis rail, filling it with water and forcing water through the non-watertight bungs in the floor.

[StescoG66]

stogbandard said:

Base on my experiences:

Back rear light clusters on Audi 80 - silicone sealant wouldn’t stick, but found that automotive sealing cord does. Also a slight leak via the bonnet release cable grommet.

Pollen filter housing - my VW Passat had a foam seal at the base of the housing that let water in. Fixed by using sealing cord. I also had water getting past a metal cover behind the door card.

Audi A6 - the most weird, with water draining from one the plenum drain onto the wrong side of the heat shield, straight into the passenger chassis rail, filling it with water and forcing water through the non-watertight bungs in the floor.

Thank you, appreciate it. All those parts are on the opposite side of the car on this occasion though. That side is bone dry.

Going to check this I think https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yWugZ2wl9CM

[Fady]

Copious amount of hits on Google....

[hersh]

Has it got a sun roof?
Lots of them have water leak problems due to this

[Glassman]

Robertb said:

Have you tried sitting in the car while someone runs water over it… you might see where it’s coming in?

This.

[StescoG66]

Fady said:

Copious amount of hits on Google....

Yup done loads of that. Most seem to apply to older versions though.

[StescoG66]

I think have just narrowed it down. Got a basin of water heavily coloured with gravy browning - it looked like I had just fished it out the bogs at a music festival.
Poured in to the scuttle area of the car and 30 seconds later brown boggy water comes trickling in. Drains are clear so I suspect there is a seam cracked in either the scuttle, bulkhead or inner wing

[Simon_GH]

It turned out to be a poorly fitted windscreen on my old mk1 Focus but I sounds as though you’ve eliminated that as the fault.

Pollen filter housings - either incorrectly fitted or cracked - are often cited as a problem for water ingress.

[CatherineR123]

I know it’s been a while, but what was the solution ? I have water drivers footwell 2018 corsa, please help

[Simon_GH]

Worth checking the scuttle under the bonnet in front of the windscreen. It should have drain holes but if these are blocked with leaves then water can find its way into the cabin of some cars.

Pollen filters can leak if housing not fitted correctly especially after a filter change.

Poorly fitted windscreens and poor door seals can also cause leaks.

[StescoG66]

CatherineR123 said:

I know it’s been a while, but what was the solution ? I have water drivers footwell 2018 corsa, please help

I should have updated, so apologies. Very remiss of me.

We did get to the root of it eventually. If you look in the scuttle area, you will see the two drain holes on the seam where the scuttle joins to the inner wing. The water exiting that drain goes out via the box section of the inner wing rail (which has a gap) draining out through the wheel arch. In our case, it was failed sealant in this box section that was the culprit. It was a wing off job to fix and even then the ingress point wasn’t very accessible. Solved by making a drain tube to divert the water away, further down the

Have you established where the water is coming in to the cabin? In our case it was at the bottom of the A pillar where it meets the floor - behind the kick plate to the right of the accelerator. One thing to try - park your car on a slight downslope then look under the sill - You will see a row of rubber grommets. Pull the one out that is at the bottom of the slope see what - if anything - comes out.

Hope this helps.

PS check the YT link I posted further up too, kind of shows the location.

[CatherineR123]

Thanks for replying,I had the scuttle drains cleared out just in case, doors tightened and car dried out. Two local garages not keen to take on job. ( to be fair they said ‘don’t want to take my money and there’s still a problem). But now I’ve got a beautiful car with 24000 miles on the clock filling up with water. I’m going to go back to garage with what you have found, and see how we get on, no gonna lie, I’m quite upset

[Simon_GH]

If your parking space isn’t level, it might be worth parking the opposite way around for a while to see whether that helps - the water might drain away rather than into the car.

It won’t fix the problem but might help with diagnosis. A friend did this and found the water in the front footwell was actually coming from the rear door.

Of their are any Cora’s forums then it’s worth posting there. I’m sure your issue isn’t isolated and will be fixable.

[StescoG66]

CatherineR123 said:

Thanks for replying,I had the scuttle drains cleared out just in case, doors tightened and car dried out. Two local garages not keen to take on job. ( to be fair they said ‘don’t want to take my money and there’s still a problem). But now I’ve got a beautiful car with 24000 miles on the clock filling up with water. I’m going to go back to garage with what you have found, and see how we get on, no gonna lie, I’m quite upset

m

Did you try removing the rubber grommets under the sill?