Wet Floor, driver's side

Brian_Spilsbury

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2003
Location
Eden Mills, ON
TDI
2003 JETTA, 2004 JETTA
My guess is the floor is getting wet because I have water getting into the cabin air box/filter area. I park under a tree and get a lot of vegetation falling into the wiper area.
I expect there is a water drain in the filter area that has been blocked. Does this sound right?
 

KMWilliams

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2010
Location
SE Pa
TDI
06 NB TDI
My guess is the floor is getting wet because I have water getting into the cabin air box/filter area. I park under a tree and get a lot of vegetation falling into the wiper area.
I expect there is a water drain in the filter area that has been blocked. Does this sound right?
Given you have no sun roof, yup.

The PO of my beetle use to park under a pine tree. My passenger side floor was always wet and I kept trying to clean the sunroof drains with no results. It took me hours to get in and vacuum out the plenum. There are drains in there too that need to me cleaned.


Good luck
 

Joe_Meehan

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Location
Ohio USA
TDI
NB TDI, 2002.5, Silver
Look at the area under the grill right in front of the windscreen. Likely you will find leaves etc there blocking the drain. It is also possible (depends on car) that the A/C drain is blocked. That drain usually comes out on the passenger side of the car just about where the passenger would put their feet. It may be under a little flap on the side of the engine compartment.

Good Luck
 

tscott1224

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2011
Location
NY
TDI
MK4 TDI
My TDI has the same problem. water leaks in from somewhere and travels down through the handle to pop the hood. I can see a few drops if I open the fuse panel door also. I checked the drains under the hood and they are flowing fine. I also have no sunroof. I am just waiting for some free time to really investigate. I think mine has something to do with the windshield...
 

migbro

Veteran Member
Joined
May 19, 2010
Location
Lincoln, Mass.
TDI
2003 Golf GL
My TDI has the same problem. water leaks in from somewhere and travels down through the handle to pop the hood. I can see a few drops if I open the fuse panel door also. I checked the drains under the hood and they are flowing fine. I also have no sunroof. I am just waiting for some free time to really investigate. I think mine has something to do with the windshield...
It's the hood release cable grommet.

Water in driver footwell ?????








 

wrangler449

Active member
Joined
Oct 7, 2010
Location
Elizabethton, TN
TDI
99.5 Jetta TDI
I would also have this problem when on a grade when the front end of the car is facing "down the hill". If I park with the front end "up the hill"... no leaks
 

Brian_Spilsbury

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2003
Location
Eden Mills, ON
TDI
2003 JETTA, 2004 JETTA
I spent the last hour with the shopvac cleaning the plenum by the cabin air filter. Pine needles, leaves and a mouse hotel. With the limited viz in there, I have no idea if there is a blocked drain hole or not.
What I do know, is after a rain, the driver side floor is wet. Much more than I would expect to be ldripping in along the hood release cable.
 

halocline

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Location
San Antonio
TDI
04 Jetta Wagon
You might check to see if the comfort control module is under the carpet in the drivers side foot well. You do NOT want that module to get wet, don't ask how I know.
 

migbro

Veteran Member
Joined
May 19, 2010
Location
Lincoln, Mass.
TDI
2003 Golf GL
I spent the last hour with the shopvac cleaning the plenum by the cabin air filter. Pine needles, leaves and a mouse hotel. With the limited viz in there, I have no idea if there is a blocked drain hole or not.
There are no drain holes in the wiper tray except for the large oval-ish irregular holes, one on each side, that open into the space behind the fender liner.

Did you remove the plastic wiper tray valance or were you working through the cabin filter access cover?

What I do know, is after a rain, the driver side floor is wet. Much more than I would expect to be ldripping in along the hood release cable.
The driver's floor mat was soaked in my car after it rained. Problem was fixed after I resealed the hood release cable grommet.

It's not that complicated. There are four penetrations of the wiper tray into the cabin. Starting at the driver side:
1. Hood release cable grommet.
2. Relay box cover.
3. Cabin filter housing.
4. Hood release cable grommet hole (for right hand drive cars) sealed with a solid rubber plug.

Only 1 and 2 are on the driver side. Your water leak is at one of these locations.
 
Last edited:

Skullbag

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Seattle WA
TDI
2012 sportwagen
still wet

Hey, thanks for the thread. Been having the wet drivers side floor as well. My sunroof drain blows through just fine. And the a pillar isn't wet at all.. Have had that before. I feel the wet carpet just in front of the foot rest and below the hood release handle. I did pull the tray at the base of the windshield and cleaned out all the leaves etc. I then globbed up the hood release grommet with black silicone. I've been blasting the heat through the foot vents when I drive around, and mostly drying up, but still felt wet today. No rain last night ''shock for seattle" I guess it's possible that it wasn't fully dry. Could my windshield be leaking? I feel no moisture around that, and the location of wet carpet points to hood release.. maybe just left over dampness? Could the body drains below windshield be backed up some in the fender? I did run some water through those holes and it came out the bottom and didn't seem to add wet to floor.....
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
When you open the drivers door is there water on the sill under it?
It could be coming through the door windows seal and down the inside door panel.
I was told there's a drain on the bottom of the door (if I understood it correctly) but have not found it on mine.
 

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
Hey, thanks for the thread. Been having the wet drivers side floor as well. My sunroof drain blows through just fine. And the a pillar isn't wet at all.. Have had that before. I feel the wet carpet just in front of the foot rest and below the hood release handle. I did pull the tray at the base of the windshield and cleaned out all the leaves etc. I then globbed up the hood release grommet with black silicone. I've been blasting the heat through the foot vents when I drive around, and mostly drying up, but still felt wet today. No rain last night ''shock for seattle" I guess it's possible that it wasn't fully dry. Could my windshield be leaking? I feel no moisture around that, and the location of wet carpet points to hood release.. maybe just left over dampness? Could the body drains below windshield be backed up some in the fender? I did run some water through those holes and it came out the bottom and didn't seem to add wet to floor.....
The carpet and carpet padding can absorb a lot of moisture.

Only way to really verify a fix is to blast a LOT of water here and there and watch for leaking. Sometimes this takes a couple of people (one inside to watch, one outside to run the hose).

Check that your doors are draining. There are flaps on the undersides of the doors. When you open the doors the weight of any water pushes the flaps down and lets out water. If you see a lot of water sitting on the door sill it's possible that it's wicking up and over and into the cabin: this IS a known issue. Usually folks reseal the door carrier panel and that takes care of things. I suspect worn window wipers seals (outer, lower window seals) can allow a lot of water inside the door.
 

Skullbag

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Seattle WA
TDI
2012 sportwagen
Well, I sealed the hood release grommet with silicone and my floor is still wet... I'm also wondering if theres a body drain somewhere thats clogged. Its weird cause it seems to concentrate around a small hole in the carpet that was worn through by my heal prior to getting rubber mats. I'm also starting to wonder if it smells a bit like coolant and is actually a leaking heater core?
where does the door drain come out? i'll search around on here more..
 

Skullbag

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Seattle WA
TDI
2012 sportwagen
Well, pulled up the carpeting and the padding was soaked! Not coolant. I guess it could have just been getting wet for a while prior to sealing the hood release grommet and I never noticed cause of the rubber mats. Other thing i noticed is those plugs in the floor the coating was cracking off. Maybe should seal those with silicone? Possible that rain water is coming through when driving through puddles? I am in seattle so not short of rain water for several more months. May slice the padding and carpet under the shifter console and drive without for a while to see if i can find other leaks... got a fan in there now and heat going.
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
where does the door drain come out? i'll search around on here more..
When you open the front door in the jam there's the sun roof one about 1/2 way down that if you pinch the ends it opens them.
I pinch mine sorta regularly or if they call for heavy rain.
The other one mentioned is on the bottom of the door that opens when you open the door.
I wonder if the bad upper hinge on my driver door is keeping them from opening and I get some water occasionally.
 

Skullbag

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Seattle WA
TDI
2012 sportwagen
Yeah, my sunroof drain was snipped back when that tech bulletin came out. Haven't had much trouble with it since then. I did find the door drains. They were mucky but open. I think that the hood release grommet must have been leaking quite a bit. and here in Seattle it will steadily rain for days on end... must have soaked that insulation padding until it was totally saturated. Have it out now and all is dry. Gonna wait for another rainy day and see if anything is still leaking before i put it back in.
 

Skullbag

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Seattle WA
TDI
2012 sportwagen
Well, still leaking... I pulled the padding and carpet and can see it pooling on the metal sill just under the steering linkage. I'm wondering if its the relay box, or even just the windshield seal?
 

Skullbag

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Seattle WA
TDI
2012 sportwagen
Alright.... pulled everything off again and sealed the relay box cover with the black silicone... hahaha I think i got more on my hands than the cover. What a mess in such a tight space. And I have a sprained right hand, and I'm right handed... even more tedious. hopefully that will take care of it. I'm assuming if thats not it, then the windshield needs to be resealed. I may be able to get a new one through insurance cause I have a big chip where my rear view mirror came off.. not sure if that qualifies as a safety issue..

I do have a question. The sheet of insulation that was in there, behind the wiper motor etc.. Mine was falling apart and the section above the relay box was hanging down and saturated. I'm guessing this is why water was collecting around the box? I took it out, any idea of problems I may have as a result?
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Water and electric parts do not play nice. :(
Contacts get corrosion, plugs weak connections, shorts & such.
I might unplug the relays and such and blow things out.
 

Skullbag

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Location
Seattle WA
TDI
2012 sportwagen
OH man, I'm losing it! Haha, had everything apart yesterday, siliconed the relay box cover... and still leaking!! I can only assume it is the windshield at this point. What a PITA...
 

mrowens33

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2012
Location
Brookfield
TDI
2004 Jetta sedan slushbox, 2004 Jetta wagon manual( my Noble Steed)
Body frame plugs?

Well, pulled up the carpeting and the padding was soaked! Not coolant. I guess it could have just been getting wet for a while prior to sealing the hood release grommet and I never noticed cause of the rubber mats. Other thing i noticed is those plugs in the floor the coating was cracking off. Maybe should seal those with silicone? Possible that rain water is coming through when driving through puddles? I am in seattle so not short of rain water for several more months. May slice the padding and carpet under the shifter console and drive without for a while to see if i can find other leaks... got a fan in there now and heat going.
Did you ever replace the body frame plugs that were cracking? ID parts sells them. I had a wet drivers side floor and there were a number of body frame plugs that were cracked and one was missing altogether. I replaced them and sealed them up with RTV just for good measure. I have not had rain like you there yet to test them but I would try that if you haven't already.
 

mittzlepick

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2001
Location
union maine
TDI
2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
Bulkhead for all the wiring leaks also. No electronics under carpet ccm on steering column
 
Top