[JaySTee]

I have noticed a funny smell in the car for the last few days which I had been putting down to a damp dog that was in the boot after a walk. This morning I had to apologise to the dog as it turned out that it was because the passeger foot well is drenched

I have not had a chance to investigate full yet but can anyone suggest any particular area I should be looking at. I had a quick search but couldn't find anything so I assume this is not a common problem? I would normally start by looking at the lower windscreen area where thee water drains off.

I did leave my drivers window partially open the other night but can't see how any water from there woudl get into the passenger footwell...

I have not had the car more than a couple of weeks and hadn't noticed it before but we have had heavy rain recently.

Any ideas??

[AlwynMike]

I've not had this on a BMW, but I'd look for two things first.

If you have a sunroof, check that the drains are clear.

Check the area below the pollen filters under the bonnet. If the drains here are blocked, then the air plenum chamber fills with water until it overflows into the heater and into the car.

Looking at your location, and your recent weather, this is a favourite. The heater air intake/plenum chamber is prone to filling with leaves, which drop under the pollen filters and generally block things up. If this is the case, there will be a LOT of water in there!

Remember the Rover 75/MGZT? When they fitted the BMW diesel in there, they fitted the ECU in the plenum. Problem was, when the drains blocked (which they did as the pipe was a small bore), the plenum filled up, drowned the ECU, shorted it out and caused large bills!!

Mike

[qwe178]

Also another area to check is the seal for the wiring behind the fuse box. Some of the wires from the fuse box go through the passenger side. if you remove a few components from under glove box you should be able to see the wires going into the engine bay. the seal may have gone?

[Tipper]

Check the corners under the bonnet up by the hinges/windscreen.

There are drains there with grilles on. These fill up with leaves at this time of year and can block leading to high water levels around the heter intake, etc.

The grilles are removeable for thorough cleaning.

[JaySTee]

Thanks for your advice, I have now had a chance to have a poke around...

Took the pollen filter cover off and it was on properly with no leaves underneath. Looking down the hole to the intake fan I could not see any evidence of water having been in that area, but i suppose I had been using the car since the leak and this could have dried with the fan running and heat in that area...

There were a few leaves in the mesh drains either side but I'm not sure if there were enough to block them, although we had had some very heavy rain. Anyway have cleared them out.

The door seals all look as they should, no sunroof.

I pulled some of the trim off so I could lift the footwell carpet up and found it to be bone dry underneath so the water must have dropped on to the top of the carpet rater than running down the front bulkhead and under the carpet...

What happens to the water that gets under the seal at the bottom of the screen as this does not seem to be stuck down, it just rests on the glass? It looks like it would go into the fresh air inlet area under the pollen filter - does that sound right?

Anyway it is drying out now so will have to keep an eye on it next time we have rain...

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by JaySTee

What happens to the water that gets under the seal at the bottom of the screen as this does not seem to be stuck down, it just rests on the glass? It looks like it would go into the fresh air inlet area under the pollen filter - does that sound right?

Not sure which seal you mean? Do you mean the lower glass seal? Have you had a new windscreen? All water from the screen and wiper / scuttle area should run to the main side drains and away, none should get under the windscreen seal at all.


To check these are OK, slowly pour a jug of water into the side drain holes under the bonnet (that have the leaf guards over).

Make sure the water ALL comes out under the car and flows quickly. The drain holes can get blocked further down than the leaf guards.

[JaySTee]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Not sure which seal you mean? Do you mean the lower glass seal? Have you had a new windscreen? All water from the screen and wiper / scuttle area should run to the main side drains and away, none should get under the windscreen seal at all.

Thanks for your reply, if you look at the bottom of the screen from the outside it goes under a rubber lip that looks like it is part of the scuttle panel. It doesn't look like this lip is fixed to the glass (maybe it should be) but just rests on it, so some water may get under it which would then get into the heater intake/wiper mech area and then possibly down into the car... Maybe i'll try and get a pic.

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by JaySTee

Thanks for your reply, if you look at the bottom of the screen from the outside it goes under a rubber lip that looks like it is part of the scuttle panel. It doesn't look like this lip is fixed to the glass (maybe it should be) but just rests on it, so some water may get under it which would then get into the heater intake/wiper mech area and then possibly down into the car... Maybe i'll try and get a pic.

That is normal.

The actual seal is under the glass - it's glued all the way around the edge of the glass

Other things are blocked A/C drain pipe...

[JaySTee]

Thanks, I realise the screen is bonded from underneath but what I meant was could water get under the lip at the lower edge and into the area below the pollen filter were the fresh air inlet is and into the car that way. However, having looked agin this morning this should not be possible as although water does get under this rubber lip it then hits a metal channel that diverts any water away. I have also double checked the mesh drains by pouring water down them and they are definately clear.

Where is the air-con drain pipe located?

I'm begining to think I must have left the window open slightly or the few leaves that were in the mesh drains were enough to cause the water to back up to a level where it found its way in to the car...

[Em135eye]

I've had a nightmare with leaves (surrounded by trees and exposed to a lot of wind here) getting in the "leaf catchers" and in the gutters but no leaks.

Have you managed to dry it and see if it happens again? Could be a one off as you say.

[JaySTee]

Yep car is currently in garage drying as I am not using it right now, although due to cold weather is taking ages to dry fully. I will be using daily again as of tomorrow as my previous car is going, so we'll see what happens.

The only other thing that may have a bearing on it (although it shouldn't really) is that the car is normally parked on the garage apron which causes it to sit at an angle with the passenger side higer than the drivers, maybe this exagerated another problem such as leaves in drains...

[JaySTee]

Well we had some rain a couple of days back and the passenger footwell carpet was wet again but only a small patch just below the centre of the door. On closer inspection it looked like there had been water coming from behind the door panel.

Today I had time to get the door panel off following a tutorial in the main site section on here. The inner splash panel was not fixed properly in one section on the lower edge and it looked like someone had been in there previously. Also there was evidence of water having come from that area The sticky gunk they use to fix the splash panel seemed to re-stick pretty well so I have stuck it all back down and re-assembled the door.

I'll keep an eye on it and if it happens again I will have to get some new sticky gunk to properly restick the inner splash panel. Anyone know what this sticky stuff is?

[doughboy]

Just a thought, but doors have drains fitted, usually in the bottom seam at the lowest point.

Water always get inside doors past the window seals and these drains let it out.

The doors on my wifes 56 Civic fill with water as these drains get blocked with mould and sludge (the previous owner must have parked under trees), the first thing you notice after heavy rain is a sloshing sound followed by water coming into the car from the door pocket when you brake!!

A cocktail stick in the drain hole soon has a bucketfull of water running out.

[JaySTee]

Thanks for the suggestion... There are a couple of rubber blanking gromets in two large holes in the bottom of the doors. I have removed these and normally get a couple of drops but I don't think the doors are holding water. I think it is water getting past the window scraper seal then dripping onto the door splash guard (not helped by the fact that I park on an angle!), running down the guard and out the lower edge where I found the panel to be unstuck, and into the car.

[63NP]

Hi, your problem is behind your door panel is a membrain that seals to the door with black sealer(comes on a roll 20m long enough to do all four doors if need be). if your car has been in the dealer at some point it may not have been sealed properly.(thats what happened to mine). it's a bad design really, water runs down the outside of your glass, behind the rubber at the bottom into your door and then is sappose to run out the bottom(which it does if your doors are sealed properly,

open your passengers door, get a hose or watering can and poor some water over the outside of your glass, u should see the water run from behind your door panel at the bottom(when your door is shut the water runs from behind your door panel onto your door rubber down the plastic into your footwell.
you have to have your door panel off to fix.!!
hope this helps.??
regards...Nick

[BEE EM]

Hi
I had the same problem firstly with the passengers door and a few months later it happened on the drivers door. After checking in various places i couln't trace the leak, then one day i put some newspaper tight against the inside of the door and got the hose pipe out and found a wet streak of water coming in from the bottom of the door in the centre and onto the carpet. Then i removed the door card to discover the plastic membrane had come unstuck. I got some high strength windscreen adhesive from Halfords and glued the membrane back in place. This solved the problem.

[JaySTee]

Just thought i'd update this...

Since I found the door membrane to be unstuck at the lower edge and re-stuck it the problem has not re-ocurred

[kierbmw]

hi,

i am having the same problem, i dont know which plastic membrane you guys are talking about. please help>

[kierbmw]

i noticed that the seal at the bottom of my passenger side door has water coming out from it eventhough it has not rain for days.

please help thanks

[JaySTee]

Originally Posted by kierbmw

hi,

i am having the same problem, i dont know which plastic membrane you guys are talking about. please help>

Take a look at this DIY in the DIY section - Link

In the pic below from the thread linked to above you can see the door membrane still attached to the door, it is a grey foam type material. Check the lower edge of it has not come unstuck. If it has you can use silicome sealant or similar to re-seal.



Also check the door drain holes have not become blocked.

[m@rco]

I opened this old thread again to clarify things. I had issues as well and I'm in the process of fixing them today... Note that one the passenger side, there is one more screw (under the handle bar) that needs to be removed before you can actually take off the side panel.

In the second picture, you see traces of a water leak, coming from under the plastic cover. Also, I used a hair blower to warm up the sealant to simplify removing the plastic cover.

After doing a test with water, I noticed that water seeps in through the window seal. It collects in the guiding rail/slot at the front of the window. When the window is fully up, you see water dropping from the bottom of the guiding rail into the door.

[JaySTee]

Marco, I replied to your pm but not sure I am much help really - good luck with fixing the leak...