Wet carpet - where to start?

[Matt1]

Hi Everyone. Discovered some wet and moukdy carpet behind the passenger seat today. No idea where to start with finding the leak. Any thoughts or experiences in this area??

 

[jabber]

First place to start is check the door seals also is this a new wet patch or perhaps been there a while

 

[Matt1]

Thx - honestly not sure as the car has hardly been driven - like a mile a day in the school run. The roof still isn’t working yet so I can’t open that to look at the seals. I’ll check the door seals by the window and edges of the door. Thx

 

[Nash3vans]

Not 100% sure but I think it was mentioned on here before, if the roof drain channels are clogged the water can fill that area and spill into the cabin. As your saying the roof doesn’t work, it may be worth a look.

 

[Smartbear]

Not 100% sure but I think it was mentioned on here before, if the roof drain channels are clogged the water can fill that area and spill into the cabin. As your saying the roof doesn’t work, it may be worth a look.

It’s an e89, they don’t have roof drain channels like the e85
Rob

 

[Matt1]

Thx - I’ll take a look there if I can get access

 

[Matt1]

Ah, ok. Maybe I won’t check there then )

 

[Broads]

Did you get any further with your issues?

As Like you I am wondering if there are any preventative measures that can be taken to stop water ingress.

 

[flybobbie]

The rubber forms a roof channel, you can see where water goes.
Water down there think i would be looking more at the door seal.
As said before on the forum, dry out and lay some tissue paper down to see if and where that gets wet.

 

[craig3.2]

Ah, ok. Maybe I won’t check there then )

I'm fairly sure that,as with e85/86, the e89 can have issues with water ingress due to the door membranes?
If they are loose,then water runs into the doors,and out,onto the carpet.
Worth checking?

Did you get to the cause?

 

[EdButler]

My old E85 and my current F32 4 Series had this. Nice to see they've never fixed the issue!

The car will be parked on such an angle that water is dripping from the window seals to the inner door's vapour barrier. The vapour barrier can split or water just weep through a gap in the sealant or through the door card poppers (if the leak is minor). Then down the inside of the door card and onto the sill.

Shut a piece of fabric in the bottom door seal which will make water more visible and then soak the car door area with a hose. Un-pop the lower part of the door card carefully (you may want to buy some spare clips as they can break easily) look upward into the door card from there for water drips.

 

[clarker63]

Nice to see they've never fixed the issue!

generally the hard top is much better at keeping water out than a fabric one. My S2000 had a really annoying habit of dropping about a cup of water onto my shoulder as I drove off. I even had to place a towel on my shoulder just to catch it until I purchased a car cover..

Both my e89's have had issues with water ingress in the boot - around the seal at the top/sides of the boot opening. there's a thread with the pictures of how to fix that (and other issues with water getting in the boot), but generally the inside stays pretty dry.

I also had a problem with water getting into the front of the passenger footwell (09 plate) - which may then run into the back where the OP picture shows. I never really got to the bottom of that one. I did once see a drip come in at the bottom of the A pillar, so replaced the door seal. it didn't obviously help and I suspect wasn't dripping onto the carpet, but getting in behind somewhere.. My newer one (64 plate) doesn't seem to have that issue, but still mists up very easily inside. strangely the carpets are all dry, and I just assume its a feature of the car!