Water leak in a Polo

[missesbell]

Polo leaking
Our daughter's Polo is leaking water. The rear off side footwell currently contains about a pint of water and is worse than the front but that too is damp A local garage had it in about a fortnight ago and adjusted the offside door but this has obviously not cured the situation. Please help cos the car is beginning to smell and I cannot get it dry (53 model, no sunroof)

[Nick Duncan]

I had a real problem with water in my Polo. The garage replaced a door seal but the main problem was leaves gathering in a trough immediately in front of the windscreen. These blocked the drainage holes and a couple of pints of water gathered. When cornering this would overflow into the heating system and come down onto the carpet in the front passenger side. It's not difficult to unblock the holes and release the water. That may be the problem. Good Luck

[ilfdlab]

Hi, mate had the same problem with a 97 1.4 & as Nick says the water was collecting in the heating/cooling ducting & leaking into the car. He cleaned it out & never had a problem after that. Hope it works out for you.:beerchug:

[missesbell]

Thanks to you both........Can I clean it out myself or do I need to take it into a garage? This is Mother asking !!!

[ilfdlab]

Hi missesbell, you should be able to clean it out yourself. It will be on the LH side of the car under the bonnet (black ducting). Hope this helps you.

[bitsman]

one of the most common faults is the door membrane inside the door panels have a look at these

[HOWROBERGB]

one of the most common faults is the door membrane inside the door panels have a look at these
Think I have this problem - drivers door. Water drips out between teh door trim and steelwork, landing on inside of rubber door seal, and then down into rear foot well. Not a lot, but builds up. What is easiest cure - door drains are all clear? Tks

[missesbell]

The garage have found a hole in the bulkhead and the bill is rising rapidly (£600 +). We are reluctant to agree to the full amount until we are sure who is responsible for the hole. Is it a manufacturing problem, poor welding or whatever. I will keep you posted

[petrolhead]

hey,

it sounds like it could be a manufacturing prob. However, if the car wasnt bought from new, there is no telling what the previous owner needed a hole into the engine for.

You should be able to tell if it has been drilled, although as its in the bulk head you prob wont be able to see it!!

My advise would be to argue that its been there since day 1...hopefully they will be able fund some of the cost. Did you get any warranty with the motor? could be another way to get it fixed...

Hope you get to the bottom of it, keep us posted!

[tricky1974]

thanks soooooooooooo much nick and ifdlab! :D

i had the same problem on my 97 1.4, so much water in the car, and i could hear it moving from side to side behind the dash as i cornered.

i wouldnt of had a clue what to do until i read the post here and found your help.

5 mins later and hopefully it'll all be ok once my carpets have dried. they are SOAKED! :(

[foleypolo]

I had a bad leak in the back seat of my 2002 Polo. The seat and floor were soaking we. I thought at first the window was left open during heavy rain or a wash. I doscovered two possible reasons for the leak:-
(1) in the boot on the left side if you pull back the side wall upholstery you will see the rear left seat, seatbelt roller. just below that you will see a block of electrical connectors and a 10mm black pipe with a male/femele connector. That thin black pipe is the rear window washer water pipe. That pipe was disconnected at the join. This can happen I believe during freezing conditions. I reconnected the pipe and put some electrical insulation tape around the area where the male/female clips together. I am now waiting for back seat to dry and see if that has solved the proble. The floor mat in the rear was also wet. If you cannot find the connector, have someone operate the rear washer and firstly if no water squirts on the window, the pipe is possibly disconnected. While the helper is squirting, examine the area in the boot on the left side behind the side-cloth.
(2) I removed the rear left tailight cluster, which is held in with a single black size 10mm plastic nut attached to a tie to prevent it from falling into the wheel arch when removed. Having removed the nut, lift the tail-light cluster up slightly and pull back and the whole unit comes out. At the point where the cluster meets the metal of the car, there is a black rubber gasket to prevent water from getting in around the tail light. The black rubber gasket was damaged and not making a good seal. I discovered this when I reconnected the washer pipe, when water that ran off the window was "*******" in at the back of the light cluster. I put some bathroom silicone around the area where the gasket was damaged and then ordered a new gasket. The new gasket comes in a kit of two big gaskets and two smaller ones, all associated with the rear light cluster. The kit cost me 9 Euro per side. That is 9 Euro for the left side and 9 for the right, if you need both. This is also how you change a rear light or indicator bulb. Hope this helps someone. It's a cheap fix to a terrible problem with water leaks, which then lead to electrical shorts as there are block connectors in the area of the back lights.

[foleypolo]

[I had a bad leak in the back seat of my 2002 Polo. The seat and floor were soaking we. I thought at first the window was left open during heavy rain or a wash. I doscovered two possible reasons for the leak:-
(1) in the boot on the left side if you pull back the side wall upholstery you will see the rear left seat, seatbelt roller. just below that you will see a block of electrical connectors and a 10mm black pipe with a male/femele connector. That thin black pipe is the rear window washer water pipe. That pipe was disconnected at the join. This can happen I believe during freezing conditions. I reconnected the pipe and put some electrical insulation tape around the area where the male/female clips together. I am now waiting for back seat to dry and see if that has solved the proble. The floor mat in the rear was also wet. If you cannot find the connector, have someone operate the rear washer and firstly if no water squirts on the window, the pipe is possibly disconnected. While the helper is squirting, examine the area in the boot on the left side behind the side-cloth.
(2) I removed the rear left tailight cluster, which is held in with a single black size 10mm plastic nut attached to a tie to prevent it from falling into the wheel arch when removed. Having removed the nut, lift the tail-light cluster up slightly and pull back and the whole unit comes out. At the point where the cluster meets the metal of the car, there is a black rubber gasket to prevent water from getting in around the tail light. The black rubber gasket was damaged and not making a good seal. I discovered this when I reconnected the washer pipe, when water that ran off the window was "*******" in at the back of the light cluster. I put some bathroom silicone around the area where the gasket was damaged and then ordered a new gasket. The new gasket comes in a kit of two big gaskets and two smaller ones, all associated with the rear light cluster. The kit cost me 9 Euro per side. That is 9 Euro for the left side and 9 for the right, if you need both. This is also how you change a rear light or indicator bulb. Hope this helps someone. It's a cheap fix to a terrible problem with water leaks, which then lead to electrical shorts as there are block connectors in the area of the back lights.