Water in passenger foot-well

**rodaire** · 25-09-2010,10:30 PM

I recently parked on an incline (engine higher than trunk) and overnight there was a deluge of rain.
In the morning I found about a gallon of water in the foot-well of the off-side passenger's area.

I guess the rain had entered via the a/c intake and through to the air discharge under my seat.

Is there a drain somewhere at the windscreen base where the air intake is and could this be blocked OR should I just not park on an incline in heavy rain

**phil miller** · 25-09-2010,10:37 PM

hi mate this is a very common problem, under the battery there is a drain that gets blocked with crap, when it rains the water cant drain away and gets into the car, so if you take your battery out and clear the drain out you will be ok, just bear in mind that there is about 6in of sound proofing under the carpet i would say that is soaking wet as well so you should left the carpet to dry it as best you can, is yours an Auto? if so the auto box ECU is under the drivers side carpet and will prob be under water, this needs to be dried out otherwise you will need a new one at £800 plus coding, hope this helps bud

**rodaire** · 25-09-2010,10:45 PM

Wow, that was fast!

Thanks very much Phil. My Passat is manual (thank goodness) so I'll dig out the battery tomorrow and look for the drain.

On a couple of mornings after the rain (before it accumulated in the foot-well) when I drove round a tight left-hand corner about a gallon of water flew out of the right side of the windshield base! Guess that should have told me something but I was on vacation at the time.

**phil miller** · 25-09-2010,11:04 PM

Originally Posted by rodaire

Wow, that was fast!

Thanks very much Phil. My Passat is manual (thank goodness) so I'll dig out the battery tomorrow and look for the drain.

On a couple of mornings after the rain (before it accumulated in the foot-well) when I drove round a tight left-hand corner about a gallon of water flew out of the right side of the windshield base! Guess that should have told me something but I was on vacation at the time.

thats ok mate anytime, on other thing lift the carpet on the passenger side front aswell as your CCM is under the pass front carpet the CCM controls the locking, windows, that sort of thing so best make sure thats not soaking aswell bud

**snapdragon** · 26-09-2010,11:26 AM

Originally Posted by rodaire

Is there a drain somewhere at the windscreen base :

It's a common and serious problem due to a combination of blocked drains and poor pollen filter box design and gasket failure.

I hope you get it sorted without further damage. this can include brake servo ruined, comfort control module ruined and wiring loom rotted.

It was also subject to a recall, so do searches on this forum for all of these words.

Good luck!

**rodaire** · 26-09-2010,12:44 PM

Thanks SnapDragon. I guess that's the unfortunate part of purchasing from a non-VW dealer and having all servicing done by them. Recall notices are missed.

**fleamoo** · 27-09-2010,12:42 PM

Bought mine from a main dealer with full main dealer service history, no sign of recall.
Plenum drains were blocked, pollen filter gasket leaking, door inner panel seals leaking.
Caught it all in time thanks to this forum, no thanks to vw!

**rodaire** · 27-09-2010,05:23 PM

I visited the local VW dealer here in town and asked what was the recall notice that I had received last year. Turns out it was the very one we have been discussing so now I'm wondering whether to let them check it out again (after a year and a half) considering the car has been garaged overnight during that time and my recent experience OR just wing it until the next deluge.