Passat water leaks - wet carpets

[Invictagunner]

Having had two Passats and much pain will pass on my experience.
Things to check for are:-
1) Blocked drain holes under battery shelf
2) Leaking pollen filter housing gasket
3) Leaking gasket under the ECU housing box

If wetness is on the passenger side primary suspects are 1) and 2)
If wetness is on the drivers side primary suspects are 1) and 3)

Any amount of dirt rotted leaves etc can cause a problem in these areas. Just because the drain holes are clear this does not mean there is no dirt problem. What happens is that dirt also accumulates around the channels to the side and back of the ECU and pollen filter housing. This causes a local build up of water before it drains away through the main holes - result is that it finds its way past the relatively poor pollen housing seal and or ECU housing seal. If you park near/under trees keep the whole of this area really clean on a regular basis.

If the passenger side gets wet - big trouble. The Convenience Control Module (CCM) is likely to be wet. This leads to troubles with the alarm, central lcoking, windows etc. Get this properly dried out and sorted before it get worse.

VW are aware of these problems and recognise the weakness of these seals. If 1) is clear and the problem is caused by 2) or 3) the dealer can fix the problem under warranty. There is an internal VW information note 443/06 sent to dealers in July 2006. Any car serviced after this time by a VW dealer should have been checked and if necessary the pollen housing seal replaced using new materials and the carpets and CCM checked. In the US there is a large court case aiming to sue VW for problems relating to inadequate body design, water leaks and in extreme cases brake failure on some models. In the UK there are some limited recalls as a result of the possible brake problems.(servo pipe rots through).

Finally to fix the problems properly you need to do the following:-
1) remove the windscreen wiper blades - can need a small pullar or two flat blade screw drives twisted from each side to create a lever effect. Once they have been removed once use some grease on the spindles to ease future removal.
2) Pull back the bonnet seal so that the plastic cover for the battery etc can be pulled away from the slot in the windscreen cowl.
3) Remove the two clips supporting the plastic windscreen cowl.
4) Gently lever out the cowl from a slot in the base of the windscreen by placing a protective cloth at the bottom of the screen and gently levering the cowl away from the screen by twisting a flat blade screwdriver. Start at the drivers side.
5) Manoeuvre the cowl from the car - you need to gently bend it a bit but be careful not to break it.
6) Now follow your nose to gain access to drain holes, pollen housing and ECU housing as necessary. There are many articles on the web if you need further info just search Google.

Good luck - I hope what I have found helps you - I have had to learn the hard way and still learning!!! I am sure there are other leaks through windows etc. but it is the under bonnet area that has always hurt me.

If the car is full of water the following may help - detail relates to a 2002 Passat estate.

I have found the following method is the easiest to get rid of the majority of the water:-

1) park the car with the front higher than the back - the more the better!
2) remove the rear seat by removing the plastic cover over the hinge - one screw covered by a plastic cap. Only need to do the side with water in it. Remove seat by driving out the hinge pins which are now free to move.
3) remove one screw holding side trim to the floor under the seat.
4) remove the small plastic caps covering the screws that hold the plastic covers for the seat runners. Remove the screws and runners.
5) It is now possible to manoeuvre the carpets from the side trim and raise so that the floor drain holes are visible.
6) Carefully remove one or both of the drain hole bungs and let out the water.
7) With the carpet supported by a couple of blocks of wood it is possible to squeeze water from the foam and generally extract as much water as possible. You can reach just past the rear heating ducts.
8) leave to dry for as long as required. Temporarily put the drain plugs back in if going out in the rain.
9) when the carpets are as dry as you can get them replace the bungs with a smear of vaseline or waxoil or similar to ensure a good seal. Replace if they are damaged.
10) Refit the carpet and put the trim and seats back in place. Not as good as taking everything out but at lease is easy to do without taking half the car to pieces.
11) In my experence the drivers front seems to dry in situ reasonably OK (car parked uphill!) with no great risk to other components. The passenger side (RHD) is different as a result of the CCM becoming wet as mentioned in the first part of the post.

Good luck