Hi All,

my wifes 2007 polo 5dr has been getting a damp drivers floor mat and a resulting smell of damp in the car. There are no visible leaks from the sunroof or door seals and the windows are all tight. There are no leaks from the electric sunroof either.

Underneath the car almost directly where the damp patch was, I found a long plastic fitted panel underneath and there was a round hole which seemed like it should have a screw in it that wasn't there. I am wondering if water could be spraying up making it wet? I have put some tape over this as a test to see if it makes a difference but am worried in case this was some kind of drainage hole which I obviously don't want to block up?

I also saw a couple of posts for older polos where people were talking about the heater matrix leaking? I am not sure what this is but the heater and everything is working fine. Also my wife did say she felt a few drips on her leg when driving which means it might not be the panel underneath as i thought so I felt underneath the dash but everything seems in order...

Any help much appreciated.

Andy

The heater matrix is basically a mini radiator that provides the heat for your heater, working in the same way as your main radiator. The warm engine coolant flows through the matrix and the blower pushes air through this, this warms the air.

I'd have thought its unlikely for such a young car to have a leaking heater matrix, if it is leaking though the wet in the foot well will smell like coolant/taste like it too.

I would check the plenum chamber for blockages in the drains, basically the chamber below the windscreen, when you open the bonnet this will be covered by plastic. B5/B5.5 Passats are prone to this, the water drains off the windscreen into this chamber and then is supposed to run out of drains at the bottom. They designed these drains out of rubber to let water out but not let road dirt/mist/fumes in. However grit and leaves get washed into the chamber too and block these up.

The water doesn't drain, and in heavy weather the chamber fills up and the first sign is wet foot wells.

Thats the story for the Passats, i don't know if this could happen on the new Polo, would probably be worth looking into though.

Has your pollen filter been changed? If it hasn't, that's quite often a cause of damp in newer cars.

Also open your bonnet and have a look in the scuttle panel by the wipers. The drain holes in it often get blocked up with leaves making a lake which finds its way out the next lowest point, normally the heater.

While you're on the case, most VW sunroofs have drain holes in each corner that you can see when the roof is rolled back. They have long pipes attached that run down to the wheel arches. It's well worth getting a length of stiff wire and rodding these out.

I have a polo 6n1. With the recent bad weather i find that i to have a puddle by the drivers feet. It seems to be comming from under the dash somewhere, however i have tried all the normal things like rodding the sunroof drains, clearing the old leaves out from the scuttle panel and clearing the drains there. The one extra thing i did which i cant find mentioned before is to remove the polen filter, remove the plastic tray it fits into, i then cleaned all around the fan intake hole with a spirit based cleaner. Once i had done that i bought some proper silicone sealant and put a fair sized bead all around the hole, cleaned the base of the pollen filter tray and then refitted it. Now this seemed to work for a while but the water is back!!! Not much, but enough to make me want to find the offending hole. Does anyone have any thoughts on where i should look as the next step is to maybe remove the windscreen and get that resealed?

Many thanks for any help you can offer....

Edited 25 October, 201213 yr by daffty200967

I would deffinatly look at the scuttle panel, especially where anything goes through into the cabin. At the very least you can then rule this out.

DAFFTY: I would check that the sunroof drain tubes aren't blocked again or split or have come loose. Also clean the rain channels that run along the side of the windscreen as these should be clear otherwise te water is blocked and it overflows and will drip theough the seal in the cabin. Also worth checking the seal around the bonnet release cable as this is just above the drivers footwell.

When cleaning the scuttle area I find it a lot easier to remove the boneet and wipers and motor, this way it's really easy to get access to and see what's going on.

HTH

Edited 26 October, 201213 yr by dixy

If it has a sunroof, id look at my threat located here:

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=297839

I had this at the begining of all my troubles and have included how to resolve it all.

I would deffinatly look at te cuttlefish panel, especially where anything goes through into the cabin. At the very least you can then rule this out.

DAFFTY: I would check that the sunroof drain tubes aren't blocked again or split or have come loose. Also clean the rain channels that run along the side of the windscreen as these should be clear otherwise te water is blocked and it overflows and will drip theough the seal in the cabin. Also worth checking the seal around the bonnet release cable as this is just above the drivers footwell.

When cleaning the scuttle area I find it a lot easier to remove the boneet and wipers and motor, this way it's really easy to get access to and see what's going on.

HTH

many thanks for that dixy... nice to see someone actually reads these forums now and again lol

If it has a sunroof, id look at my threat located here:

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=297839

I had this at the begining of all my troubles and have included how to resolve it all.

Thanks for that vw2101. it has got a sunroof so i will check that out. my mrs had a 6n1 before and it didnt have a sunroof but had the same problem with wet carpets. so naturally i asumed that it wouldnt be the sunroof. i have even cut the centres out of some blanking grommets that lead into the engine bay from the scuttle tray/trough (whatever its called) just to add drainage points. will give it a lookover though and post if i find something.