Water Ingress in Bulkhead/Footwell - Step By Step Guide - myTreg forums

You are not the first to encounter this problem, see the link. It does not look like the AC blocked drain pipe or the sunroof/moonroof problem to me but as far as I know these are the 3 known culprits.

 

I think that ater in the rear footwell is unlikely to be caused by blocked bulkhead drains unless the front footwell had filled right up and overflowed!

Have you pulled one of the rubber grommets in he door sills? It only take a few seconds. See if water comes out.

 

Ok, went through this EXACT same thing last year. Warning, it's a bear to verify, and a bear to fix. You will quickly see why the dealer charges so many hours labor to go at these problems.

Quick way to tell if it is the same issue I had, where the carpet runs up the side of the seat from the floor was wet. Water runs down the rear door pillar inner pillar cover, hence no wet headliner. It flows down chasing the wiring harness to the rear side of the seat between the door and seat bottom. These headliners are more plastic and foam than paper and cloth, so water does not soak through nearly as easily, thus it can run around up there, making it hard to tell where it comes from.

It is likely leaking from the rubber tubing connector, where it slips onto the rear drivers side drain nipple on the sunroof frame. The drain tubing is fitted with a sleeve that is a softer material to squeeze over that nipple. I found mine slightly twisted, and thus slightly kinked, allowing water to pool in the tube, and run out through this kink. Fix was super simple, just popped it off, warmed it with a hair dryer till the rubber was soft and pliable, thus the kink was round again. While still warm, I popped it back onto the nipple on the sunroof with a little silicone sealant for insurance. Has not leaked a drop since!!

So what's the bear than you ask... Well almost all the plastic pillar covers have to come off, all the hand grips, upper seat belt guides, plastics around rear windows, rear hatch, and all entry doors. Also the center overhead console must come out. ALL THIS so you may pull down the entire one piece head liner to gain access to those tubes!!

Piece of advice if you go after this, do ALL DRAIN LINES at that time. Clean them out, blow them out, warm them up, and silicone then back on while the liner is down . TAKE TONS of photos to remember how all the wiring goes, and all the airbag covers. Don't worry, no air bags have to come out, their covers just come off to gain access, that's all.

Took me one evening to pull everything apart, then the whole next day to fix, clean, organize, deep clean parts, reassemble and enjoy !! Super stoked when after the next week of rain, driver rear seat footwell was bone dry.

 

Ok, went through this EXACT same thing last year. Warning, it's a bear to verify, and a bear to fix. You will quickly see why the dealer charges so many hours labor to go at these problems.

Quick way to tell if it is the same issue I had, where the carpet runs up the side of the seat from the floor was wet. Water runs down the rear door pillar inner pillar cover, hence no wet headliner. It flows down chasing the wiring harness to the rear side of the seat between the door and seat bottom. These headliners are more plastic and foam than paper and cloth, so water does not soak through nearly as easily, thus it can run around up there, making it hard to tell where it comes from.

It is likely leaking from the rubber tubing connector, where it slips onto the rear drivers side drain nipple on the sunroof frame. The drain tubing is fitted with a sleeve that is a softer material to squeeze over that nipple. I found mine slightly twisted, and thus slightly kinked, allowing water to pool in the tube, and run out through this kink. Fix was super simple, just popped it off, warmed it with a hair dryer till the rubber was soft and pliable, thus the kink was round again. While still warm, I popped it back onto the nipple on the sunroof with a little silicone sealant for insurance. Has not leaked a drop since!!

So what's the bear than you ask... Well almost all the plastic pillar covers have to come off, all the hand grips, upper seat belt guides, plastics around rear windows, rear hatch, and all entry doors. Also the center overhead console must come out. ALL THIS so you may pull down the entire one piece head liner to gain access to those tubes!!

Piece of advice if you go after this, do ALL DRAIN LINES at that time. Clean them out, blow them out, warm them up, and silicone then back on while the liner is down . TAKE TONS of photos to remember how all the wiring goes, and all the airbag covers. Don't worry, no air bags have to come out, their covers just come off to gain access, that's all.

Took me one evening to pull everything apart, then the whole next day to fix, clean, organize, deep clean parts, reassemble and enjoy !! Super stoked when after the next week of rain, driver rear seat footwell was bone dry.

Great post. Have you still got the pictures . . .?

 

I do the same as you tell and no water inside thanks!!

 

I have 2 VWs with pano roofs and had to have the JSW roof drains reconnected,waiting for the Treg to need the same. I don't get it. Why is it so hard to get this simple thing right. I also have a 1986 BMW 735 with a sun roof and have never had a leak, the car is 28yrs old!!! Shame VW.

 

Thanks for the post/reply. I was unable to work on the issue today, decided to attend the Washington Redskins football game. At least I had free food and drinks, the game was one sided. I did however look at the interior this morning before leaving, underneath the rear seat is dry and the floorboard leading up to the rear seat is dry, the vertical part of the footwell. DO we have a diagram of the sunroof drains and their "tubing" drainage flow? Why would this happen today, the car is 6 years old? A clog I understand, but a kink in the material seems odd!! This seems like it could be the culprit but i'm holding out for a more simpler fix like a pin hole in the floor or the undercarriage near the battery holder??