New Water Ingress Culprit
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 8:04 pm
Hi All
Noticed my car misting up the other day for the first time in 6 yrs of ownership which is good I suppose but I didn’t enjoy the defrosting of the windscreen on the outside and the inside
. So had the car in the workshop today and found the drivers floor to be a bit wet not sodden which was good. Anyway lifted the carpet and sprayed the car with the key wash and noticed water coming in around the steering column gaiter. Removed the thin isolation pad from around the gaiter and bulkhead and wet it again and noticed water coming in from this grommet above the gaiter, see pics of the offending grommet below.
Stripped out the scuttle and found this grommet just by the brake servo at the bottom, so easy to get to.
What I found was this grommet is fitted and then seam sealed over then the car is painted. Mine was fitted incorrectly by the factory as the lip was damaged and the only thing that stopped it leaking was the seam sealer.
The seam sealer on mine had cracked due to age hence the water ingress starting.
I also checked all the usual suspects, sunroof drains, scuttle drains and A/C drains which were all clear
I’d advise that you check yours just in case it’s starting to do the same and you can catch it early.
I’ve ordered a grommet as there is only two left with TPS but you could just use a universal one if need be.
Hope this helps everyone
Noticed my car misting up the other day for the first time in 6 yrs of ownership which is good I suppose but I didn’t enjoy the defrosting of the windscreen on the outside and the inside
. So had the car in the workshop today and found the drivers floor to be a bit wet not sodden which was good. Anyway lifted the carpet and sprayed the car with the key wash and noticed water coming in around the steering column gaiter. Removed the thin isolation pad from around the gaiter and bulkhead and wet it again and noticed water coming in from this grommet above the gaiter, see pics of the offending grommet below. Stripped out the scuttle and found this grommet just by the brake servo at the bottom, so easy to get to.
What I found was this grommet is fitted and then seam sealed over then the car is painted. Mine was fitted incorrectly by the factory as the lip was damaged and the only thing that stopped it leaking was the seam sealer.
The seam sealer on mine had cracked due to age hence the water ingress starting.
I also checked all the usual suspects, sunroof drains, scuttle drains and A/C drains which were all clear
I’d advise that you check yours just in case it’s starting to do the same and you can catch it early.
I’ve ordered a grommet as there is only two left with TPS but you could just use a universal one if need be.
Hope this helps everyone
