S40 water ingress after rain - no sunroof! Help!

[cdight]

Did anyone end up finding the solution to this? I feel like I'm going insane.

After rain the carpets/padding behind the pedals starts getting wet.
At its worst it was about 4cm of water over the top of the rear carpets (as its the lowest point) but on both sides. Drivers side was just plain water, passenger side was water mixed with coolant.

I took out everything and dried it out. The coolant problem was due to the dreaded heater core (used the easy fix connecting the pipes with hose and 4 hose clamps). I even replaced the AC-Drain for good measure (since i was down there). Seeing that someone mentioned the roof rails as a entry point I took both off and lightly sealed the screw holes and surrounding bracket.

I have no sunroof, have checked the windshield and A-pillars and there is no problem there, I completely cleared out the wiper drains under the cowl and checked their functionality...all good, though I noticed one of the elbow clips on the Cowl (over the blower intake) had snapped so I replaced it thinking that was the problem, water coming in through the air ducts). For good measure i even used window/silicone sealant around the area on the windshield as I figured that was the logical entry.

I put everything back together and took it to a do it yourself carwash to test running water over the windshield / roof/ front door with different pressures and everything stayed dry!!!

On top of the world, I went home and had a beer leaving my car comfortably out in the nights rain. Woke up the next morning to find the damn carpets soaked up by the pedals again.

Please someone, point me in the right direction...

But if someone tells me to check the Sunroof drains I might just explode

[lockstock]

Originally Posted by cdight

Did anyone end up finding the solution to this? I feel like I'm going insane.

After rain the carpets/padding behind the pedals starts getting wet.
At its worst it was about 4cm of water over the top of the rear carpets (as its the lowest point) but on both sides. Drivers side was just plain water, passenger side was water mixed with coolant.

I took out everything and dried it out. The coolant problem was due to the dreaded heater core (used the easy fix connecting the pipes with hose and 4 hose clamps). I even replaced the AC-Drain for good measure (since i was down there). Seeing that someone mentioned the roof rails as a entry point I took both off and lightly sealed the screw holes and surrounding bracket.

I have no sunroof, have checked the windshield and A-pillars and there is no problem there, I completely cleared out the wiper drains under the cowl and checked their functionality...all good, though I noticed one of the elbow clips on the Cowl (over the blower intake) had snapped so I replaced it thinking that was the problem, water coming in through the air ducts). For good measure i even used window/silicone sealant around the area on the windshield as I figured that was the logical entry.

I put everything back together and took it to a do it yourself carwash to test running water over the windshield / roof/ front door with different pressures and everything stayed dry!!!

On top of the world, I went home and had a beer leaving my car comfortably out in the nights rain. Woke up the next morning to find the damn carpets soaked up by the pedals again.

Please someone, point me in the right direction...

But if someone tells me to check the Sunroof drains I might just explode

front footwell does sound like ac drain pipes, but you changed all that.. its not getting in via the drivers door seal?? that kind of failure might only show up with heavy rain and high wind, hence the car wash not yielding. sustained jetwasher might identify it. or look for water marking near sills

[volvo for ever]

Windscreen check- is the bonding okay push glass from inside car does it move
Door seals
Roof rails
Shark fin
I’m in process of doing Mini Countryman bmw could find it once carpets out to dry water tested found 2 door seal the fault
If I were you I’d remove all seats carpets to get dry then test it for leaks

[baldmosher]

I've not read the full thread, but mine was blocked somewhere between the sunroof and the wheel arch. Was leaking in from the top of the A pillar. Covered the top of the car with plastic overnight down to the windscreen wipers, next morning driver's side full of water again. So clearly blocked lower down and was backing up to the sunroof.

Took an air compressor to the sunroof drains, blew out the blockage, and it's all flowing freely again.

You may need to remove the cover under the windscreen wiper arms to get access to those drains.

Incidentally, I suspect that the carpets are plastic lined near the surface, as the water was pooling on the surface, and they seemed to have dried out well with a microfibre cloth and a couple of days driving with the blowers on full heat pointing into the foot well. So I don't think the foam underneath will be sodden. (I hope I'm right.)

You would be able to test yours by leaving it somewhere under cover in heavy rain. If there's no ingress, check the drains again.

[cdight]

Originally Posted by lockstock

front footwell does sound like ac drain pipes, but you changed all that.. its not getting in via the drivers door seal?? that kind of failure might only show up with heavy rain and high wind, hence the car wash not yielding. sustained jetwasher might identify it. or look for water marking near sills

Thanks for the help,

Yeah, the AC drain in on the passenger side (i have a left hand drive V50).

Drivers door seal is a bit torn up (still okay I think), but it still wouldnt really explain why its wet up around the pedals...unless i'm missing something?

[cdight]

Originally Posted by volvo for ever

Windscreen check- is the bonding okay push glass from inside car does it move
Door seals
Roof rails
Shark fin
I’m in process of doing Mini Countryman bmw could find it once carpets out to dry water tested found 2 door seal the fault
If I were you I’d remove all seats carpets to get dry then test it for leaks

Thanks for the help.

I pushed the glass from the inside with a friend inspecting from the outside, with no noticeable movement. I did notice a little dampness in the far (almost impossible to reach) corner of the drivers side windshield. I´ll see if I cant get better access to it (without a full dash removal).

Roof rails have all been lightly sealed on the bolt threads in the holes.

Haven´t even thought about the shark fin (roof tilts slightly downwards at the rear so i figured gravity should do its thing....but I´ll check it out just incase )

We had the front foot well carpets out (driver and passenger) when we took it to the car wash. After 15mins of high pressure water over the roof, windshield and drivers door everything was still dry.

[cdight]

Originally Posted by baldmosher

I've not read the full thread, but mine was blocked somewhere between the sunroof and the wheel arch. Was leaking in from the top of the A pillar. Covered the top of the car with plastic overnight down to the windscreen wipers, next morning driver's side full of water again. So clearly blocked lower down and was backing up to the sunroof.

Took an air compressor to the sunroof drains, blew out the blockage, and it's all flowing freely again.

You may need to remove the cover under the windscreen wiper arms to get access to those drains.

Incidentally, I suspect that the carpets are plastic lined near the surface, as the water was pooling on the surface, and they seemed to have dried out well with a microfibre cloth and a couple of days driving with the blowers on full heat pointing into the foot well. So I don't think the foam underneath will be sodden. (I hope I'm right.)

You would be able to test yours by leaving it somewhere under cover in heavy rain. If there's no ingress, check the drains again.

Thanks for the help.

I dont have a sunroof and have removed the Cowl and cleared all the drains at the base of the windshield. I havent thought about the wheel arch but I´ll remove it see if I can find something back there.

The water seems to be coming in from the pedals (or above the pedals) soaking the carpet/padding behind the pedals and then runs/drips down into the drivers footwell....from there it flows through the airduct hole under the drivers seat into the back (the floor slopes downwards into the footwell behind the driver... it gradually built up there soaking the foam and eventually when the foam couldnt take anymore it went over.

[lockstock]

Originally Posted by cdight

Thanks for the help.

I dont have a sunroof and have removed the Cowl and cleared all the drains at the base of the windshield. I havent thought about the wheel arch but I´ll remove it see if I can find something back there.

The water seems to be coming in from the pedals (or above the pedals) soaking the carpet/padding behind the pedals and then runs/drips down into the drivers footwell....from there it flows through the airduct hole under the drivers seat into the back (the floor slopes downwards into the footwell behind the driver... it gradually built up there soaking the foam and eventually when the foam couldnt take anymore it went over.

from that description it feels like windscreen and running down bulkhead. I don't see how else it's going to originate in drives footwell/pedalbox