[Frankazoid!!!]

VW Polo 1.6: less than 3 months old. approx. 4.5K kms.
Hi guys, thought i would share this with you all as i have not read or heard of this problem occurring with any other polo on the forum.

About a month back i had a puncture so i went about changing it with the spare wheel when i noticed some water in the space below the spare wheel. It was about 3/4 of an inch. Funny part is that i have no clue as to from where the water has entered there, the carpets are bone dry. So i decided to scoop the water out and watch the space. About 2 weeks later when i checked, again there was some water collected, so decided to go check it out at the service center only i could not find the time. Anyways have taken an appointment on Monday. Hope they are able to solve it.

In the mean time here's some pics. Would be glad to have any suggestions or advice.

[figo_mba]

Originally Posted by Frankazoid!!!

VW Polo 1.6: less than 3 months old. approx. 4.5K kms.
Hi guys, thought i would share this with you all as i have not read or heard of this problem occurring with any other polo on the forum.

About a month back i had a puncture so i went about changing it with the spare wheel when i noticed some water in the space below the spare wheel. It was about 3/4 of an inch. Funny part is that i have no clue as to from where the water has entered there, the carpets are bone dry. So i decided to scoop the water out and watch the space. About 2 weeks later when i checked, again there was some water collected, so decided to go check it out at the service center only i could not find the time. Anyways have taken an appointment on Monday. Hope they are able to solve it.

In the mean time here's some pics. Would be glad to have any suggestions or advice.

The bush below the stepney. Could you check that one ? Since it is monsoons there is a lot of water splashing and if the bush is faulty then the water could come in.

I had seen this in my Maruti 800 and a friend's punto. Both cases it was a faulty rubber bush.

[mayankjha1806]

If all the surrounding areas are dry then the only way for the water to come in is from the under body holes which have rubber bushes on them. This is very surprising as it is really difficult to happen.

Was the car, or more especially the boot portion was submerged in water ever as water splashing from wheels and coming in through one if the bushes is extremism difficult but not impossible. I say this because one of the rubber bushes in my Balenos under body is broken but never have we felt the carpet wet, even after a drive through the road full of water.

[manjot1912]

Isn't rain water, collected on roads, supposed to be muddy? I find this water quite clear. There's also no sedimentation noticeable.

Was the car taken for an under body pressure wash?

[souravc]

I agree with manjot1912 , it certainly cannot be water coming through the under body as it will have mud . I am pretty certain that the culprit would be the inadequacy of the rubber bush / linings on the boot door , please have them checked/replaced .

[Durango Dude]

Possible places for the leak are the hatch and the rubber stopper at the bottom of the spare wheel section. These pics bring back memories of my first car M800 that sprung a leak similarly and wasn't located till I sold it in frustration. I used to spend a good two hours cleaning the water and sucking it out with my Husqvarna vacuum cleaner after driving through the rains: was tough. Better get it sorted out or rust will also enter along with the water.

[sagarpadaki]

Check the rubber beading of the boot door and also the check whether water is leaking through the glass.

Perform a simple test.remove everything from boot and clean up the water.close the hatch door and direct a high pressure water at the crevices . Check whether water goes in

[speedmiester]

Along with the rubber bush underneath the spare tyre, check the pipes which carry the water to the washer nozzle for the rear windscreen. Since the water is clear, it looks like there is a small leak in the washer pipe.

[Parm]

the carpets are dry, that means the water didnt came from the top, came from within or from underneath the car.

if its coming from underneath the car, the water would be muddy or dirty!

Check the rubber stopper
Check the punctured tyre
Check if you have been getting the car washed at a service station with a high pressure washer.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by Frankazoid!!!

the carpets are bone dry.

I had this problem once and fixed it with RTV-408 silicone sealant!!
The carpet will not be wet because the water seeps in and then runs along the inner wall or a cable / wire.

In my case it was seeping through the edges of the tail lights assembly. The rubber gasket of the tail lamp was not sold seperately so I sealed it with RTV silicone and the problem was gone.

Other possible places could be the the VW logo and the rear wiper grommet.

[Frankazoid!!!]

Thanks for the inputs guys. I have left the car at VW Service this morning.

Originally Posted by figo_mba

The bush below the stepney. Could you check that one ? Since it is monsoons there is a lot of water splashing and if the bush is faulty then the water could come in.

I had seen this in my Maruti 800 and a friend's punto. Both cases it was a faulty rubber bush.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

If all the surrounding areas are dry then the only way for the water to come in is from the under body holes which have rubber bushes on them. This is very surprising as it is really difficult to happen.

Was the car, or more especially the boot portion was submerged in water ever as water splashing from wheels and coming in through one if the bushes is extremism difficult but not impossible. I say this because one of the rubber bushes in my Balenos under body is broken but never have we felt the carpet wet, even after a drive through the road full of water.

The rubber bushes under the spare wheel seemed ok on casual inspection. The car has never been submerged under more than a few inches of water.
The under body was not pressure cleaned from the time that i dried out the entire area. Also made sure that the spare wheel was dry before fitting it back in. I don't think the bushes are the culprit here, thanks for the suggestions though.

[Frankazoid!!!]

Originally Posted by souravc

I agree with manjot1912 , it certainly cannot be water coming through the under body as it will have mud . I am pretty certain that the culprit would be the inadequacy of the rubber bush / linings on the boot door , please have them checked/replaced .

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Check the rubber beading of the boot door and also the check whether water is leaking through the glass.

Perform a simple test.remove everything from boot and clean up the water.close the hatch door and direct a high pressure water at the crevices . Check whether water goes in

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Along with the rubber bush underneath the spare tyre, check the pipes which carry the water to the washer nozzle for the rear windscreen. Since the water is clear, it looks like there is a small leak in the washer pipe.

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

I had this problem once and fixed it with RTV-408 silicone sealant!!
The carpet will not be wet because the water seeps in and then runs along the inner wall or a cable / wire.

In my case it was seeping through the edges of the tail lights assembly. The rubber gasket of the tail lamp was not sold seperately so I sealed it with RTV silicone and the problem was gone.

Other possible places could be the the VW logo and the rear wiper grommet.

@souravc: I agree since the water is clear don't think it's coming through the bottom.
@sagarpadaki: I suspect it is the rubber beading on the boot door too.
@speedmiester: I don't think it is washer fluid as the water collected in the boot is not soapy.
@chewbacca: Thanks for that! would never have thought about the rubber gasket for the tail lamp! The VW logo could also be the culprit.

Anyways lets see if the VW sevice people are able to figure it out. I am actually quite interested to see if the service center charges me for fixing the problem. The car is less than 3 months/4500 kms old, they better be prepared for an earful if they do.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

[cranky]

Does the boot not have that fancy locking mechanism? Anything with a moving gap is suspect, specially given the kind of rain you guys have been getting over the last few weeks.

[suhaas307]

So it's Monday today, any news on the Polo's water-harvesting?

Jokes apart, This isn't a very serious issue, not to worry.

A friend's Alto had the same issue. It turned out to be the rubber around the tail-lights. It was very loose and there was a huge gap. The water leaks, barely trickles down on the body work and through the carpet. He'd given it for a service and the problem was rectified.

[sam003]

Hope the issue resolved for you. I had bad time too with water coming on left side front seat carpet on rainy day. But unfortunately not on all rainy days. I did took to service station they tried all means to see from where the water is coming, but hard luck. At home too I tried pouring water from front windshield, left door etc etc, but nothing works out. Finally time comes and I sold it