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-   -   A week old Punto is getting water logged after a Body Wash. (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/112391-week-old-punto-getting-water-logged-after-body-wash.html)

Urgent Help needed.

My week old Medium Grey 90Bhp diesel Punto is getting water logged inside the cabin after a wash.

After a lot of research and weighing in the Pros and Cons of owning a Punto/ Fiat Car, went ahead and bought the car with raised
eyebrows all around.

Well, I knew that the niggles and the inconsistent fit and finish and some quality issues of the parts were very much a concern for many owners, it has just surfaced in my week old punto and cemented all those fears.

I will not delve much into the Pre Delivery and initial impressions of the Car on this thread and concentrate on the Problem.

Being a weekend, Planned for a longish trip to shravanabelagola( 310 Kms to and fro) from Bangalore. I gave the Punto a much needed wash with water and cleaned her before setting off. During the journey the footmats supplied by Fiat were faltering my footwear and I removed them and started driving.

I felt that the carpet was damp and ignored it thinking that it must be some superficial droplets of water that might have entered when I rolled the windows after the wash/ from my wet footwear.

Later my motherinlaw who was sitting behind me also complained that the floor was wet. We returned home and I did a bit of inspection and found that the whole area from the Driver side footwell till the
rear seat has become quite wet. The carpet and the thick insulation at the footwell was totally wet and I could see water there. There must have been atleast 4 to 5 litres of water that must have entered
inside of the car.

There are AC vents under the front seats and am not sure whether they would leak that much of water. Strong possibility might be that the water is not getting drained properly and might have entered into the car. I would not expect such basic things not to work in a new car.

As for accessories, I got ICE changed, Linea Armrest fitted, Sunfilm, Map My India Navigation/ Reverse camera installed and Horn changed.

The wires for the ICE instal were drawn on the passenger side and not on the Driver side. The armest was installed at Concorde dairy circle.

What do I do now since the Damp carpet and Damping material would start smelling.

Weekdays are so much of a problem for me to take the car to the service.

I did speak to one of the Concorde service guys and he was saying I have to schedule an appointment for service. Is this how it works and should I let the wet carpet/ damping material to smell??please:

Unfortunate that this is happening with your new car.

One possibility is that after fitting the ICE, the front door gaskets may not have been assembled back properly.

Maybe you could go back to your service centre and confirm the correct seating / positioning of all the rubber gaskets / beadings, including those on the doors, boot and hood.

Hope your problem gets resolved soon :thumbs up

Do not worry, it surely is some things missed while fixing ICE and other accessories, because of which the water is getting in. Also about the wet carpet if the ICE was fitted at the dealers place give them a some hard talk about it not being fitted properly because of which the carpet has gone wet, and ask them to heat air dry the carpet free of cost (as it was their mistake that lead to this).

Drying carpets is easy and the smell will no longer be there.

muni, there are channels on the outside of the vehicle which ensure that outside water seeps through to the ground, through gaps within the panels. There is a chance that one of these channels might have blocked, creating some sort of a diversion for the water to flow.

Did you say that the rubber door beadings were removed? Check if they have been fixed properly. You can see if any of them are hanging loose.

And if you park your car securely at home, leave her open for a day, maybe, so that the water evaporates along with any foul smells.

The ICE / Sunfilm install dint involve the front windshield to be tampered or opened. I cannot be sure about that.


This is the first time I have washed the car and I cannot be sure the actual cause is the ICE install or it was there from before.


Isnt water leakage check not part of post production QC check?

Possibly while fitting the Reverse Camera the rubber door seal/beeding and scruff plates near the door sill would have been removed to run a wire to the rear bumper (to raise the carpet to slip in the wire below it.) These many not have been fitted back properly. And that could cause water to drip in during a wash.

was it parked under trees or outside in the dust for a longish period?
Take a look under where the red- arrow is to check if you can spot something, um, natural, you know.
Organic, or maybe hardened mud.


Pic: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...rrived-10.html


EDIT:+1 What MCR has said below

muni, if the passenger side of the mat is not wet, then this is a common case. Just ask the service centre guys to check the AC drain tube. This was happening in my Punto as well and the problem was solved as soon the loose AC drain tube was fixed correctly.

yes, the passenger side is totally dry.Would the AC drain tube cause so much of water. It is possible i guess as i drove about 5 to 6 hrs with the AC On.

If the AC tubes run inside the driver side bay, it is very much possible. Where did you get this issue fixed and I can call up and confirm with them.

The car has not been parked under trees or in areas where there is a lot of dust. I also did a visual inspection yesterday and did not find anything suspicious on the outside where the water drains usually and the place mayank pointed out in the image.

Did you remove that plastic bit and check?
Just asking, cos 4-5 litres of water will have to come in under wash, and since its confined to one side.

Im saying, since i had the same problem.
The drain below the windshield, which siphons off all water during rains or a wash, when it gets blocked, it rises, and gets in through the point where the aircon takes in fresh air.

Just drive with AC-on to any service centre, show them the mats getting wet and they will solve the issue instantly. The AC does generate a lot of water, thanks to the condensation process. This issue was there in most of the cars in late 2009 and early 2010 batch.

Nothing to worry. I too faced this problem once when I returned from my Mysore trip soon after I purchased my Linea. As pointed out by MCR, the loose AC drain pipe was the culprit. The condensed atmospheric moisture, instead of getting routed out through the pipe to the ground, drips and wets the floor mat below the outlet. Concorde Motors mechanic showed me the dangling pipe which got disconnected during my return journey to Bangalore. He fixed the drain pipe tightly and bandaged the joint with a steel wire so that it would not come out in future. Afterwards, I have not faced the issue till today. If you see water drops on the ground below the engine bay whenever AC is used, then it means AC system is okay.

Should I book a service slot and then take my car or can take it first thing in the morning. I hope these things are not charged for.

Prior appointment is not necessary for this 5-minute job. In Concorde Motors, Dairy Circle, there is a quick repair bay where they attend to all these minor jobs. In Concorde Motors, Mysore Road also, they do these minor jobs immediately without any prior appointment. Concorde Motors does not charge for these minor works.

Good to know the solution may be this simple, but how does muni-bhai get his soaking carpets and wet floor sopped up? Am pretty sure Fiat should pick this up under warranty as well (incidental damage to a manufacturing defect after all) but have a feeling they won't!