[smsrini]

Originally Posted by woodcrawler

He said he needs 4 days to completely dismantle the dashboard and carpets.

Rajesh

First thing to do is to remove the carpets and dry them. Dont dismantle the dashboard immediately.

Your car does not have the rear AC blower unit ? so if it is AC condensation, then the water will not get into the rear seat footwell.

You mentioned washing the car yourself. Did you also wash the underside of the body with the water hose ?

In all probability it may be due to the water fording. Even though the water level is lower than the clearance of the vehicle, waves formed when the vehicle moves will surely splash the water against the doors, allowing little water to get it thru the gaps. The door beadings dont run below the door frame or may be loose..

Once the carpets are removed, the source should be easy to identify..

[woodcrawler]

Originally Posted by smsrini

First thing to do is to remove the carpets and dry them. Dont dismantle the dashboard immediately.

Your car does not have the rear AC blower unit ? so if it is AC condensation, then the water will not get into the rear seat footwell.

You mentioned washing the car yourself. Did you also wash the underside of the body with the water hose ?

In all probability it may be due to the water fording. Even though the water level is lower than the clearance of the vehicle, waves formed when the vehicle moves will surely splash the water against the doors, allowing little water to get it thru the gaps. The door beadings dont run below the door frame or may be loose..

Once the carpets are removed, the source should be easy to identify..

That is what the SA mentioned. He said he'd have to remove the carpet completely and maybe the dashboard too. They want 4 days for that.

When washing the car I use bucket and sponge on the body. I use the hose mainly under the mud guard and wheels. Rarely on the roof and windshield if I'm lazy to reach over

If you see the photos; I already have loose beading on the left rear door.

Thanks for your input.

[smsrini]

Originally Posted by woodcrawler

That is what the SA mentioned. He said he'd have to remove the carpet completely and maybe the dashboard too. They want 4 days for that.

When washing the car I use bucket and sponge on the body. I use the hose mainly under the mud guard and wheels. Rarely on the roof and windshield if I'm lazy to reach over

If you see the photos; I already have loose beading on the left rear door.

Thanks for your input.

Loose beading as shown in your pictures will not result in water on the floor ESP near the middle of the seats, and you would have noticed water drops on the window sill or door plastics as well.

Look under the door to see if there are possibilities of gaps thru which water can enter when fording.

I experienced this a few yrs. ago in my lancer, when stuck in a water logged road. A couple of passing SUVs created water waves that hit the door sides and resulted in wet carpet.

[latentpotential]

use a rubber based glue to fix the beading in place, if you leave it in the current state, you will face leakage into the cabin during washing the car/ rain.

plus, maybe you can get the /ac filter checked. in my Swift, the water starts to drip in whenever the filter gets clogged, guess it is my car's way of telling me 'need cleaning'.

to dry out, it would be best to get the carpet taken out, and good sunlight should do the rest.

[woodcrawler]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Loose beading as shown in your pictures will not result in water on the floor ESP near the middle of the seats, and you would have noticed water drops on the window sill or door plastics as well.

Look under the door to see if there are possibilities of gaps thru which water can enter when fording.

I experienced this a few yrs. ago in my lancer, when stuck in a water logged road. A couple of passing SUVs created water waves that hit the door sides and resulted in wet carpet.

You are right Sir, There has to be some other gap for water to get it. Yesterday they drained out a lot of water from the 'scuttle panel' area. The A/C drip is still a problem for which they want 4 days. They still insist that the A/C condensation can travel backward through some grooves in the floor.

Anyway, I'll be leaving it with the service center for 4 days next week. Let's see if they have a solution.

For now, it suffices to say that my honeymoon with the Duster has been 'dampened' abruptly

[Sunilrj]

Water Flooding inside the Cabin! in a Duster in 2012! Disaster! well i faced this problem with my Linea in the very first month of Purchase and in my Ford Icon in the Second Month.

In the Linea it was the Condenser Drain Pipe that was dislodged as well as a opening on the transmission tunnel, that the robot had sealed at a different location about 4 inches further from the opening in the bodyshop of the manufacturer.

in the Icon it was a gromat in the engine compartment, just below the cowl that was missing and was not detected during PDI.

Loose door beadings will cause water dripping and not flooding - only in the side/ area where the beadings are loose. A/c Drain Blocked / Disconnected/Dislodged will cause flooding only in the portion of the footwell where the pipe meets the floor ie. normally RH front Footwell or LH front Footwell.

to me it looks like an opening in the floor - a Seal wrongly placed away from the actual opening. Since Duster comes in both LH and RH Versions, for the RH version there should be an opening in the RH side of the Transmission Tunnel and in the LH version on the LH side. The RH Drive Vehicles use the LH side opening and LH Drive Vice versa. the opening would be about 1/2 Inch in Diameter and normally this is covered with a stick-on piece of Metal. it is advisable to remove the carpets and put the car on a ramp and either light a bunch of agarbathhis to see from which opening the smoke comes out, or alternatively have someone inside the car and do a thorough pressure wash of the underbody.

The carpets need to be dried using a hair dryer and not dried using the atmospheric elements as they tend to become hard. to remove the damp odour inside the car you would have to empty a bottle of air freshener or use camphor / napthalene balls under the carpets

[woodcrawler]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

use a rubber based glue to fix the beading in place, if you leave it in the current state, you will face leakage into the cabin during washing the car/ rain.

plus, maybe you can get the /ac filter checked. in my Swift, the water starts to drip in whenever the filter gets clogged, guess it is my car's way of telling me 'need cleaning'.

to dry out, it would be best to get the carpet taken out, and good sunlight should do the rest.

Thank you for your input. The beading is going to get replaced during first service, I guess they won't have it in stock yet.

The car is little over a month old and done only 1350 kms. Too early for the A/C filter to clog, that is if they have on in the Duster. I read somewhere that the Duster does not come with a pollen filter(cost cutting obviously).

[woodcrawler]

Originally Posted by Sunilrj

Water Flooding inside the Cabin! in a Duster in 2012! Disaster! well i faced this problem with my Linea in the very first month of Purchase and in my Ford Icon in the Second Month.

............

to me it looks like an opening in the floor - a Seal wrongly placed away from the actual opening..........

The carpets need to be dried using a hair dryer and not dried using the atmospheric elements as they tend to become hard. to remove the damp odour inside the car you would have to empty a bottle of air freshener or use camphor / napthalene balls under the carpets

Thank you Sunil, for such a wonderful analysis.

I agree, its not a very happy thing to have a major complaint within a month of getting your dream vehicle but it's not a new experience for me. I'm getting used to European eccentricities. When I got my Punto the indicator lights on the front fenders fell out within the first week. Poor quality plastic! Than a few days later the front passenger door window refused to come up after it was rolled down! So you see, I'm sort of used to it now.

I was thinking along the lines of an unsealed hole in the body under the carpet but if that was the case I would have had a real flood inside when I drove it into a reservoir a week after I got the car. Of course, I was only testing the wheels so I went into only about 15-20 cm of water. That time I did not see such a collection of water.

I had dried out the car over two days Sunday & Monday) and this recent ingress was after a wash on Tuesday.

Yesterday the service people in Coimbatore cleared a lot of water from the left side of the bonnet near the wind shield (scuttle panel). I will see what happens after the next wash.

I'll be due for my first service shortly so I'll leave it with them for 4 days as they requested. They wanted to strip the carpet and check. So I guess your thought on an unsealed opening on the floor has crossed their mind too. The are not admitting anything like that though. They keep blaming the A/C condenser leak.

As for the carpets, I have thought of borrowing my wife's hair dryer. It is embarrassing to leave the doors open all day in a new vehicle. I'll let you know what my wife thinks of the hair dryer idea tomorrow. That is, if I'm still in one piece.

[Omtoatom]

Woodcrawler, maybe its the pictures but some of the plastic and rubber quality on offer inside the cabin is quite alarming. For instance, the beading coming off on a new car is not exactly awe-inspiring nor does it qualify for the 'design of the year' award!

Anyway a similar issue has occurred in our Baleno too - although I must add that it happened when the car was about 3 years old. It was eventually diagnosed (and I suspect is the case 90% of the time) to the aircon condensation finding its way back into the cabin. But even then, not to the quantum that your pictures demonstrate - and most certainly not to the extent of flooding and soaking the carpet.

Like you said for a new car, not just a bummer this, but a dampener as well!

[woodcrawler]

Originally Posted by Omtoatom

Woodcrawler, maybe its the pictures but some of the plastic and rubber quality on offer inside the cabin is quite alarming. For instance, the beading coming off on a new car is not exactly awe-inspiring nor does it qualify for the 'design of the year' award!

Anyway a similar issue has occurred in our Baleno too - although I must add that it happened when the car was about 3 years old. It was eventually diagnosed (and I suspect is the case 90% of the time) to the aircon condensation finding its way back into the cabin. But even then, not to the quantum that your pictures demonstrate - and most certainly not to the extent of flooding and soaking the carpet.

Like you said for a new car, not just a bummer this, but a dampener as well!

True Omtoatom, It's very frustrating to have a major hiccup within a couple of weeks of getting a new car. Like I said earlier, it certainly threw water on my 'honeymoon'. They have cleared one part of the problem. I need to dry out completely before I re-check if it's the A/C or the beading. Or maybe as Sunil said in a post here earlier, an extra hole under the carpet somewhere!

Thanks for your input

Rajesh

[Rigid Rotor]

Rajesh,

The reason why the SA is doing what he is, is explained in the fault-finding process I have attached as PDF files.

Whereas this water entering the pax compartment is sure an irritating snag and so is that beading coming loose, these are actually minor snags. Are you planning / contemplating to sell the vehicle because of these snags?

PS- the Indian Duster has a cabin filter for the AC - at least the 110 RZX I have has one - the SA, during the 1st servicing had found the cabin air filter more dirty than the engine air filter and had after cleaning both, given me that feedback.

[Omtoatom]

Originally Posted by woodcrawler

True Omtoatom, It's very frustrating to have a major hiccup within a couple of weeks of getting a new car. Like I said earlier, it certainly threw water on my 'honeymoon'. They have cleared one part of the problem. I need to dry out completely before I re-check if it's the A/C or the beading. Or maybe as Sunil said in a post here earlier, an extra hole under the carpet somewhere!

Thanks for your input

Rajesh

Oh anytime Rajesh. Happy to be of help. I can totally understand your plight and frustration - one just feels powerless in such situations and you wonder why this is happening to you of all the people in the universe.

Also I'm a little surprised here. From your description, I get the impression that the service center thinks they can sit back and kick up their feet after "clearing one part of the problem". Bro, this is a two week old vehicle! They're obligated to ensure they get to the root cause of the problem and fix it in its entirety. No questions asked! Whether it is the AC or the beading, please get them to blow dry the carpet and the floor. Sure as hell, it is their job. They cannot be shrugging this off in anyway.

Btw personally I doubt its the extra hole. Though not entirely impossible, that is a highly unlikely scenario.

[woodcrawler]

Originally Posted by Rigid Rotor

Rajesh,

The reason why the SA is doing what he is, is explained in the fault-finding process I have attached as PDF files.

Whereas this water entering the pax compartment is sure an irritating snag and so is that beading coming loose, these are actually minor snags. Are you planning / contemplating to sell the vehicle because of these snags?

PS- the Indian Duster has a cabin filter for the AC - at least the 110 RZX I have has one - the SA, during the 1st servicing had found the cabin air filter more dirty than the engine air filter and had after cleaning both, given me that feedback.

Thank you Rigid Rotor. I'll use that fault finding process file to see what it can come up with. I'm certainly not planning to sell my Duster for a few minor niggles. I was only joking at a comment Rakesh (micrographics) made about a Duster put up for sale. Anyway, I am giving it for the 1st service shortly and they have promised to spend time (4 days!) to rectify all the problems (leakage, faulty fuel gauge, loose beading, A/C air flow). I'm only wondering if anything will pop up in the next 7 days

Originally Posted by Omtoatom

Oh anytime Rajesh. Happy to be of help. I can totally understand your plight and frustration - one just feels powerless in such situations and you wonder why this is happening to you of all the people in the universe.

Also I'm a little surprised here. From your description, I get the impression that the service center thinks they can sit back and kick up their feet after "clearing one part of the problem". Bro, this is a two week old vehicle! They're obligated to ensure they get to the root cause of the problem and fix it in its entirety. No questions asked! Whether it is the AC or the beading, please get them to blow dry the carpet and the floor. Sure as hell, it is their job. They cannot be shrugging this off in anyway.

Btw personally I doubt its the extra hole. Though not entirely impossible, that is a highly unlikely scenario.

Thank you Omtoatom. As I mentioned above I'll be letting the service guys have a go at the car next week. The beading itself does not seem the culprit because the leak is all over. I've dried out the car almost completely and will give it a hose down tomorrow. Let me see what will happen.

[acroback]

Terribly sorry to hear about your ordeal Woodcrawler.

After reading, this I refrained from using a hose pipe to wash my Duster this weekend. I use the magic sponge with shampoo to rub off dirt and marks and used the same sponge to wash off shampoo.

Today while stumbling to put the rear middle seat belt, I found a heavy small packet of some bolts, perhaps wheel bolts. I notice the stuff was made in italy. Bolts from Italy and water leakage equipment from shady cheap market in India does not gel well.

Honestly, I have written to Renault regarding a small issue and till now I have not heard any ecouraging words from Renault India. I wish you luck with your complaints with their Indian Management, which is perhaps more busy milking customers like us.

Let us know when you hear about the exact issue from SC.

[Tassem]

I suggest you sit inside the car and have somebody hose it down properly. Make sure they direct water around the door edges. Also, thoroughly wash the wheel wells and surrounding area. See if it seeps in.

Also, as somone suggested, run the AC for around 20-30 min on the lowest possible temperature in recirculation mode. You should have a small puddle under the car. If not, move the car a bit and brake. This is to see if the water is actually accumulating someplace else. For eg, on some protective cover. If you still dont see any water, have them figure out where that water is going.

Start from the outside, movin towards the inside of the car. Try this before having them tear up the carpets and dashboard. The main reason I'm suggesting is because once they put things back, you may start having annoying rattles, poor fit etc.