Water leakage in Mercedes E350 (W212)

sidharthg · 2nd March 2015, 13:44

Hi everyone,

I have been facing this problem randomly for a while, the water is seeping inside the right side driver foot well. Also, the roof on that side is also wet, i suspect that the water is coming through the roof drains of the car. This morning it rained heavily in Delhi, and in the morning I almost cleared up 3-4 liters of water from inside the right side of the car.

Has anyone faced similar problem or heard of it?

I am really skeptical of sending the car to service center, I am sure they will just rip me off with loads of unnecessary replacements.

ajmat · 2nd March 2015, 14:02

It is quite possible the drainage pipes are blocked. Open the roof, pour some water around the area and see if it drains, if not, you need to unblock the pipes. I do not know where it is for Mercs but google can help!

More on sunroofs here

dark.knight · 2nd March 2015, 14:09

I'm not a MB owner but since this problem is specific to a particular model a simple search I did took me to a link in MB world http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w2...body-else.html This could help you out.

According to this the car has a storied history of leakage exactly as you've mentioned, accumulating in the driver foot well. Possibilities are a blocked drain pathway by debris like leaves, sand etc or one of the several interior plastic panels and joints connecting the outer metal shell which might've become loose over time and hence letting in water from outside when its being washed or when raining. The A-pillar panel seems to be trouble prone according to this.

karan561 · 2nd March 2015, 16:17

This can be cause mainly due to 2 reasons;

1) As everyone said that the drains must be blocked so best is to sort that issue and after the issue is solved see that the car is not parked under a tree cause, 'dried leaves' are one of the most common reasons for such blockage to happen.

2) The car must have been parked on a slope or an angle, this will sometimes not drain the water out and cause water seepage in the interiors. (Faced this in my Skoda Laura few years back)

All the best

sidharthg · 8th March 2015, 10:56

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the support and suggestions. Yeah, I too googled and figured out the sunroof drainage problem. It was totally blocked. Fortunately I have air compressor in factory for high pressure jobs. So that did the trick. Simply plugged a nozzle in a hose pipe and inserted into the drain holes, and all the small debris came out of the bottom of the car.

So far the same problem hasn't occurred in these 2-3 days of rain!

2nd March 2015, 13:44	#1
sidharthg BHPian Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New Delhi Posts: 84 Thanked: 290 Times	Water leakage in Mercedes E350 (W212) Hi everyone, I have been facing this problem randomly for a while, the water is seeping inside the right side driver foot well. Also, the roof on that side is also wet, i suspect that the water is coming through the roof drains of the car. This morning it rained heavily in Delhi, and in the morning I almost cleared up 3-4 liters of water from inside the right side of the car. Has anyone faced similar problem or heard of it? I am really skeptical of sending the car to service center, I am sure they will just rip me off with loads of unnecessary replacements.
	() Thanks

2nd March 2015, 14:02	#2
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,858 Thanked: 27,925 Times View My Garage	re: Water leakage in Mercedes E350 (W212) It is quite possible the drainage pipes are blocked. Open the roof, pour some water around the area and see if it drains, if not, you need to unblock the pipes. I do not know where it is for Mercs but google can help! More on sunroofs here
	(4) Thanks

2nd March 2015, 14:09	#3
dark.knight Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Beans Town Posts: 1,847 Thanked: 8,351 Times	re: Water leakage in Mercedes E350 (W212) I'm not a MB owner but since this problem is specific to a particular model a simple search I did took me to a link in MB world http://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w2...body-else.html This could help you out. According to this the car has a storied history of leakage exactly as you've mentioned, accumulating in the driver foot well. Possibilities are a blocked drain pathway by debris like leaves, sand etc or one of the several interior plastic panels and joints connecting the outer metal shell which might've become loose over time and hence letting in water from outside when its being washed or when raining. The A-pillar panel seems to be trouble prone according to this. Last edited by dark.knight : 2nd March 2015 at 14:16.
	(3) Thanks

2nd March 2015, 16:17	#4
karan561 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 5,068 Thanked: 22,243 Times View My Garage	Re: Water leakage in Mercedes E350 (W212) This can be cause mainly due to 2 reasons; 1) As everyone said that the drains must be blocked so best is to sort that issue and after the issue is solved see that the car is not parked under a tree cause, 'dried leaves' are one of the most common reasons for such blockage to happen. 2) The car must have been parked on a slope or an angle, this will sometimes not drain the water out and cause water seepage in the interiors. (Faced this in my Skoda Laura few years back) All the best
	(2) Thanks

8th March 2015, 10:56	#5
sidharthg BHPian Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New Delhi Posts: 84 Thanked: 290 Times	Re: Water leakage in Mercedes E350 (W212) Hi everyone, Thanks for all the support and suggestions. Yeah, I too googled and figured out the sunroof drainage problem. It was totally blocked. Fortunately I have air compressor in factory for high pressure jobs. So that did the trick. Simply plugged a nozzle in a hose pipe and inserted into the drain holes, and all the small debris came out of the bottom of the car. So far the same problem hasn't occurred in these 2-3 days of rain!
	(1) Thanks