footwell leak on drivers side of 2007 Cabriolet

[robin Martin]

Hi, I have recently bought my fab A4 Cabriolet but sadly I have noticed the drivers side footwell filling with water when out driving! I have had had the aircon striped out and pipes unblocked...but the leak is still there!!

Any help /  ideas would be much appreciated please...

[Steve Q]

It's worth checking the battery try a d other water drain points in near the bulk head on.the engine side. 

Also I'm assuming the roof is water tight.

Cheers

Steve

[robin Martin]

HI Steve Q

thanks for the comment as I have googled similar solutions, plus the rear drain tubes & the seal under the ECU box can fail on the driver's side...so I have my work cut out for me!

[Steve Q]

8 hours ago, robin Martin said:

HI Steve Q

thanks for the comment as I have googled similar solutions, plus the rear drain tubes & the seal under the ECU box can fail on the driver's side...so I have my work cut out for me!

Not a problem, please keep us posted on how you get on. 

Cheers

Steve

[Taffyisfat]

Hi-  I have the same issue - heavy rain = drivers side footwells becoming paddling pools, front and rear! I have cleared (removed) the grommets nearest the windscreen under the battery and near the ECU box. 

Are there more drain points that I'm missing?

[Magnet]

Hello Mark. 

It’s always obviously more difficult to detect leaks with cabriolets than it is with saloons. 

Three things to suggest:- 

Is this roof associated or not? Cover the dashboard to top of seat level with a dry clean light coloured sheet and see it this gets wet/damp.

Mirrors can often be another source of water ingress. 

If both of these fail, it would be worth lifting the carpet on the driver’s side and looking for where the water comes.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Taffyisfat]

Cheers Gareth

It's not roof related as far as i can tell, the water only ever appears in the drivers side footwells - front and back!

Carpet removal seems the next step - don't know if I have the patience/skill to do it.

The odd thing is that when I got in it this morning (rained heavily last night) the carpet seemed dry, but when i set off the water seemed to rise! It's not heating/cooling associated as it only happens when it rains heavily - hence my thought of blocked drains. 

I read a post about drains from the rear, around the roof box - any idea on location of those??

[robin Martin]

Hi Guys,

I just had this fixed. Having removed the whole dashboard and had the Aircon inspected that was fine and a slight fools errand really.

Because if you check the drain from the battery shelf you will notice its blocked, which was a common issue with the A4 cars and when bought from new all the owners were directed to their Audi garage to get it unblocked.

So when it rains the water cant drain away from the battery shelf, causing it to run into the car as you start to drive and jerk around in motion with movement of the car...have the battery removed and the drain unblocked and you will save hours of investigation and money plus anguish and save your leather shoes!

[Taffyisfat]

Thanks Robin

I have already removed these plugs under the battery and it hasn't helped! 

Are there any other drains that I have missed???

[robin Martin]

hmm when i googled such issues there are some other plugs further back (cant remember where) but a call to you local Audi garage should help!

Also i heard that there can be a gap behind the computer and the engine bay as the rubber seal could have perished...this would cause water to trickle into the foot well too

 

happy hunting

[Taffyisfat]

Thanks mate - the ECU is so tucked away it's a b*gger to get at - that's my saturday gone!!!!!!

Thanks

[Bobby]

Hi all, it could well be your heater matrix having a small leak. Keep an eye on your coolant level and if it very slowly reduces it could be the culprit. The matrix sits in the footwell behind and beneath radio etc... I've recently changed mine (DIY) and wet carpets stopped plus lovely, warm heater again! Hope this helps.