WET floors !!! what else could it be ?

[bossco477]

Hi, I was wondering if any of you could help me identify the source of my WET floors...

I checked the doors like I read on a post by wetting them from the outside and cheking if anything filters through the bottom, inside.The water stayed outside.

I have noticed today, since it has been raining all day and the car is outdoors, that the water does not filter in unless I move the car and it's raining

Any Ideas on where to start?
Has it happened to any of you if so what was the source?
Are there any floor holes that have a cap that might be missing ?
the floors doget wet front and rear

Thanks

[Knowledge]

This happened to me earlier this summer.

Let's start with the water, where exactly does your interior get wet? How much water? Does it feel like it is wet first in one place and then soaks across the floor to others (in other words is it more wet in one spot)? When you press on the carpet to dry up the water are there any places where the floor feels mushy?

Have you had any of your window regulators replaced recently?

If yes, then check the inside of your door(s) for water marks, I was told at the dealership that sometimes this repair will invariably cause water leaks.

Next, I would inspect all of the door trim (rain channels) and window gaskets. Look for cracking and pitting, especially if you have the matte black finish. Try to slide the trim back and forth to see if it is loose - it should only budge slightly. Any more or if it wobbles, then there's your problem.

This is what turned out to be the source of my water leak. The sun had baked my rain channel causing some of the retaining clips to crack, which enabled the whole piece to move forward and backward the length of the doors. This prevented the door from getting a proper seal against the channel and also caused the channel to protrude in some places. Instead of running the water back along the top of the channel and down off the rear quarter panel, it was directing the flow between the trim and the door jamb into my back seat. Driving in rain only further exacerbated this. Fortunately, I was able to park it under cover until I could have it fixed. The dealer installed a new 'hockey stick' and I have been bone dry since.

Here is the thread I used to figure out my problem:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ght=water+leak

Without more information, this was the best I could do. Good Luck!

[bossco477]

Thanks for the response.....

well... here is what I have noticed. When it rains and I drive the car I see that the carpet just gets wet, there are no mushy spots and it seems like it is all wet in an evenly distributed ammount. No way of telling where it comes from, it doesn't get totally soaked just a little wet but enough to fog up my interior and make my car smell a little weird.

I havent had any of the window regulators replaced and the rain gutters on the sides seem to be fine

I cant find the source and it is driving me insane!

Could it come from underneeth ?

[the andrew]

Thanks for the response.....

well... here is what I have noticed. When it rains and I drive the car I see that the carpet just gets wet, there are no mushy spots and it seems like it is all wet in an evenly distributed ammount. No way of telling where it comes from, it doesn't get totally soaked just a little wet but enough to fog up my interior and make my car smell a little weird.

I havent had any of the window regulators replaced and the rain gutters on the sides seem to be fine

I cant find the source and it is driving me insane!

Could it come from underneeth ?

I had this problem, it ended up being the rear wheel well on the drivers side. The seal between the body sheetmetal and the wheel well itself did not have an air tight seal, so when I drove in shit weather the carpet got wet from the tire slapping water around in it. Try this: tape up the holes in the trunk ceiling where the air condition escapes, shut all the doors and windows, crank the the blower fan on fresh air mode (make sure the AC is not activated, the snowflake button), then walk around the car and feel if any air is escaping from the doors or body. Doing this I found my leak in the rear wheel well.

[MOTOREN]

Had the same problem vapor barier on the door.

[justbman]

How is your windshield bottom seal? My was all cracked and I used clear calk to fix that.

[bossco477]

I will get back to you guys tomorrow if the weather allows for the details on any other possible leaks on wheel wells, doors, or windshield bottom seal with
the andrew's great method (supposed to rain all day).

Thank you for your replies,

Will try to snapsome pictures to create a DIY on WET floor! diagnostics a common illnes of the e46

[Juan ///M325]

From past experience:

1- check your sunroof drain lines.
2- check your a/c drain lines also (could explain the only when you move the
car wetness)
3- check where the cabin pollen filter is and see if its wet. I had a vehicle
that was leaking water through it!
4- check weatherstriping on the doors.
5- check the drain holes on your doors. Sometimes they get dirt and grime
not allowing the water to drain. If this is happening, you should hear
water on your doors.

Are the wet spots on the front or rear? Have you checked the fire wall and the sides of the carpet by the doors? This could help ypu identify the point of entry. Good luck

[bossco477]

I have not gotten a chance to check these things yet, however I drove the car today (it is a little wet outside from last night) and noticed the first spot to get humid is the rear passengers side floor area
Ideas?

I also have some questions....

How and where do I check:
AC drainages
Sunroof drain lines (I opened the sunroof previewsly and checked the sides for debri, didn,t see enything unusual)
Door drain holes

Thanks,

[the andrew]

I have not gotten a chance to check these things yet, however I drove the car today (it is a little wet outside from last night) and noticed the first spot to get humid is the rear passengers side floor area
Ideas?

I also have some questions....

How and where do I check:
AC drainages
Sunroof drain lines (I opened the sunroof previewsly and checked the sides for debri, didn,t see enything unusual)
Door drain holes

Thanks,

That's where mine would get wet first also, the remedy was I bought some rubberized undercoating and masked off key areas in the wheel and under-next to the fuel tank and rocker pannel and sealed up anything I could. Any gaps or cracks I covered, been dry ever since.

[Juan ///M325]

I have not gotten a chance to check these things yet, however I drove the car today (it is a little wet outside from last night) and noticed the first spot to get humid is the rear passengers side floor area
Ideas?

I also have some questions....

How and where do I check:
AC drainages
Sunroof drain lines (I opened the sunroof previewsly and checked the sides for debri, didn,t see enything unusual)
Door drain holes

Thanks,

For the AC just turn it on and look under the car. If there is water under your car, chances are is not the AC drainage. Sometimes the drain plug is over the tranny of exhaust, check for any sound of water dripping over hot metal. If this happens, you may not see that much water under your car (this is still ok).

Do the same for the sunroof. Open the sunroof and get a glass of water and pour it on the corners of the sunroof. There are 4 drain lines (one on each corner). Wait for the water to drop onto the floor outside the car (gravity). Try each hole one at a time. If you dont see water under the car after doing one hole at a time, you found the problem. Move the car each time you try each hole to make sure its dry underneath the car.

[aanilust]

Juan ///M325
He gave a nice list right there, that what happened to me this summer, check your drain lines and make sure they are not clogged. mine was i was just going 120 all the time on a hard rain and water was just by passign the drainers and straight coming inside from the cabin filter just check all your drainers and make sure when the ac on the car is dripping from the bottom not on to your carpet.

[DavidR2PA]

Old thread but I just had my water leak fixed. When parked in a rain storm both rear floor mats would get soaked. The dealer thought it was the door seals and wanted $500 each to fix them. It turned out that if you picked up the BMW trim strip on the door sill, there were open holes to the inside of the sill. The fix was to use weather strip under the BMW trim strips. My local indy did it for free.

[bossco477]

Interesting,

Mine turned out to be the weather liners in the rear, however I think there is some moisture still sipping in from somewhere. When its very rainy and humid my windows tend to fog up on the inside...any ideas on where this could be coming from ?

Carpets are dry now tho

[GunnerNell]

bosco, make sure you've got the vent system set to outside air. Recirculating the cabin air will often create excess humidity. Body heat, don'tchaknow.

[akhbhaat]

Vapor barriers, probably.

Buy some butyl tape from Walmart, take the door panels off, and use the tape to reseal all of the edges around the vapor barrier plus any holes or tears you may find.