Jump to content
Do Not Sell My Personal Information


Ford S-Max Wet Footwells Water Ingress


smaxy
 Share

Recommended Posts

Can anyone help diagnose why our July 2007 S-Max is soaking wet? We discovered it sodden under the drivers mat, then found the floor chamber of the seat behind (where the wheel repair kit is stored) was also sodden. Have taken the car to Ford Dealer who have stripped it and found it soaking from front to back that side. They say the windscreen is leaking - we find that hard to believe.

We have googled ourselves to death and wonder is it the pollen filter seal (replaced at service in April) or the Air Con either blocked pipes or unit discharging into the car or could it be overflow because the bonnet drains are blocked?

Would really appreciate if anyone has any knowledge about this problem or can confirm if its likely the factory fitted windscreen can suddenly fail after 2 years and 3 months.

Ford say water ingress is not covered under warrranty, but our book doesn't say that. :(

Any help really appreciated. :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Can anyone help diagnose why our July 2007 S-Max is soaking wet? We discovered it sodden under the drivers mat, then found the floor chamber of the seat behind (where the wheel repair kit is stored) was also sodden. Have taken the car to Ford Dealer who have stripped it and found it soaking from front to back that side. They say the windscreen is leaking - we find that hard to believe.

We have googled ourselves to death and wonder is it the pollen filter seal (replaced at service in April) or the Air Con either blocked pipes or unit discharging into the car or could it be overflow because the bonnet drains are blocked?

Would really appreciate if anyone has any knowledge about this problem or can confirm if its likely the factory fitted windscreen can suddenly fail after 2 years and 3 months.

Ford say water ingress is not covered under warranty, but our book doesn't say that. :(

Any help really appreciated. :unsure:

Hello.

Had a similar problem with a 2003 Mondeo with water entering from the drivers door.

There is a plastic "membrane" inside to protect the inside panel; this was damaged thus letting water in.

If this has not been changed on other models this could be the problem.

Ford put the matter right with no charge.

You could be unlucky and have front and rear doors leaking.

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Yes I have the same problem; no solution yet but I was looking at the underside of the car and there seems to be a plug or cap missing on what looks like a drain hole in the underside of the offside rear - right where the wet carpet is. It doesn't seem big enough to have caused all the water ingress however.

I did have a windscreen replaced recently, so this is more likely to be the cause of my problems than yours, however I recall that the carpet was wet in the footwell before that so lots of mystery still around mine. I'll let you know what I find.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a TSB regarding the aircon drain which causes this to happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a TSB regarding the aircon drain which causes this to happen.

a fault carried over from fords colaboration with vw and vws suffer badly from it the plenum drain is likely blocked filling up with water then draining into the car with leaks start from the wettest part first if its the front then plenums or windscreen if fro m the rear then boot seals or water getting in past the rear light gaskets the pollen seal would drain into the passengers side not drivers so i wouldnt say it was that but it is a sligt possibility vws also had an issue with the bonnet release and cables routed through ther bulkhead on the drivers side where the rubber grommets didnt seal right and caused water to get in though not as mich as you say i find a hose over the car with someone inspecting is the best way to tell if its the windoew youll soon find out

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 5 months later...

Can anyone help diagnose why our July 2007 S-Max is soaking wet? We discovered it sodden under the drivers mat, then found the floor chamber of the seat behind (where the wheel repair kit is stored) was also sodden. Have taken the car to Ford Dealer who have stripped it and found it soaking from front to back that side. They say the windscreen is leaking - we find that hard to believe.

We have googled ourselves to death and wonder is it the pollen filter seal (replaced at service in April) or the Air Con either blocked pipes or unit discharging into the car or could it be overflow because the bonnet drains are blocked?

Would really appreciate if anyone has any knowledge about this problem or can confirm if its likely the factory fitted windscreen can suddenly fail after 2 years and 3 months.

Ford say water ingress is not covered under warrranty, but our book doesn't say that. :(

Any help really appreciated. :unsure:

Hi I have the same problem, I first noticed this following a long drive to the South of France with the air con on. The front and back foot wells were full of water and it was dripping out of the underside of the rear drivers side foot well. The weather had been dry for 3 days or more so this was not water ingress. SMC Ford at Crayford have attempted a repair on 2 occasions last year and I have just found following use of the air con that the carpets are damp again today. I have checked the carpets through the winter and it has been dry therefore the problem is condense from the air con unit. My car is an 06 2.0 TDCI and it is booked in for Friday 23rd July.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a TSB regarding the aircon drain which causes this to happen.

Thanks, I have the same problem what is a "TSB"?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Techical service bulletin.

Any Ford service should repair this without any costs.

I have the same problem with my Smax - clean water collecting in the drivers footwell - stops when I switch off the air con. I took the car to Ford and explained the problem and that a TSB existed for it but they claimed this was not the case and wanted to charge £85 just to investigate! Does anyone know the TSB reference so I can go back with some facts to back up the claim? Also, would this only be sorted FOC if the car was being serviced as part of the service or will Ford fix it if I just turn up. As Sods Law would predict the warranty expired 2 months ago so I'm not too chuffed about having to pay for known fault to be fixed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess this is it.

TSB 9/3/08

Condensation dripping into the front footwell on the passenger side

45/2006

Should a customer express concern about dampness in the front footwell on the passenger side the probable cause is incorrect manufacturing tolerances in the

joints of the climate control housing components. This allows condensation to escape from the bottom corner of the climate control housing when the air

conditioning (A/C) is operating.

To rectify this concern, the evaporator cover must be removed and butyl sealing strip applied to the gaps in the climate control housing. The affected carpet area

should be dried/cleaned with locally procured cleaning agent. It is not necessary to install a new carpet.

Before carrying out the procedure detailed in this bulletin eliminate all other possible causes for water entry into the front footwell (e.g. water entry after passing

through a car wash or during very heavy rain).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

drain pipe from aircon coming adrift is reported frequently as told by ex ford service tech

drain pipe dislodges regulary in smax drivers side footwell situated under centre console plastic....take centre console off take seat out pull carpet back push drain pipe back into aircon unit making sure o ring is intact see pic ...bond it in with silicone sealant so it does not come out again

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I found water collecting within the drivers footwell of my s max 08 last week! Rang the local Ford garage where we bought it from and was told by the service dept that leaks are not covered within the warranty. I was told to contact Ford customer services to register the issue, who informed me that I had to book it in for a investigation. This will be carried out next week.

I can't believe a car thats only 2yrs and 3mths old is leaking already!

Has anyone successfully managed to get Ford to pay for this fix should it be confirmed to be associated with the Air Cond??

Thanks

Rob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

Hi Folks, thought I would letful you all know about my S Max 2010 plate 2.0 diesel.

First of all I was having an issue with the keyless non start not working when the clutch was depressed.

After checking various issues as pointed out on the forum,I was unsuccessful.

With the help of an Auto Spark mate,we traced the clutch sensor wire(top sensor), as there is two on the clutch pedal.Wire is blue/orange.

This wire runs from the pedal to the o/s/r qtr where the keyless control module is int he rear boot section.

No feed at the wire going into the module when clutch depressed,so broken wire or short somewhere.

To cut long story short I hear you say, we stripped the seats and carpets,plastic trim out the drivers side of the vehicle and found water in the footwells from the aircon drain pipe which was leaking into the car.

The wire concerned in the passenger offside rear footwell, was corroded at a join due to being submerged in water.

Repaired the wire and hey presto,car starts like new.

Fixed the pipe from the aircon by sealing in with the infamous mastic sealer and now car is still dry after running a good few times.

Will dry out carpets and put back in soon.

Hope this helps, certainly took me a while and pulling out what hair I had left,but the forum certainly helped.

Cheers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 months later...

Hi,

I have exactly the same problem as smaxy, although I have to confess it only feels wet in the footwells of the driver and drivers side rear passenger of my 2007 2.0 Diesel S Max.

There is mention of TSBs on here but can anyone confirm if Ford do fix it free of charge? And especially as it's a while since this thread started? The TSB 45-2006 suggests it's in the passenger footwell - which it isn't on my car, so I'm not sure if it is the right TSB.

Just wondering whether to bother trying a main dealer (they usually irritate me!) or whether to go to my usual guy, but know I will have a charge to pay for definites.

Any comments welcome. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • 3 months later...

Hi,

I guess no-one could offer anything new to my previous question, but to give an update, I took it into the garage and they cleared a partial blockage in the air con and it seemed to sort the problem out. However, last week the exact same problem returned so I took it back and asked them to check it, which they did, and they said they were sure the air con was all fine and that it wasn't leaking. They also checked the windscreen seal and it was fine.

I trust them and know them personally so I don't think they would try and mess me about (they didn't charge for this follow up work) but they said they'd need to have it in, strip the carpets etc which is obviously going to be labour intensive. Any thoughts anyone can give would be appreciated.

They seem convinced it's not the air con but before when it happened there had been little rain, so I doubt that was the cause. There has now been a lot more rain and it's not wetter than it was in the summer. The thing that convinces me most that it's not an water leak is the carpet in the back footwell being wet too - it would seem strange if I had two leaks.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated. I've done plenty of googling and I haven't seen too many comments saying "it was fixed, thanks very much!" so I guess it's caused and still causing mystery for many people.

Thanks,

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

are the drains on the roof clear of debris and crud?

i had some water drip over my right shoulder few months ago from above the drivers seat,i did check the gutters but seemed a ok.

i have a pan roof and did wonder whether the glass had come apart?i havnt noticed it happen since.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for your advice and sorry for the delay in expressing those thanks. I think they are clear from what I can see, but it doesn't seem it's coming from outside and it would be strange that it's gathering in just the lowest parts of the front and rear footwells? As in, I'm sure I'd be able to detect a trail from where it was coming in? I'm still convinced it may be an air con issue, but I just don't know....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

I have an 09 s max with Pan roof and have noticed that the rear left seat belt keeps getting sodden when we have heavy rain. None of the rest of the car is wet, just the seat belt. Worrying that it’s coming in through the roof seal and that I’m going to have a puddle of water trapped inside the frame that will then in turn start rusting the car. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi all,

We have the same problem of water in the offside passenger footwell (tyre repair stowage area) and the S-Max has a plain roof.  I can't see traces of water staining anywhere so how does it get there?  Too far away for an air-con problem, and surely water in the roof gutters can't get into the cabin.  I'll look at the rear light clusters but I think the water would have to run uphill to reach the footwell.

there's no visible damage to the door seals, but I'll try hosing the rear offside door window (with the door open) to see if anything dribbles out of the bottom.

Any other ideas?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've poured water down the offside passenger window and it comes out from two vents at the bottom of the door, outside the door seals so this isn't the problem.

I've removed the inspection panel behind the rear lights and there's no sign of damp there.

Any ideas, anyone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I have a 13 s max same problems drivers footwell and rear tyre kit storage space soaking wet, actual puddle in rear.

its been to 3 garages one was ford, no further forward 

any help please ? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The response to a letter in Saturday's Tottygraph talked about leaves blocking some drains, but didn't say where these drains are.  Leaves regularly collect on the corners under the bonnet but I can't see any drainage holes.

Does anyone know where all the drainage holes in the car are?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

you should check car has had a windscreen replacement as this could be the problem as some company,s make a hind leg of the job and do not refit the wiper scuttle and other parts correctly has happened on galaxys as well...just check hope you get sorted........cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

Had same problem and after consulting with 3 garages and checking air pollen filters and gullies etc gave up on problem and just used towels to soak up the water.

Few months later taxi business operator friend mentioned very likely faulty windscreen fitting.  

Remembering I had Autoglass replace windscreen a year before got in touch with them.  They provide lifetime warranty on their work so more than happy to look into.  They removed screen and realised the repair had been faulty, the glue they use had not gone fully round the corner!  They fixed their error and problem solved - now awaiting their offer of compensation!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share




×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership