Hi everyone, 

Has anybody know what this is in the drivers footwell?

It's dripping water and wondered if anybody knew what it was before I started pulling panels etc!

Bottom of the cabin filter cover maybe?

It is the pollen filter at the bottom of the HVAC box.

So the question is, is that water or coolant?  It does look like plain water which is either AC condensate if you've had the AC on, or potentially rain water if you haven't had the AC on.

Thanks for the replies guys. Confirms my initial thought of the pollen filter. It is dripping whether the AC is on or off. it's at the point that there is a damp smell in the car and condensation on the windows when you get in it and has become noticeable after the heavy rain we've had the last few days.

My other focus has no water dripping there so wonder if it's a loose cover that I can take off and clip back in.

Ok, well if we assume it is just rain, first thing to check is the windscreen scuttle panel.  You'll need to remove it and make sure the drain holes are clean underneath.  When you replace it, make sure it seals against the screen properly.

Thanks Tom, just grabbing some tools and I shall take a look!

51 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Ok, well if we assume it is just rain, first thing to check is the windscreen scuttle panel.  You'll need to remove it and make sure the drain holes are clean underneath.  When you replace it, make sure it seals against the screen properly.

Hi Tom, may be just me being dense (big possibility!) But where exactly am I looking?

I can't see anything obvious that is blocked so thought I'd double check before putting back together. 

Here's where I am at.

5 minutes ago, jlawes20389 said:

Hi Tom, may be just me being dense (big possibility!) But where exactly am I looking?

I can't see anything obvious that is blocked so thought I'd double check before putting back together. 

Here's where I am at.

No, that's a good start!  The drain holes are under the wiper motors but there doesn't appear to be any puddles there from what I can see?  Just make sure there are no leaves partially blocking them that might cause a 'flash flood' that has since drained away.  The cabin air intake is that large rectangular opening roughly in the centre, that's where I'd expect any rain to be getting in.  Can you see any signs of water around there?

Ok that's good, I was looking in the right places! No puddles under the wiper motors and no leaves or anything in them either. That whole section across the top including the air intake in the center appears to be bone dry 

6 minutes ago, jlawes20389 said:

Ok that's good, I was looking in the right places! No puddles under the wiper motors and no leaves or anything in them either. That whole section across the top including the air intake in the center appears to be bone dry 

Well, that's sort of good news...but also means it's not going to be such a simple fix.

Make sure the scuttle is all seated properly when you put it back so there's no chance of rain running behind it.

Coolant level also looks fine so we can be fairly sure it's not the dreaded coolant leak.

 

Not sure what to suggest next as I was fairly sure it'd be coming in through the cabin air intake somehow.  Can you double check it's coming from the HVAC box, rather than higher up and just collecting at that point?  Probably easiest to use a mirror to look up behind the dash.  

Thanks for the help so far! At least one thing appears to be ruled out.

I've got to pop out now and pick up the other half from her work as it's her car, I kept it to have a look haha.

Would there be more access if I removed some of the panels, around the centre console, glovebox to have a better look do you think?

My brother works for a bodyshop so I've got access to plenty of tools and not adverse to pulling interiors apart so thinking I could get some bits out to have a better look.

I've also just remembered something which I had totally forgotten about that I probably should have mentioned at the start! 

A few weeks back, I replaced the cabin filter. Yesterday when I first noticed the trickles of water, I was in the passenger side and it looked to be coming from the cabin filter area. I took it out and it was rather wet so I replaced it thinking I may not have closed it up completely. When I replaced it yesterday, it was definitely closed properly.

Feeling up what I can of the drivers side of the HVAC box, I cannot find any wet bits except for where it is dripping in the first picture I uploaded. 

I'll try and have a look at passenger side better when I get a chance.

A damp filter will end up mouldy and smelly, there really shouldn't be so much water gathering there even if the lid was properly closed.  There is a drain at the bottom of the HVAC box which maybe blocked so that's the next thing to check.

I'm not sure of access on the Mk3 but it's going to be behind one of the side panels/carpets.  I'd guess drivers side.  Should be a fairly obvious tube connected to the lowest point of the box and then down to exit under the car.

I have exactly the same issue that I noticed a few days ago. There had been some serious rainfall but it had also been really humid and I had driven for about four hours with the aircon on. I also had the aircon on for about three weeks before hand. It's booked in on Thursday as the drivers footwell was sopping and I need it sorting so I can dry the car out before it starts stinking. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this.

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

A damp filter will end up mouldy and smelly, there really shouldn't be so much water gathering there even if the lid was properly closed.  There is a drain at the bottom of the HVAC box which maybe blocked so that's the next thing to check.

I'm not sure of access on the Mk3 but it's going to be behind one of the side panels/carpets.  I'd guess drivers side.  Should be a fairly obvious tube connected to the lowest point of the box and then down to exit under the car.

I think Ive found the drain, just in front and below of the HVAC box in my first picture, removing the trim panel helps with access, will have a proper look when I get home a little later today.

1 hour ago, Mollymoodoo said:

I have exactly the same issue that I noticed a few days ago. There had been some serious rainfall but it had also been really humid and I had driven for about four hours with the aircon on. I also had the aircon on for about three weeks before hand. It's booked in on Thursday as the drivers footwell was sopping and I need it sorting so I can dry the car out before it starts stinking. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this.

Will be interesting to hear what feedback you get too. I'll update with anything I find.

The verdict from the garage is everything seem to check out. I will have a look myself for wet cabin filter etc because they have just blown everything out with an airline so far free of charge and said nothing was blocked no debris. It doesn't appear to have been dripping whilst I have had the heater on full bore to attempt to dry the carpets out, and the coolant hasn't dropped so I think I can rule out o rings and matrix. It may just be an anomaly as yet.

Well at least they didn't charge you! 

I've not had a chance to investigate further yet as waiting for a spare few hours and some plastic trim tools to pinch so probably won't look until Saturday morning.

Ha yeah they did go into it half hearted a bit, but he did say leave it until after lunch and he will see if there is anything else he can find.

Maybe just condensation from the aircon, it has been pretty humid & hot lately.

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2 hours ago, Stoney871 said:

Maybe just condensation from the aircon, it has been pretty humid & hot lately.

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It does seem strange to have exactly the same problem, even the drips were coming off the same bit of plastic, at the same time on pretty much the same car. There was a lot of water in the footwell though which is understandable from the amount of dripping. It could yet be as you say purely due to the environment at the time.
 

 

Well I've got to the drain plug, nothing appears to be blocked, can blow air through so running it for a bit while I've got some of the panels out to see if anything from anywhere else.

Does seem a bit odd due to the amount of water that was there and that my other focus, is bone dry inside.

Will keep an eye and see how it goes!

I've also stripped the panels out and took the carpet up to let it dry properly. I will start putting water over everywhere tomorrow and run it like you say and see if anything happens. I might even run around in it for a couple of weeks sans panels.