I have a 2014 Ka and have recently noticed water leaking in to the drivers footwell, usually onto my foot when I press the clutch! It smells like water, not washer fluid etc.

It has been raining heavily recently, but it doesn't leak all the time - just one 'gush' after the car has been parked for a while and I drive off.

Any suggestions to how to stop this please? Really didn't expect it to leak after two years after previously owning a beautiful fault-free 1996 Escort for 16 years!

Thank you very much.

 

I have the same problem with my Streetka and its a nightmare - one of the leaks is coming in from the bottom-front of the drivers door - poor seals in the roof or the window has dropped so adjusting the window or replacing the seal is usually a fix for that one. You need to pinpoint where the leak is actually emanating from - I used some dry cloths but you can use talcum powder or absorbent paper.

If you check the soak pads under the foot pedals see if they are wet then that means the water is coming in from the Scuttle.

I have also got that issue as well - multiple leaks which i think may be needing sealed with silicone sealant or a new heater section.

This is a really common fault on ALL Ka's be they Streetka's , Sportka's - even the Ford garage say they cant pinpoint it without ripping everything out of the front of the car.

Check the passenger footwell but not the flat bit but the sloping bit under the glove compartment - there are two heavy duty soakpads under that part and the drivers pedals - if they are both wet or one wet its coming in from the front scuttle so will need the scuttle removed and examined to see if its coming in from the heater , heater pipes, drain holes or other ingress point.

 

Thanks for your advice Gary, but thankfully it wasn't too difficult to sort out.....

Underneath where the windscreen meets the bonnet there is a long channel which was absolutely filled with rain water. The two drain holes were blocked with leaves and gunk. This water was then finding another way to escape, ie into the footwell!

These drain holes can in future be reached from under the bonnet: two rubber outlets which protrude down. I could easily squeeze out the gunk and all the water flushed through.

A serious design flaw by Ford - I hope this helps anyone else with my problem.

Yip thats the scuttle drain holes.

Glad you are fixed - well done especially when its zero cost?

 

 

23 hours ago, juliep said:

Thanks for your advice Gary, but thankfully it wasn't too difficult to sort out.....

Underneath where the windscreen meets the bonnet there is a long channel which was absolutely filled with rain water. The two drain holes were blocked with leaves and gunk. This water was then finding another way to escape, ie into the footwell!

These drain holes can in future be reached from under the bonnet: two rubber outlets which protrude down. I could easily squeeze out the gunk and all the water flushed through.

A serious design flaw by Ford - I hope this helps anyone else with my problem.

Not a design fault by Ford, this is a problem that can and does occur on any car. The remedy once the problem is known is to check regularly that these drains are clear.

I am also having this problem with me 2013 KA, i have tried looking for the drain holes but I am unsure what I am looking at, does anyone have an image of these that may help?

Thanks in advance :)

On 6/16/2016 at 10:40 AM, juliep said:

I have a 2014 Ka and have recently noticed water leaking in to the drivers footwell, usually onto my foot when I press the clutch! It smells like water, not washer fluid etc.

It has been raining heavily recently, but it doesn't leak all the time - just one 'gush' after the car has been parked for a while and I drive off.

Any suggestions to how to stop this please? Really didn't expect it to leak after two years after previously owning a beautiful fault-free 1996 Escort for 16 years!

Thank you very much.

 

I have just cured such a problem on my wife's 59 plate KA Style Plus for the second time in two years.  The water comes from a scuttle channel when the two drainage rubber split-boots block up from bits of leaves and twigs and the water overflows the channel to find it's way in when the clutch is depressed.  Although someone said that you can massage the debris out from the engine compartment I found that the wiper linkage blocked the way. So I repeated my original process as follows :

1.  Flex off the two covers that cover the the wiper blade nuts  (Left hand of each  cover is just a hook that locates in a slot whereas on the right is a plug pushed into a metal socket clip)

2.Pull or prise off the plastic domed nut covers

3. Look at the exact position of the parked wiper arms and remove after undoing the nuts (Easier to undo when the arms are lifted vertically)

4.Undo the three small plastic nuts securing the plastic cover at bottom of windscreen. Gently prise out the front leading edge from behind the engine compartment rubber seal and flex out the thin extreme end clips from near windscreen. Be gentle as the thin heated windscreen tape connector is at the bottom of the windscreen under the plastic cover together with the small rubber feed hose to the windscreen washer jets. Remove the small feed hose where you feel it going into the three-way union and then carefully remove the plastic panel from between the bonnet hinges and store safe with all other components removed. Now you can hopefully feel into the scuttle channel both left side AND right side of centre  and feel the water that is trapped.

5.You should then be able to delve deep and feel the rubber boots that can be pushed up from underneath. ( I have just cleaned ours and then put extra splits in the rubbers to try and make them self-cleaning next time around.

6. Clean away all debris in the scuttle channel and replace everything in the reverse order. Check the washer jets and heated windscreen before finalizing the assembly. Hope it helps anyone else with this inexcusable design-fault.

just bought an old street ka, big mistake, passenger footwell full of water. I believe that it is a result of blocked drainage as mentioned above or getting in through a bad seal on the pollen filter housing. problem is I cannot locate the drain holes? can someone give me a clue please? is it possible to simply unbolt the filter housing and lift it out or is it more convoluted, obviously i have removed the skuttle.

Just had to unblock again!

So much easier when you know what you're looking for so thought this time I'd post photos, taken under the bonnet, of the soft rubber boots that with a bit of manipulation easily unblock.

Hope this is helpful.

 

On 6/17/2016 at 9:46 AM, juliep said:

Thanks for your advice Gary, but thankfully it wasn't too difficult to sort out.....

Underneath where the windscreen meets the bonnet there is a long channel which was absolutely filled with rain water. The two drain holes were blocked with leaves and gunk. This water was then finding another way to escape, ie into the footwell!

These drain holes can in future be reached from under the bonnet: two rubber outlets which protrude down. I could easily squeeze out the gunk and all the water flushed through.

A serious design flaw by Ford - I hope this helps anyone else with my problem.

Thank's, for confirming. Yep. What a bad design. I noticed gunk dripping out. I poked at the rubber boot, and it came away, full of muck & leafs. The other one got pushed back inside, so hope I can get it out, and fit back in place. They were both totally blocked up. KA 2012 Lots of water was released which must have been sitting around, big puddle on the ground. Will now check these regularly. Not had the car very long, so was unaware of the issue.

Would one of these help do the trick?

Mazda MX5 Drainhole Flexible Cleaning Brush https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DKTNXDS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LB1IDbMHTZ84P

Excellent thread. I had the same problem in my Mk2 KA. You are looking for two rubber boots under the scuttle behind the engine on the bulwark. Both come out via the engine compartment with careful wriggling. Both mine were fully blocked with leave mould, etc., causing a reservoir. On removing the first, two litres or more of water poured out!

I have decided not to refit them for now. They are very basic, designed, I presume, to prevent odours from backfilling the scuttle and entering the air system. I don’t see the point in making the slits bigger, either remove them or refit them.

Note there is also a small drain hole near the top of each front spring. These need poking through with a wire.

Here are the two drainage boots.

Here are the drainage holes by the springs.

Water came in to drivers side footwell of my daughters 2012 FordKA due to blockage of rain water.Theres 2 rubbers sticking through panel behind engine approx 2"x1" easy to get to dont need to be a machanic or in work clothes they clog up with muck and leaves i cleared them out with fingers probably best with a thin screwdriver loads of water ran out hope this helps

I cleared the gunk out this morning after finding my passenger footwell was sopping wet after heavy rain last few days. No water came out but I’m assuming thats because it’s all in my passenger footwell? Also are they meant to fit fairly loosely as I’m now worried I’ve not fit them back in properly. They seem fairly loose? 

 

TIA 😊

I have started to have this problem. Twice now I have had soaking feet from driving up hill. I cleared the drain holes with a knitting needle and water ran out but there was still water in the metal trough, “shuttle” as I gather it’s called. I moved my car so it faces up a slope and water ran out then turned it so it faced down hill and yet more water ran out. I cannot reach the centre of the metal trough under the windscreen wipers to clean it out without undoing bolts and quite a bit of frame work! Until now I have been very happy with my Ka. I will look for these “boots” tomorrow when hopefully the heavy rain has stopped. I moved to a house with a number of trees around the drive, mine and my neighbours, two years ago and assume this is the source of the problem! 

5 minutes ago, Wool said:

will look for these “boots” tomorrow

these might help: https://www.rydale.com/products/gransmoor-ii-zipped-field-wellington-boots?variant=22148616260&currency=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google+shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3fDEspOp8QIV4IBQBh313wE6EAQYBCABEgJOhfD_BwE

Hi Wool, welcome to the Ford Owners Club.

Please complete your profile, Model, Year, Location so we can give advice on your car

On 6/21/2021 at 5:27 PM, Wool said:

I have started to have this problem. Twice now I have had soaking feet from driving up hill. I cleared the drain holes with a knitting needle and water ran out but there was still water in the metal trough, “shuttle” as I gather it’s called. I moved my car so it faces up a slope and water ran out then turned it so it faced down hill and yet more water ran out. I cannot reach the centre of the metal trough under the windscreen wipers to clean it out without undoing bolts and quite a bit of frame work! Until now I have been very happy with my Ka. I will look for these “boots” tomorrow when hopefully the heavy rain has stopped. I moved to a house with a number of trees around the drive, mine and my neighbours, two years ago and assume this is the source of the problem! 

I’ve had the same problem. I took them out to clean and when I put them back in, they have lost some of their elasticity so only fit loosely. I have bought another 2 (£8 each) from Ford and these are a bit more “springy” so will hopefully fit better. However I have forgotten which way round they go! Should the longer side be towards the side of the car or towards the centre!

may god bless you , for sharing this picture and the sorry with all your explanation ....  Julie 

my little car became a mold hub after this awful water leak going inside from the rain , , every time i go out i have to change my shoes before going to work , it was a nightmare . the most helpful was the pictures you posted stated the exact location of the drain hole , because its impossible to spot it when its covered with black mud 

Thanks to everybody who’s contributed to this thread.  I’ve had the same issue for a few months now on my 2010 ka.  Managed to locate the boots and they were full of gunk, now cleaned and replaced.  Hoping this will do the trick next time it rains!