Clubjazz - Honda Jazz & HR-V Forums
Honda Jazz Forums => Honda Jazz Mk1 2002-2008 => Topic started by: iceblue on February 18, 2019, 10:02:39 AM
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There's been a musty damp smell in the car for a while according to the wife. Looked under the front passenger mat and noticed there's a large damp patch on the carpet. It's not sodden, but it is wet to the touch, obviously causing the damp smell. Has anyone had same or know what the problem could be? Any help appreciated, thanks.
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There's been a musty damp smell in the car for a while according to the wife. Looked under the front passenger mat and noticed there's a large damp patch on the carpet. It's not sodden, but it is wet to the touch, obviously causing the damp smell. Has anyone had same or know what the problem could be? Any help appreciated, thanks.
https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=10007.msg58550#msg58550
always worth a search.........
The plastic roof trim is the usual leak point, the sealant gets brittle and cracks over time,
Other suspects are door seals, water getting into heater ( the bottom of air intake grill chamber in front of windscreen there should be drain points, these can get blocked ) and very unusually the heater matrix may be leaking ( had this happen on a Fiat, but never on a Honda, they are much better put together), if it was heater matrix the carpet would smell of anti-freeze......
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Dampness in the front footwells can be as simple as water brought in on wet footwear. Particularly after snow. Blocked drainage holes for the air intake have also been a problem on previous cars and blocked drainage from the A/C can cause problems.
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Thanks for messages so far, I've attached a pic so you can see the area of damp - if it was a door seal wouldn't the patch start right next to the door instead of in the middle of the floor? Also how does it get right in the middle of the floor, nothing else around it seems/looks wet??
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Maybe worth checking the cabin filter behind the glove box, if unchanged can fill with muck & debris plenty on E bay around £12.00
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Thanks for messages so far, I've attached a pic so you can see the area of damp - if it was a door seal wouldn't the patch start right next to the door instead of in the middle of the floor? Also how does it get right in the middle of the floor, nothing else around it seems/looks wet??
There are paint drain holes in car floorpans that get sealed with plastic bungs - if one of those bungs has been damaged or displaced it can loose water in under the carpet. Otherwise it may be blocked drain allowing water to get into heater or maybe aircon condensate not draining properly. But if it smells of antifreeze it is bad news - check level of coolant in radiator.
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Maybe worth checking the cabin filter behind the glove box, if unchanged can fill with muck & debris plenty on E bay around £12.00
Won't cause damp carpet. Just restricts air flow from vents.
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Ok, update - I pulled the carpet back and found underneath a foam backed rubber type membrane which is cracked and split. The foam underneath it is saturated with water - still no idea where the water could be coming from. I phoned the garage I bought the car from and they said it will be the drain hole on the sunroof that's blocked (it runs from the roof down a tube to the front wheels?) They suggested clearing these drain holes with a pressure washer or similar. Has anyone any experience or knowledge of this?
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Ok so I pushed a wire down both sides of the sunroof drains - don't really think they were blocked but did it anyway. I've had newspaper under the carpet in the footwell to soak up the water which it has done pretty much. Now after a couple of days of heavy rain - the newspaper is still getting wet or rather DAMP. The newspaper directly under the carpet in the footwell is pretty ok on the actual floorpan - the moisture seems to be coming from the floor area under the glovebox (the bit where your feet would touch if you outstretched them?) I can't see any signs of water - it's better than it was but obviously still not right. I'm starting to go mad with it - has anyone any more clues as to what I can do?
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I've now pulled back the rubber foam backed stuff from under where the glovebox is (where it looks like any dampness has come from). No signs of water as such, but the metal of the car has what looks like condensation on it, nowhere else seems to be wet at all - any ideas anyone????
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Had same problem on a vectra which turned out to be a blocked drainage channel at the bottom of the windscreen into the engine bay causing water to overflow through the cabin filter housing into passenger footwell.
On the same car the drain pipe from the air conditioning blocked up causing the air con to flood the drivers foot well, both times it was a quick fix to unblock.
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Had same problem on a vectra which turned out to be a blocked drainage channel at the bottom of the windscreen into the engine bay causing water to overflow through the cabin filter housing into passenger footwell.
On the same car the drain pipe from the air conditioning blocked up causing the air con to flood the drivers foot well, both times it was a quick fix to unblock.
Thanks for that - I checked the cabin filter behind the glovebox and found it to be totally clogged. I've now replaced it with a new one. I can't see any drainage tubes for aircon inside the car and I can't get under the car to check any aircon drainage points so I'll try and get it to my mates garage next week and get it up in the air to check any tubes aren't blocked. I'm hoping this is now fixed? :-\
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Sorry, don't know where the air con drain tube is to guide you, they are usually on the rear of the engine bay on the bulkhead poking through from the cabin or under the vehicle.
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Right, its been up on the ramp - the aircon drainage tube is NOT blocked. My mechanic mate suggested putting talcum powder under the carpet which would show where the water was coming from. I did this - no sign BUT the sponge backed membrane IS damp where the slant of the foot well meets the floor (the ACTUAL floor is still dry). There is what looks like condensation on the metal under the carpet but only the slanting part of the foot well - is this normal? Is this why the membrane is sponge backed? It's definitely not an aircon problem because 1. I've not had it on and 2. There was FAR too much water for it to be linked
Any comments still appreciated
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You can maybe check if it is coming from sunroof by rolling the carpet away and getting a hose on the roof ( or take it through a carwash ). There should also be drains in the bottom of the scuttle outside below the windscreen ( the plastic bit by wipers with slots on top that takes water from windscreen ) these allow water that collects in the plastic housing to drain down the front of firewall in engine bay, if you open the bonnet and pour water into the vents you should see it drain away and run down the firewall, the drains can get clogged by leaves and moss, have any of the grommets on the firewall been disturbed - ot may be some plastic bungs missing. The only other thing is a leak in heater matrix, but you would have seen water level in expansion tank and radiator itself drop, and also a strong smell of anti-freeze in the car. If there is a ford near you try driving through it and see if water is coming in through floor. The usual thing with Jazz is water in the boot due to failed sealer on roof strips, don't know if water can get past at the front of car and trickle down 'A' pillar. The other thing is the sealing around the aerial base....
You can get condensation in the car in colder weather by NOT using the aircon as the inside of the car gets warm and humid and the metal body is cold.
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One other possibility of damp inside is a previous repair to the car, was it clear on the HPI check?
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Hi all, after a period of dry weather, everything is dry again and I cannot recreate water ingress - I've tried washing it, pouring water over it etc but still it remains dry. Whether or not I've "accidentally" fixed by trying the things I've done so far I'm not so sure but for now I've put the carpet and trim back and will see how it goes. Thanks to everyone who replied/commented, all very much appreciated :)
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So after a few days of rain it’s back to the drawing board - passenger footwell carpet absolutely sodden and no obvious signs of water ingress, had to literally sponge it out and wring it out. Do I take the passenger door panel off to investigate to see if the plastic membrane is damaged/perished? Where on earth is it coming from it’s driving me mad?!
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I would doubt it being from inside the door, the plastic is only a vapour barrier really. Even without it, the water should run down inside the door glass and drop from the drain holes at the bottom to the outside. It is worth checking the door rubber seal all around, including the top - the water can wick around the seal. Peel the rubbers back on the inside and check for any wet or staining.
In my experience, most wet front footwells are from water coming down the a-pillar or bulkhead from a leak above. They can be pigs to find, you will probably have thought of most of the usual suspects - blocked scuttle drains, windscreen bond, aerial, sunroofs, bulkhead grommets for wiring or heater pipes, etc.. Take the wheelarch liner out and look there and underneath the footwell for any suspect areas, I have found body seam sealer split before, or even missing completely.
The reason the wet is at the bottom is just because that's the point where it collects.The leaks are often so small that they trickle down metalwork in beads and show no trace elsewhere.
You might have to resort to getting the carpets up and and an assistant to apply a hosepipe. Remember, you will only be looking for the odd bead of water, not a gusher.
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Ok so after asking the opinion of one of my mechanic customers on the subject, he said have you tried the sill drains? I obviously hadn't and asked what he meant - he pointed to the 3 screws on the wheel arch (pictured) and said to unscrew them and check behind the splash guard that it wasn't full of muck. This I duly did and to my horror found about 1kg of mud/leaves/sand behind the guard. This blockage would account for the floorpan being wet with no signs of ingress from anywhere, including sitting in the car with my son blasting it with the hosepipe from outside. I've now cleared the blockage, dried out the carpet and under carpet sponge stuff with a hairdyer and given it all a hefty spraying of febreze!! Now fingers crossed thats the end of my wet floor!
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Ok so after asking the opinion of one of my mechanic customers on the subject, he said have you tried the sill drains? I obviously hadn't and asked what he meant - he pointed to the 3 screws on the wheel arch (pictured) and said to unscrew them and check behind the splash guard that it wasn't full of muck. This I duly did and to my horror found about 1kg of mud/leaves/sand behind the guard. This blockage would account for the floorpan being wet with no signs of ingress from anywhere, including sitting in the car with my son blasting it with the hosepipe from outside. I've now cleared the blockage, dried out the carpet and under carpet sponge stuff with a hairdyer and given it all a hefty spraying of febreze!! Now fingers crossed thats the end of my wet floor!
That's where the scuttle drains I mentioned normally terminate, there are no 'sill drains' as such, the sills are sealed.
The pile of sludge behind the wheelarch liners blocks the flow of water, and the overflow has to go somewhere - and that sometimes is into the cabin via the heater box, or one of the other entries through the bulkhead. You access the other ends of the drains by removing the scuttle trims below the windscreen.
It's a good idea to clear the sludge out periodically, it sits behind the liner and gradually rots the sill ends and wing bottoms from the inside.
All fingers crossed, that's it! 8)
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So after the rain yesterday, my wife says this morning "it smells damp in here again", on inspection, the passenger footwell carpet is wet again, and the foam underlay absolutely sodden with water. I've had both sill guard things (behind the front wheels) off and checked - both are clear. Can't believe this problem is back again!! Really fed up as this went on for ages and I was made up when I thought I'd fixed it. Can anyone suggest anything other than buying a new car?!!!!
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Just another thing - I HAVE had the air con on quite a lot due to the weather and the screen misting up. Don't know whether it's connected to the problem? My mechanic friend said it wouldn't create the amounts of water I'm experiencing but who knows and how would|I check?
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I've had both sill guard things (behind the front wheels) off and checked - both are clear.
Was there anything that looked like scuttle/sunroof/aircon evaporator drain pipes in there? They sometimes need poking through with a wire once they have been blocked at the bottom.
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I've had both sill guard things (behind the front wheels) off and checked - both are clear.
Was there anything that looked like scuttle/sunroof/aircon evaporator drain pipes in there? They sometimes need poking through with a wire once they have been blocked at the bottom.
Thanks Paul - I stuck my hand up inside the wing and felt a rubber hose about 2 inches long coming out of the side of the engine bay. Assuming this to be a drain hose from somewhere, I pushed a length of cable up it which stuck at first but after a couple of twists allowed me to push about a metre of cable into it but even then there was no sign of my cable anywhere in the engine bay or inside the car. When I pulled the cable out the end was dirty, I only hope I haven't pushed the blockage back up! Have you any ideas what that hose is and where it goes?
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Most cars have an under bonnet air intake (remember the open grill ahead of the windscreen on older cars). Rain, leaf debris and other "muck" can access this plenum and there is normally a drain hose (possibly one each side) which allows the water to drain out. This can get blocked with detritus and then it allows rain water to spill over into the car interior. They then need cleaned. See item 13.
(https://www.parts-honda.uk/thumbs/honda_cars/auto/17SAA601/IMGE/930_930/HEATER-UNIT-RH-Honda-Cars-JAZZ-2006-12-S-5-speed-manual-B__1721.jpg)
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Most cars have an under bonnet air intake (remember the open grill ahead of the windscreen on older cars). Rain, leaf debris and other "muck" can access this plenum and there is normally a drain hose (possibly one each side) which allows the water to drain out. This can get blocked with detritus and then it allows rain water to spill over into the car interior. They then need cleaned. See item 13.
(https://www.parts-honda.uk/thumbs/honda_cars/auto/17SAA601/IMGE/930_930/HEATER-UNIT-RH-Honda-Cars-JAZZ-2006-12-S-5-speed-manual-B__1721.jpg)
Thanks Jocko, I need to get to the bottom of it as it's doing my head in!! ;D
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I have no idea if the aircon drain on the Jazz is the same as the Civic but worth a shot, see attached video there is a rubber hose from bottom of heater that exits through front firewall, in this case the hose had been dislodged ( maybe by someones foot ) and the condensate was dripping into passenger footwell....
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Right, I think I've found the problem. In the very far left corner of the passenger footwell was a drip. I've practically got upside down to look up into the space left side of the glovebox and I can see way up high a clear plastic hose where the water is coming from. The problem is that it's so far up there I can't see any way of getting to it, also due to it's position I can't get any photos of it. Does anyone know what this hose is, where the other end is, and how I get to it? Also where should the dripping end be - obviously not inside the car?? Some pics attached.
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Sorry those photos are sideways! If you tilt your head 90 degress left they'll be correct!!
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Ok by taking out the removable bit under the glove box I can now show better the hose in question. Its to the left of the pollen filter set right back and very difficult to reach, but I can see that it's clear/yellow hose about the thickness of my little finger and it has water in it! I can't tell where it goes to though. Any one any wiser??
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Picture 1 is upside down >:(
Work off picture 2 where I've highlighted it
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Probably the aircon condensate drain tube, no reason for any other tube to be inside the cabin because the heater plenum drains are IIRC outside the cabin and down the firewall. It should drain aircon condensate out of heater assembly - that is the pool of water that you normally see left behind when you drive your car away from parking spot in hot weather with aircon on, if you are parked on a slope it is more like a little river of water running out from under the car.
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Probably the aircon condensate drain tube, no reason for any other tube to be inside the cabin because the heater plenum drains are IIRC outside the cabin and down the firewall. It should drain aircon condensate out of heater assembly - that is the pool of water that you normally see left behind when you drive your car away from parking spot in hot weather with aircon on, if you are parked on a slope it is more like a little river of water running out from under the car.
Thanks for the reply, but I don't understand why ANY drain tube should be INSIDE the car? Surely if it's draining water away from somewhere it should be going outside?
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Probably the aircon condensate drain tube, no reason for any other tube to be inside the cabin because the heater plenum drains are IIRC outside the cabin and down the firewall. It should drain aircon condensate out of heater assembly - that is the pool of water that you normally see left behind when you drive your car away from parking spot in hot weather with aircon on, if you are parked on a slope it is more like a little river of water running out from under the car.
Thanks for the reply, but I don't understand why ANY drain tube should be INSIDE the car? Surely if it's draining water away from somewhere it should be going outside?
One end of the tube is inside the car and the other outside, in an ideal world the condensate will always run out of the car through the tube..
If you look at the earlier video I posted on the Civic there is a chamber at the bottom of the heater assembly to catch the water that condenses off the cold aircon coils in there ( there is always a 'hot' heat exchanger fed from engine cooling water as the heater, and on cars fitted with airconditioning a 'cold' heat exchanger where the air passes over on its way into the cabin ) as the moist air passes over the cold coils the air is cooled and because cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air the moisture condenses out and drips to the bottom of the heater casing, that pipe takes the condensate outside the car. What normally happens is that dirt, fungus and mold can grow in the tube and block it causing the water to build up and overflow inside the car, or as in the case of the Honda Civic video the tube becomes detached and instead of the water dripping outside the car it drips inside.
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Probably the aircon condensate drain tube, no reason for any other tube to be inside the cabin because the heater plenum drains are IIRC outside the cabin and down the firewall. It should drain aircon condensate out of heater assembly - that is the pool of water that you normally see left behind when you drive your car away from parking spot in hot weather with aircon on, if you are parked on a slope it is more like a little river of water running out from under the car.
Thanks for the reply, but I don't understand why ANY drain tube should be INSIDE the car? Surely if it's draining water away from somewhere it should be going outside?
Thank you - so if I've got this right it sounds like the drain tube that should take aircon water out of the car (underneath) is blocked, and because of this the water is backing up along the tube and coming out of the other end (the end behind the glove box) and dripping into the footwell? Have I understood correctly?
One end of the tube is inside the car and the other outside, in an ideal world the condensate will always run out of the car through the tube..
If you look at the earlier video I posted on the Civic there is a chamber at the bottom of the heater assembly to catch the water that condenses off the cold aircon coils in there ( there is always a 'hot' heat exchanger fed from engine cooling water as the heater, and on cars fitted with airconditioning a 'cold' heat exchanger where the air passes over on its way into the cabin ) as the moist air passes over the cold coils the air is cooled and because cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air the moisture condenses out and drips to the bottom of the heater casing, that pipe takes the condensate outside the car. What normally happens is that dirt, fungus and mold can grow in the tube and block it causing the water to build up and overflow inside the car, or as in the case of the Honda Civic video the tube becomes detached and instead of the water dripping outside the car it drips inside.
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Sorry that was mixed in with your message Culzean! ???
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Try again -
Thank you - so if I've got this right it sounds like the drain tube that should take aircon water out of the car (underneath) is blocked, and because of this the water is backing up along the tube and coming out of the other end (the end behind the glove box) and dripping into the footwell? Have I understood correctly?
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the heater plenum drains are IIRC outside the cabin and down the firewall.the car.
That is correct, but if the drain becomes blocked the water starts to lap over into the heater matrix and ultimately into the car. This happened on my non a/c Cavalier.
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the heater plenum drains are IIRC outside the cabin and down the firewall.the car.
That is correct, but if the drain becomes blocked the water starts to lap over into the heater matrix and ultimately into the car. This happened on my non a/c Cavalier.
I would have thought that if the condensate drain tube was in good shape ( connected properly and open ) that any water getting into heater would drain off down that one and out under the car - but not entirely sure
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Might do with the air con. As I said, my Cavalier didn't have a/c.
As an aside, my brother had a Hillman Imp and the air intake for the heater was below the front bumper. One dark night he hit flood water, at speed, and the muddy water filled the footwells and drenched the inside of the windscreen, as well as landing in his lap!
(https://i.imgur.com/lqinL8X.jpg)
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Ok so I need to unblock the drain tube from underneath. My mechanic did put an airline up there a few months ago and gave it a blast of air but nothing much happened and obviously I’ve still got the problem. What’s the best method to clear it - stick a long screwdriver up there or similar?? And also if it’s blocked and I do clear the blockage will I expect loads of water to pour out thus confirming the fix?
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The tube may be disconnected rather than blocked, if so any water at all that finds its way into the heater will end up in your passenger footwell...... and blasting air up the pipe may well unseat it from its connection inside the car, even if it was seated in the first place.
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Culprit is definitely this tube (see photo) I’ve had the heater on (not air con) would this still indicate a blockage in the drain underneath even if I’ve not used air con? Please advise what to do next!!
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The only thing I can suggest is that you run the aircon and see
1. if any extra water drips from hose inside the car
2. does any water appear under the car in the area where pipe should exit the car ( under area of passenger footwell ).
if you run the aircon on coldest setting and if it is working properly and blows cold air you should see water dripping under the car after a short time as it extracts the moisture from ambient air, this would work better on a warm humid day than on a colder autumn / winter day ( when air is colder and drier ) but should work any time.
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Latest update - took the car back to the garage I bought it from and saw the owner who took a quick look and said it’s the left hand drain hose from the sunroof which appears to have broken and come inside the car. He said it should be a quick fix so it’s booked in for next Wednesday. I’ll keep you posted...
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Good result, I thought you had tried pouring water on roof and sunroof though ? Just wonder how the tube came to get broken / split - and how the previous owner knew about it :o
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I think he is referring to the owner of the garage.
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I think he is referring to the owner of the garage.
Correct Jocko, the owner of the garage I bought the car from
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Ok so took the car this morning. The leaking hose is definitely the sunroof drain which has somehow entered the cabin (reason unknown). With the bottom part of the glovebox removed to gain access, and a bit of reaching,twisting and turning they managed to redirect the hose back out of the car and into the pillar where it belongs. Hopefully now that will be the end of my wet carpet and smelly car. Fingers crossed!
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I had this same problem and after a lot of searching found the water was getting in through the hole where the cables from the headlight enter the car. This is accessed by removing the plastic splash guard under the wheel arch. The hole originally had a grommet in it but this had got so loose that the water could track down the cables through the bulkhead. I have put a lot of black sealer around it and this has done the job. Hope this helps.
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Ok so took the car this morning. The leaking hose is definitely the sunroof drain which has somehow entered the cabin (reason unknown). With the bottom part of the glovebox removed to gain access, and a bit of reaching,twisting and turning they managed to redirect the hose back out of the car and into the pillar where it belongs. Hopefully now that will be the end of my wet carpet and smelly car. Fingers crossed!
Ok so 18 months on from my nightmare and all is still well and dry. Just confirming that the drain hose being manipulated back outside the cabin and into the door pillar was definitely the fix!