water ingress

[n.jazz]

I had the car since the summer and since then only driven it short distances on dry days/dry road once every 2 weeks. Today I noticed a damp carpet in the nearside rear footwell around the plastic holder on the floor where the magic seat leg frame clips securely in place. There is also damp carpet on the rising side towards the centre of the bottom of the rear door which  could indicate that water is finding it way from the bottom of the door seal area via the vertical side of the carpet at the bottom of the door and then running onto the floor towards the lowest part of the footwell. The rubber seal around the rear nearside door seems to be in good flexible soft condition ( not dry/not shrunk).  If I described the problem clearly, can anyone share their views/ experience please. Based on the minimal car usage pattern, only in totally dry conditions, I am inclined to bet that the leak is from rain water falling on the car (during its long parked periods on the drive) rather than water coming in while driving. Any input  would be appreciated. The Honda garage will charge £150 just for an investigation which may or may not trace the problem let alone fix it. The black carpet does not show any signs ( water marks) of previous damp drying up, so this looks like a new leak. Thanks

[monkeydave]

sounds like a clog in the a/c drain being on the passenger front

[n.jazz]

sounds like a clog in the a/c drain being on the passenger front

Thanks Dave, but the damp carpet area is at the rear passenger side where the magic seat leg clips into the plastic  holder on the floor. The front passenger footwell is dry

[ColinB]

Suggest checking the drainage openings on the bottom of the door(s) have not become clogged; water can build up inside the doors and find its way into the car if they don’t drain freely. Poke some wire or the end of a cable-tie into the openings to make sure there’s nothing blocking them inside the door.

[Lord Voltermore]

My money is also on blocked  door bottom drain holes.  My  Yaris, that used to spend a lot of time on the driveway  picking up  detritus from shrubs and trees,  made its own compost     With 'window boxes' of moss and algae along the bottom of the windows.  . Perhaps I should have washed it more often.    Nah. The rain did a good enough job 

[Toptek]

I've had this problem but with the front door of 3 cars, on examination it appeared that the plastic sheeting behind the door panel had been (on 1 car) , cut to allow the repairer access and remove door trim and the second was misplaced sheeting following a repair.
On the second, which is our current car, I had to reshape the flexible sealant and remove creases from the sheet which was allowing water to pass from the inner door cavity to the back of the door panel, then onto the rubber door frame seal and onto the the floor.
On the third car, I released the car had been repaired but was presenting with the same problem but returned the car due to it and other issues.
I also seem to remember posts regarding the drainage holes in the door being obstructed by the seal that covers that area on the door, with the possibility of the base of the door filling until it drips over.

[n.jazz]

Suggest checking the drainage openings on the bottom of the door(s) have not become clogged; water can build up inside the doors and find its way into the car if they don’t drain freely. Poke some wire or the end of a cable-tie into the openings to make sure there’s nothing blocking them inside the door.

Thanks Colin, would you know where the drainage holes are on the rear nearside door of the 3rd generation Jazz? I looked but can't see any . The local trusted garage couldn't investigate the source and said I need a body shop specialist to do a vacuum test on the door to locate the leak !!!  ??

[Toptek]

If I remember correctly, there's a rubber trim on the door which covers the holes. You should be able to gently move the bottom lip away from the door to see the but be careful not to pull it off.

[TnTkr]

That is correct, there are three drainage holes under the lower lip of the rubber seal. One in both ends and one in the middle.

[fatlad]

i had exactly the same issue when it rained also left a damp fusty smell.
it was my rear door card plastic membrane that had been torn as it looked like the door opening cable had been replaced at some point and the plastic sheet had been ripped & left.
my local go to bodyshop originally suggested we look at the door drainage holes being blocked, but no perfectly clear.
he then had a thought about the door card membrane & hey presto it was that.
he manoeuvred the sheet correctly back into place, as it had looked like an ape had stuck it back previously.
he then secured the whole sheet with gaffer tape & bingo!!
no leaks since and here in South Yorkshire we've has a fair bit of rain.
sorry its a bit long but hopes it helps.....

[ColinB]

This might help:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sX0kurhVC6E&si=H3kOMHTeV1qHgzPG

[monkeydave]

Suggest checking the drainage openings on the bottom of the door(s) have not become clogged; water can build up inside the doors and find its way into the car if they don’t drain freely. Poke some wire or the end of a cable-tie into the openings to make sure there’s nothing blocking them inside the door.

Thanks Colin, would you know where the drainage holes are on the rear nearside door of the 3rd generation Jazz? I looked but can't see any . The local trusted garage couldn't investigate the source and said I need a body shop specialist to do a vacuum test on the door to locate the leak !!!  ??

the holes are behind the rubber strip at the bottom of all the doors

[n.jazz]

i had exactly the same issue when it rained also left a damp fusty smell.
it was my rear door card plastic membrane that had been torn as it looked like the door opening cable had been replaced at some point and the plastic sheet had been ripped & left.
my local go to bodyshop originally suggested we look at the door drainage holes being blocked, but no perfectly clear.
he then had a thought about the door card membrane & hey presto it was that.
he manoeuvred the sheet correctly back into place, as it had looked like an ape had stuck it back previously.
he then secured the whole sheet with gaffer tape & bingo!!
no leaks since and here in South Yorkshire we've has a fair bit of rain.
sorry its a bit long but hopes it helps.....

Thanks Fatlad for the detailed explanation. Can I ask if the carpet in your car was soaked when you discovered the problem and how did you dry it out ? After owning this car for 4 months I accidentally discovered the problem just before starting this thread. I finally took the car to a body-shop garage and the membrane film was very loose after some previous work inside the door and the flexible toothpaste like silicone adhesive had been completely removed all around the membrane which was left very poorly  and partially stuck.The door  leak has now stopped after re-sealing correctly but the neighbouring footwell carpet  is still quite wet around the bracket that secures to the floor the folding magic seat leg frame. This is despite my tea towel mopping up multiple  attempts

[fatlad]

hi n.jazz
glad i could help.
to dry the foot well i took it to the vac at the petrol staion & just concentrated on the one footwell area & afterwards just left the rubber mat on the back seat until the carpet dried.
i can honestly say its still bone dry & here in sheffield weve had a load of rain some heavy & persistant too.

[bronski74]

Same issue on my 2017 ex plastic door membrane was torn at the bottom,sealed access holes in door with aluminium tape and re stuck membrane with more aluminium tape.
If you remove the side trim at the bottom of the door on the sill just carefully pull it off and unclip the plastic molding off the magic seat holder on the floor you can lift the carpet and bend the carpet up allowing access to the floor pan and prop with some wood.This allows air to flow I currently have dehumidifier in the car and had removed as much water as I could with wet vac.prior to starting.