wet rear carpets

[BullyB]

I noticed the other day that the rear carpets were a bit damp. Just washed the car and now they are wet 

Just did a quick search and didn't get much back - has anybody had a problem..?
I will give the car a good look over later but thought I would see if it is a common issue or been seen before.

I do have the panoramic roof... possibly a drain?

:xmaswink:

[X5Sport]

Yes, or the plastic barrier in one of the doors behind the door card.  They lift off and water runs off the windows and into the car.  Roof drain most likely though.

[BullyB]

I had put this issue to the back of my mind until yesterday. The rear carpets are completely soaking, i can squeeze water out with my hand  :'(

I have pulled the car apart as much as I can and it must be coming from the rear doors. Both sides are wet at the same point and I guess it is coming out the bottom of the door card and then in to the cabin.

Very wet


it is damp at the bottom of the door card and around the  plastic cover


This is my way of testing to see where the water is coming in


I'm going to dry the car out the best I can and then sit inside with the hosepipe on the roof

[UrbanFlow]

I've never had wet rear carpets before, but last night there was a storm - very windy and lots of rain.
Opened the rear drivers passenger door today and water poured out from between the seals.
I noticed water on the rubber seal where you put your foot to get in - felt the carpet and sure enough - wet.
Argh!
Felt the bottom of the inner door card and sure enough, water seeping through.

Looking at your pictures there would have to be a lot of water in the door to come over and behind the card.
Could the drain holes be blocked?

Also, I have had the electric window repaired on the drivers side rear passenger door - so I'm suspecting that the vapour barrier has not been replaced properly. Grrr.

Did you find a guide to dismantling the door card etc?

Thanks.

UrabnFlow

[BullyB]

I have not had any water ingress since doing the doors but the car has been living in the garage.

To get the door cards off is very simple but you need Torx tools.
I just looked on youtube and saw a video of how to do it.

Good luck.

In the end, I rented a big snail fan and put it in the back of the car for two days to dry the carpet. Worked a treat and not too expensive.

[bobic]

My E70 X5 had a very wet carpet in the drivers footwell about a month ago. I thought it might have been the air con drain leaking into the car so I have turned off the air con for the last 3 weeks. However this morning the drivers footwell is soaking wet again. It seem's when we have heavy rain and wind (like last night) that water gets in somewhere. I don't have any sunroof on my X5 and the door seals look in very good condition. The drive out side my house is somewhat steep so the front of the car is leaning down a good bit, i.e all the rain water from the roof is running down the front windscreen when parked. Its going into my local mechanic tomorrow but he is not hugely familiar with the X5 so if anyone could point out a few obvious places he should check first it would be most appreciated. Thanks, Bob

[X5Sport]

Door cards, sunroof seals/drains, blocked drains under the bonnet are likely - especially if front.  Debris trapped under the front scuttle can cause water to pool and get into the car.

[UrbanFlow]

Thanks for the replies.

I've got a set of Torx screwdrivers and a trim removal kit (bought for my last X5 E53!) so if it's dry this weekend I remove the door panel and check the vapour barrier etc.
Although, reading a few posts on the net generally, the doors shouldn't be filling up so high - so it's probably shrunken window seal rubbers letting lots of water in or blocked door drains that cause the problem in the main part - so they say.

My drive slopes  a fair bit, so I wonder if that doesn't help. The car is always parked nose uphill.

[UrbanFlow]

OK, so I spent a couple of hours last Sunday stripping down the rear passenger door where I get water on the inside footstep and carpet when it rains.
Sure enough the vapour barrier was in a right state. The independent BMW garage that 'fixed' my electric rear window last summer damaged the vapour barrier getting into the door and also didn't actually stick it back on properly.

I removed it, repaired the tears and cleaned off all the old black Butyl adhesive (horrible mess!).
I then fixed it with a continuous bead of brand new Butyl and put the door back together.

I thought all would be good - but yesterday it rained a lot - I checked the inside of the door - and sure enough, water in the inner step and rubber seal. 

Any ideas? Maybe it's the seal at the top of the door?

[BullyB]

That is a shame.
I have no suggestions but am interested to see what you find.
My X5 has been stored in the garage mainly over the winter so I have not had any more leaks discovered yet.

Do you have the sunroof? possible place for ingress.

[UrbanFlow]

[quote="BullyB"]
That is a shame.
I have no suggestions but am interested to see what you find.
My X5 has been stored in the garage mainly over the winter so I have not had any more leaks discovered yet.

Do you have the sunroof? possible place for ingress.
[/quote]

Yes, I have the panoramic roof - but seems odd that it would leak here:


I'm going to have to do some water testing with the hosepipe this weekend.
 

[X5Sport]

Panoramic roofs are known to suffer from blocked drains which cause wet rear carpets, although this does look like a door seal problem.

[BullyB]

I have just had a nightmare couple of days with leaking in to my X5.
I'm on holiday up in Scotland and the rain came down, sideways and every other angle all at once for many hours.
The passenger footwell was full of water, I mean about 2cm deep above the carpet!

Once the rain stopped, I pulled up as much carpet as possible and got the towels in.
I did some testing and it turns out the front left sunroof drain is blocked.





The car was parked on a hill with the lowest point being the front left.
I also have slightly damp rear carpets again...


Today, in the sunshine I have managed to clear the drain.
I got some straws, duct tape, hot water and cleaning fluid..



and finally, the water came through



absolute pain in the ass!!!