Water held in doors because of bottom seals?

[AJW]

I've had my GTI for just on a week now and I've noticed that when I open my car doors, either after washing or having it sit in the rain, that there seems to be a reasonable amount of water trapped by the bottom door seals.
Depending on how much water has been on the car I can also hear it sloshing around in the doors then coming out of the drain holes in the bottom when the door is opened.

It looks like part of the new noise reduction work that VW did was this extra weather sealing on the doors including the bottom.
This wasn't on the previous MKV GTI that I had.
I'm wondering if this seal is pushing onto the holes covering them up.
Then when you open the door the hole in the bottom of the door is clear and the water come out.
Happens on both front doors and a bit on the rears as well.

Anyone else noticed this?

[fungaside]

Yes, I have noticed the same thing with my TSI... though I've not heard any sloshing around the door. Hopefully it won't fill up so much as to short circuit anything!

[rs73]

been raining a few days here too...

didn't hear any sloshing around, but a 30 min drive either way from home to work or vice versa may not be long enough to gather enough water... car is always parked undercover both at work and home...

[ddre78]

Yes I have noticed this also, not sure im all that happy about it. Water continues to come out DAYS after rain or a wash.

[Keithuk]

I can't say that I've notice any water coming out when you open the door or water sloshing about.

I believe They had complaints from customers about winding noise from the door thats the reason the fitted the extra seal along the bottom of the door. The reason it holds water until you open the door is because the seal kicks up 25mm or so on the opening edge so it holds water until you open the door, its just a very bad design.

[dente]

Hi Guys,

I too am having this problem, I have got a collection of videos which I have uploaded to youtube.

I have spoken to both Barloworld Volkswagen in Five Dock NSW (the dealer - 155 Parramatta Road Five Dock 2046, Australia - (02) 8745 3222) and Volkswagen Australia and they have said that this is not an issue and will not be doing anything about it. Basically they said tuff luck, it was designed like that.

I call bull****, and I have lodged a complaint with The Department of Fair Trading who seem to agree that any reasonable person would not expect their brand new car to retain and leak water after rain.

When I told VW that I had spoken to Fair Trading they asked what I hoped to achieve by doing that, my response was "If it is not an issue, it is a feature and it is a feature people should know about. If I would have known about this "feature" I wouldn't have purchased the car, so I want this feature to be listed with the other features is the brochure, website and other marketing material." The chick kinda laughed, but I told her I was dead serious.

I can't sell this car with this issue as whoever I sell it to will want my head on a spike after it rains. If I disclose that it leaks water then obviously I won't get a decent price for it which is unfair.

I have also told VW that if it isn't an issue, they can have the car back.

The silence is eerie.

I work in online, and creating a site / facebook page etc won't be very hard for me to do. I also work for News Corp, owners of News.com.au, Carsguide.com.au, and a host of national papers, but I don't want to go there if I don't have to. I've spoken to our motoring journalists and they said it s definitely not "normal" for this to happen.

Vodafail anyone?

[Idle]

I've yet to see a wind-up window that doesn't let water inside the door — for this reason doors normally have protection (usually a bit of cheap plastic film) to keep water off the interior trim, and one or two holes to let the water drain out over the sill.

To this extent your dealer and VW are correct, but this draining should be continuous — not just when the door is opened.

Just checked mine and it has two drain holes in each door — when the doors are shut these holes are between the lower rubber strip and the door seal, so if you have a tight seal on the lower strip (have you had the doors adjusted because of wind noise, or do the doors actually contact the sill?) then the water will accumulate in/under the door until either it seeps into the car or the door is opened.

Incidentally, I've seen lower door panels eaten out by tinworm because the drain holes were either non-existent or blocked, so it's a good idea to check them now and then.

If you don't get anywhere with VW, a fairly simple cure might be to glue a small strip of thin neoprene to the lower seal either side of each drain hole to make a channel for water to escape.

[REXman]

Best of luck getting it sorted!

I have never seen this. The doors are taking a leak!

Have you heard of any remedies from anyone?

[shakespeare]

Best of luck getting it sorted!

I have never seen this. The doors are taking a leak!

Have you heard of any remedies from anyone?

Yeah good luck with sorting it if it's a design issue!

On a side note, I have experienced a little water after washing which I just wipe up for a day or two then it's gone, we haven't had a great deal of rain in Perth for me to really notice a major amount of water yet!

[Souljak]

Seems like a lot of humdrum to me and id rather have it "leak" out than have water retained in the door to begin with

Couldnt you just park it under cover or throw a car cover over it if thats not possible.

Not to hate but all this talk of department of fair trading and threats of internet postings with Newscorp and whatnot is a bit childish. As if this would ever been considered to noted as a "feature" by VWA too.

Its not the end of the world and some quick googling hardly shows any chatter about this anyway which says to me most people probably dont care. Id say just enjoy your new car and move on.