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Water in footwell - not from sunroof, not from windshield cowl.
Hi All:
Like many before me, I am on a quest to stop the water leaking into the footwells of my 2004 XC90. The trickiest leak is coming from behind the gas and break pedals (see photo), somewhere in the firewall, the foam behind the rubber piece near gas/break pedals is soaked and water is dripping into the driver-side footwell. The passenger side footwell is dry, the only leak is coming from behind the gas & break pedals. FYI, previously I fixed the sunroof drains, and I've fixed the windshield cowl drains. Its not the AC, the leak only occurs during rainstorm. Anyone have an idea about where the water is getting in? As you can see from photo, I have pulled the carpets and checked for leaks during rain storm -- the only remaining culprit is coming from behind the pedals. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks for your help friends. Water leak during rainstorm is coming from behind rubber, near gas & break pedals, foam is soaked, water dripping into driver footwell (passenger side is dry). Sunroof drains, and windshield cowl drains are open and working well. Any ideas?
I had this problem about 30 years ago in an old Honda Accord and it turned out to be two things: clogged drain tube from the wiper area and also a rotted out wire grommet around the brake peddle area. I hope my experience helps you track down the source of the leak.
Thanks to JohnnyMac2 for posting. Like so many others, I am also trying to uncover the mysterious source of water entering into the footwell of my 2006 XC90. I do not have a sunroof and I have completely removed and inspected the cowl and air intake cover. Leaks only occur during heavy rain stoms.
The leak I am dealing with is definitely rainwater and it comes through the firewall. During heavy rains, I have even pulled back the soundproofing to uncover that rain water is indeed coming in through a bend in the welds of the firewall. This is as much poor construction as it is poor design. Where could this water be coming from?
JohnnyMac2, did you ever discover the source of the leak you described here. Like you, I have dealt with water leakage for years (04 XC90), sunroof drains, small cowl drain holes, cowl drain flaps, cabin air intake, wiring harness grommet... The one I haven't been able to solve is exactly what you described back in Dec 2019.
Thanks,
JME
Yes, I found the source and this one was bizarre. On the drivers side, the seam in the plastic cowl drain (app 2" diameter molded tubes with flap at the lower end) had opened and was leaking part way down the firewall. There was also some leakage from the point of attachment of the cowl drain tube to the metal cowling. I had disregarded this, feeling any leakage at that point could not find it's way back through the firewall into the passenger compartment. I was wrong, after exhausting all options, I cut some of the insulation on the firewall, reached my hand up behind the insulation and discovered a factory drilled and open hole (app 3/8".) I sealed the hole and the leakage stopped completely. The cowl drains are no longer available, however I found a set at a dealer in the Midwest. I am very familiar with the drainage and leakage issues with these cars, in this particular instance, I am 100% certain this was the condition causing my leakage.
Yes, I found the source and this one was bizarre. On the drivers side, the seam in the plastic cowl drain (app 2" diameter molded tubes with flap at the lower end) had opened and was leaking part way down the firewall. There was also some leakage from the point of attachment of the cowl drain tube to the metal cowling. I had disregarded this, feeling any leakage at that point could not find it's way back through the firewall into the passenger compartment. I was wrong, after exhausting all options, I cut some of the insulation on the firewall, reached my hand up behind the insulation and discovered a factory drilled and open hole (app 3/8".) I sealed the hole and the leakage stopped completely. The cowl drains are no longer available, however I found a set at a dealer in the Midwest. I am very familiar with the drainage and leakage issues with these cars, in this particular instance, I am 100% certain this was the condition causing my leakage.
Thanks mate I will investigate this area it's getting on my nerves. I've had the carpet out in drivers side for the last week and it's rained on and off with no water inside so far. I'm hoping to find the issue or it's got to go 😂
Yes, I found the source and this one was bizarre. On the drivers side, the seam in the plastic cowl drain (app 2" diameter molded tubes with flap at the lower end) had opened and was leaking part way down the firewall. There was also some leakage from the point of attachment of the cowl drain tube to the metal cowling. I had disregarded this, feeling any leakage at that point could not find it's way back through the firewall into the passenger compartment. I was wrong, after exhausting all options, I cut some of the insulation on the firewall, reached my hand up behind the insulation and discovered a factory drilled and open hole (app 3/8".) I sealed the hole and the leakage stopped completely. The cowl drains are no longer available, however I found a set at a dealer in the Midwest. I am very familiar with the drainage and leakage issues with these cars, in this particular instance, I am 100% certain this was the condition causing my leakage.
This is not fully draining on my car this is underneath the removable plastic panel that joins onto the windscreen. The air intake is on the opposite side to this.
This seems to be the cause of the water in the driver's side how it's getting in is unknown at the moment the drain above will drain as I see the runoff under the car, after 3 buckets of water in this drain there was droplets into the footwell again