Water Leak - Drivers footwell

[jenkcatz]

Hi All,

I have an 08 (June registered) Mini Cooper Convertible. I have had the car 7-8 weeks and I bought it privately. We had very bad rain last weekend and this week I have noticed the drivers footwell (under the peddles) is soaking wet. There is no water behind the peddles, as in where the carpet bends up and round, this area is dry. It is purely directly where your feet sit.

Water is coming from somewhere, but no apparent leaks from above, as I was in the car when the rain was very bad and no water came in from the hood or windows etc.

Mini had the car in yesterday and spend 3 hours with hose pipes all over the car trying to make it leak... Typical it didnt leak until they lowered the pressure of the water and then water appared in the footwell. They do not know where it is coming from though... They are talking of taking the whole dash out and carpet and doing a coloured water test... The cost of this will be high and as I am just out of warrenty I am a little worried.

I contacted the person I bought it from and they assure me it wasnt leaking before and I do feel that I believe them - they seem very sincere and a nice family etc...

Any ideas? I wondered if it was an existing problem and whether Mini should be paying towards this? A recall problem maybe? If I could find out where the water is coming from and avoid taking the dash out it would be allot cheaper...

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Cheers, Caroline

[marque]

Hi ya

Ummmmm I take it they checked drains in the engine bay below the scuttle vents
Also the door seals and window adjustment also
I think there is a loom that comes though from in the car to the repeater that could be leaking you can take the trim out in the foot well that is fairly easy then check it with hose pipe again
Also has it had a new windscreen might be leaking from there that's can be check by sealing round the windscreen with tape and using the hose on it it seams abit drastic to take out the dash

[Leaveyfreya]

Hi

I have exactly the same problem!

My mini is a 55 convertible.

The water is collecting on the passenger side door sill and once there is a fair bit there it runs over the seal down the inside and into the foot well!

I was parking it on a flat area last year with no problem - but now I park on a slant this has started happening. I parked last noght by reversing down my yard so the back was lower than the front and it didn't leak. I guess it's because the water couldn't gather.

Please would you let me know how you have got on and if they gave you asy solution, answers and if it's a common fault?

Many thanks

Freya

[brownhog]

I have a five year old mini cooper convertable, and just picked it up from independent garage for the 2nd time in four weeks. Water ingress caused the electrics to malfunction - windows going down, interior light staying on, headlights on etc., all due to the fact that water had got into the BCI? under the drivers' footwell and corroded the electical system. It was repaired and a plastic covering put over. It was left for four weeks outside instead of in the garage (daughter borrowed) when on holiday and on return the windows were moving up and down and the interior light wouldn't go out. Same thing again, although £200 half the cost to repair from last time. Problem is that water seeps in through the panel running from the roof between the windscreen and the side window. You can see the gap. This needs to be taken off and sealed. There are also three holes underneath which should also be sealed. The cost as I understand is £5 for the seal and £90 approx for 1 hour labour at a BMW garage. This should have been explained to me, as I apparently need to take it to a body shop to have this done, as the garage was only able to deal with electrical problems.

Dripping water from the soft top when the window is open or the door is 'normal' according to the dealership!!! Soaking wet leg and seat if you're not pretty quick to get the door closed. Definately a BMW fault - and they know!
Will buy another, but be a mini one which I had previously and had no problems with. Worth spending £100 to have the panel sealed properly on the drivers' side. Wish my Masda MX5 back but no space for grandchild!

Sorry if not very technical, but hope you get the jist.

[Leaveyfreya]

hahahahaha

Just gotta love that dripping from the roof when you are getting in the car. It's the quickest i move in the day getting in and out of the car!!

I have solved the leak into my foot well by parking my car bonnet end up!

It chucked it down last night and not a drip got into the foot well!

I had watched for several weeks to see how it was getting in but now i think (I hope) i have cracked it!

Still have a mould spotted roof inside over the rear window, but I am looking to get the roof resealed to try and solve this.

Oh the joys of a mini convertible in rainy britain!!

I still love it tho!!

[Restyle]

Ive been trying to locate the source of the footwell water leak in mine for the last 18 months without much success - it still dripped in earlier today after a heavy shower
Ive changed the windscreen, & the A-Pillar covers & associated gaskets & put several tubes of sealant around the loom holes between engine bay & interior. Ive also gaffer taped all around the sunroof in a bid to eliminate that.
The water also caused a bit of trouble with my radio wiring which is under the footwell carpet - see HERE

[Leaveyfreya]

Hi

My leak is on the passenger side and comes in from the bottom of the door directly under the speaker! I will try and take some photos at the weekend to show you.

The water was gathering and creating a puddle on the sill so it was overflowing to inside the car. I seem to have solved this by reversing it down my yard so the bonnet is higher thus making the water run away.

Incidently i never had this problem last year when i was parking on the flat.

Thanks for letting me know your leaking issue as this may help - It worries me I may have bought a sieve and not a car!

[John_D]

I had the same problem with my 06 when it was new. It ws the door seal, which was replaced and now 76,000 miles later still no return of the problem

[WILLOWS70]

I have had my car since May and it has been fine all summer (it was a pretty wet one) All of a sudden it seems to have sprung a leak from the top of the passenger window which runs down the side of the door, down the door panel (over my speaker and tweeter) and gathers in the foot well.
It has just run out of warranty (typical).
Does anyone have any idea what this could be?

[The Nun]

Frankly theres not many convertibles that dont leak at some time or other, its one of the pleasures of owning a soft top, together with the risk of someone slashing it with a knife just for the hell of it.

[JohnB]

We have a low miles, well cared for 08 plate Cooper convertible, completely leak free until a month ago - then without warning the passenger footwell was wet. All very curious, wash the car, no water - but drive off and it appeared from below the door panel, over the plastic trim and into the footwell. Dependant on the slope of the car it could be persuaded to run into the rear footwell as an option!!
I removed the door trim (card) (thanks to others on the Forum and YouTube for guidance!) and with showering hose applied, could now see water penetrating (creeping around) the door seal just below the junction of the two seals at base of the front 'A' pillar (you need a torch!). Slight water runs down the crevice between the vertical seal and the door and collects in the nick along the bottom of the door, between metal and seal - just below the door card. You can't see it with door trim in place. But, move the car after rain/washing and the collected water has momentum to come over the trim to front or back footwells...
Rubber seals look undamaged but would appear no longer pliant enough to apply pressure on front top edge of door (near mirror) to hold back water.
Option 1, replace seals. Dealer wants £150 for seal which does A pillars and roof (all one) and £70 for seal to sides and bottom of door opening (+ VAT, not incl fitting...!) say £400 at least ...thus, swiftly to Option 2 (a bit of a fudge, but somewhat cheaper and WORKED!).
Option 2: Ease the two meeting rubbers off the flanges at the base of the A pillar for a short length, note that the vertical one slots up into sloping one a little bit (15mm or so). Take a short length (about 75 -100mm) of foam pipe insulation. Cut a lengthwise segment sized to fit with an easy push and but stay put, down into the hole of the vertical seal. (The outer curve of the insulation is just about the right profile!). Do the same for the A pillar seal and insert into the hole above the vertical rubber, (not the outside one of the two holes). Refit the seals onto the flanges and hey presto, sufficient force is returned to stop water ingress at that critical junction.
Yeah I know this post will take a lot of stick for bodging, but honestly I was so disgusted at the short life of the seals and high replacement costs that I was determined to find a simple solution for the shorter term perhaps.

The amount of water which pours into the door from the mirror is also ridiculous. With the card off, I found water was hitting a cable within the door and tracking to the inner metal doorskin. From there it found it's way to one of the holes (near to the speaker) and 'bled' through. I sealed the spare holes (on the inside) with waterproof tape and importantly re-bent the wire to drip away from the doorskin - result, no more water through the holes and dry carpets

Tip: to see if this door/seal area is your problem, try placing a short length of wire temporarily over the cill trim and door rubber, such that water which collects in the nick between the door rubber and the metal of the door just under the trim, will be allowed to drain out where the wire is just indenting the rubber a bit. Good luck!!