Door Seal Leak?

[scotia]

We live in Switzerland and it can get quite cold these days/nights..

recently noticed that we have been getting alot of condensation on the windscreen primarily but also on the other windows too i noticed tonight..

Its been 3 during the day and is now zero so nothing extreme..

As far as i understand, there has to be added moisture somewhere in the air inside the van for it to then condensate on the windows (coldest part) when the temps descend. Problem is the van is parked up normal & i havent been in for a few days at least..

any ideas? i tapped this into google the other day and it seemed quite a frequent issue?

 

[Fish]

Is there open water containers supplying sink?.

 

[mmi]

Possibly you just captured moist air in your van when you parked it.

Just checked that around your country the relative humidity of air is pretty high now, even well above 90% in some areas which means that the dew point (temp where condensation occurs) is just few degrees below ambient temperature. So whenever that moist air hits cooler surface you’ll see condensation.

More in the graph and explanations in Relative humidity - Wikipedia at “Other important facts” which basically tells that even the slightest drop in temperature of air which has relative humidity close to 100% will condensate.

So for example any still remaining wet footprints on your floor mats would tell that the relative humidity air inside the van would be 100%. As long as air can absorb moisture, all water in liquid form will eventually disappear – vaporize.

An easy solution would be to have a few car moisture absorber bags in your van, for example like the ones in Moisture Absorber Bags: Dehumidifiers | eBay.

 

[scotia]

Yeah i thought of that but the carpet is dry..
We have no kitchen as such - we have a portable stove in a back drawer type pullout but no water..
I found that the kirivans windows do tend to have moisture in the runner seal - if i touch this with some absorbant paper it soaks this up fast.. might be a reason for the moisture in the air.

I will try to get hold of those absorber bags.. thanks!

 

[scotia]

Hello again,

just a quick question regarding these absorber bags...the reviews seem a bit mixed - some saying this does nothing atall?! I understood silica gel is good for exactly this use?

any opinions?

 

[mmi]

They do work but of course have their limitations in absorption rate and capacity. If driving daily, so filling the van with fresh moist air every day - it is a challenge for the bags, usually just too much, too often. But when the car is in "storage", doors and windows closed for several days or even weeks, then there will be a difference. Of course the absorber bag eventually becomes saturated - "full", it doesn't help any more then.

For daily driving having AC always on should help - it is quite powerful air drier.

 

[scotia]

update: I found a small puddle in the footwell of the drivers side (LHD). Its not really inside, but in the seals profile, seems to be stuck in there. I can dry it out but then it reappears when it rains. This water could be the cause of the condensation i reckon..

called the dealer and they said to take it in but have never heard of a front door seal leaking... the internet says otherwise but..

They have now told me that its possible that when i open the door that water finds itself there (i see some drops at the bottom of the door card - was wondering if its a similar issue to @Pauly in a previous post (few years ago)..).. seems a bit random - i dont have this issue in my kia POS car..!

waiting for a dry day to really dry the seal out then retest..

 

[Ronnieb]

Do you have roof bars fitted?

 

[scotia]

we've got an SCA pop-top...

 

[Ronnieb]

Ahh ok, just a thought that they could of been a source of your water ingress.

 

[Davenjo]

we've got an SCA pop-top...

Do you have any additional rain gutters? Without them water will pour in every time you open the doors.

See:-

Getting Wet!

 

[scotia]

we have a vw awning rail on both sides, so water shouldnt get in, or at least this should stop the worst..

here is a photo of the front window seal... as i find water at the bottom of the door card this makes me think that water gets in here and cant get out - therefore stays in the van...

 

[Pauly]

Exactly what was happening to mine, every morning following rain if I had parked drivers side facing uphill (I have to park sideways in a slope) I found a puddle on drivers step and it turned out to be the gap in the seal, the front inch or two stepped out from the glass a tiny bit and was hardly noticeable but enough to let water in than ran through inside of door a deposited on interior step

 

[scotia]

ah ok, was it fixed ok? I hope its a simple fix - but the garage are saying 3wks as they are full..

i am worried they might say its due to the dubflectas as here in switzerland aftermarket mods arent really a done thing..).. but it shouldnt be the case..?

 

[Ian28]

Over the last few weeks there has been water collecting in the passenger door footstep which gushes out when I open the door. No roof rails and absolutely no evidence of water leaking into the vehicle through the window/roof. Footwell carpet and all interior surfaces are bone dry. Could this be a door seal lower down?

 

[phoenixfc7]

same here, not convinced its not the window though, I've had the door card off to silent coat and add new speakers, not sure if I have inadvertantly disturbed something. Did you get to the bottom of it?

 

[Ian28]

Never did. Haven’t had enough rain for a while to see if it’s still happening (which I shouldn’t moan about really).

 

[frankflyer]

Hello,

I've got a problem with my drivers window leaking and wondered if anyone had any tips? I've got a 2016 T6.

After heavy rain, the foot step has a pool of water in it. I understand the door has a dry side and a wet side and drain holes at the bottom. But the drain holes are below the step so I don't see how these could lead to the water pooling?

Potentially the seal at the bottom of the window has shrunk and gone hard as there's a gap between the glass and the seal? Photo attached of the seal highlighted in yellow.

Is this the issue? Has anyone replaced this seal? Is it called a window aperture seal?

 

[Niknak]

Before you condemn the seal get some hot water and washing up liquid and scrub it with a tooth brush if you think it’s coming in there too much, these seals are never water tight btw they are more of a water shedder

 

[Skyliner33]

A new 'seal' that you have highlighted in yellow wont stop water getting in the wet side of the door. There must ba another cause. Have you changed speakers or added sound deadening?