# Skoda Octavia - water pooling in boot



## 3dolls (14 Oct 2008)

Have a 2003 Octavia, bought during the only dry spell of the year, last May. Anyway, turns out theres a leak in the boot. We've spent ages trying to track down the source - took off the lining, discovered the rear-window-washer tube was disconnected and rejoined it. But the leak continues. We've ruled out water entering from underneath, as water gathers overnight when the car is sitting in the driveway. 

We've taken off all the plastic trim inside the tailgate and have narrowed down the pool to one area. Spent ages last weekend with the hose, trying to fid the point of ingress, but no joy - I was sitting in the boot observing, while Mr 3dolls hosed down the car. It's looking like the problem is in the way the door is sealing. Hard to be sure though as it doesn't start leaking as soon as we turn on the hose and stop when we turn it off - it seems to start seeping in when the water starts to settle, as if it's pooling somewhere instead of draining away. We opened the boot and poured jugs of water along the side channels and all seem to be draining the water away to the ground. We had heavy rain overnight and there was a huge pool this morning, but even a heavy dew is causing water to gather. 

I can pinpoint where the water starts appearing from on the inside but cannot see the source from the outside. We even removed the bumper to make sure there was nothing cracked - no joy. The outside is one sealed piece. Inside there are lots of different metal pieces welded/riveted, and the water is appearing from behind one of these, but we can't see in behind it to trace the water back, nor can we remove the piece of metal. There's no water dripping down from the rim of the tailgate, no water trail from the rear light. 

I did see another thread where someone had to get the boot-door adjusted so maybe this is our problem - but I cannot see where the point of ingress is - there's no water on the seal on the door, no water around the lock, etc. Has anyone had this problem and successfully corrected it? We're really frustrated at this stage, and the amount of water getting in on a wet day is such that we have to solve it.


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## myate (16 Oct 2008)

I had a similar problem in my Renault Clio last year. I took it to a car repair place and they tried to seal it. Didn't work though. So I took it back and they found the leak and repaired it 2nd time round. Was a very small leak coming from a welded join, but leaked enough to cause a pool under my spare. Apparently it's a common fault in a clio. (I done most of what you have done and still couldn't find problem either).


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## Guest116 (16 Oct 2008)

3dolls said:


> Have a 2003 Octavia, bought during the only dry spell of the year, last May. Anyway, turns out theres a leak in the boot. We've spent ages trying to track down the source - took off the lining, discovered the rear-window-washer tube was disconnected and rejoined it. But the leak continues. We've ruled out water entering from underneath, as water gathers overnight when the car is sitting in the driveway.
> 
> We've taken off all the plastic trim inside the tailgate and have narrowed down the pool to one area. Spent ages last weekend with the hose, trying to fid the point of ingress, but no joy - I was sitting in the boot observing, while Mr 3dolls hosed down the car. It's looking like the problem is in the way the door is sealing. Hard to be sure though as it doesn't start leaking as soon as we turn on the hose and stop when we turn it off - it seems to start seeping in when the water starts to settle, as if it's pooling somewhere instead of draining away. We opened the boot and poured jugs of water along the side channels and all seem to be draining the water away to the ground. We had heavy rain overnight and there was a huge pool this morning, but even a heavy dew is causing water to gather.
> 
> ...


 
I dont have a solution, but this is a known issue with the octavias. Try searching on the web, there are car specific and skoda specific forums that might help.


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## 3dolls (16 Oct 2008)

Thanks folks. I'm now a proud member of a skoda owners' forum, but no joy so far! However, there have been some suggestions of further tests to try.....oh joy, I can see another fun weekend ahead 

If I do manage to solve it I'll post back. So disappointed, cos apart from the onboard swimming-pool I really like the car, but if we don't resolve this my enthusiasm will be severely damped down


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