Decaying Carpet - Water poolong in footwell?

[crinkles]

Hi folks

Today I wanted to vacuum my car, and found a damp patch in the passenger side footwell (the left had side fo the car as in Aus the cars are right hand drive). I don't know what is causing it (nothing was ever spilt, and I don't store bottles in my car). The underside of the mat insert looks like some of it has been chewed away, and there is a trace of mould on the carpet in the photo - you can clearly see the triangular affected area. The floor carpet was damp to the touch. Saw only mild rain the last few days, and short times at that.

So either water is pooling int he footwell when it rains due to a poor seal somewhere (no idea where?) or, water is entering the floor from underneath. I crawled under the car to take some photos. The red arrow points to a protruding tube, I don't know if this is some kind of overflow port for the aircon maybe? The green arrow points to a mounting bracket for the exhaust system.

I am thinking at either of these two points water may be entering the floor due to poor sealing...

This car is only 3 years old so it is really unacceptable if it is a manufacturing fault. I have taken the insert footmat out in the hope that any moisture can evaporate quickly and not get caught...

Any thoughts? I may take it to the dealer to see if they have a clue (I doubt it)

 

[mechtech2]

Obviously a leak, but window or seam leaks can migrate away from their original source, and be tough to detect.
Also could be a heater core leak.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

If the air conditioning drain is plugged, condensation may be able to leak inside. Do you notice water on the ground under the car when the a/c is on?

 

[MrCritical]

What kind of car, and does it have a sunroof?

Has the windshield been replaced?

 

[Donald]

Once you have removed all the water you can via a vacuum, mist the area with iso alcohol and it will kill any mildew smell and will not hurt the carpet.

 

[eljefino]

Most floor pans have holes in them so when they dip the unibody in zinc primer etc on the assembly line it has somewhere to run out. They then plug the holes somehow, you may have found that.

I did have an AC drain plug up... the most foul smelling water you could imagine dribbled onto the passenger footwell.

 

[94MaxGXE]

Your red arrow points to the air conditioning drain.
With air cond on, water should drip out freely.

I have a 99 Camry that has done the same, except on the right side. It was wet all the way to the rear seat floor.
At first, I thought my daughter spilled water. After drying it out, I still find it damp after wet weather.
I suspect hidden hole under car, leaking windshield, sun roof drain that is bad, or, even though lots of water comes out the air cond drain, the bottom of the heater/air box leaking.

I have not found it yet. Good luck to us both.

 

[crinkles]

I went to have it checked out at the dealer today, they said it is airconditioner-related, and quite common for my camry.

They said either the A/C drain (Red arrow in picture) is blocked by an insect or something else, or, condensation on the outside of the drain pipe is leaking in through a bad seal through the firewall etc. or the drain itself is leaking.

They did a quick check to see if it was a bug that had blocked it, and it wasn't, so, I need to go in on wednesday to drop the car off so they can check the A/C tubing and seal components through the firewall.

funny thing is, if it was an insect, it wouldn't have been a warranty repair! My though was that if poor design allowed an insect to get in there and block it, it must be a warranty repair!

In any case, the bunch of mechanics at the dealer look like pimply faced 16 year olds... quite nervous about leaving the car there...

 

[rustlerdude]

put a piece of clay or pladoh under the gas. If they take it for a joy ride, you will know it when you find hte playdoh smashed to the carpet.

 

[AcuraTech]

Most likely the drain tube is just clogged up with dust or debris. All you have to do is take a blow gun and shoot a good shot of compressed air up the tube. Once the clog is gone, a whole bunch of filthy stinky water should come pouring out. Good luck.

BTW it's usually not "a bug" that clogs it. Like I said, usually just dust and debris that gets sucked in from outside the car, like old leaves.

 

[crinkles]

BTW i have noticed the blower isn't as forceful as I would like it to be and that the cooling isn't as effective - it may be related, or my gas might just be low. So it may all be clogged!