Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Puddle in passenger footwell

Yesterday I was driving home through a torrential downpour and the windows started to fog up. I turned on the fan to help clear the window.. which did a miserable job. When I got to my destination I noticed a flood of water pouring onto the carpet from under the dash. Water was cool to touch. How is the rain water getting in is my question? and has anyone else experienced this?

I HAVE EXPERIANCED THE SAME DANG THING!!!!!!!!
Here is the answer to your problem teh water is coming in from the air filter system for your fan. This filter is located under your cowl pan (thats the plastic piece right under your windshield whipers)remove your windshield whipers and then remove your cowl pan it all comes off with a few simple screws and bolts attaching it. Then you will see the filter i am talking about that alos comes off with 2 bolts if i remeber correct once you have that removed you will probally notice the gasket torn like mine was all i did to fix my prob was put a new gasket on using window sealer and some caulk but even better yet would to buy a new one of these filters then reassemble everything. Good luck and let me know how everything goes.

I can't read I8's posting with all the spelling errors....

Take the cowl off around the base of the windshield. Some screws are covered with black plastic caps. There are torx screws under the part covered by the hood (when it's closed). You'll have to remove the wipers first (I think 10mm if I'm correct)

Once the cowl is off you'll see the cabin air filter on the passenger's side. It's held in with two clips on the sides. Remove the filter (now's a good time to get a new one. That rain may have soaked it beyond usefulness) and clear any debris you find.

The leak itself is coming from the part that actually holds the filter assembly to the firewall. Clean that connection point against the assembly and the firewall and then apply a thick bead of silicon caulk all over that upper section. It'll be messy and you'll have to use your hands but it worked for me and my leak never reappeared.

While you have the cowl off, clean the base of the windshield completely. It gets gunked up sometimes and can cause drainage problems.

Let it dry thoroughly then reassemble the filter & cowl & wipers and there you go. You can test with a hose running over the windshield to the cowl and get in there and look.

Shop-vac the carpet as well. Mold can easily grow in that medium and provide a nasty cabbage fart-like smell!

Try that and if doesn't work, repost.

Good luck

Good instructions, I'll have to try that once I get my tools back from storage along with 1/2 of everything else I own. You don't need to remove the wiper though, the cowl cover comes off just fine with it still there. It is a good opportunity to remove both of the wiper arms and repaint them flat black if they've started to chip/rust.

When I replaced my cabin air filter last spring I found the foam gasket along the cowl cover to seal it against the windshield was crumbling. I got some foam insulation from Home Depot and replaced it, seemed to be fine. I do notice now that there is a gap at the fender corner where the insulation isn't sealing, probably contributing to my leak as much as the 9 straight days of torrential downpours. I'll fix that as well when I do my repair.

Scott

Scott

i noticed wetness/ puddling once in the corner of the front passenger. good time to replace the cabin air filter.

I had posted about a similar problem earlier and got the same advice so i tried it but i still notice dampness on my passsenger side floorboard even when it hasn't rained, i am thinking that my ac is somehow dripping on my floor.

Here ya go...