Water in passenger footwell after rain

[JoepM5]

Hi all,

I recently (this weekend) discovered that there is water in the passenger footwell (front) after rain or washing the car. It is really a puddle of water so there must be quite some leak.

Before dismanteling dashboard/carpet I wanted to get some input from you to make the search for the leak as effective as possible as I see 3 likely options that can cause it (car doesnt have a sunroof so thats not it, and it seems to leak in the front passenger footwell compartment):

1. When googling on this issue I see a lot of UK (RHD) cars having the same problem and then it is typically the cover/seal for the steering column (on the LHD, which has been closed on RHD cars since it is obsolete) that starts to leak but I don't really come across LHD cars with the same issue --> does anyone know whether LHD cars also have such a seal/cover on the passenger side or is this only done for RHD cars?

2. Recently had the rear door also leaking a bit and I resealed the inner cover and that solved it --> does the front door have the same cover?

3. Last week the car got a new front window due to the previous one being cracked --> could be that they didnt install it properly but I doubt whether this is causing it is (or it is just stupid coincence) as the leak is only on the passenger side and not on the driver side + as far as I can judge the window seems to be properly installed.

Any input is appreciated, thanks!

Best,
Joep

[M5Rick]

On mine it was the passengers side (left side) that was letting in water through the yellow LHD steering hole blank. It stopped when I blanked off the drain slats to the affected area under the bonnet with black duct tape and a sponge or car wash mitt placed in that space to soak up.
Getting to the grommet is tricky but doable from the inside, the very thick sponge underlay is almost impossible to move aside but you may just want to leave the tape in place for no further leaks.
On LHD cars there must be a grommet that blocks the hole for the steering shaft on the other side.

[JoepM5]

Thanks for the input.

Looked into it further tonight and it appears to have something to do with the new window after all. Pulled the carpet back a bit and checked behind, everything was dry and when emptying some bins of water on the windscreen no signs of any leak. Suddenly I saw a drip on the inside of the car somewhere next to the door hinges.

Will leave it to the shop that put the window in to sort it out. They are lucky I found out during a quick wash (which doesnt happen often ) and a week with limited rain in the Netherlands for the time of the year...don't want to think about how the interior would have looked after a week of a lot of rain without me checking out or using the car.

[M5Rick]

There's a plastic membrane inside the door that prevents water ingress, it may be that this was not reinstalled correctly when the replacement glass was being fitted.

[lucid21]

It sounds like the vapor barrier inside of the door behind the door trim. I replaced those in my F10 550i. The geometry of the door is such that water getting in through the window seal drips into the door and onto the vapor barrier, which is supposed to catch it and direct it down into the channel at the bottom of the door, which then drains out through a hole at the lowest corner of the door (yes, water is meant to flow through the door and out by design since the window seal can't keep it all out). The vapor barrier is stuck to the door via some type of elastic glue like thing that degrades over time (and can need to be redone). Also, if they replaced your window, they may not have applied glue properly when putting the vapor seal back on.

[JoepM5]

Hi guys, thanks for the input but I meant to say that the car got a new front windscreen not a new front window door so the door hasnt been touched. Seems to leak when water hits the upper side of the front windscreen on the passerger side and then somehow alongside the A pillar.