alfie&em Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Hi passatchris The leaking '98 20V 1.8 was repaired by a mate who also diagnosed it. This was the first I learnt about the pollen filter housing seal. I sold the 2001 130PS back to Murray's after 3 months for a small loss. They clearly knew it was wet, and still sold it to me: "Was that the one where the alarm kept going off (salesgirl at murrays)?" The Audi A6 was dried out and ecu replaced under 3-month warranty, but the problems went on and on afterwards so it had to go. I paid murrays £350 last month to dry the '53 plate 100PS - and I'd been keeping an eye on the plenum chamber too, but just got caught by a heavy rain storm. What I was hoping for was some good-will (after all, 3 passats in 10 years all leaking could have sparked a concience), but VWUK required that a dealer diagnosed. Once there, it just had to be done. Can't help but feel utterly thick, thick, thick and thick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passatchris Posted February 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 all i can say is its worth writing a very sh%*ty letter to mr murrary him self, can work wonders when u go over the heads of the little knobbers that work there. dont loose hope in your passat! they are great safe comfortable cars. If u get no luck with vw let me have a look at it for you. i managed to revive mine from a load of electrical faults and about 2 gallon of water inside the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDI-4M Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I have had a problem with my TDI steaming up the windows.....the link that passatchris mentions is an excellent one and the pics take you thru' step by step. However the issue lies with the pollen filter housing and the inadequate seal. VAG are aware of this and issued a bulletin to VAG dealers outlining the nature of the problem and the solution. I would suggest that anyone who has had serious expense as a result of this problem going to VAG and asking what they will do about it. New ECU's CCU's are not cheap. I'd be interested to hear of the response. As for the solution to the problem.....a meter or so of sealant strip. £6 will get you sorted. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmv Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hi, Had some recent probs myself on the passat 1.8T SE....Water in n/s rear passenger footwell. Some mos now so thought I should investigate before rust and ECU floods...?. Your notes seem useful so I will try to remove battery & battery support and find these drain plugs under bulkhead...some of the replies also mention poor sealing around filter base...? Then, when I have cleaned the drain plugs, water still persists in rear passenger footwell, Ill run another check on the door sill and drians under door edge. Otherwise, I am at a loss. My car is parked outsisde of house so gets all the weather since 2003. No doubt drains are full of moss, leaves etc. thx again...pls, if you have any other tips pls advise..cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passatchris Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 rmv check out the 2 links i put up this topic, it looks daunting but it isnt! i idint want to disconnect my battery, and managed to do it all with the battery restin on the bulkhead. take a bit of time takin off your ecu loom as the clips can bend, then take your battery tray out, i rubbed mine down and re-painted it as it was startin to rust, lots off red oxide and then some nice balck smootherite, looks a proper job! i took my laptop down to my garage and followed the pics as i was doing it! let us know how you get on chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmv Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Hi Chris, Ive' run my checks on the drain plugs under battery and servo...guess what...yes, they are CLEAN! Battery was hell to remove but did it after unclipping the ecu loom...(That filter housing is too long or the battery is too long , either way, I managed to get all back together. just !). I need to have a wrod with the VW designers ! ...So, none the wiser , I ran another check on the n/s rear door seals. The rear upright-pillar to this door, just between seal and fabric inside car, squeeze fingers behind this and hey presto, soaking wet !! Tried other side (off-side), and that was dry...so, it appears that I have found area of one leak in n/s pillar or above this ? I dont' believe it is the seals ....could be coming from roof where the luggage rails are fitted to roof...???? Long shot I know, but next dry day I will investigate and also ask around the nearest VW service centres if this is common with estates ??....PS my car is an SE estate. Thanks for your notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfie&em Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I would suggest that anyone who has had serious expense as a result of this problem going to VAG and asking what they will do about it. New ECU's CCU's are not cheap.I'd be interested to hear of the response. Good luck More than good luck needed, I'm afraid. Something more akin to a miracle would best suit me. I have a case number with VWUK (VAG were simply not interested at all - obviously entirely happy with their design team), but they tell me that since my car is over 5 years old (actually 5yr 1mnth) they will not help me out. They did, however, give me an email address to write my case to given that this is my 3rd event. No enthusiasm for it any more. I'm beaten..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passatboy Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Hi all. Ive had water problem for some time. A couple of years ago I carried out the unblocking of the udders under the battery. This worked a treat. Then, last year the problem returned, unblocking the udders was not the answer this time. So, i delved deeper. The problem this time seems to be the pollen filter spongie gasket which was saturated and did not look sufficient to stop water ingress. (i am an electrician, but when pushed i will tackle anything until victory is mine). Ive removed gasket under pollen housing by loosening 3 small nuts under pollen filter and then used a expanding spray foam to spray between gap and then re-tighten nuts. Its to early to say if it has worked. Just a word of warning, i tried to give myself some more room by removing the window cowl at the bottom of the window screen (long black plastic cover). I could not remove window wipers and ended up breaking the cowl which was very brittle. So be warned. Hopefully the wiper blades needed a little oil before they could be removed, i did not want to force them. If there is a correct way to remove the wiper arms can someone let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwman Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hi passatboy Removing the wiper blades was tricky.I had to get a very wide screw driver and carefully prise them off.Placing a rag under the screw driver to prevent marking the wing of the car was required. It took a few goes and then "Ping" they come flying off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passatboy Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 (edited) Cheers vwman, wipers came off ok. Used expanding foam for the seal around for pollen filter, water problem seems to be sorted. The next job was to dry the carpet. I used a hair dryer which does take time(an hour Or two). while doing this it started to rain so I closed the door too and watched from inside the house. As you can imagine the car became totally steamed up, and when I went for a spin the odometer and clock display had disappeared with only a few dots visible. This problem was only temporary and is now fine. But I not to sure if the cable running under the carpet was an aerial cable because am reception went off and fm was not as clear. (possible burnt insulation on aerial cable). Had another pull on the cable, this seems to have resolved the problem, so keep an eye on where you stick the hair dryer. An other word of warning for anyone going down this route, be very very careful when removing and fitting window cowl they are so brittle and snap easily. Edited March 14, 2009 by passatboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lj329 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Sorry to jump on this thread, but I also have the classic "issues" with my B5.5 estate passat. About 18 months ago, the alarm would randomly go off and the electric windows wouldn't work. I knew the problem would be related to the ccm, although my carpets are dry and I have never noticed any water ingress, I get what can only be described as a "snap, crackle and pop" sound effect from the pax footwell when i switch the ignition. I took the car down to the dealer who was in complete denial that there is a design problem or any common issue, and became quite agressive and really customer unfriendly when i suggested he did a little bit more research! Anyway I let them fix the problem - they cleaned the battery compartment etc and "found" a faulty plug that was causing the problem. It cost about £150 and of course there was no goodwill - i could tell that because they wrote "NO GOODWILL" across the bill in big letters! I asked if they had checked the ccm for corrosion and they claimed they had and it was ok. Anyway it fixed the problem, everything worked although the Rice Krispies never went away and a big bowl is still under the passenger seat. All was ok until yesterday when yep all the probs came back;key fob/central locking not working, leccy windows u/s, can't open the boot or petrol flap, no interior lights - you know the drill. It seems the car is not recognising the drivers door open/closed state. The problem I have is, like an 4rse I have lost the paperwork for the first fix, so i called the dealer and surprise surprise they have no record of my car ever having been to them. So i am a little bit stuck (and mad with myself). I will attempt some of the fixes posted here, but in the short term - how do I manually open the fuel flap? At least then I can keep driving. Also is it possible to diagnose wether the fault is ccm based or something physical with the door (some sort of contact?) Any other advice would be greatly received - as long as it is not in the form of "why didn't you keep all your paperwork, tw@t!" cheers Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmv Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Hi, from the previous threads, please advise how the 'window cowl' is removed without splitting this brittle furniture. I need to access the back n/s securing nut to release the pollen filter housing and the seal; replace with the sealing cord....yes to mitigate leaks to internal passenger areas. So, it seems that the window cowl is to be removed as I can't get my hands to the fixtures near the bonnet flange......I have the wiper blades removed after some help from a local garage (pulling and twisting)...now looking to see how the cowling is removed without a mess or another cost. The cowling appears to have one or two metal clips on o/s and middle section, just underneath cowling. Not sure what secures the cowling at the n/s behind the pollen filter and bonnet flange?? Then , how is it removed from the window screen...it looks like the window screen is slotted into the cowling???? Cant' see anything in the Haynes manual either. What a real pain this is to replace a seal or putting it another way, working a design error !!!! Any help will be welcomed.....thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passatboy Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I’m possibly the wrong person to give this advise, due to the fact I broke my new window cowl when replacing it. (£12.95 from vw garage). But, here goes, pull the two retaining clips off, wipers removed using large flat head driver, wedge and twist with a touch of oil. I know it sounds easy to pull a bit of plastic trim off but have some one at either end of windscreen because this is where your problems start if your forcing it. The plastic cowl comes up away from window at 90 degrees from the slope of the glass. To start the process use flat slim driver, once you’ve eased it away a little along its length then you are prevented from removing it totally by either end having a snug fit. This is when you expect the plastic to give slightly so it can be removed, but there is no tolerance and mine just pinged into two pieces. good luck rvm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwman Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Sorry to jump on this thread, but I also have the classic "issues" with my B5.5 estate passat.About 18 months ago, the alarm would randomly go off and the electric windows wouldn't work. I knew the problem would be related to the ccm, although my carpets are dry and I have never noticed any water ingress, I get what can only be described as a "snap, crackle and pop" sound effect from the pax footwell when i switch the ignition. I took the car down to the dealer who was in complete denial that there is a design problem or any common issue, and became quite agressive and really customer unfriendly when i suggested he did a little bit more research! Anyway I let them fix the problem - they cleaned the battery compartment etc and "found" a faulty plug that was causing the problem. It cost about £150 and of course there was no goodwill - i could tell that because they wrote "NO GOODWILL" across the bill in big letters! I asked if they had checked the ccm for corrosion and they claimed they had and it was ok. Anyway it fixed the problem, everything worked although the Rice Krispies never went away and a big bowl is still under the passenger seat. All was ok until yesterday when yep all the probs came back;key fob/central locking not working, leccy windows u/s, can't open the boot or petrol flap, no interior lights - you know the drill. It seems the car is not recognising the drivers door open/closed state. The problem I have is, like an 4rse I have lost the paperwork for the first fix, so i called the dealer and surprise surprise they have no record of my car ever having been to them. So i am a little bit stuck (and mad with myself). I will attempt some of the fixes posted here, but in the short term - how do I manually open the fuel flap? At least then I can keep driving. Also is it possible to diagnose wether the fault is ccm based or something physical with the door (some sort of contact?) Any other advice would be greatly received - as long as it is not in the form of "why didn't you keep all your paperwork, tw@t!" cheers Lee Hi Lee Sorry to read that your problems have returned. I'm no expert but do have some experience with this water problem that perhaps maybe the cause of your fault.Have you checked if there is any water in the nearside foot well.Under the capet is a black box,(sorry dont know the technical name) but this as I understand is like the CPU of the car.If water has got into this box,this may be what the problem is. Regards vwman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant130979 Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 hi people hoping i can find some help here i also had the water problem which i have self cured following your advice but i cant get any electric windows to work in my b 5 passat i press the buton in either direction and i get 2 small clicks from the motor area the motor makes no attemp to move the window just this solenoid click sound the car is now very dry thanks in advance ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfie&em Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Quote: Originally Posted by TDI-4M I would suggest that anyone who has had serious expense as a result of this problem going to VAG and asking what they will do about it. New ECU's CCU's are not cheap. I'd be interested to hear of the response. Good luck More than good luck needed, I'm afraid. Something more akin to a miracle would best suit me. I have a case number with VWUK (VAG were simply not interested at all - obviously entirely happy with their design team), but they tell me that since my car is over 5 years old (actually 5yr 1mnth) they will not help me out. They did, however, give me an email address to write my case to given that this is my 3rd event. No enthusiasm for it any more. I'm beaten..... Having said that, I decided in the end to go for it. And against all odds, and after some checks and various comms, VAG found that it was able to return me 75% of the cost!! I'm stunned - and over the moon too. I think that having had 4 of the things fill up on me might have swayed the decision. Thanks all for your support and interest, and good luck to any others who try for recompense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 Hi I have a friend who worked for vw the first comment he made when i bought my passat was ' keep the area around the pollen filter clear of leaves and all other debris or the central locking and windows will play up' the gasket around the pollen filter or air inlet has strangely an open cell foam gasket to seal the plenum chamber to the pollen filter housing. if this area at the nearside end of the windscreen near the hinge gets clogged the water floods into the passenger footwell unseen behind the carpet, this soaks the convenience system ecu and then travels to its lowest point which is the rear passenger side footwell. hope this helps. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmv Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Thx Bill, yes, you are right covering the common problem, at least, being the air intake/filter housing on n/s. I understand too, that water may enter via an air conditioning outlet...I havn't found this one yet though. ALso, the area of the throttle pedal ?? Other threads on this forum should lead you to these. The foam gasket, of course, shouldnt be sold any more but the VW agents had sold this part to me saying this was the solution (Ok only cost a few £). Only discussing the problem with one of their service guys, this guy advised me to ask for a different seal which is a in fact a ''sealing cord'' of x metres long in the pack (some £20 plus). I understand this to be installed and wrap around twice under the housing...to replace the foam gasket, of course. So, I still think this is a design issue and not sure if the latest passats are of the same???? Otherwise, it seems VW are quite happy to accept the problem continuing if they can make revenue from ECM chamge outs, and the labour to inspect , lift carpets, etc etc. Could be talking over a £1000 (easy) if the problems are not sorted quickly. I still need to lift my carpets, seat out, and inspect the ECM under the passenger seat....I would be looking for corroded wiring connections...which I accept could still corrode from condensation, as well as a bloody water leak (or shall we call it flood!). I dont' suggest this is ignored as the problem could be building up over time. Perhaps the ECM should be located elsewhere please VW !!!!!! As you can tell, I'm quite p----- off about this and has put me off getting another VW. What other stealers are out there...beware !! thx and let me know if you learn more. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petev64motion Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 hi guys just bought a 51 plate passat now i'm starting to regret it on reading this i went out to the car, guess what the rear drivers footwell is wet!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmv Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Hi, sorry to hear that you have found the same flood problem.......god, we should all get together and take VW to court. There must be a case of a design error and scam! Whilst a bit late in reading this forum, at least you can start to sort out the issues being filter housing sealing, plenum chamber blockage (under battery), air con outlet ? throttle area? and of course to lift carpets remove seat, and check the ECM for corrosion. Im' doing the same thing this term so you, me and a fwe others will be in same boat....**** ! Ill buy an Astra next time...dirt cheap and throw away item. regards rmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwman Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Take a look at this link I up loaded some pics when I fixed the leak in my 02 Passat http://www.tyresmoke.net/forum/vw-passat/113623-vw-passat-water-electrics.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petev64motion Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 i took it for a service on tuesday asked if they could check out under the scuttle panel for water there wasn't any, but the pollen filter was soaking wet :mad: the mechanic said the water drains were'nt blocked either :confused: then last night (while it was pissing it down) me and the wife went to a friends, she pulled the sun visor down to check her makeup and got showered with water! i think my water problem may be the sunroof!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmv Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Hi, Great that you found the main culprit ? However, if the pollen filter is wet, than I would suggest checking the seal to filter housing. Is it the filter or thefoam seal that is soaking wet??? There is a different seal available that you need to refer the VWs spares to. The guy at the desk will usually bring the old type which , quite frankly, is hopeless. The new seal is a ''seal cord'' by definition and is packed in roll format....just in case you find you should replace the foam type. see other threads on this and the previous reply on pics ...!!! best of luck with these design problems made by VW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petev64motion Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 i had the pollen filter replaced (including an extra seal) so fingers crossed it will be ok now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobok1 Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 I am just in the process of drying out my carpet. I will then try to fix the problem with the CCM unit under the passenger side carpet. What a pain in the A%$%!!! I'm glad i've found this forum as it gives me a bit more confidence in trying fix the problem myself rather than paying VW. The problem I had was water logged carpets. I have unblocked holes and replaced seal. Now the carpet and CCM need sorting. It's gonna take ages I reckon. It's so cold at the moment that this morning when I took the carpet up it was frozen. I'll have to leave the passenger seat out for a while until it dries. I'll look like hightower from Police academy Any good tips for drying out the carpet? I have mopped up so far but the carpet was drenched! I think it's too early for a hairdryer or dehumidifyer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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