Carpet wet through on driver's floor and rear passenger floor behind the driver

[tyred]

Just a thought but check the drain holes in the bottom of the doors are clear or give the doors a good shake to see if they're holding any water.

Water often gets past the seals on the door windows and has to go somewhere if the drainage holes are blocked and the plastic membrane behind the door padding is less than perfect. I've seen water leaks like that in a Mk II Golf and a Pug 306.

 

[simongt]

Fix Or Repair Daily

Or back in the 70s; Found On the Roadside Dead - !

 

[Accy cyclist]

I took my car to the garage this afternoon. The mechanic said that hole I found wasn't the cause of the wet carpet as the hole doesn't go through to the floor. He said it goes half way but not the whole way. He said he could take the carpets up and use a hosepipe to see if it rains in, but that'd have to be another time. He drilled two small holes under the wet bits of the carpet, saying if it gets wet again at least it'll be able to drain out. I've dried the carpets fairly well using lots of paper towels weighed down with a couple of bricks, to soak up the water. I'll see how it goes when it next rains.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Accy, it'll happen again, and your mechanic drilling holes isn't helping as you'll now have a source of corrosion. It will be drains blocked, it always is. Do you want me to post on Fiat forum for you?

 

[Accy cyclist]

Accy, it'll happen again, and your mechanic drilling holes isn't helping as you'll now have a source of corrosion. It will be drains blocked, it always is. Do you want me to post on Fiat forum for you?

If you want to.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

If you want to.

If I want to?

 

[Biker BoB]

If you want to.

I think your best option for drying out this type of vehicle make is to use petroleum spirit and swan Vesta's carefully arranged on the back seats. ...

 

[Bazzer]

"When it next rains" isn't necessarily the solution. Mucking about with a car when it's raining; a) isn't much fun, and b) unless it's pouring down, the chances are it will take some time for the water to trickle through. You would be much better on a dry day, pouring water from a bucket over specific parts of the car and seeing if there is water ingress.
Have the drain holes in the engine bay at the firewall been checked? Even if they don't look blocked, a sturdy piece of wire such as an old coat hanger should be used to make sure they are clear. Unless you are very unlucky and have two leaks, that there is water in the back of the car as well as the front can be misleading. The water will wick from one part of the carpet to another.
Once you resolve the leak, you will need to make sure the mats, carpet and backing is thoroughly dry, otherwise it will stink.

 

[DRM]

As others have said it will be drain holes, either the bulkhead, folding sunroof, or even the air conditioning condensation drain, the other common thing is door seals becoming compressed over time, drilling holes in the floor will just make the floor rot

 

[simongt]

He drilled two small holes

Define 'small holes' as if a hole is too wee, water won't ingress or egress effectively unless there's enough pressure to force it through.
But agree with other posts, if your mechanic is drilling more holes in the floor of your car to trace water ingress, I would question his methods.

 

[furball]

I had a similar problem with a previous car. Turned out to be a leaking tube that went from the windscreen washer bottle to the rear window.

 

[Kevberlin]

I had a similar problem with a previous car. Turned out to be a leaking tube that went from the windscreen washer bottle to the rear window.

Known issue on the Fiat 500, but the tubing runs along the passenger side of the vehicle.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Ok, an update here. I'd dried my carpets out to about 90% dry. Then last night/early morning it absolutely hammered it down!I kind of knew the rain would get in and low and behold as I looked today it had, though not as bad as before. So, it looks like the water is not getting in via the car floor, as the carpets got wet again without the car moving at all. I lifted the bonnet to see if there were any leaves blocking around where the windscreen is, but there wasn't anything there. I also checked the carpet under the dashboard near the foot pedals, but no, it was totally dry. The door was dry on the inside, with not a drop of water in the thingies you put stuff like CD's, books etc in. I felt round the roll back roof when it was closed and no, not a drop. The panel under the door was dry, so it's not getting in under the door. The passenger side was again dry. I've messaged the mechanic and he said he could power wash my car, to simulate heavy rain and to hopefully find where the water is coming in. He's going to try that next Tuesday, along with under sealing the car ready for the ice and following road grit/salt. I'm not worrying about it anymore as I'll probably get another car in March/April and even if it's raining in or not I'll still be offered far less than it's worth in part exchange. I can live with a wet carpet every now and then throughout the winter months, but if the mechanic does find the source of the leak I will feel a little more at ease.

 

[johnnyb47]

I feel you pain and frustration trying to find your leak..It only takes a small amount of water each day to cause a serious headache with soggy carpet's in a car.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

The drains which are likely blocked are under the scuttle panel. There are a couple of little sumps with drains that block over months and years.