Drivers footwell full of water ( not flood damage )

Water leak check:
1. Plenum chamber leaks at loom exits (Accident damage or corrosion)
2. Water leak at air con fan inlet (Accident damage or gasket wear)
3. Water leaking from air con heater pipe (corroded water pipe to/from heat exchanger)

Is it fresh water or engine coolant? It may not be coming from the outside of the car. If your heater core has a leak, it may be leaking into the passenger compartment. If this is the case, you also run the risk of running low on engine coolant and overheating or damaging you engine.

first of all does it have a sun roof if so open it and look for the 2 drain holes on the left and right corners, factory sun roofs have drain holes with tubes leading down through the car interior to the area just behind the door in the frame for drainage if they get stoped up they cant drain and water will fill either floor board, you can blow those out with a blow gun and airhose, also check under the cowle and be sure its not full of debre, if it is then get a stiff wire and clean the drain holes located to the left and right corners of it as well as they get stoped up and water can enter the car and leak into the floor pans as well

This can be from one of couple sources. One would be a broken or missing rubber seal in the firewall. Water can and will enter the passenger compartment if the seal is not good or missing. The firewall is the metal between the engine compartment and passenger compartment. There are many penetrations in the firewall for throttle linkage, steering column, electrical harness, etc. All of these penetrations have seals to prevent water from entering. Check to make sure all penetrations have seals. Inspect from under hood and from under the car, too.

Another source is damage to the floor pan. If you went over a rock or jagged object without having enough clearance, it may have punctured or even sliced through the floor - under the carpeting and sound deadening material under it. If you live in a cold area, and the roads are treated with salt or chemicals to melt ice, it may have caused rusting holes to appear in the floor pan. Water spraying up from tires would enter through the puncture or slice and the carpet would wick the water in. It would take a long time to dry and give a musty smell after just a short time. You should inspect the floor pan from underneath the car. Look for punctures, slices and rust / rot. Clean and seal any openings found in the floor pan and firewall.

Fixed windows and glass in the car body are also sources for leaks. The is especially true if glass has recently been replaced. Many times, the back window leaks into the trunk or metal under the rear seat - and flows to the carpeted floor. Look in the trunk at the bottom of the rear window. Side windows can leak, too - so don't forget to look behind trim interior panels on the sides of the back seat. Your leak could be coming from the windshield, too - this will be harder to locate through the dashboard - but you may find water dripping from wires, etc. Look for evidence of water / rust. Clean and reseal body / glass joints when found.

Good luck!

Easy one this, Remove the footwell carpet (Just un-pin it from the poppers and roll it up best you can, hold with tape if needed, you just need to get it clear of the footwell) Then dry the area with a towel. Get some kids waterbased paint (orange is good, shows up better) and coat the entire area (Dont worry it comes off with a wet rag). Let it dry then get a hose and go crazy! hose off the outside area, underneath, anywhere the leak is lightely to originate. Any leak inside the vehicle can be traced via the darkened now wet orange paint! simples!

If its the passenger footwell its almost always from the windscreen seal, Older Vits had a big rubber plug in the floor pan, these sometimes came loose!

If you do narrow it down to the windscreen, a word of caution. Dont try to simply spread mastic over the original seal! the leak will be from underneath this so applying anything on top is just a waste of time! The Guys at autoglass ect replace windscreen seals for a hobby. Next time you see a van driving around have a word with the driver. Most wont refuse a cheeky twenty quid for five mins work! Thats how I got mine fixed!

This could be coming in from a few places. As well as checking seams, i would suggest checking your floor pans... Many times rust will slowly eat thru the floor pans, and allows water to be soaked up... Get the car up in the air ( or climb on under it). Tap on the "floor" from underneath where the rear Foot area would be. If it seems rusty or weak or you can see visable damage. this could be your culprit, even if it isn't rusted through completely. This is a very very common problem with cars in my area , as I live in northern USA. Alot of snow = alot of salt on roads = alot of rusty floor pans :)

This could also be coming from your B - Beams. When your tires displace water. it splashes them against the inside wheel well and tire guard.. Under that guard lies your car body. If this has rust in /on it that has penetrated all the way through, the water is getting thrown "into" the body panels, which is leaking through to your seats. Hope this gave you a little more information on places to look.

Is the water only in footwell behind driver seat? If yes, then have you checked the weather stripping around rear door (assuming that it is 4 doors)? My brother had the same problem, and behold it was the stripping around the door. If you find that is the cause, standard household weather stripping added to door frame will work well.

Trace which way the water went down ,,, a major plug around one of the front foot wells could be full of water ... also now you need to check all the fuses. Push on the carpets front and rear floor to see if it's not flooded out under the carpets. Some cars have computer modules under the front seats.

Water leaks can be a bit of an issue to find, and it's best to get a workshop to deal with it in some respects, as it may be a leak from around a window seal or something similar, not something you'll be likely to repair at home. First things to check would be to make sure there are no seal rubbers around any doors or windows that are not sitting correctly. You could also spray water over the car and see if there are any obvious signs of where the water is getting in. Check inside the car and see if you can trace the water leak back to it's point of entry as well, maybe while someone else is spraying water onto the car.

Hope this helps.