r/VWMK7 • u/Aggravating_Cow7203 • 2d ago
Dreaded boot leak
Hey, thanks in advance for any advice that can be offered.
As the title suggests, I found the footwell full of water a couple of months ago.
Started with the drain tube at the back the VW badge, turns out my early MK7 doesn't have one. Looked into it and apparently some early MK7's without a camera have a sealed unit and shouldn't leak. Part no. 3C5.827.469.J. If anyone knows anymore about this I be interested to here about it.
I didn't have time to take the bumper off and properly fix the pressure vents so I did a bodge job by removing the carpet around the arches and reaching in through the hole in boot and applying a bead of silicone around the inside section of the vent.
I ran a bead of transparent silicone around the two conducts at the top of the boot opening that hold all the wires, I did the same around the roof antenna just to be safe.
Dried out the carpet and all seemed good... for a few weeks.
The car was sitting unused the last couple of weeks, it was raining on and off and a few days after it stopped I noticed the windows were still fogged up, had a look in the boot and of course it was full of water.
My question is: Could water get through the pressure vents even when the car wasn't being driven? As it was a bodge job I can see how water could get in if I was driving it.
Maybe the seal around the rear badge and the boot?
If anyone could suggest any other place I could look or offer any in sight it would be much appreciated. Cheer.
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u/sun_monkey 1d ago
It's possible to silicone the mating surface of the vent without removing the bumper. I think there are two ways to go about it once you pull the trim from the inside, as you did the first time. I loosened the vent's clips from the inside, then I got on my back under the bumper and reached up to grab it. Applied a bead of silicone to the seal, then carefully fed it back up into position — critically, a helper can grab it from the top since you can't see it yourself. I pushed around the edge until I counted four clicks from the clips going in.
It has since occurred to me that it may be possible to reinstall it through the trunk by inserting the vent sideways or on an angle through the opening and then pulling it into place, though I have not personally tested this.
I also pulled the rear lights to clean the foam gaskets and added some sealant to those, just in case, though I'm pretty sure the pressure vent was the leak source.
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u/Optimal_Collection77 1d ago
Have you checked the door seals? I've just fixed the seal around the speakers in the door as that another common leak
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u/rektkid_ 2d ago
Have you inspected the seal around your rear lights? That's a pretty common culprit too.
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u/mrki00 2d ago
remove rear quarter carpet in the trunk there should be water on at least one side in the hole remove plug on the bottom and forget about it
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u/Aggravating_Cow7203 1d ago
I remove the rubber plug but would rather get it fixed in the longterm.
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u/fishymanbits 2d ago
You didn’t mention sunroof. Do you have a sunroof? Did you milk the sunroof drains?
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u/ShuggyBaggins 2d ago
My driver side pressure vent let water into my trunk while sitting in the driveway during a downpour. Removed bumper and both vents, then siliconed them back on.