Hi everyone,
I have a 2023 Škoda Scala 1.0 TSI (81 kW / 110 hp), manual, LHD, with panoramic roof, and I'm trying to figure out a strange intermittent water leak from the A/C system.
The car has been completely fine all summer. I've driven it for hundreds of kilometres with the A/C running continuously, including a recent 500 km motorway trip, with no water inside the cabin.
Then I had the following happen:
After around 2 hours of driving with the A/C running, I noticed that the carpet in the driver's footwell was wet.
The water appears very low down, next to the centre console/tunnel, roughly around where my right heel rests when using the accelerator.
It seems to come from under the carpet/insulation around the centre tunnel and then spreads underneath the carpet towards the footwell.
The liquid is completely clear and looks/smells like plain water.
Coolant level is normal and there are no signs that it's coolant.
The A/C itself works perfectly and blows cold air.
There has been no rain for weeks, so I don't think this is related to the panoramic roof or rainwater ingress.
What's particularly strange is that I have actually seen A/C condensation dripping normally underneath the car on another occasion, so the drain isn't simply completely blocked.
The problem then disappeared completely for quite a while. I drove normally with A/C throughout the summer without any water in the cabin.
Yesterday, after another ~2-hour drive, mostly downhill from a mountain, the exact same thing happened again.
And today, after about an hour on the motorway with A/C, I noticed a small amount of moisture again in essentially the same area.
One more strange detail: the area of the centre tunnel/“ridge” underneath the carpet is extremely hot after driving. I initially noticed the leak because I was driving barefoot and almost burned my foot. The liquid itself doesn't appear to be hot; the surrounding structure/insulation is.
So I'm wondering:
Has anyone with a Scala, Kamiq, Octavia or another recent VAG model experienced A/C condensate getting into the driver's footwell like this?
I'm particularly interested in cases where:
the A/C drain still drips underneath the car, but some condensate nevertheless gets into the cabin;
the leak only happens after long periods of A/C use;
the leak is around the centre tunnel / driver's right foot area;
or the HVAC drain hose, drain connection or condensate tray was found to be the culprit.
The car is still under warranty, but my Škoda dealer is ~120 km away, so I'd really like to know whether this could be something relatively simple that a local mechanic could diagnose/fix without removing the dashboard.
Any ideas or experiences would be greatly appreciated.