B5 and B5.5 Passat door leak. Wet floors/carpets. Water ingress. Identified and Fixed.

In this video I show you how I identify where the water is getting into the car and show you how to fix the leaks for good.

[@stephenoverthrow2463]

Hi chap. Got to say, I wouldn't have bothered faffing about taking the inner aluminium panel off. All you need to do is thoroughly clean around the outside of the panel, then silicone around the whole panel. Job done.

[@lozl]

This is an excellent point I hadn't thought of that.

[@stephenoverthrow2463]

Hi Loz. What a ball ache these Passat B5s are for leaking! I had a UK B5.5 estate (wagon to you guys across the pond). Leaked like a bloody sieve after about 5 years, 2 inches of water in both front footwells and ruined the ECU under the passenger carpet. What a stupid place to locate an ECU!! Anyway, UK forums suggested remove the drain bung underneath the battery tray which gets clogged with leaves. Had about a pint of water in mine. So, remove the bung and throw it away, not required. Next was the door card as described in your video. Rather than take the whole lot off and struggle with all of those cables and other stuff, leave the aluminium panel attached and thoroughly clean around the outer rim with methylated spirit or similar, but get it as clean as possible. Then I used black bitumen gutter sealant, clear water proof sealant should be as good, all around the rim of the panel. No more leaking Passat😂. What I also did as a matter of extra insurance was clean out the drain holes under the plastic panel which covers the battery and wiper motor. They're located at the back of the bulkhead either side. I had a cup full of muck out of mine. Then I blasted a hose pipe down the drain holes and observed loads more muck on the drive after. Hope this helps you Passat B5/5.5 owners. Cheers,Ozzy, UK.

[@lozl]

Many thanks for the extra info and for taking the time. I think, apart from leaks and the constant replacement of front suspension arms, they're pretty solid cars really

[@samcourtrc6767]

I need to do this with my 2002 sport because I’m starting to get water when you open the door at the bottom and it’s sitting on top of the plastic where the bottom of the door would meet the sail

[@lozl]

@@samcourtrc6767 Don't delay. The crash sensors will he swimming in water under the carpet. I had to change mine as the water damaged one of them

[@stephenoverthrow2463]

Hi Sam. Just a little tip. Clear the drain holes in the bottom of the door / doors with some thin cable or whatever you can poke up there. As I think I mentioned previously, take the door card off to reveal the large aluminium panel. After a few years, the seal surrounding it breaks down and that's where your water is coming from. Pick a good day unless you have a garage you can work in. Use an all purpose water proof sealant ( I actually used gutter sealant as it was all I had to hand at the time, but it worked great). Go around the whole of the aluminium panel, fit door card back on and you should be ready to go. Till the next leak appears somewhere else!! 😂

[@samcourtrc6767]

@@stephenoverthrow2463 ur a gentleman buddy il let you no hi I get on with it thanks buddy

[@Mnck01377]

I've been trying to figure out for nearly half a year why my passat fogs up crazy inside, been searching for water everywhere, never thought it might be stuck inside doors. One day out of a carwash I accidentally noticed small streams of water going in through rear passenger doors... Craaaaazy!...... And tnx a lot!

[@lozl]

Glad to help. Yeah I have found the car can take quite a bit of water and be quite happy to operate pretty normally with it. In the last round of problems I got 30L out. Crazy!!!! Glad I can help and thanks for taking the time to comment

[@stephenoverthrow2463]

Hi Loz. Forgot to mention. I also had to do the leaking pollen filter housing, again a crap design. Took that apart and siliconed that too. Cheers, Ozzy. UK.

[@lozl]

Yeah I've done that one twice. Weird how one car can have so many leaks

[@gilbertsprojects2954]

Just one thing about the front door cards, to avoid breaking it (and resorting to screws/cable ties), simply remove the ‘grip’ part of the door handle by squeezing it and sliding towards the door, it will pop out of the plastic part which you can then easily remove to access the screws. I’ve got to do my door but waiting for some parts so I can do everything in one go

[@lozl]

Awesome, thanks Gilbert, I will do that the next time I inevitability have it take it apart

[@gilbertsprojects2954]

@@lozl no worries, did the lock on mine yesterday but then this morning on way to work it lost power, I’m hoping it’s just a vacuum hose on the turbo… 🤞🏼

[@lozl]

@@gilbertsprojects2954 oh rubbish! Good luck getting to the bottom of it

[@flyingscot3666]

great video dude - think this is what I have got going on with my old passat

[@lozl]

Thanks for your kind comment. They're great cars, bit yeah!!! Front suspension and wet interiors are their thing

[@R1chardB1ngham]

I deal with the rear window reg by pushing the plastic roll pin through into the door and retrieving it afterwards - refitting is a bit fiddly but can be done with patience and a bit of masking tape on a big flatblade screwdriver. My OSR door leaks like this but I am reluctant to silicone the lock carrier in place - I'm hoping to find a non-setting sealant similar to the stuff VW used to fix the pollen filter housing problem - another job I have to do...

[@lozl]

Thanks for the comment. That makes a lot of sense. I wish I'd thought of that. I think if you reassemble Hythe roll pin into the glass it will clip back in the way I did it. So out with your method and in with my method. Easy! Yeah you can get stick on sponge strips from ebay. That might work. Thanks for the comment

[@_Gravano__]

Very nice video, perfectly explained 🙏🏼

[@lozl]

Many thanks! Glad to help

[@HH79]

Well Done

[@ryanbecker3007]

Thankyou

[@lozl]

You're welcome

[@MrKnuffi14]

Thanks for the video! I have one important question: about which hole are you talking about at minute 7:30? Could you maybe explain to me in regard to a certain screenshot of the video at a certain time 0:00? Thanks a lot :)

[@lozl]

I was referring to the large hole 6 to 8 inches above the tip of the silicone gun as the video pauses between 7:30 and 7:33. Its about and inch and a half accross. I later realised this is where the wiring loom goes in through the door and plugs onto the lock mechanism in the door. I had removed it years ago when the central locking was playing up. So you probably have this hole already sealed up by the loom. That said there are a number of smaller holes in the area. Its important they area all blocked up of there are any holes as water seems to come in readily through any holes in this area as water drips off the bottom of the glass inside the door. Hope this helps