Volkswagen ID.4: Causes of water ingress

Service fluids or vehicle fluids

• Washer fluid, due to leaking or blocked washer fluid line -1- from washer fluid reservoir to rear window washer system.
• Coolant, due to defective coolant lines or heat exchanger in vehicle interior.

• Condensed water from the evaporator, due to blocked or loose condensed drain -1-.

Damaged components

Water ingress can cause corrosion damage, reducing the service life of a vehicle.

Water ingress must be repaired using different repair procedures depending on the point of entry.

Sliding sunroof

The water drain hoses of the sliding sunroof have a design flow rate of 2 l/min. Larger amounts of water cannot be drained.

Important

• Compressed or kinked water drain hoses must be renewed ⇒ General body repairs, exterior; Rep. gr. 60 ; Water drain hoses; Removing and installing water drain hoses .

Windows

Bonded windows

Leaks in windows can have the following causes:

• Missing adhesive
• Interrupted adhesive bead or insufficient height of adhesive bead
• Incorrect application of chemicals, e.g. primer and activator interchanged

Bolt-on windows

Insufficient sealing of the window seal to the body can be the cause of leaking windows.

All vehicles (continued)

Doors

If water leaks out under the door trim, the following components may be the cause:

• Window guide
• Outer window slot seal
• Grommets
• Films
• Leadthroughs
• Inner cover
• Incorrectly installed loudspeaker

Seals

• Damaged seals, e.g. on doors.

Damage

• Damaged or incorrectly adjusted components, e.g. doors

Rear lid

Water ingress from outside might be caused by insufficient bonding of the rear window or a defective seal on the rear lid, tail lights or securing elements.

Vehicle fluids can enter the vehicle through a leaking washer fluid hose to the rear window washer system.

Luggage compartment

• Leaking rear lid seal
• Missing fine seam seal
• Missing or damaged seals on tail light clusters

Vehicle interior, front and rear footwell

• Damage to underbody
• Water overflow through doors or sliding sunroof
• Insufficient adhesive bond at windows

Water drain

• Water overflow due to blocked water drain valves in plenum chamber.

Fine seam sealing

• Sealant or seals not fitted during repair

Plugs and grommets

• Incorrect operation by customer
• Retrospective installations, attachments or conversions
• Missing fine seam seal in body area as well as missing welds and poorly executed adhesive bonds
• Worn or porous seals and sealants
• Improperly installed plugs and grommets -1- for leadthroughs

Welded joints

• Improperly repaired accident damage or improperly welded sheet metal

External factors

Possible external influences that can lead to water ingress:

• Rain water
• Water from car washes or washing vehicles by hand
• Thawing snow or ice