Car Door Full Of Water! How? And What Can I Do?

[joko]

I noticed recently that my rear passenger door was full of water!

as i was driving i could hear it sloshing around - but for a little while i just thought it was a container of liquid i had in the car - a bottle of washer fluid, engine oil and also possible just a bottle of water id left behind or something, and paid no attention.
However it was loud and sloshy and i began to get curious - and as i say its inside the car door!

How on earth could it have got in there? and it sounds quite a lot

i dont recall ever leaving the window open, and the car seats are dry, but the door seals would stop it filling up anyway - i just cant see a way it got in

or is it something else, not water?

and what can i do?

do i just leave it, let it eventually evaporate? or will it cause damage?
how can i drain it?

thanks

[TonyV]

Are you sure window seal is ok? I thought most cars had drain holes at the bottom of doors, does yours, if not I would get a hole drilled in bottom of door to let the water out otherwise it will just rust the door.

[waterboatman]

I would guess the widow seal is leaking. Do as tony has suggested then plug the hole, but use a removable plug so that if it happens again you can drain it off again.

[malagabob]

Car doors have drainage holes yours have become blocked. You’ll have to clear them. Then spray plenty of WD40 into the holes into the door cavity.

[Hopkirk]

Is it a Vauxhall? They now put rubber one way valves on the drain holes. I guess it is to stop insects climbing in, but they just block up after a while.
On my Astra all four have done this at various times.

Look under the door and find the two black rubber ovals. Either pull them out, or tear off the little rubber flap in the middle.

[derekpara]

Hopkirk and malagabob for best answers.

[joko]

Thanks all

its a renault laguna, do they still have the same drainage?

[chelle7272]

https://www.renaultforums.co.uk/threads/laguna-drain-holes.430170/

[Zacs-Master]

Sounds more like a Renault Lagoon-a

[joko]

the seals seem fine.

i removed both the plugs and a bit of water sloshed out - the front passenger door was full too!

and then drove home while slowing and speeding up etc and trying to swish the water a bit to help it empty - and when i got home there was still water in the doors!

ill check again tomorrow, maybe it just needs drip time or something.

still cant see how it got in there.

[Hopkirk]

All doors let in water, which is why they have drain holes.

[TonyV]

Still seems if you have worn window seals then, to alleviate the immediate problem the drain holes need clearing, use a piece of wire (a cut coat hanger) or a screwdriver to clear the holes of debris.

[gingejbee]

"still can't see how it got in there".....simple really.
Front and rear screens are fixed and can be sealed properly - door windows move, so cannot be sealed in a way that prevents water ingress. They depend on flexible seals that the windows slide behind....these seals do a reasonable job at preventing water getting inside, but vary in how good they do the job. That's why manufacturers provide drainage holes and it's your job to keep them clear of gunge etc.

[joko]

well obviously i know theyre capable of letting water in, since they are not 'watertight'.

what i meant was i dont know how and why those 2 doors have suddenly filled up with water. And i mean 'filled up'.
The sheer volume of water that just appeared inside just those two doors, on the same side, seems very odd to me - especially since there is no sign of wear on the seals.

at first, i thought it must a container of fluid in the footwell or something and ignored it for a short while - but the noise the water made i was thinking it must be a fairly large and there was only a full bottle of screen fluid there.
(my car is a working car and full of all kinds of things i forget about)

i have never had it happen to this car or any other car and i dont know anyone else who has either, not like this.
it just seems rather an odd thing to suddenly happen, isnt it?

so odd, i was even considering some kind of 'spite move', of someone not liking me being parked by their house or something.

my car was flooded once - the floor of the car had about 2 inches of water ... i also cant see how that happened. itd have taken a ridiculous amount of sideways rain to get in to cause that.
the whole car went mouldly and it had to be pumped out with a machine.
again dont know if a spite move, or unusual bad luck.
i wondered if i drove through a deep puddle and it seeped in, in a delayed manner. i dont know.
also had a bizarre amount of trouble with deflating tyres, on every car ive had...

but its something im goign to have to keep an eye on, i suppose.

someone actually called the police on me only a few weeks ago because they didnt like my car being where it was... even though legally parked. and years back my tax disk fell down - you could see it right there in the footwell, still visible, still valid, but a near neighbour called the police wanting it towed!

[TonyV]

Joko have you got the water drained yet?

[gingejbee]

^^^you say "well obviously I know they're capable of letting water in"....but previously said "how on earth could it have got in there?" and again "still can't see how it got in there".

[joko]

ginge, im talking about the sheer volume of it so suddenly.
I didnt say it was 'impossible' for water to get past non watertight door seals.
i mean i cant see an obvious way it got in there - ie, no holes, no dodgy seal, no gaps. the ONLY way in, is a microscopic gap in the door seal.
its not just a little bit of rain trickling through non airtight seals over time - TWO doors were suddenly FULL.
like no water noise at all one day, get in the car next day and theyre both absolutely full and sloshinig around loudly at the slightest movement of the car door.
For it to get that full so quick you'd expect the seal to have broken.
if simple rain could get through the miniscule gap in those seals on this scale that fast and that easily, it would be happening all the time surely? you would think it would require a lot of water put right in that place over a long period of time.
it was not a slow buildup.
Id have heard the water long before i did if it was a slow buildup.

hence me on here asking if there is some other way it could have got in, or some other cause etc.


i removed the plugs and most of the water came out, but a small amount was still in there when i shook the door later. there doesnt appear to be any mud. that much water would have taken a little while to drain out if i'd just left it i think.

i havent checked today.

[Canary42]

It does sound like vandalism

[TonyV]

joko after the weather we have just had, and expecting more of the same shortly, depending on where you live I would not be surprised for doors to fill if seals are not working efficiently and drain holes blocked.

[davebro]

Seems like a strange way for someone to go about sabotaging a car. There are easier & more effective measures!

[TonyV]

I know Canary and Dave if someone wanted to do it deliberately, I will not divulge here though.