Left Rear Passenger Side Wet Floor

[llll1l1ll]

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the vapor barrier. Super easy fix!

As for getting water and smells out, I just kept paper towels under the floor mat until dry. To rid of smell, I would leave baking soda all over the floor overnight (sometimes a full day). From there, I would vacuum that out and place orange peels in the car overnight/for a day. Then I'd remove those and place some coffee beans in the car. Really smells great after all that!

[das boots]

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6410

Thanks Rovert for the link. I would like to clarify on the wetness of the carpet. They are not exactly really wet, wet. Moist is the better word. But does that make any difference? The moisture dries up in a day when I leave the left rear window half open at the parking garage at work. Now, the rain is gone. Back to hot days and cold nights.

If I was to remove the door panel, would there be any tell-tale signs of the vapor barrier being deteriorated or has been removed before????

What would be the sign of a deteriorated door seal? Rear are hardly open or used. Front doors are more used 5:1 times. Yet the front seals still look like new....to me. Since all seals are constantly being wiped clean.

[Rovert]

Well there is always dust on the paint surface. So any drops of water would clear that. You'll see that on the inside of the door panel.

It's hard to say how deep the water is because I had carpets dried but the layer in between the foam and carpet is thick and doesn't usually soak water through. So you'll have to use your gut feeling on that.

[das boots]

Time to open up the door panel for a look-see. Are the panels easy to remove????

[stephenkirsh]

Not terrible. Find some ebay DIY videos "e46 vapor barrier."

[Rovert]

They're just snap on like Legos. Maybe a couple bolts to undo then the whole car just falls apart. LOL

[das boots]

Got it. Two torx screws inside the trim panel strip and panels pops up by lifting up.

[das boots]

Follow-up. Opened up the panel. Tried to located for any separation of the vapor barrier. There were no separation. They look like they came out of the factory. Did not bother to remove the vapor barrier since they look like glued all the way around. Returned the panel and buttoned down.

So, Vapor Barrier is not the culprit. We had rain. Parked outside and drove through the rain. Still no moisture....for now. I also placed paper towel around the door seal to see if there were leaks. So far.

Would anybody have any ideas?

[BCS_ZHP]

Lawrence,
On one of my e39s, the door was tight on the rubber door seals and compressed those seals enough that it took almost a permanent form in the compressed mode. It didn't leak when washed, only when we had a torrential down pour. It was recommended that I replace the door seals which were several hundred bucks. But first I thought I'd try reinvigorating the door seals. Get some silicone spray, soak a rag in it and wipe down all the door seals liberally, leave the doors open so those seals can soak in the silicone and re-inflate/uncompress. I wiped the seals with silicone several times over a Saturday afternoon and the door seals pumped up like collagen injected lips. Never had a water leak after that, even in the normal heavy east coast summer thunderstorms, the cost was only a $6 can of silicone spray and a little bit of time spread over the course of an afternoon.
Bruce

[stephenkirsh]

Never would have thought of that!