Wet drivers footwell - Not covered by warranty

[Cemesis]

I bought a 2018 XC90 from a dealer in June 2022. I took it in today because the drivers footwell carpet and mat are very wet (soaking). The guy I spoke to was very helpful and suggested the sunroof drains may be clogged. They will look at the car on Friday to see if they can unclog them but they need the car in for a week to take it apart and try everything.

Then he told me that this is not covered by warranty as the tubes being clogged is not a defect. I explained that I'm not paying anything as I've had the car 5 months and paid a huge sum of money for it.

I expect they will tell me on Friday that they will cover half of it, which means I will still need to pay a considerable sum.

I'll almost certainly start stripping it down myself over the weekend so any pointers as to the problem would be helpful. Any suggestions about this warranty which in my mind is now semi-worthless (what else isn't covered?)

[S90]

Have you read the Volvo Selekt Warranty T&C’s

It would be simple for the dealer to say it’s happened since you bought it, they have no idea where the car is parked etc.

See what they say, however if you start pulling it apart they may not be willing to offer anything.

[S90]

You could simply clear the drains yourself. Compressed air then strimmer cord. Problem fixed.

[Cemesis]

Originally Posted by S90

Have you read the Volvo Selekt Warranty T&C’s

It would be simple for the dealer to say it’s happened since you bought it, they have no idea where the car is parked etc.

See what they say, however if you start pulling it apart they may not be willing to offer anything.

I have not but some common sense needs to be applied. The drains have not clogged in 5 months. They were not cleaned as part of the PDI, it’s not rained during the summer so the problem presented itself now. If I bought the car in October then it would have occurred a month later. Are they saying they wouldn’t have covered it after a month? It would have been returned if they did.

I should find out on Friday where they sit, before I touch anything.

[techwatcher]

Originally Posted by Cemesis

Any suggestions about this warranty which in my mind is now semi-worthless (what else isn't covered?)

Volvo Selekt Warranty Ts & Cs are here:

https://www.volvocars.com/images/v/-...Conditions.pdf

[SnineT]

Don't assume it's the roof doing it and if they're not going to play ball there are a few things you can do yourself.

Open the bonnet and check all around where the bonnet hinges are for dead leaves and debris and look for sitting water under the black plastic panel where the wipers are.

Check the door seals, this isn't easy as such barring the obvious splits and tears and a good way to check them is to drive at speed while someone holds a hand around the inside of the closed door and feels for air rushing in, you might want to get a full HPi check on it and see if it's got any accident damage listed in the area in the past.

If that's all ok get some black bin liners and cover the sunroof completely and tape it to the windows all round to create a seal as such, just enough to cause the water to not be able to get under and towards the roof opening, then sit the wife inside and hit the car with the hose or vice versa and monitor if the carpet starts getting wetter again or not.

If it's not getting worse after a good soaking reuse the bin bags and cover the front windscreen edging to the body and again hit it with water, you don't need to powerwash it you just need water to traverse the area's potentially effected, check the screen hasn't been replaced before either, a dead giveaway is it may have Pilkington branding rather than Volvo on it.

Now further things it could be, if the heater is leaking behind the dash, this will be evident if the coolant needs topping up all the time.

The A/C could also be leaking so is that still working ok, if it is do you get a puddle on the floor under the car after you've turned the car off and left it to defrost itself, if you don't this could be a blocked or detached drain tube but where it is I don't know, if it is leaking is the wet carpet showing any colour staining? if it isn't move on from the A/C.

If you feel up to it remove the pillar cover where you suspect the water might be coming from and look for wet after you've driven it a while to get rid of potential standing cold air condensation that might be behind it, once off hose the area from the outside with the door shut obviously.

If there are drains in the bottom of the doors check they are clear as well and swing the door enough to listen for sloshing in the door, if it's sloshing the water is collecting in the bottom of the door.

The shark fin ariel is another place it might get in from as well, cover it and get it wet again.

Hope this little list you can do yourself helps you find or rule out things before it starts to get costly, I think they should just man up myself as I'd imagine you've shed £30k for the car anyway and regardless of whether you parked under a tree or not the car should be able to withstand the rigors, don't forget to check the roof drains as S90 suggested if all the above fails and look up how to remove things before you wreck the trim panels, good luck.


p.s there's also a silly reason it can be, if you can make a mental note to fully close all 4 electric windows, I used to find with mine I could accidentally lean on the switch and leave a window slightly open, it was normally a rear one though, easy way to do this is to use global closing on the fob or if you have keyless simply keep your finger on the lock button in the handles after the central locking has thudded.

[Cemesis]

I appreciate the detailed response. I am also sceptical that it is the sunroof drains but happy to start there and see.

I'll see what they say on Friday and report back. If no joy then I'll start on your suggestions over the weekend.

Are there any guides on the XC90 II online?

[SnineT]

Originally Posted by Cemesis

I appreciate the detailed response. I am also sceptical that it is the sunroof drains but happy to start there and see.

I'll see what they say on Friday and report back. If no joy then I'll start on your suggestions over the weekend.

Are there any guides on the XC90 II online?

Ok well do return with the Dr's report when you get it.

Youtube is a good source for how 2's.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Cemesis

I bought a 2018 XC90 from a dealer in June 2022. I took it in today because the drivers footwell carpet and mat are very wet (soaking). The guy I spoke to was very helpful and suggested the sunroof drains may be clogged. They will look at the car on Friday to see if they can unclog them but they need the car in for a week to take it apart and try everything.

Then he told me that this is not covered by warranty as the tubes being clogged is not a defect. I explained that I'm not paying anything as I've had the car 5 months and paid a huge sum of money for it.

I expect they will tell me on Friday that they will cover half of it, which means I will still need to pay a considerable sum.

I'll almost certainly start stripping it down myself over the weekend so any pointers as to the problem would be helpful. Any suggestions about this warranty which in my mind is now semi-worthless (what else isn't covered?)

you will need to take all the drivers footwell covering right out and dry it, its about 6 inches thick foam , then you will have an idea of where the water is coming from if you take a look in the rain. it usually takes 10 years before you have trouble from blocked sunroof drains if any at all that is.

[SnineT]

One other silly thing that can cause it assuming the car has any is drain bungs in the floor going missing, this then lets the foam which as Clan said is mahooosively thick act like a sponge.