2005 4.8is - water leak, can't find it

[FourPointEight-is]

I've got a water leak in passenger side (Left side of car - RHD X5). The carpet where the passenger's feet would rest was soaked. No water directly behind it. I pulled the seal strip thing off and lifted the carpet up - absolutely soaking wet underneath. I then pulled off the piece of plastic "kick panel" (i.e. not the door, but directly under where the left most A/C vent is, and felt around - its moist (as though the water wicked up), but not soaking wet like.


There are also no telltale marks of water coming down on the body panel either.



I googled/youtubed it, found that it could be coming from the sunroof drain down the A pillar OR it could be a failed moisture barrier inside the door.


So, I ran water on the door from the window side with the window up for a good minute or so from my hose. I saw water raining from the drain hole in the door. No water coming in at all. I then removed the door card to see if the butyl moisture barrier had failed but it was dry as a bone. Ran my finger through there - no water.



Finally, I opened the sunroof ran water into the sunroof directly into the drains at the front to check if they were blocked - The water drains freely, and comes out of the drain just behind the wheel (so I think it is not likely that the hose that drains through the a-pillar is the source of the leak either).


What am I missing? Where else could the water be coming from? It is not possible that I accidentally spilled water / left windows open...

[Freestyler]

Originally Posted by FourPointEight-is

(so I think it is not likely that the hose that drains through the a-pillar is the source of the leak either).

I would definately do a double check on that one.
That hose can easily be only half way off of the pipe, so under normal circumstances the water drains fine. But if the outlet is clogged by a couple of small leafs or similar, it could fill up the hose and leak out wherever possible.
It's no biggie taking off the a-pillar cover to check. And if the hose turns out to be firmly connected, you can at least scratch that off of the list.

[ahlem]

Check the two flexible tubes on either side of the transmission tunnel that drain the AC condensation. I blew some compressed air back up each side and got a waterfall in response

[FourPointEight-is]

Will check both the a-pillar and the a/c drains later.

Is it a lot of work removing the passenger seat? 3 days now I’ve had the car inside my garage with the dehumidifier running, and the carpet is dry to the touch but is like a swimming pool underneath where that high density foam is.

[EODguy]

Pick up some DampRid and put it in the car and out of direct sunlight but where it's warm. Keep car sealed for at least 24 hours and swap for a new container before it gets over 2/3rds full of water.

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[FourPointEight-is]

I've already got a box of damp rid wedged in between the carpet and the kick panel. I also have a dehumidifier running on low but still doesn't feel like I'm making much progress! Looks like seat removal is pretty easy - will give that a try if it still feels moist after the next couple days.