Why is My Passenger Floor Wet? | Auto Repair in Olympia

Why is my Passenger Side Floor Wet - Kia Air Conditioning Service Questions in Olympia, WA

Unless it's a bottle of Evian resting snugly in one of your cup holders, water doesn't belong in your car's interior. It can lead to mold, rust, corrosion and even cause electrical problems with the wires running all over your vehicle. Because of the way that a car's engine and climate control systems are designed, water can leak into the cabin from the engine bay if there's a problem! Or, water can find its way into the cabin if the door and window seals begin to fail. On this page, we'll give you five things to check if your floor mats are mysteriously wet.

Learn why you carpet may be wet on the passenger side in your KIA

Causes of a Wet Passenger Side Floor Mat #5: Leaking Windows

Rainwater can get into a vehicle by seeping past weatherstripping on windows and windshields -- the black rubber seals that border your vehicle's glass surfaces. Over time, those rubber seals can start to dry up, become brittle and damaged and could even begin to leak. When it rains, that water might find its way into your car through bad weatherstripping. If you park outside, making sure your car's weatherstripping is in good shape is even more important. You can have bad seals replaced by an autoglass professional to keep the rain out.

Causes of a Wet Passenger Side Floor Mat #4: Leaking Sunroof

When the sunroof is retracted, the visible metal frame is known as the sunroof tray. It features drain holes in the corners so, if it begins to rain while the sunroof is open, water that collects in the tray will drain harmlessly onto the ground below the vehicle. If you open your sunroof often, those drain holes can become clogged with debris like leaves and dust. With nowhere to go, rainwater in the sunroof tray could leak into the cabin. If you suspect water is getting in through the sunroof, have a service expert look at the sunroof weather stripping and the sunroof drains.

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Causes of a Wet Passenger Side Floor Mat #3: Leaking Doors

By design, water can get into the inside of your car's doors, either from rain or from splashing by passing cars on wet roads. Normally, any water that gets into the door will drain out onto the road -- but the door's drain holes can become clogged, too. This can force water into the cabin. You might check the underside of your car's doors, and see if the drain holes have become obstructed by debris.

Causes of a Wet Passenger Side Floor Mat #2: Bad A/C Evaporator

Rainwater can get into your car through bad seals, but what about water that appears in your car on a warm, sunny day? It could be something going wrong under the hood.

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Your car's A/C system both blows cool air into the cabin and pulls warm air away from it. The A/C evaporator draws warm, humid air out of the cabin and allows the water vapor to drain out onto the road as you drive. It's usually located just behind the dashboard on the passenger's side. If the evaporator drain gets clogged with leaves, litter or other road debris, the condensation will have nowhere to go and will begin leaking into the cabin -- collecting in a puddle on the passenger's side. If you notice a seemingly-random puddle on your passenger side floor mat, it could be a bad A/C evaporator drain.

Causes of a Wet Passenger Side Floor Mat #1: Bad Heater Core

A similar problem could occur with the car's heater system. Hot coolant flows from the engine, where heat is absorbed, and taken to the car's heater core when you turn on the heater. The heater core is like a small radiator. The blower fan blows air over the heater core, blowing heat into the cabin to warm you on cold days. Over time, just like an actual radiator, the heater core can spring a leak. If it does, you're likely to get coolant mixture all over the passenger side floorboard!

How can you tell if the heater core or the A/C evaporator is leaking? Your nose knows! That's because the A/C evaporator will leak condensation, which has no real odor. By contrast, the heater core will leak a 50/50 water and antifreeze mixture. Antifreeze has a distinct, sickly-sweet smell. If you smell antifreeze leaking into the car, a bad heater core is almost certainly to blame.