How can I find out where my car is leaking water?

I hope you can help. I had a new windscreen fitted in September last year due to stone damage and in January after the snow my car was completely sodden inside, mainly drivers footwell and rear offside foot well and water in boot. Its a VW Tiguan 2015. I called the windscreen repair company and they came out removed the screen and replaced with a better bead, the carpets have dried out but smell, but now I have an ingress of water into the boot area. I have removed all trim completely and went over a couple of seams with an automotive seam sealant. I took out the cluster lights and checked them replaced and sealed with sealant also the rear bumper screws reseated with sealant. The car was dry but mainly because we had not had rain, I have washed it a couple of times with a hose and checked after and it was dry. However yesterday after a little rain I checked the boot and it was dry, but then drove about 10 miles checked it again and found a little water. I have called lots of garages to ask for help and no one seems to either want to do it or charge around 5 hours at £100 just to check and I know I am very thorough and can't see that they will do different to me. Can you recommend some help or a solution. Everything on the VW Tiguan forum points to sunroof drains which I do not have.

Asked on 19 March 2025 by Ken Swan

Answered by David Ross
Finding the source of water ingress can be challenging, and you have clearly tried a number of fixes but still have a problem. If you cannot find a garage willing to help, then your only option is to continue to try and find the source yourself. Although the water is appearing in the boot it is possible, even most likely, that the leak is occurring elsewhere on the vehicle but the water is running through the inside and collecting in the boot area. You can work backwards from where the water is collecting and try to find damp areas leading towards the front of the car or upwards towards the roof, but this may require removing a lot of interior trim. Unfortunately there is no easy solution unless you can actually see for yourself where the water is getting in.
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