leaking punto

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Mon 30 Dec 2002 13:37
leaking punto - bax
18 month old punto is leaking rainwater into front passenger footwell - definitely rain, not coolant or spray on underside.
Dealer cannot do anything for over a week and, as it's parked outside and it's raining hard, we have a problem.
Because carpets are fitted it's not possible to trace the source from the inside.Have checked the trough in front of engine compartment bulkhead and cables through bulkhead and no apparent problem.
It's shipped about a half pint in the last 24 hours.
Does anyone have any ideas? PLEASE. bax.
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Mon 30 Dec 2002 14:40
leaking punto - Mark (RLBS)
Is the carpet only wet on the floor ? If it is wetter higher up then this might give you a clue as to where the water is coming through ?

I assume that you´ve checked the seal around the door ?
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Mon 30 Dec 2002 15:41
leaking punto - Steve S
Bax - does it have a sunroof? They can leak down the outside "skin" of the door/front screen pillar.

Otherwise have you checked the vent system inside, or the drainage points around the engine bay?
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Mon 30 Dec 2002 17:52
leaking punto - bax
Mark/Steve
Have had yet another poke around based on your suggestions. One problem is that you need to remove the carpet/floor liner to see where the water's coming from and that's a fairly major job and, because the car's still in warranty I don't want to do anything that allows Fiat to wriggle out of its liability.
I just fondly hoped that someone would say " Oh yes, that's a common problem. It's the ....."
Anyway, thanks for your efforts.
Bax
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Mon 30 Dec 2002 18:24
leaking punto - budu
I have the same problem. I have read (perhaps on this site) that it is a common one on Puntos. The service manager at my franchised dealership didn't know what to do about it. I often park in the road and leaves have been collecting in the scuttle trough recently, but the drain pipes are clear.
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Thu 2 Jan 2003 21:54
leaking punto - bax
budu, ours is going into Cleveleys the Cheltenham Fiat people next Wednesday. As it's still in warranty I presume they'll either fix the leak or.......? I'll let you know what happens. bax
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Sun 5 Jan 2003 16:07
leaking punto - budu
Drove my Punto today after leaving it out in heavy rain for three or four days. Carpet bone dry! Either it depends on a certain speed or direction of rain (car static or on the move) or the water comes up from the ground. The latter was impossible to check today as the roads were dry.

The same problem on my MGf was traced to a gap in the bulkhead, allowing water splashed up from the road to enter.
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Fri 10 Jan 2003 21:47
leaking punto - bax
Collected Punto from dealer this evening. They've had it for 3 days and, to be fair to them, they've kept me informed throughout and appear to have done a good job with thorough testing. According to the invoice (it would have been covered by warranty if it had been first registered on or after 1/9/01) they sealed the bonnet hinges and double skins on the scuttles 'as per mod stage 3'.
Hopefully that should be an end to the problem.
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Mon 20 Jan 2003 14:06
leaking punto - J500ANT
Bax: i'd be interested in hearing what the finished job looked like. Ive seen one done by a dealer and to be honest its absolute pants, black sealer sprayed about willy nilly. My 2003MY Punto is leaking and I need to get it fixed, and im worried that afterwards i'll never sell it cos it'll look like a cut and shut!

Tony J500ANT@blueyonder.co.uk
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Mon 20 Jan 2003 17:02
leaking punto - smokie
Thinking of buying a Punto for SWMBO - probably will be about 2 years old.

Is leaking the worst I can expect?
Is the 16v engine preferable to the 8v?
Is Speedtronics desirable?
Which one is the "top of the range" in 1.2's - the HLX?

Looks a good car in the CBC
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Mon 20 Jan 2003 17:23
reThinking of buying (was leaking punto) - J500ANT
The 16valve is much perkier and doesnt seem to affect economy too much, not sure about the longevity of the engines considering the piston slap that blights all new Punto 16vs.

The Speedgear (speedtronics?) CVT auto is fine if you want an auto, but it isnt designed for fun. Not heard of reliability problems with it.

As for the HLX being top of the range, for the non sporty models it is, but i dont think that the HLX is worth much extra than the ELX model from the point of view of extra equipment, alloys and aircon being the two major items. Please note that in 2000 there was an equipment upgrade giving ELX models ABS and a passenger airbag among other things.

General reliability on my car and cars of friends is ok, just the leaking really. Headlamps can steam up due to their design, rattles are a constant friend, suspension knocks etc. Ive not heard of anything major.

Tony J500ANT@blueyonder.co.uk
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Sat 1 Feb 2014 19:19
leaking punto - RosieNesland

i have a 61 plate fiat punto and having the same problem, it was always wetter in the passenger rear footwell but today decided to lift the carpets and seats and found the passenger front footwell was saturated in water, sitting in the car tonight when it was pouring rain looking for leaks and found water coming in at a seam weld of the body in the inner wing.

Going to take it to Arnold Clark and show them what their problem is (still under warrenty), but my own idea would be to weld the seem straight across with Co2.

Hope this helps someone else to find a potential leak.

Rosie

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