For the past two days, it has been raining like theres no tomorrow in New Jersey. It finally started to settle down this afternoon.

So I am leaving for an afternoon class, I get in the car and my driver side carpet is completely drenched. I have no idea how this happen, but since I am already running late, I ignore it and start driving. As soon as I pull out of my driveway, I hear water splashing behind me. I look back and theres a whole pool of water sitting on the rear seat (driver side). So I skip school, park my car and start draining the water out of my car using a cup I must have drained about a gallon or so of water but the water just keeps on coming.

I am absolutely sure no windows were open. My doors seal perfectly. My sunroof has no cracks or leaks and THIS HAS NEVER happened before (and I've sit through much worse rain storms). And my car had been sitting in the driveway for the last 48 hours so I am sure its not from the A/C or something.

I took the car to Audi and they said I have to set up an appointment to EVEN GET THIS checked out and its gonna run somewhere between $120-$180 to just diagnose the problem.

I have attached some pictures:

Can someone tell me what the problem might be? Also, could the water be draining from the vents in the images below?

From all the information I could gather from this wonderful forums, it appears there might be some leaves or something. As you may be able to tell, I am not that good at maintaining cars.

 

There is a recall or a tsb on the sunroof drains clogging up. The dealer will fix this for free and should fix any damage that was caused as a result.

 

Did water get up to the bottom of the door? I saw pictures from up there on the news, water can find many ways to sneak through when it rains really hard. Sideways rain etc.
The floor vents just do not lead to the outside, I would not think that would be the problem. Door seals deform over time and they can also tear. Rubber plugs on underside of car. High water or a slightly weak seal can cause flooding like that, you guys got hammered.

 

Did not know about TSB, there you go.

 

Thanks for the response. It stopped raining hours ago and the water still keeps coming up to the floor. I did a small test to see where the water was coming from so I taped a plastic bag on the 2 vents in the picture above. Drove the car around for a bit. Came back to find the bag filled with water. So I am pretty certain that the water is seeping into the rear floor from the 2 vents under the driver seat.

Also, if I do some sudden acceleration or braking, I can hear a lot (and I mean like a whole pool) of water swishing under the seat, just running back and forth during acceleration and braking.

I also checked the drain under the battery and it looks clean. Any other ideas about what might be wrong? I am getting desperate here.

 

Ok, Not a Audi tech, but just looking at common issues. Recent 11" rain dump here from TS Herminez caused alot of brief, heavy street flooding just from runoff, alot of moist cars. I had no problems, but the A4 was on high ground and I tooled around in my Trooper 4x4 TOD through high water and mud. There may be a specific issue that I am not aware of. I will check it out. Maybe everyone else knows something I don't. I will stick with volume for now.

 

I had the same problem on my A4 cabriolet.
Then things got worse. Electrical problems starated. Windows wouldn't go down. Gas tank fill cap would not open, Windshield wipers stopped working. Dash board idiot lites were flashing andd alot of other problems. Took it to Audi. Needed new computer needed new carpet needed new battery. They said water came in from two areas. Drains under battery were clogged with debris. This is not a area that can be cleaned by the consumer because batery must be removed. Also a crack in door moulding on drivers side. 3200 dollars later it was repaired. Insurance covered all except the moulding which they said was normal wear and tear. The moulding costs over 500 dollars which is ridiculous. So clean those drains my friend!