Today I was going somewhere and the inside of the car had that damp smell. It has been raining like crazy the past week in NY and I had the car in my driveway and didn't use it for a week. My car has a soft top convertible.

I noticed that the passenger side floor mat was a bit damp and when I took it out underneath it was alot of water. Not enough to see a puddle but enough to go through a roll of paper towels to dry it out. I left the top down in the sun all morning to dry it completely.

Now, I know that sometimes when the heater core in cars gets clogged then the water can come inside but I have not used heat in months and It doesn't seem like the AC has any problems. Could this be from all the rain and moisture and if so, why only on one side?

I hope it's nothing serious, but any ideas?

 

Most boxsters and 996's have

 

Check the tube coming from the bottom of the Evaporator box. Pull the carpet back a hair and follow the rubber line up to the dash. I would bet it is the condensation and rather than drain out of the car it is draining in the car.

 

Steven,

Thank you! I am completely lost about this issue, can you elaborate a little bit more so I know exactly what I am looking for?

 

I had the same issue when I first got my 99 996 Cab. Turned out to be a twisted A/C drain tube... dealer said this was fairly common. Easily fixed. Makes me think I need to check on the new Turbo Cab as I don't use the AC much!

 

Stryke,
Same thing happened with my wife's Boxster. As PhD said, there is a drain tube from the A/C evaporator that vents to the underside of the car. It is located on the passenger side up under the dash. It is easily kicked off by feet. My wife was driving with me as a psaaenger and I stretched out my legs and knocked off the tube. Next day the passenger footwell was saturated. Pull the carpeting back and you'll see the tube. Slide it back on.

 

This happened to me in a few cars.... Common...

 

Guys,

Thanks alot for the info. I peeled back the carpet (BTW, the tube is on the inside dash near the middle of the car, not out near the door) and it seemed fine. It was running down in place and water was dripping from it when I turned the AC on. The foam above the tube was wet but I don't know why since it was not disconnected. I wiped everything up and closed it back up. Hopefully it won't happen anymore.

 

Hope you found it....

I once bought a car and drove it 2 hours to a convention... It was hot in the Florida summer.. The A/C house leaked in the passengers floor the whole way down. I did not know since I was alone in the car... I did not drive the car the whole week since the convention was self contained... When I went to leave the windows were all steamed up and the mildew smell was terrible... I had to drive two hours back with it smelling like Sh_t. Needless to say when I made it to the dealership I was not their favorite customer...