hello all

I've had my Mini for about 5 years, and it's always had a tendency to bee kind of "misty" inside (except in the summer of course). But I've never noticed any damp carpet anywhere, until now.

I noticed an off odor today and pulled up the factory rubber mats to find the carpet in both front footwells damp, with some white mildew/mould on the bottom of the mats. The driver's side was wet around where your left heel rests while driving, and there was moisture visible on the vinyl heel pad on the carpet. The passenger area was also wet in a similar area. Both areas were about a foot in diameter, or maybe more.

I pulled up both rubber door opening seals and rubbed them down (they were wet & dirty in the channel area) and carefully checked for damage but couldn't find any. I have always noticed that the sill plates stay wet for a while after it rains, but from what I've read on other "wet carpet" threads that I researched before posting this that seems normal.

I live in Vancouver so it rains. A lot. I also don't frequently carry passengers. Again the mats are the factory rubber ones, but the driver's side is getting worn out; in fact the little carpeted area has a hole worn though it, but I looked closely and could not find any cracks in the rubber.

Any ideas on what's going on? Leaking a/c component? There's no sunroof, so it can't be any drains etc. I'd really like to get this sorted out before I get floorplan rust, plus I hate having a damp interior. Reminds me of all the crap boxes I used to drive when I was a kid...

any suggestions/info appreciated!

greg v.

 

A couple possibilities, leaking heater core or a plugged or disconnected AC drain.