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Ateca Design Fault

100K views 189 replies 66 participants last post by  Sls 
#1 ·
I took delivery of a Xcellance 1.4 EcoTsi 4 days ago and have discovered a fault in the design which will unfortunately lead to premature corrosion. Even though the vehicle is spotlessly clean on the outside, on opening the rear doors I noticed that dirt, grit & mud is collecting near the bottom on the inside of the doors. See photos. The channel where debris collects is formed by the way in which the lower black plastic door trim is attached to the door panel. On the majority of vehicles, the rear door is seperated from the wheel arch and therefore this problem does not exist. However, on the Ateca, the lower part of the rear doors are directly exposed to spray from the rear wheels & tyres. It appears that this problem affects all models.

Having been involved in the motor industry for many years, I would advise the following:-
Please check your vehicle and if any dirt is collecting in this area then please help us all by writing (with photos if possible) to your dealer. Ask them to contact the manufacturer regarding this issue. Also write to Seat (which can be done at www.seat.co.uk/contact-us.html) . The more of us who do this, the sooner a fix will be available. In the meantime I would advise that owners take the time to keep this area clean until Seat comes up with the required fix.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
 

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#54 ·
Give you some more cars with this missing part rear door frame where the door is embedded in the rear wheel arch

Mitsubishi Kluger

Hyundai Tucson

So if entering a squabble with Seat those and the others you would expect the designs to be as good as or better.
 
#55 ·
On last wash over the weekend I checked again this area.

I think the problem is not with the door being a part of wheel arch (it's nothing bad in this solution) but in the sealing and water discharge channels.
Both things cannot be seen without opening the door so it's hard to judge other cars' implementations.

I think in Ateca is not too bad. Seal indeed was full of dirt and sand which means it works - keep these particles from getting inside.

I'm not sure how it is with water, but seen holes in this plastic U-tunnel on the bottom edge of the door. There was some small stones too. I presume water should go away using these holes.

(TBH I got my dealer to fill technical report to Seat Ireland and I informed him about my concerns week or two ago.)
 
#56 ·
Finally I have some time to review what is happening on this forum.
Thank you to all..
I wrote to Seat yesterday after having been down some muddy roads - it took a lot to clear all of the detritus on the inside of the doors and to clear the drain channels.
 
#57 ·
wiz2003 said:
Finally I have some time to review what is happening on this forum.
Thank you to all..
I wrote to Seat yesterday after having been down some muddy roads - it took a lot to clear all of the detritus on the inside of the doors and to clear the drain channels.
My reply from Seat, implying that the problem was unique to me, do you think....

Thank you for contacting SEAT UK Customer Services regarding your vehicle.

I am sorry to hear you are experiencing problems with your SEAT and would like to assist you in resolving this matter. From the information that you have provided the nature of the issue is a little unclear. We would therefore require the vehicle is taken to one of our SEAT Dealerships for them to complete a diagnosis. You can locate your nearest Dealership using the link below:

www.seat.co.uk/content/uk/brand/en/contact/find-a-dealer.html

Once you have booked your vehicle into a Dealership, we would be more than happy to investigate the matter by liaising directly with them. To assist with our investigation, please supply the following information:
Confirmation of the Dealership you intend to visit and booking date
Your daytime contact telephone number
Once we have received this information, I will arrange for a Customer Relations Manager to contact you within 24 working hours to discuss this matter further. In the meantime, if you have any further queries, please feel free to contact me.

Kind regards
 
#58 ·
This sounds like standard SEAT Customer (Don't) Care to me - avoid, deflect, deny. Setting a precedent on any but the most overwhelmingly clear and numerous cases is not to be contemplated as far as I can tell!
Sorry if that sounds cynical...
 
#59 ·
PaulT00 said:
This sounds like standard SEAT Customer (Don't) Care to me - avoid, deflect, deny. Setting a precedent on any but the most overwhelmingly clear and numerous cases is not to be contemplated as far as I can tell!
Sorry if that sounds cynical...
You're entitled to be cynical if you want:)

Looks to me like they're taking it semi-seriously at least - i.e. take it in for a technical report. First stage in getting it fixed I suppose - get enough complaints and reports of a defect then go back to head office in Barcelona to get an engineering solution to the issue. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt - perhaps I'm just naïve :oops:
 
#61 ·
Forgive me (as I'm new here), but the answer to me is simple:

Look after your car like we all used to (and a few still do) twenty years ago. Be bothered when it gets dirty, wash it yourself (rather than taking it to the local hand-wash / paint strip joint), and take a pride in what you own.

It's one of the things that I hate most about today's throw-away society.....
 
#62 ·
David1972 said:
Forgive me (as I'm new here), but the answer to me is simple:

Look after your car like we all used to (and a few still do) twenty years ago. Be bothered when it gets dirty, wash it yourself (rather than taking it to the local hand-wash / paint strip joint), and take a pride in what you own.

It's one of the things that I hate most about today's throw-away society.....
Sorry but what this has to do with this thread?? I personally hand-wash my car myself for 2 years now and occasionally use hand-wash service if i plan to do waxing after that.
This has nothing to do with this thread :?
 
#63 ·
I wasn't driving 20 years ago but like to think I look after my car like people used to. I spend time maintaining it, sorting chips and cleaning bloked drain channels when they need it - keeping an eye on, and sorting the small things (like the dirt collecting on the inner rear doors) before they become a big thing.
 
#64 ·
David1972 said:
...but the answer to me is simple:

Look after your car like we all used to (and a few still do) twenty years ago. Be bothered when it gets dirty, wash it yourself (rather than taking it to the local hand-wash / paint strip joint), and take a pride in what you own.

It's one of the things that I hate most about today's throw-away society.....
.
1: Like me, you've plenty of time on your hands to clean the car as soon as it attracts a spec of dirt, but we're not Mr Average who has work, kids and a life to be getting on with.

2: You can wash the car as much as you want but no amount of washing will ever remove grit that gets stuck in between the seal and bodywork.

3: And it's not everyone who can bend down or get on their hands and knees to pick out stones etc. Are you suggesting elderly owners or those who have their car on the mobility scheme are lazy or don't have any pride?

The 'design flaw' is never going to be a problem for me but I'd hope I'm never so blinkered to think it won't be an issue to others.
 
#65 ·
Crikey, a bit of an over-reaction here I'm thinking :eek: All I was suggesting was that you can reduce the impact of this 'design fault' through vigilance and regular cleaning.

Sorry for offending anybody who has taken offence :oops:

For what it's worth, I work full time and have other commitments too :|
 
#66 ·
Because regular cleaning stopped Mk 5 Ford Escort rear wings from rotting from the inside out, or Mk 1 Kas from eating their filler cap surrounds. Or VW Sharans from destroying their central locking ECUs when the sunroof leaked. Or Vauxhall Vectra Cs from breaking springs and ripping the tyres to shreds. Oh, hang on, no it didn't :D Many, many more examples out there, design faults but not related to how the vehicles were maintained or cleaned. I think you hit a nerve there, personally I believe the real issue for the fearful reaction to a relatively minor (i.e. not safety-related) design issue is the lack of faith in SEAT's ability to look after it's customers in the event of problems. Having seen how the parent company has treated it's customers, can't say I'm surprised.
FWIW, I agree that regular cleaning does help catch problems early. Doesn't mean I do it as often as I should though :lol:
 
#67 ·
Newtoseat said:
[snip]the lack of faith in SEAT's ability to look after it's customers in the event of problems.[snip]
Substitute the word willingness for the word ability and you're probably closer to the mark. "Oh dear, did we underspecify a component which is installed 4 times on the same vehicle and they will all fail within 18 months of each other just out of warranty? Oh dear how sad. £300 a pop to fix, you say? Consider yourself lucky to be driving a SEAT. What, the coil packs have all failed and we can only supply half the number required to fix the problem? Sorry, supplier issues, consider yourself lucky to be driving a SEAT. What's that you say? Your rear doors are corroding from the inside out when the car's done less than 40,000 miles? Should be washing it more often sir! Nothing to do with a design issue!"

If SEAT stood behind their product like some other manufacturers people would be a lot less twitchy. But it seems endemic to the VW group as a whole - I was reading about problems with an earlier design of the 2.0 TDI engine fitted to some Audi models, which had an unfortunate habit of destroying its oil pump drive causing almost instant engine seizures, where Audi basically denied there was an issue... while simultaneously discontinuing the original parts and requiring a £1000 conversion to a proper design (driven by a spur gear instead of a poorly designed chain drive) to fix the problem, plus of course rebuilding the engine if you hadn't had the thing upgraded before it failed... So a cynic might say, what with dieselgate and all that, that VW group does, as it were, have form...

The sad bit is that in between the occasional egregious design and ethical issues, they do make some really rather nice cars - otherwise we wouldn't be worried at all because we'd be buying something else. Until we stop sending cash their way, they'll carry on doing the same old thing.

Here endeth the rant.
 
#68 ·
David1972 said:
Forgive me (as I'm new here), but the answer to me is simple:

Look after your car like we all used to (and a few still do) twenty years ago. Be bothered when it gets dirty, wash it yourself (rather than taking it to the local hand-wash / paint strip joint), and take a pride in what you own.

It's one of the things that I hate most about today's throw-away society.....
Totally agree just stick a cloth in the boot and wipe tha back doors when the inside gets dirty
 
#69 ·
David1972 said:
Crikey, a bit of an over-reaction here I'm thinking :eek: All I was suggesting was that you can reduce the impact of this 'design fault' through vigilance and regular cleaning.

Sorry for offending anybody who has taken offence :oops:
"Hate" is the trigger word. You'd expect people to react when someone hates what they do. No matter how right you may be, or how right you may feel you are.
 
#70 ·
General cleaning isn't really the answer to this problem. To prevent any possible corrosion, the grit that accumulates (between the black plastic trim and the bottom edge of the door) has to be removed with a small implement as quite often hosing with water will only dislodge the mud and not the small pieces of grit.

Whilst waiting for Seat to come up with a remedy (which could take forever, if at all) I have had a go at sealing up the area that causes me the most concern. See photos below.

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper Wood Automotive lighting


Hood Automotive tire Automotive lighting Automotive design Automotive exterior

I gave the area a good clean and then when dry, wiped it with some methylated spirits to remove any possible traces of grease.

Automotive tire Automotive lighting Automotive exterior Fender Vehicle door

Masked up both sides of the channel that's open to the wheel arch (where the crud gets stuck) and filled it with some clear silicone sealant that I got from Halfrauds. Taking care not to fill any of the drain holes!

Automotive tire Hood Automotive lighting Automotive design Road surface

Once done, you don't notice the sealant. I'll report back and let you know how it goes once I've driven a few more miles.
 

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#71 ·
Now why couldn't SEAT think of that. Looks a clean job. The only thing you need to be careful of is that you don't know whether SEAT might reject a corrosion claim if it turns out it was as a result of the modification. I reckon they are fully aware of the trap and maybe fairly happy that it won't actually cause corrosion even if the build up of crud does look pretty ugly. My current 5 year Mitsubishi has a bad crud trap inside the back wheel arch where damp mud can sit for months in the winter. Despite thin metal and stupidly thin paint, there is no corrosion. An annual body check (signed off) is part of the corrosion warranty.
 
#74 ·
If I have correctly read this you have filled the area with Halford's windscreen sealant.

On that bottom area I wasn't too sure whether that was a drainage channel or what, whether a drain for internal water in the door or what it's purpose was in the fabrication of the door. Weird the way it has that gap in it. Perhaps it's there to drain the water they know will get in by putting the door into the wheel arch ;). Filling it means any water that gets in via the side has nowhere to go.

Interested to hear how things go. I might pass on this mod. I can see people driving through slurry daily could get irritated with this Ateca feature.
 
#75 ·
I used Granville Multi - Purpose Silicone Sealant from Halfords, not windscreen sealant. The channels are formed due to the way the black plastic trim attaches to the door panel. If the Ateca didn't have the trim along the lower section of the door, the problem wouldn't be nearly as bad. Any water will now simply run off on to the road plus the elongated drain holes along the top edge and lower edge of the trim are still clear. As far as the warranty is concerned, usually manufacturers give a ten or twelve year anti perforation warranty which covers the vehicle from perforation coming from the inside of the panels, so they would probably just wriggle their way out of this anyway. If the vehicle does eventually suffer a problem with corrosion in this area, I'll just remove the sealant before taking it to the dealer!
 
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