Bentley water leak evidence: what owners, specialists and Bentley say
Everything we have found on rainwater getting into Bentley Flying Spurs and Continental GTs, in one place. Quotes are verbatim and every item links to its source, so buyers can check it and journalists can cite it.
7
public forum threads on water getting in
2
models: Continental Flying Spur and Continental GT
8
Bentley technical bulletins on water in the cabin or a musty smell
£15,000+
worst-case repair quoted by PistonHeads, Prestige & Performance Car and Autocar
Two case studies
The Flying Spur study follows one owner's car. The Continental GT study gathers what GT owners, specialists and Bentley say.
What owners and dealers say
15 quotes, word for word, from owners, a dealer's service department and a parts dismantler. Follow each source to read the full post.
“This is without question the Achilles heel of the GT. It is not a matter of if you get the problem but when. It is all down to very poor design.”
“Water is not draining away through the drains and is just filling up in the plenum area under the screen and entering the car through the HVAC seals which has caused the saturation inside the car.”
“After the third time Bentley inform me that the cause was due to the plenum drains being blocked with leaves and debris with water contaminating the main control module causing complete failure.”
“I have major concerns that if this happened on a motorway would I have any control of the car at all.”
“It was raining rather heavily and I noticed water dripping into passenger footwell.”
“My Bentley got wet during a heavy rain and won't start.”
“Assessment in our workshops revealed water ingress into the main ECU resulting in numerous electrical glitches and a lack of communication preventing the engine from starting.”
“Yes, the Spur has the same issue”
“When the assessor was assessing, the mechanic mentioned that this is a known problem and they have designed a 'splicing kit' (whatever that may be!) to stop this happening.”
“I have heard of it, a friend had the same issue on a spur fortunately he had warranty and it was sorted by Bentley”
“This is a very common issue with GTs the problem relates to a water drain hole not being blown out with an airline at service time.”
“To fix it they had to dismantle the whole dashboard - £5,000 bill”
“it's a crazy idea to put the drain where it is no wonder it blocks”
“In my view parking theses outside in the weather is playing Russian roulette with the scuttle drains.”
“Bentley stress this is an isolated failure and not a common fault”
Public forum threads
Owners discussing water getting into their Bentleys, in their own forums. Open a thread to read the whole discussion.
The cars in the reports
Continental Flying Spurs and Continental GTs from 2005 to 2021 are sold and resold all over the world. The reports we found come from owners posting on British and American forums. These photographs show example cars, not the cars in the reports.
Continental Flying Spur
First generation, 2005 to 2013
Continental GT
Second generation, 2011 to 2018
Flying Spur
Third generation, 2019 on
Continental GT
Third generation, 2018 on
What specialists and the motoring press say
Independent sources that warn about the drains under the windscreen. Each summary sticks to what the source says.
Autocar
On the Continental Flying Spur, a blocked windscreen scuttle can let water through the fuse box seal and soak the keyless entry control unit in the footwell.
Read the sourcePMC, UK Bentley specialist
The plenum drains tend to get choked with leaf matter, particularly on cars parked near trees.
Read the sourcePrestige & Performance Car
On early Continental GTs, a void in the scuttle fills with water if the drain blocks and runs into the front left footwell, home to much of the wiring loom and several ECUs. Putting it right can cost over £15,000.
Read the sourceAutocar, first-generation Continental GT
Calls water in the front left footwell, which houses large sections of the wiring loom and ECUs, the most notorious and costly fault. Damp, a musty smell or flickering electronics could mean a £15,000-plus wiring loom repair.
Read the sourcePistonHeads buying guide
A lot of the Continental GT's electronics sit in the front left footwell and water has been known to leak into it. Sorting out damaged electrics there can run to £15,000.
Read the sourceDifferent Car Review
On the 2003 to 2012 Continental GT, GTC and Flying Spur, the drain holes sit deep under the scuttle panel, roughly above the gearbox, and are very hard to reach or even see.
Read the sourceWhat Bentley’s own bulletins say about water in the cabin
Bentley has issued at least eight technical bulletins to its dealers about water getting into the cabin or a musty smell inside. One covers every model from 2004 to 2024. The rest cover cars from 2018 on and name factory faults: drain hoses, missing seam sealant, seals and panels. All are filed with the US regulator, NHTSA. None is a recall. We summarise them as written.
Bulletin 2069806/4
All models, 2004 to 2024 model years. Released 8 September 2023.
For a damp or musty smell, technicians should first confirm water is not leaking into the cabin. If it is not, they should check the HVAC and body drains for blockages and unblock them.
Read it: bulletin text
Bulletin 2075697/1
Continental GT/C 2018 to 2024 and Flying Spur 2020 to 2024.
Symptoms: water in the left or right footwell, wet front carpets or mats, a musty smell in the cabin. Suspected cause: leaks from the water and condensate drains behind the carpets.
Read it: bulletin text
Bulletin 2075712/2
New Continental GT/C and New Flying Spur. Released 24 September 2025.
Symptoms: water in the left or right footwell, wet front carpets or mats, a musty smell in the cabin. Suspected cause: leaks from the water and condensate drains. Repair: silicone sealant inside the drain hoses.
Read it: bulletin text
Bulletin 2075699/1
Continental GT/C 2018 to 2023 and Flying Spur 2020 to 2023.
Symptoms: water in the front footwell, wet carpets or mats, windows misting inside. Cause: missing sealant on the A-pillar seam, checked by removing the plenum cover.
Read it: bulletin text
Bulletin 2075713/1
New Continental GT/C and New Flying Spur.
Symptoms: water in the front footwell, wet carpets or mats, windows misting inside. Cause found: missing sealant on the A-pillar seam, checked by removing the plenum cover. Repair: apply sealant and a local paint repair.
Read it: bulletin text
Bulletin 2070638/2
Continental GT 2018 to 2024 and Flying Spur 2020 to 2024 with a sunroof.
Water on the A-post pillar seam, dripping behind the door seal. In some cases the footwell carpet may be wet.
Read it: bulletin text
Bulletin 2081117/1
Continental GT 2018 to 2026. Released 6 March 2026.
Water in the rear quarter trim, rear seat area or rear footwell, with window condensation and a damp smell. Cause: the rear water shedder not sealing against the body. Faults may also show in electrical modules nearby.
Read it: bulletin text
Bulletin 2081472/1
Flying Spur 2021 to 2026. Released 1 April 2026.
Water in the cabin around the lower door trim, or a damp carpet after rain or washing. Cause: the door infill panel letting water past the door's drain path.
Read it: bulletin text
The closest Bentley comes to the drains owners describe on older cars is bulletin 2069806, which tells technicians to check the body drains for blockages. None of these bulletins names the plenum drains under the windscreen. On our car, H.R. Owen’s engineer found those drains were not draining.
When other carmakers let the rain in
Water getting into cars through blocked or faulty drains is not new. Other manufacturers in the same group, and outside it, have paid out or recalled cars over it.
$8m
Volkswagen and Audi settle over blocked drains
Dewey v. Volkswagen, US federal court, New Jersey. Final approval 30 July 2010.
Owners said sunroof, plenum and pollen-filter drains let water in and damage interiors and electrics, on cars including the 1997 to 2009 Audi A8. The settlement set up an $8 million reimbursement fund, modified drains on some models and added plenum and sunroof drain cleaning to the maintenance schedule every 40,000 miles or two years.
234,057
Audi recalls Q5s over a sunroof drain
US safety recall 17V-001, February 2017. Audi Q5, 2011 to 2017.
Audi recalled the cars because an impaired panoramic sunroof drain could let water reach and corrode the side curtain airbag inflators.
6,331
Mercedes-Benz recalls SUVs over a drain hose
US safety recall 21V-288, May 2021. Mercedes-Benz GLE and GLS.
Air-conditioning drain hoses could let condensation into the front footwells, where it could corrode electrical parts and cause a short circuit, raising the risk of fire.
We have not found a recall for water getting into the cabin of these Bentleys. Bentley’s own bulletins tell dealers how to repair it.
See the bulletinsOne owner's case
How the same failure played out on our own Flying Spur, and how the dealer and Bentley responded.
Our Bentley Flying Spur was purchased from Jack Barclay, part of H.R. Owen. It was cherished, serviced by Bentley, and driven just 37,000 miles from new – until it died.
“Water is not draining away through the drains and is just filling up in the plenum area under the screen and entering the car through the HVAC seals which has caused the saturation inside the car.”
Have evidence we have missed?
If your Bentley has let water in, or you know of a report, a thread or a bulletin that should be here, tell us. Journalists can email us directly.