I have a 2017 Golf Wolfsburg edition. My spare tire well was filling up with water about 2 years ago so I took it in and they said my drains were history, so I paid $1500 for drain hose replacement. Every time I had it in for service, they would clean the drains and it was complimentary. About 2 weeks ago I had popped up the back seats from being folded and they were damp. Sure enough, there was about 2 gallons of water in the wheel well. I cleaned it out and after 2 rainstorms the same day, I got another gallon in the back. So figured the drains were clogged again so I took it in even tho it had only been 4 months. They were all clear and VW determined that the antenna was leaking, so they replaced that and its still leaking badly. the service advisor suggested my insurance might coverage it, but the adjuster went out yesterday, and it doesn't look like they will - they are claiming it wear and tear - which I am not surprised at. So now they are saying probably (maybe) needs a new sunroof frame or could be a body weld. So they are doing their best I think, but I'm done throwing money into this. I probably have a $600 (at least) bill now for the new antenna and diagnostics. If insurance doesn't cover it, I'm done. I am now looking at a used Tiguan with no sunroof, I'm done with those!! The car has 97K miles on it, and the dealership has always been decent, so I'm really not having an issue with them. I'm now looking for an easy way to seal up the sunroof from the top to at least keep it mostly dry until I can trade it in. I know there's many videos on how to flex seal it, but that's beyond my capabilities. Has anyone used like a marine tape or something similar? Something that won't hurt the paint? I plan on putting a tarp over the sunroof while parked at home, no garage. Thanks.
7
Sunroof leak
- Thread starter redbug119
- Start date
YamR1rider
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Tampa, FL
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport DSG
20 dollars on Gorilla Patch and seal paint. It's not hard to do... I should have done it from the get go rather than trying that tape crap https://golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/the-classic-leaking-sunroof.391786/post-7991074
Are you sure it's your sunroof leaking though...any wet/stains on the headliner? Water in the spare wheel well could be the rear hatch drain or something else.
Are you sure it's your sunroof leaking though...any wet/stains on the headliner? Water in the spare wheel well could be the rear hatch drain or something else.
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Haven't some owners had leaks at the tail lights that allows rainwater to enter and collect in the wheel well? I can't recall the details. Too, VW changed sunroof suppliers sometime around 2016/2017, bringing an improved gutter that surrounds the sunroof's perimeter. The previous design was known for cracking and leaks having nothing to do with drain tubes. We've been blessed so far with no leaks in our 2017 Wolfsburg.
Yes, the headliner is all wet, I actually watched the water pool going towards the rear roof pillars. My local shop (not dealer) will silicone it but he suggested not doing that if I'm going to trade it in. I read about the not-so-big deal VW is offering in the class action suit. I have 97K so I don't even qualify for that.
YamR1rider
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Tampa, FL
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport DSG
Doing it like I did won't hurt your trade in though, as the roof is still fully functional. A much better and lasting fix than VWs cowboy tape fix approach which I initially tried.
MattRabbit
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- Orlando, FL
- Car(s)
- 2015 Golf TDI
I used the VW tape with some silicon RTV. It's worked for several years now. I do like the idea of the gorilla patch and seal paint though. Paint it once and never think about it again!
Mine wasn't leaking as bad as the OP, but it was dripping on my wife via the visor holes when it would rain hard. She wasn't too appreciative of that!
If you open the sunroof, you can inspect the drains and see the cracks that are allowing the water in. If they've already tried to fix it, it'll be vinyl tape covering the cracks. Mine had the vinyl tape when I bought it, but they hadn't put any silicon in the cracks at all, so it started leaking shortly after I bought it.
My spare tire well was filling with water as well, but this was caused by the vents behind the bumper leaking. I pulled the bumper cover and sealed the edges of the vents with silicon RTV. It's been bone dry ever since.
Mine wasn't leaking as bad as the OP, but it was dripping on my wife via the visor holes when it would rain hard. She wasn't too appreciative of that!
If you open the sunroof, you can inspect the drains and see the cracks that are allowing the water in. If they've already tried to fix it, it'll be vinyl tape covering the cracks. Mine had the vinyl tape when I bought it, but they hadn't put any silicon in the cracks at all, so it started leaking shortly after I bought it.
My spare tire well was filling with water as well, but this was caused by the vents behind the bumper leaking. I pulled the bumper cover and sealed the edges of the vents with silicon RTV. It's been bone dry ever since.
sterkrazzy
Autocross Champion
- Location
- United States
- Car(s)
- Turbo. Blue.
YamR1rider
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Tampa, FL
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport DSG
Letter received here also....worthless to me as the car is at nearly 150k miles. Same goes for the OP at 97k.
YamR1rider
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Tampa, FL
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport DSG
That being said though....OP may have a case to retro-claim some of the previous work he had done:
I'm definitely going to claim the drain hose replacements I paid for.
My independent guy is kinda backpedaling on doing it but I called a glass place who suggested the blue painters tape for now and then he would take a look at it and he could silicone it. He said the dealerships don't know what they are doing when it comes to sunroof and I'm not going to argue that. I'm still waiting for insurance to make a decision as to whether they will cover it or not. At least for now its at the dealership under a roof and not in my driveway with a hurricane coming. My other option is a mechanic friend who'll do anything I ask him too!
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Update on sunroof leak: Insurance denied the claim, not surprising as it wasn't physical damage. So meanwhile I was without a car for 3 weeks, and I'm glad I didn't get a rental like they originally approved. Anyway, I brought it to a highly rated glass shop In Sebastian, Florida and they sealed the sunroof for less than $100. Meanwhile I was in it for $536 to the dealership for a new antenna (prolly not needed but they thought it was leaking from there) and 2 hours of labor which I had agreed to. They had a lot more time in it than that so I give them kudos for sticking to the original estimate. After several hard Florida all night rains, NO LEAKS!!! Now I'm working on solving the puzzle to get my jack and stuff to fit back in the wheel well!
What did the glass shop do to seal it?