New Recall for front sunroof drains

I don't think that the recall is covering any sort of hose-in-hose repair. I think it is just a snip by the door, and a cleaning. Are you talking about some kind of patch job assuming that there is a hole in the current tubing?

Forgive me if we are talking about two different things.

adamant628 said:

I don't think that the recall is covering any sort of hose-in-hose repair. I think it is just a snip by the door, and a cleaning. Are you talking about some kind of patch job assuming that there is a hole in the current tubing?

Forgive me if we are talking about two different things.

Click to expand...

I think they are doing what it takes for an individual. If bill clip will work (actually wrong way to do that too) you just get the clip. Crimped original tube you get the liner. Detached tube they may have to drop your headliner snd do several things. Carpet if your car is hurt. This all came out of a lawsuit. If I am not wrong. Correct me if I am off on a trip.

They have an instruction sheet we need (mentioned the number ealier).

eddif

Oh I see, you are right that they don't actually mention what the "service" is, other than cleaning the tubes.

I'm pretty sure they just clipped mine, but they never did ask if I'd had any flooding. I'd never had a problem, but now I know to clean out the tubes now and then.

Is it possible to clear the rear tubes from above? I understand why you'd need to take off the bumper to service the end of the tube, but to clean it, why can't you go in from the top? (Bentley says go from the bottom) It doesn't make much sense to me if you are just sliding a "flexible cable" through the tube, why does it matter which way it goes?

adamant628 said:

Oh I see, you are right that they don't actually mention what the "service" is, other than cleaning the tubes.

I'm pretty sure they just clipped mine, but they never did ask if I'd had any flooding. I'd never had a problem, but now I know to clean out the tubes now and then.

Is it possible to clear the rear tubes from above? I understand why you'd need to take off the bumper to service the end of the tube, but to clean it, why can't you go in from the top? (Bentley says go from the bottom) It doesn't make much sense to me if you are just sliding a "flexible cable" through the tube, why does it matter which way it goes?

Click to expand...

Pushing a clog from the top pulls the hose away from the sun roof and takes the chance of detaching the hose.

Pushing from the bottom tends to push the hose into contact with the drain.

If you detach the hose you will be dropping the headliner to re-attach it.

eddif

gotcha. Seems a little silly to design it that way, but oh well..

I got my car insurance company involved each time. They said to take it to a collision repair shop (car was with daughter at college out of state) where the bill came to just under the top end of my deductible. Because I'd paid for carpet replacement and mold remediation just last winter, the original shop was on the hook when mold came back. But when my daughter again found water inside, I got angry and decided to bring the car home. Then I got the notice in the mail.

When I checked the car's sunroof drains, I saw that the first shop hadn't really done the so called "tube cleaning or drain clipping" as I'd instructed them to do to prevent a reoccurance of flooding. I don't think they knew how. As a result, the car continued to flood and mold grew again. She took it back to those guys and they had the mold cleaned up again, but didn't replace the carpet again or clean and clip the drains, as I had again instructed. So, when the car flooded for a third time, I brought it back to Colorado, called my insurance company and they said to take it to VW dealer.

When I was at the VW dealer, the service guy said there was no known way to clean the drains until recently, which is why the first shop hadn't done it. But that didn't explain why they hadn't clipped the ends off. The VW dealer said they'd replace the carpet, clean and clip the drains. The drains were done right then, but had to wait a month for the carpet to come in. It's in now so carpet is getting replaced today.

I'll check the paperwork to make sure it clearly states the reason for the flooding and what repairs were done. Then I can file for reimbursement for the first half-assed job.

Zip,

I went through this ordeal last January. At first I checked here to determine the problem was the CCM module . I knew I had flooding and erratic electrical problems that eventually led to a no start.
I hadn't even thought to call my insurance co (Lizard) until I talked to some guy in Rhode Island who had gone through similar.
My deductible is $500 which I ended up paying plus the tax for a rice burner rental from enterprise.
(weird the insurance will pay for rental but not the tax)
Anyways I was out of pocket $549. The total bill including towing was like $2786.
I recently got the dealers printout as I sent off picture and receipts etc for the claim.
The car was towed to authorized Geico repair shop. I called them as they mainly do body work and was concerned it was out of their area of expertise.
They assured me it was going to the dealer which it did.

Would you believe the dealer diagnosed the problem and in doing so said water entered the cabin through a grommet which was removed for installing aftermarket radio.

"replaced missing grommet and re-tested and now no water leakage"
What a load of BS. These s bags were covering their ass. Needless to say I was pissed.

Sorry to hear of your dilemma. Hopefully you have pictures. I happened to get some as I was on the self diagnosis route initially with help from here and especially MoGolf (shout out) who I donated a CCM module to for his help.
It sucks that VW won't admit to poor design and address this.
Another line of half assed fixes.
I currently have glow plug light. Last year did the Oil (Chainless deal) *** .
I thought these Germans got their technology from the UFO landings and we brought the Scientist's over from Germany after ww-2. http://www.think-aboutit.com/ufo/nazi_plans.html
Anyways just needed to vent

Chris

Zip,

I went through this ordeal last January. At first I checked here to determine the problem was the CCM module . I knew I had flooding and erratic electrical problems that eventually led to a no start.
I hadn't even thought to call my insurance co (Lizard) until I talked to some guy in Rhode Island who had gone through similar.
My deductible is $500 which I ended up paying plus the tax for a rice burner rental from enterprise.
(weird the insurance will pay for rental but not the tax)
Anyways I was out of pocket $549. The total bill including towing was like $2786.
I recently got the dealers printout as I sent off picture and receipts etc for the claim.
The car was towed to authorized Geico repair shop. I called them as they mainly do body work and was concerned it was out of their area of expertise.
They assured me it was going to the dealer which it did.

Would you believe the dealer diagnosed the problem and in doing so said water entered the cabin through a grommet which was removed for installing aftermarket radio.

"replaced missing grommet and re-tested and now no water leakage"
What a load of BS. These s bags were covering their ass. Needless to say I was pissed.

Sorry to hear of your dilemma. Hopefully you have pictures. I happened to get some as I was on the self diagnosis route initially with help from here and especially MoGolf (shout out) who I donated a CCM module to for his help.
It sucks that VW won't admit to poor design and address this.
Another line of half assed fixes.
I currently have glow plug light. Last year did the Oil (Chainless deal) *** .
I thought these Germans got their technology from the UFO landings and we brought the Scientist's over from Germany after ww-2. http://www.think-aboutit.com/ufo/nazi_plans.html
Anyways just needed to vent

Chris

Wow I am so happy to have found this thread!
I remember a while back someone posting about clogged drains and flooding... and hoped that it would never happen to me...

Last week I went to vacuum my car and was surprised to find a puddle under my rubber mat on the driver's side. I sucked out probably over 2 litres of water!!!
I thought it was because I had accidentally left the windows open one night 3 wks ago when it had rained but it was odd that it was only on the driver's side. On top of that the water kept on coming in even after I vacuumed it up.
I have been using a towel as a mat and changing it every time I get in the car. And it continues to be wet!!

Argh.
I will have to call the dealer and see if they will fix it.
I am the original owner of my 04' jetta. Regretting ever buying this lemon.
I think I might just take the engine and put it into a dune buggy so I can get the efficiency without the hastle of cheap parts.

Do you think they will cover replacing the carpets/pad in my car?
I noticed someone else got this!
Can't wait to find out

I have the rear driver's side moldy carpet stench issue on my 2005 Jetta TDI Wagon. My sunroof drains were not clogged in the front or the rear (pulled rear bumper off to check). No leakage from around pedals at firewall either. What we are getting is water streaming in at the hood release handle...but not 100% of the time. Some water drops are visible inside the A pillar cover as well.
I am thinking maybe the leak is right near the sunroof drain or a break in the hose high up there.

I cannot drive the car because it makes me puke (for real!) within 15 minutes of being inside and you can smell the mold within 5 feet of the exterior of the car. My husband doused the rear drivers side carpet with some marine plant-based mildew killer and that seems to have beat the stench down to a dull roar. It smelled like a dentist's office for about a week and now the moldy smell is coming back.

I filed a claim with my insurance company (Lizard) and have an appointment with the adjuster the day before Thanksgiving. For $50 deductible they will (hopefully) pay to have all carpet and padding replaced at the body shop. I plan to be adamant that it be thoroughly cleaned for mold at that time as well. The insurance company wants my VW settlement paperwork so they can follow up with VW. Anyone have any similar stories/warnings to share? I am always on my guard when dealing with insurance companies.

GotSkwerlz:

Your post tells us of lots of evidence of a leak, but doesn't say that you found the source.

Not meaning to reinvent the wheel here, but your A pillar has several possible issues: Windshield seal, drains for the sunroof, and possibly a door seal/seam. Also does your car have a roof line gutter?

The reason I bring up the windshield seal is that if you actually have that poblem, and you don't fix it, you're going to have a lot worse problem later on, and VW will already say they fixed it - by saying they fixed the roof drain.

Just another $.02! It cost me $1.00 to say it!

Good luck.

02 Beetlw TDi Victim said:

GotSkwerlz:

Your post tells us of lots of evidence of a leak, but doesn't say that you found the source.

Not meaning to reinvent the wheel here, but your A pillar has several possible issues: Windshield seal, drains for the sunroof, and possibly a door seal/seam. Also does your car have a roof line gutter?

The reason I bring up the windshield seal is that if you actually have that poblem, and you don't fix it, you're going to have a lot worse problem later on, and VW will already say they fixed it - by saying they fixed the roof drain.

Just another $.02! It cost me $1.00 to say it!

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Yeah we're not 100% sure of the source either, but we're betting on the hose inside the A-pillar leaking high up based on numerous tests that we did this weekend. My husband just made a new drain tube like the one the guy here did. We'll test it out tomorrow in the daylight. If that doesn't work then we'll go to plan B whatever that might be We checked the windshield seal by squirting it with a hose this weekend and didn't see any leak. I have a small drip at the drivers side door seal so I may have to chase that one eventually too. Will let y'all know if replacing the drain tube works.
I do not have a roof-line gutter.

I am not entirely sure I'll be taking the car to the dealer to have them 'modify' the drain nipples. Had one run-in with them and do not have confidence in their work.

When my sunroof drains clogged, I always had water dripping from the vanity light behind the driver's side sun visor. I had water dripping in from the hood release once before when I went through a car wash. There is a drain right under where the hood release cable enters the cab. If you have any trees around where you park your car, it will clog up, water will pool up in there and drip down the cable. It's kind of a pain to clean out because there is not much room to get anything in. You can try blasting it out with a high pressure washer, I tried that first, but there was still plenty of gunk there.

I bought an attachment to my ShopVac that has a small diameter nozzle that will fit down in there, and I was able to suck it clean. This is the accessory I bought, but I got it at my local Walmart for $10.

Insurance company has paid to have all carpet and padding replaced. We took it all out along with interior trim, glovebox, seats and washed down the metal in the rear floorpan with a mild bleach solution. We also modified the drivers side A-pillar drain by running a 1/4" hose down through there. With interior out during a rainstorm the cab was 100% dry. Hope that whole stinking ordeal is in the rear-view mirror for good!

Hmmm...the passenger side front drain, had previously circumcised all of them, but now...

the weedwhacker line does not come out the nipple...no matter how much I feed

the 1/4 inch tubing does not come out the nipple....no matter how much I feed

Must be a break/disconnect in the tubing...

hmmm...plug it? the front driver's side works fine...hmmm...a plug, what size, what do I have around here?

hmmm...squishy ear plugs with a bell shape at one end...that oughtta do it

Rxfire said:

Hmmm...the passenger side front drain, had previously circumcised all of them, but now...

the weedwhacker line does not come out the nipple...no matter how much I feed

the 1/4 inch tubing does not come out the nipple....no matter how much I feed

Must be a break/disconnect in the tubing...

hmmm...plug it? the front driver's side works fine...hmmm...a plug, what size, what do I have around here?

hmmm...squishy ear plugs with a bell shape at one end...that oughtta do it

Click to expand...

That will be good until you park on a sufficient incline.

Yeah, I need to get to the hardware/auto parts store for a tight fit rubber plug

Rxfire said:

Hmmm...the passenger side front drain, had previously circumcised all of them, but now...

the weedwhacker line does not come out the nipple...no matter how much I feed

the 1/4 inch tubing does not come out the nipple....no matter how much I feed

Must be a break/disconnect in the tubing...

hmmm...plug it? the front driver's side works fine...hmmm...a plug, what size, what do I have around here?

hmmm...squishy ear plugs with a bell shape at one end...that oughtta do it

Click to expand...

You have to take out the nipple assembly when the line will not come out the nipple.

When the nipple assembly is taken out of the door pillar post, the hose will or will not be attached. If the hose is attached remove the hose from the nipple assembly and lay the nipple assembly aside (not pulling on the drain hose any more than the you have too). Then see if you can see if the cleaning line will come past the hole. If you see the line, fish the line out the hole, and see if you can recover the larger drain line (do not pull much on the larger original line or you will detach it at the sunroof). If you can not recover the larger line go ahead and put the sealed interliner hose through the nipple assembly and replace the nipple assembly in the door post pillar hole.

The idea is to get a small drain line in without taking the headliner out if possible. I managed the small interliner line without removing the headliner.

Good luck.

eddif

OK, thanks. I was a little hesitant to try and pry out the nipple piece, figuring I'd not be able to get it back in the hole properly.

I hope I can get it to work, the 1/4 inch tubing I am trying is black polyethylene drip irrigation tubing (what I had on hand), just have to figure out the compression fitting and washer setup to seal with goop at the top hole (retreive the bucket of brass fittings/ferrels/etc and see what I have)

I just went through this, but I dropped the headliner because it needed new fabric.

Anyway, the hose had come out of the nipple, and after pulling the nipple out I was surprised how loose the the hose fit through. I had zero faith the hose would stay in place so I found a little length of brass tubing at the hardware store that fit really tightly inside the tube and forced it through the nipple, then put a little hose clamp on the whole assembly before putting it back in the jamb. This would be really tough to do without being able to pull off and then reconnect the hose at the sunroof, though.

My bigger problem was both rear hoses were leaking. They hadn't separated from the sunroof nipples, the hoses themselves were dripping at the seam where it widened to fit over the nipples. I fixed this with some wide flexible hose and more clamps.

And now the car is dry again and the new headliner looks great.

I found out about the recall to late and now VW says the recall campaign is over and there is nothing they can do for me. I love the gas mileage of my TDI, but after this I will NEVER buy another VW. This is something that VW knows is a design flaw, yet they will not stand behind their product. Hopefully some other reputable company will start building TDI's. I have cut the nipples of the front lines and the passenger side still leaks. I'm hoping my insurance company will take care of it, but either way I will be getting a lawyer since I was not in on the class action law suit.

The previous owner of my 2002 Jetta GLS stated that he did the recall "couple years ago." This was info he offered when I asked if the sunroof worked properly, it wasn't something I was aware of. Last week, Hawaii got pounded by heavy rains, hail, and even a tornado hit a couple houses just 2-3 miles away from my own. During those rains, my Jetta flooded due to the sunroof drains being clogged. I realized quickly that the recall was not done and even verified this with VW of America by checking the VIN with them. Since then I have utilized my car insurance to make a claim and they are repairing/replacing the carpet, repairing/replacing sunroof, and repairing/replacing headliner. Hopefully my Jetta will look and smell much better and with the drains working properly, it wont get flooded again...

Check this video of the hail storm in my front yard, unprecedented for Oahu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWDUuv9FpwQ
(Just beyond that white picket fence is my TDI, luckily no body damage from hail otherwise my insurance claim would've covered much more)