DIY - GSW pano roof drain tube end cap removal

The Problem - Pano roof leaks are pretty common and there are TSBs on repair of cracks in the plastic drain trays in the pano frame and a bad frame-to-body seal due to a poor weld. Service Campaign 60E5 specifies cleaning the front tubes and removing the front tube check valves to prevent the drain backup that can cause front headliner leakage. Hopefully, dealers are also cleaning and removing the rear tube check valves since leakage at the rear headliner is an issue, too (I had leakage at the rear only).

This DIY covers removal of the 4 drain tube check valve caps in a GSW (hatchback procedure may differ). This is a not too difficult first step to solve a leak issue. Further steps, if needed, might be good candidates for the dealer to tackle, particularly removal & repair of the pano frame.

REARS - These are easy to access compared to the fronts. They are located in the far rear corners of the underbody.

1. Driver's side rear is directly accessible. Pull the orange check valve cap off of the black "tail" of the drain tube. You'll find dirt packed behind the cap, so while you're here, run a cleanout line up the drain line to the drain inlet in the pano frame (you won't be able to run the cleanout in the opposite direction). 1/8" bulk speedo cable (available at most auto parts stores) works better than weed wacker line for this purpose. It has better "pushability". Do NOT use air pressure.




2. Passenger's side rear is in the corresponding location to the driver's side and is hidden by this cover panel. Remove panel.


3. Remove the check valve cap and run your cleanout line as before.


FRONTS - A little more work is required to access these. They are located in the plenum well just below the bottom of the A-pillars.

4. Wiper arms must be removed to allow removal of the plenum cover. Put wipers into service position and open hood. Remove the wiper nut trim caps, then nuts. Make a mark indexing the wiper arm mounting hole relative to the spindle splines. Now remove the arms. They will be on there TIGHT! A puller will probably be required. When hand power didn't budge them, I tried a cheap battery cable puller which shattered into pieces without budging them! I resorted to this gear puller, but a quality name-brand battery cable puller is the perfect size and should be more shatter-resistant than my cheap one was.


5. Pull off the plenum weatherstrip, then remove the 3 U-clips (#3 in the illustration) securing the 2-piece plenum cover. Finesse the front outer corner of the passenger side cover out from under the black styrofoam block. Now pull the rear edge of cover out of the windshield surround, pulling perpendicularly to the windshield (see 1st detail inset in the illustration) and remove the cover. Repeat for the driver side cover.




6. Remove the deflector in the plenum passenger side.


7. The passenger side drain tube end check valve cap is now accessible in the cavity below the A-pillar. Remove the check valve cap as before.


Concludes in the following post...

8. Run the cleanout line from the drain inlet in the passenger front corner of the pano opening down through the exit of the drain tube. Note the speedo cable cleanout in both photos.




9. Unbolt the wiper linkage assembly without unplugging and move it out of the way to access the driver side drain check valve located in the corresponding cavity under the driver's A-pillar.




10. Remove the check valve cap and clean out the line as before.


11. Reassemble in reverse order and hope that none of the other causes of pano leakage are present!

Great job. Thanks...

Nice write-up! Thanks for this. I hope I never need to do it.

Given the hassle on the front drain lines, would one be able to simply run the speedo cable (or other clearing line) from the top down and pop open the check valve. I know it won't permanently open it like snipping or zip-tying, but would allow you to push any accumulated guk out of there.

(BTW, kudos on the how-to post - this is textbook stuff not only in description, but photos and illustrations to help a person know what they're doing - mega-thanks!)

Thanks CB. Great how-to.

Chris-thanks so much for putting that together, nice write-up and pics!!!!

Why did you use chose wire-tie instead of snipping? You said for reversibility was that for possible future warranty (frame replacement) work? They could deny it (or at least try to) if snipped.......

Awesome write up! I'm under CPO warranty for a bit longer, so hopefully I'll never need it, but I've been thinking about where exactly the drains end up. Thanks for taking the time to do this for us!

michTDI said:

Why did you use chose wire-tie instead of snipping? You said for reversibility was that for possible future warranty (frame replacement) work? They could deny it (or at least try to) if snipped.......

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That's just my over-cautiousness. I generally like to keep options open, but in this case, the best argument to be made to wire-tie is the one you made and I know some dealers are already doing this procedure (whether or not with VW's blessing, I don't know).

I'm prepared to go back and snip them if the wire-tie solution proves unreliable over time, but so far, so good.

michTDI said:

Chris-thanks so much for putting that together, nice write-up and pics!!!!

Why did you use chose wire-tie instead of snipping? You said for reversibility was that for possible future warranty (frame replacement) work? They could deny it (or at least try to) if snipped.......

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The orange flaps can simply be removed by sliding them down/off the rubber extension shown in the pics , no snipping required

Great write up btw.

mxtdiguy said:

The orange flaps can simply be removed by sliding them down/off the rubber extension shown in the pics , no snipping required
Great write up btw.

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Great catch! I'll revise the DIY accordingly.

Thanks Chris - Thread has been linked in the HOW to's for ref

Nuje said:

Given the hassle on the front drain lines, would one be able to simply run the speedo cable (or other clearing line) from the top down and pop open the check valve. I know it won't permanently open it like snipping or zip-tying, but would allow you to push any accumulated guk out of there.

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Is there an answer to this? It would make periodic maintenance way easier.

This is an excellent write up, thank you. Wish would have seen it before I performed all this work, it would have saved me some time. All my drains are now clear.



I received a call form my dealer twice trying to get me to come in for a recall on the passenger front drain recall. Needs a new drain pipe they tell me. I told her all drains have ruined my headliner so she said she would have a look when I brought it in. I bought my car used from a used dealer in Southern California, the car came from Arizona and the drains were all clogged with that red clay. Found it out during the first hard rain after I bought the car.

milktree said:

Is there an answer to this? It would make periodic maintenance way easier.

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I think it depends on your tolerance for extra periodic maintenance that check valve removal essentially eliminates. This procedure is really pretty painless. I'd say the worst part of it is having to buy some speedo cable and, possibly, a small puller if you don't already have them. And you can always have the dealer do it since its a Service Campaign. If you have headliner stains, I imagine they would cover it.

mrfixit454 said:

This is an excellent write up, thank you. Wish would have seen it before I performed all this work, it would have saved me some time. All my drains are now clear.
I received a call form my dealer twice trying to get me to come in for a recall on the passenger front drain recall. Needs a new drain pipe they tell me. I told her all drains have ruined my headliner so she said she would have a look when I brought it in. I bought my car used from a used dealer in Southern California, the car came from Arizona and the drains were all clogged with that red clay. Found it out during the first hard rain after I bought the car.

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If she's talking about Service Campaign 60E5, that is just a clean out of the front lines and removal of the front check valves. I think most dealers also throw in the same for the rears since they're so easy to do.

Thanks, I will keep you posted on what they call it and what they do.

Also, in regards to the campaign for the front lines.....the rear on mine has way more staining/leakage than the front. I suppose it all depends on how much rain and the angle the car is parked. The back 2 and the right front where the only ones clogged on mine.

RIP TDI said:

I think it depends on your tolerance for extra periodic maintenance that check valve removal essentially eliminates. This procedure is really pretty painless. I'd say the worst part of it is having to buy some speedo cable and, possibly, a small puller if you don't already have them. And you can always have the dealer do it since its a Service Campaign. If you have headliner stains, I imagine they would cover it.

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I removed the flapper check valves in the rear myself when I installed the hitch. There didn't appear to be anything clogging the pipe (but I didn't snake it out)



In a huge rain recently water came in and stained the rear headliner in the rear, so "remove the flapper" isn't a panacea by any means.

milktree said:

I removed the flapper check valves in the rear myself when I installed the hitch. There didn't appear to be anything clogging the pipe (but I didn't snake it out)



In a huge rain recently water came in and stained the rear headliner in the rear, so "remove the flapper" isn't a panacea by any means.

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Yeah, that mostly describes my experience. When I removed the rear valves, there was some dirt at the tube end but it was far from blocked. I did a visual drainage check after valve removal and it appeared to be adequate. I then snaked the hose and repeated the drainage test. Way better flow. I have no idea where the restriction would have been.

That seemed to be consistent with the original symptoms: No rear headliner stains after normal rainfall rates, but stains would appear after a major deluge.

Since valve removal and clean out, no further stains (2 or 3 heavy rains during this period).

RIP TDI said:

Yeah, that mostly describes my experience. When I removed the rear valves, there was some dirt at the tube end but it was far from blocked. I did a visual drainage check after valve removal and it appeared to be adequate. I then snaked the hose and repeated the drainage test. Way better flow. I have no idea where the restriction would have been.

That seemed to be consistent with the original symptoms: No rear headliner stains after normal rainfall rates, but stains would appear after a major deluge.

Since valve removal and clean out, no further stains (2 or 3 heavy rains during this period).

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Sweet. That is encouraging. Did you snake from the bottom, or the top?

milktree said:

Sweet. That is encouraging. Did you snake from the bottom, or the top?

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From the bottom up.

RIP TDI said:

From the bottom up.

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How long a piece of speedo cable do you need?

milktree said:

How long a piece of speedo cable do you need?

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The kits are typically 6 ft., which I think is what mine is. More than enough length.

You probably already know about the other reported causes of pano leakage: cracked plastic channel trays, improper protruding weld in the pano frame-to-body interface, and a liftgate issue among them. I hate to put this out there, but I would prepare yourself to find you have more than one issue going on. The drain ends are the low-hanging fruit, though, and the most likely culprit in most leakage scenarios, so...fingers crossed.

RIP TDI said:

You probably already know about the other reported causes of pano leakage: cracked plastic channel trays, improper protruding weld in the pano frame-to-body interface, and a liftgate issue among them. I hate to put this out there, but I would prepare yourself to find you have more than one issue going on. The drain ends are the low-hanging fruit, though, and the most likely culprit in most leakage scenarios, so...fingers crossed.

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Ugh...


I saw no evidence of leakage when I bought the car in December, with 71k miles on it. It came from someone in New York (before VW bought it back) so it's not like it was an Arizona car or anything.



I really hope the spring pollen just clogged up the tubes..


I don't suppose there's an omnibus "why does my roof leak" thread somewhere that documents these things in a tight, concise format, is there?

milktree said:

I don't suppose there's an omnibus "why does my roof leak" thread somewhere that documents these things in a tight, concise format, is there?

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Not when I looked a couple of years ago, but golfmk7.com had a few separate threads on some of the issues on both hatch and GSW (which had different issues between them).