Rust on Jetta wagon trunk and falling headliner

Hello All,

Since the vehicle was purchased (new), I have noticed that there are two weld points that are protuding as shown by the red arrows in the picture below:


note: I will be getting actual pictures soon.

Now, the areas have bubbled and cracked, forming some rust. Does anyone else have these weld points? I understand that VW's warranty only covers perforations, but I suspect this may be a manufacturing defect. I haven't seen any other wagons with these weld points and the vehicle was never in a collision.

Also, the plastic headliner just below the brake light show by the green circle has been to sag. Does anyone have a fix?

Thanks!

Ok, I now have the pictures. The wagon is pretty dirty right now, but this will have to do. You can see how rust is forming on the right side.

As you can see by the last shot into the corner, this rust didn't start at the edge, it started down inside and is bubbling out under the paint. It isn't going to be fun getting this fixed, and I don't know what to recommend as the best way to fix it. Anybody help here?

I just discovered a similar problem with a 2003 wagon I'm thinking of buying from a family member -- though the rust (so far) appears to be only on the liftgate and not the body.

It's exactly the same problem as the last photo in the above series. The rust is appearing around the weld seams. The car has never been in a collision. The rest of the car is spectacularly clean, in fact. Probably a mfg defect.

An Update:

April 16 – I found another TDI member that had a similar problem, although in a different location. Tsagoth managed to get VW to replace the hatch. I’ve tried to contact him, but haven’t heard anything back yet.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=228283

April 17 – I talked to the service manager who asked me to get a quote from their “go to” collision repair centre. The manager at the centre said that the rust originated under the paint and the hatch would need to be replaced.

April 20 – The information was submitted to VWoC for review.

I will be contacting VW tomorrow to see how things are coming along.

Squeeze _cheese - I have also taken pictures of several other 2003 and 2004-2006 TDI Jetta wagons and none of them have the welds. To me, this is a strange and obvious manufacturing error. I’m surprised it wasn’t caught by the QC department. Hopefully it will get it sorted out soon. If I can get a letter from VWoC, I will send it to you to help you with you or your family member’s claim.

Same problem here. Am debating about getting fixed with other body work at the same time.

Progress (updated):

April 16 – I found another TDI member that had a similar problem, although in a different location. Tsagoth managed to get VW to replace the hatch. I’ve tried to contact him, but haven’t heard anything back yet.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=228283

April 17 – I talked to the service manager who asked me to get a quote from their “go to” collision repair centre. The manager at the centre said that the rust originated under the paint and the hatch would need to be replaced.

April 20 – The information was submitted to VWoC for review.

April 24 - The service manager asked me to bring in the car so the VWoC representative could look at it.

April 29 - Tsagoth responded with the following details (Thanks!)

- "Mine wasn't quite like yours. In my case the bubbles formed along the inside edge where it changes from the thick part to the thinner leading edge. No actual rust, but many large bubbles on both sides. There were no bubbles on the exterior of the hatch."
- Dealer was Yorkdale VW and repair done by Florida Garage, who mentioned the hatch issues were common.
- It took 5 business days for the repair.
- Rental car was not offered because it was a "goodwill" warranty

May 6 - The hatch has been approved for replacement under warranty!

The update is appreciated! My folks have had their hatch photographed by the VW dealer and VW of Canada is assessing the claim.

Also, he mentioned that the hatch would be replaced like Tsagoth, not repaired as I had mentioned above. Once I get the hatch replaced, I will post up all the details, including the name of the dealer, repair location, and VWoC representative.

So far, everything has gone very well although a bit slow.

I had my rear trunk lid replaced under rust warranty last Octobre via VW. There's photos of the work somewhere around the site, either in the "what did I do to my car today" or elsewhere.... here it is

My folks' Jetta is getting a new liftgate this week, replaced on warranty for this same issue.

squeeze_cheese said:

My folks' Jetta is getting a new liftgate this week, replaced on warranty for this same issue.

Click to expand...

Mag Chloride? Does your area use that instead of sand in the winter months?

With me it's also salty air.

Sodium Chloride. Around these parts, that's what they like to use -- there are mountains of it down in the port each fall.

I don't know if this issue is related to road salt or not, however. The corrosion started in an odd place inside the liftgate, along a welded seam.

UPDATE and CAVEAT

Yesterday, my folks' Jetta wagon came back from having the rusting liftgate "replaced under warranty."

It's the same old liftgate -- it looks like all they did was grind away the rust bubbles and repaint. Not exactly a "fix", considering the rust came from underneath. There's still masking tape residue all over the place.

Even worse, the new paint is flaking off the weld seam, exposing the metal.

The Autohaus will have some 'splaining to do.

squeeze_cheese said:

UPDATE and CAVEAT

Even worse, the new paint is flaking off the weld seam, exposing the metal.

The Autohaus will have some 'splaining to do.

Click to expand...

This was incorrectly repaired. You have to certify that it's documented as such and call Volkswagen on the outcome of the repair.

It's called a batch job.

What may have transpired is your dealership charged VW warranty work for "replacement" on the trunk. That means a new trunk etc ...and instead they just touched up your old rusted one. Make certain that the warranty work is clearly outlined on the invoice [re:reworked rust on original trunk lid and not replaced trunk lid with a new one].

In one season, maybe sooner the rust will be back. That's certifiable.

BrianCT

BrianCT said:

This was incorrectly repaired. You have to certify that it's documented as such and call Volkswagen on the outcome of the repair.

It's called a batch job.

What may have transpired is your dealership charged VW warranty work for "replacement" on the trunk. That means a new trunk etc ...and instead they just touched up your old rusted one. Make certain that the warranty work is clearly outlined on the invoice [re:reworked rust on original trunk lid and not replaced trunk lid with a new one].

In one season, maybe sooner the rust will be back. That's certifiable.

BrianCT

Click to expand...

I agree. The body shop said that on occasion they can sand it down and paint over it, but most cases require a full replacement of the metal shell. That is what he is doing in our case. If the paint is already flaking, that is completely unacceptable. I hope things work out. Anyway, I have another update below.

Progress (updated):

April 16 – I found another TDI member that had a similar problem, although in a different location. Tsagoth managed to get VW to replace the hatch. I’ve tried to contact him, but haven’t heard anything back yet.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=228283

April 17 – I talked to the service manager who asked me to get a quote from their “go to” collision repair centre. The manager at the centre said that the rust originated under the paint and the hatch would need to be replaced.

April 20 – The information was submitted to VWoC for review.

April 24 - The service manager asked me to bring in the car so the VWoC representative could look at it.

April 29 - Tsagoth responded with the following details (Thanks!)

- "Mine wasn't quite like yours. In my case the bubbles formed along the inside edge where it changes from the thick part to the thinner leading edge. No actual rust, but many large bubbles on both sides. There were no bubbles on the exterior of the hatch."
- Dealer was Yorkdale VW and repair done by Florida Garage, who mentioned the hatch issues were common.
- It took 5 business days for the repair.
- Rental car was not offered because it was a "goodwill" warranty

May 6 - A VWoC representative called to let me know the hatch has been approved for replacement under warranty!

May 8 - I checked with the service manager to see when I could bring the car into the body shop and she mentioned that only a repair and not a replacement would be done. After a chat with VWoC and with the body shop, I was told that sometimes they can do a repair, but in this case the metal shell would be replaced. Unfortunately, a rental car was not offered so we will have to do without a car for the week of the repair.

May 26 - I brought the car to the body shop and was told it will likely be done on May 29. The owner is very particular about his work (which I believe since there was a F430 and several 911 Turbos there). If it does not meet his standards, it may take until June 1.

I will take pictures and upload them shortly after I receive the car. I will also post the details of the dealer and body shop.

Progress (final update):

April 16 – I found another TDI member that had a similar problem, although in a different location. Tsagoth managed to get VW to replace the hatch. I’ve tried to contact him, but haven’t heard anything back yet.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=228283

April 17 – I talked to the service manager who asked me to get a quote from their “go to” collision repair centre. The manager at the centre said that the rust originated under the paint and the hatch would need to be replaced.

April 20 – The information was submitted to VWoC for review.

April 24 - The service manager asked me to bring in the car so the VWoC representative could look at it.

April 29 - Tsagoth responded with the following details (Thanks!)

- "Mine wasn't quite like yours. In my case the bubbles formed along the inside edge where it changes from the thick part to the thinner leading edge. No actual rust, but many large bubbles on both sides. There were no bubbles on the exterior of the hatch."
- Dealer was Yorkdale VW and repair done by Florida Garage, who mentioned the hatch issues were common.
- It took 5 business days for the repair.
- Rental car was not offered because it was a "goodwill" warranty

May 6 - A VWoC representative called to let me know the hatch has been approved for replacement under warranty!

May 8 - I checked with the service manager to see when I could bring the car into the body shop and she mentioned that only a repair and not a replacement would be done. After a chat with VWoC and with the body shop, I was told that sometimes they can do a repair, but in this case the metal shell would be replaced. Unfortunately, a rental car was not offered so we will have to do without a car for the week of the repair.

May 26 - I brought the car to the body shop and was told it will likely be done on May 29. The owner is very particular about his work (which I believe since there was a F430 and several 911 Turbos there). If it does not meet his standards, it may take until June 1.

June 1 - The car ended up taking until yesterday (Monday) to complete. Just like Tsagoth, it took 5 business days to complete the replacement. Unfortunately, I had to rent a vehicle for the weekend at a cost of $90CAD. I felt that should have been covered by VW, but they won't budge.

When I first saw the car, I was very impressed with how things turned out. From the outside, the trunk/hatch looked absolutely new. The owner really took pride in his work and it showed.

Positives
- Paint quality and color is absolutely perfect. I did a very thorough examination in two different types of light and from different angles.
- They fixed the headliner at the same time.
- Only OEM parts were used. A new latch and emblem, were installed. The emblem was perfectly straight.
- They even washed the exterior, floor mats, and sprayed the tires!

Minor Negatives (You'll always find some problems if you look hard enough, and I had to look pretty hard)
- The top of the trunk is no longer level with the roof of the car. It seems to be lower by a couple millimeters.
- The emblems are about an inch too high and an inch too far to the middle.

Overall, I’m very happy with the work done. I am still worried about rust forming there because it still looks like a design flaw. If someone doesn’t mind, can you take a picture of the inside corner (like the third picture below)? I’d like to know if there should be a hole there for drainage or if I should fill it up with cavity wax. I’m almost certain it should there for drainage.

Also, below are the two people I spoke to. I was very pleased with the service and worksmanship provided by Loc at Cosmos.

Cosmos Collision – Loc Ngo, Owner
South Centre Fine Cars – Alice Barbier, Service Manager

I have included some pictures below. Sorry, but I took them on my cell phone this time. The last photo is there just to show what kind of work he normally does!

Blast from the past...how did the fix hold up?

reporting in with another jetta wagon with a rotted out hatch
leagues worse than anywhere else on the car

Thinking whatever alloy of deep draw steel they used for the specific part may have been less corrosion resistant