Sunroof Leak Repair

Nickmk7

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Location
SoCal
TDI
Mk7.5 GTI SE DSG 2002 Jetta TDI GLS M/T
I have a cpo golf that had a minor leak inside the front right interior visor that stained the headliner. I dropped it off to get it looked at and turns out they have to send it to a body shop to replace most of the gray interior trim including the headliner, sunroof frame that is epoxied to the frame, the glass in front of the sunroof and the windshield. Body shop mentioned several times how it was a very difficult repair and how they have to have a 3rd party glass company come in and remove the windshield and front trim. I'm worried that a few years down the road not only will it never look oem it will probably have major issues. The body shop doing the work is a reputable shop that offers a ''Lifetime'' warranty. I went and looked at the car today and it is scary looking. If anyone has been in the same situation as me let me know. I'll post the service documents once they finish...already been 3 weeks. Couple questions too:

-Who replaces/pays for the clear tint installed on my old windshield.?
-What problems do I look for when I get the car back?
 
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RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
-Who replaces/pays for the clear tint installed on my old windshield.?
Nobody will cover it since its not legal in CA.
-What problems do I look for when I get the car back?
Look for the exact same symptoms in the same and perhaps different locations. Mk.7 sunroof frame seal repairs have proved to be hit or miss. Also, ask the shop if they removed the orange check valves on the ends of the 4 drain tubes. If not, have them do it or do it yourself.
 

Mrrogers1

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2006
Location
Omaha NEEEBRASKA
TDI
2011 Golf TDI 6MT, 2011 Jetta TDI DSG, 2015 Golf Sportwagen S TDI DSG
I have a cpo golf that had a minor leak inside the front right interior visor that stained the headliner. I dropped it off to get it looked at and turns out they have to send it to a body shop to replace most of the gray interior trim including the headliner, sunroof frame that is epoxied to the frame, the glass in front of the sunroof and the windshield. Body shop mentioned several times how it was a very difficult repair and how they have to have a 3rd party glass company come in and remove the windshield and front trim. I'm worried that a few years down the road not only will it never look oem it will probably have major issues. The body shop doing the work is a reputable shop that offers a ''Lifetime'' warranty. I went and looked at the car today and it is scary looking. If anyone has been in the same situation as me let me know. I'll post the service documents once they finish...already been 3 weeks. Couple questions too:

-Who replaces/pays for the clear tint installed on my old windshield.?
-What problems do I look for when I get the car back?
What is clear tint and why is it on your windshield? :confused: I have heard of tinted windshields but not quite sure of why one would use clear. Typically 54-35% smoked is what I have seen over the years.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
Its probably 85%; a common solution for front windows in CA where any front tint is illegal.
 

AGOODHI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Location
NorCal
TDI
MKVII GSW, MKVI Golf
I have a cpo golf that had a minor leak inside the front right interior visor that stained the headliner. I dropped it off to get it looked at and turns out they have to send it to a body shop to replace most of the gray interior trim including the headliner, sunroof frame that is epoxied to the frame, the glass in front of the sunroof and the windshield. Body shop mentioned several times how it was a very difficult repair and how they have to have a 3rd party glass company come in and remove the windshield and front trim. I'm worried that a few years down the road not only will it never look oem it will probably have major issues. The body shop doing the work is a reputable shop that offers a ''Lifetime'' warranty. I went and looked at the car today and it is scary looking. If anyone has been in the same situation as me let me know. I'll post the service documents once they finish...already been 3 weeks. Couple questions too:

-Who replaces/pays for the clear tint installed on my old windshield.?
-What problems do I look for when I get the car back?
What a nightmare? Previously exploding HPFP (mk6), and now this???? I gotta at least remove my check valves.
 

Nickmk7

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Location
SoCal
TDI
Mk7.5 GTI SE DSG 2002 Jetta TDI GLS M/T
What is clear tint and why is it on your windshield? :confused: I have heard of tinted windshields but not quite sure of why one would use clear. Typically 54-35% smoked is what I have seen over the years.
It's nearly 100% transparent to your naked eye, on the windshield it helps keep the interior from fading as well as cutting down on heat, headlights and sunlight. Does not affect visibility whatsoever. VLT of the film is around 80%
 

Nickmk7

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Location
SoCal
TDI
Mk7.5 GTI SE DSG 2002 Jetta TDI GLS M/T
Where is the leak originating from? Was there accident/damage that was the root cause of seals failing?
When I got the car I noticed a little stain in near the upper right visor. We got some heavy rains in CA and the stain got larger, I did some research and noticed the plastic gutter in between the drains had stress cracks. I took it in for that to be fixed with the service bulletin calling for adhesive patches. Now here I am, I was told the frame had cracked, who knows anymore.
 

showdown 42

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Location
naples,FL
TDI
2016 TDI touareg
Not legal in CA because it could cause cancer! Everything in CA is cancer causing including fishing lures.
 

Mrrogers1

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2006
Location
Omaha NEEEBRASKA
TDI
2011 Golf TDI 6MT, 2011 Jetta TDI DSG, 2015 Golf Sportwagen S TDI DSG
It's nearly 100% transparent to your naked eye, on the windshield it helps keep the interior from fading as well as cutting down on heat, headlights and sunlight. Does not affect visibility whatsoever. VLT of the film is around 80%
Ah ha! The UV protection, that makes sense.

Sorry to derail, hope you are able to get it fixed, it's one of the reasons I got an S with no sunroof. The leaks and their reluctance to fix have been going on since we were introduced to the JSW back in 2009. :(
 

Datalore

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Location
Cincinnati,OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI- SOLD, 2000 VW Beetle ALH- SOLD, 2015 Golf Sportwagen SE DSG
My 15 GSW is going in for the 2nd time in 5 months of ownership for the 2nd part of the sunroof fix.

The first attempt was to grind down the pinch welds and replace the sunroof gasket. That included a new headliner as mine was stained. That took just about a week.

It is going in tomorrow due to the sunroof rattling when it is open and a new stain on my new headliner as well as down the driver side A-pillar. This will be new gaskets, sunroof glass, frame, regulator, and headliner. I'm not sure if the sunroof motor is built into the frame, however the service advisor said it was a $3,500+ job.

I really don't care as long as I am getting a loaner and they fix it properly before my CPO warranty is up. If they try to tell you that water stains on the headliner aren't covered... THEY ARE!

Good luck to those with the same issues.
 

Nickmk7

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Location
SoCal
TDI
Mk7.5 GTI SE DSG 2002 Jetta TDI GLS M/T
Day 27 without the car, the body shop told the service advisor they were having trouble installing the grab handles and they need more time to order more as they broke several. Just hit 1400 miles in the loaner Jetta. Not happy
 

sportwagen3

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2017
Location
MD
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI SE
Day 27 without the car, the body shop told the service advisor they were having trouble installing the grab handles and they need more time to order more as they broke several. Just hit 1400 miles in the loaner Jetta. Not happy
I've been having sunroof leak issues for over 2 years. It's been to the dealer a handful of times. Each time they performed a repair (sometimes based on the TSB), the leak was never fully fixed. The leaks have taken longer to take, but the sunroof still leaks during heavy rains. I don't think VW honestly has a solution to this. I've opened a case with VW corporate. You can DM them through Twitter @vwcares to open a case.
 
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Datalore

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Location
Cincinnati,OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI- SOLD, 2000 VW Beetle ALH- SOLD, 2015 Golf Sportwagen SE DSG
Just as an update to my prior post: My sportwagen has been at the VW dealer for almost 5 weeks now. I have had a loaner Jetta that hit 5,000 miles so I had to return it for a loaner Tiguan (BTW, what AWFUL fuel economy out of the 2.0t). The service advisor told me they had replaced the frame and headliner, only to have it leak both times. That makes it 3 replacement attempts on my car.

I was told a regional VW guy is coming in this week to figure out the next step. At this point I have no idea what to expect. Has anyone heard of VW buying cars back or swapping for like kind and quality? I don't mind having a brand new loaner car, but I'm starting to miss the diesel and DSG...
 

Datalore

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Location
Cincinnati,OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI- SOLD, 2000 VW Beetle ALH- SOLD, 2015 Golf Sportwagen SE DSG
Honestly, I'm not sure since it isn't an original factory warranty. I'm going to do some reading tonight and see if I can't pinpoint an answer on that.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
IMO this is one of the reasons VWoA won't be offering a wagon in NA come 2020 :(

2018 and 2019 are plagued by leaking roofs as well.
 

adjat84th

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
TDI
'01 Jetta TDI/'15 Golf TDI
Maybe I'm just lucky. My '01 with 308k miles and '15 with 82k miles are both leak free and have never leaked. I will now go and find some wood to knock on!
 
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