Leaking sunroof drain

Sunroof drain issues with VW have been going on for years. I had the problem with my 2000 beelte and still have it with the 03 passat. Lots of threads on here and VW vortex to show that it is not just one or two cars from the Pacific Northwest or Florida during hurricane season. In addition to the trimmer string, I blow mine clear with cans of compressed air. The overall pressure is not too much to blow the drain tubes off and it is really surprising how much water will be pushed out.

BTW, I have not had any issues with the sunroof on the Golf. My JSW doesn't have the pano roof because I thought it would be too hot for the NC summers.

redbarron55 said:

If the tubes are made in the same manner then the problem still exists.
It is an easy fix when done through normal product development processes.
Affix the tube all the way around. Then the water will not leak out there!
Two heat welded points on either side of the tube to the socket does not work well and lots of people have problems with them.
If they were done correctly then this post would not be here.
Probably the Jetta and the Passat have tubes made by the same supplier on the same production lines to the same defective standards and give the same poor results.
As to statistics on my 2009 JSW all four have leaked the same way so they are 100% defective.

Click to expand...

Your car, your issue. Sucks to be you.

Regards

If you feel better about yourself and the few years you have had your Passat by denying obvious porblems the good for you.
I hope you don't get surprised with the wet dog smell from the wet carpets if you have a sunroof. But then you would have to wait for the thaw to find out.
I wish you were right about VW quality! By the way, do you happen to work for VW? You seem to always take up for their lapses in quality an integrety and belittle the poor consumer who has problems.
I would think that it really suck to be you!
Does the sand you have your head in get in your eyes and keep you from seeing the facts reported by owners with experience? Or did all of those Chyrslers warp your sense of what quality means?

redbarron55 said:

If you feel better about yourself and the few years you have had your Passat by denying obvious porblems the good for you.
I hope you don't get surprised with the wet dog smell from the wet carpets if you have a sunroof. But then you would have to wait for the thaw to find out.
I wish you were right about VW quality! By the way, do you happen to work for VW? You seem to always take up for their lapses in quality an integrety and belittle the poor consumer who has problems.
I would think that it really suck to be you!
Does the sand you have your head in get in your eyes and keep you from seeing the facts reported by owners with experience? Or did all of those Chyrslers warp your sense of what quality means?

Click to expand...

those who complain about Chrysler have probably never had the privilege of owning a Daewoo
also, VW's in our experience have always had decent customer support- at least better than any American car make- then again, that isn't saying much... it can at times still leave a lot to be desired!

redbarron55 said:

If you feel better about yourself and the few years you have had your Passat by denying obvious porblems the good for you.
I hope you don't get surprised with the wet dog smell from the wet carpets if you have a sunroof. But then you would have to wait for the thaw to find out.
I wish you were right about VW quality! By the way, do you happen to work for VW? You seem to always take up for their lapses in quality an integrety and belittle the poor consumer who has problems.
I would think that it really suck to be you!
Does the sand you have your head in get in your eyes and keep you from seeing the facts reported by owners with experience? Or did all of those Chyrslers warp your sense of what quality means?

Click to expand...

If I work for VW, I wish they didn't send me to places where people are trying to blow me up in my tank.

You have your experiences in your Jetta and everything is wrong.

I have had a pleasant experience so far in good ol' Canuckistan with good service from VW and my local dealer. If service is that bad in the US, sounds like a you problem.

As for Chrysler, they can EAD straight up.

Regards

Not everything is wrong.
Just:
Sunroof leaking - Drain attachment to tubes.
VNT Controller (Turbo)
Lower Control Arm Bushings
tail gate latch
A/C compressor
Fuel Door
(Possible HPFP failure Installed 2 Micron kit)
three door latches.
Lovely car to drive, not so much working on things that should be bullet proof by now on a highway (mostly) car.
In one way the car works pretty good foe 183,000 miles.
In another the wear and tear for things that should have been sorted out by now like the A/C compressor RCV, door (lift gate) latches, and drain tubes any competent company should have addressed these issues and solved them.
With the VW the problem is the high cost of routine maintenance and the irritating quality problems of the ancillary parts alike the latches which instead of using better metal parts inside where plastic parts broke went to even more plastic crap instead. I suspect these new parts to hold up worse than the original.
For a car that wants to bill itself as a long life transportation solution the small things fall short of (at least my) expectation.
The big things like the HPFP perhaps also leave much to be desired. A failing pump can be expected if you drive long enough, but trashing the entire fuel system when it happens is a little too much. Hence $500 to add the 2 Micron solution.
Comparing the operating cost with other alternatives leaves the VW as a questionable solution. A choice I made, but would not do again.
Great car to drive if it is working and you can close the doors and put fuel in and have A/C in the summer with an running engine and a steering wheel that does not vibrate and put your hands to sleep.

whew, I finally got everything back together, kind of a *****, the a pillar has this tab, you need a long stick to poke it into its slot. all the fog has disappeared and the floor is dry. I also nearly damaged the wires to the lighted mirror, it got pinched, but I caught it before damaging it.

Lots-O-fun.
According to Nebelwerfer there is no problem with these drains.
So what did you find on the tubes?
When I got to where I could see mine I poured water into the drain scupper and watched as the water leaked out around the tube to connector junction.

Again, Jetta issues, only a couple Passats.

You guys do realize that you are posting in the NMS Passat threads right and pretty much everyone here has only that make of car.....right?

Vaunted VW quality.
Please do not complain, it irritates the ones who drank the cool aid.
1. It is a very low percentage,
2. This problem has been fixed and on problems exist.
3. You broke it yourself.
4. You did not follow the maintenance schedule that calls for replacement every 1250 miles, less in severe duty.
5. That problem is only on cars made in Mexico.
6. You have a bad attitude since this one part gave minor problems due to your poor maintenance.
7. This is to limit the noise made by the fan since in high it is very powerful (From the 2009 owners DVD).
8. You should have cleaned the part weekly.
9. This problem has been fixed for years and you installed a previous version whatsit.
10. You don't understand German quality and don't deserve a VW.

Hilarious. I am often amused by some of the statements of the TRUE BELIEVERS here.
They seem to overlook serious issues that would be unacceptable in any other situation
but because it's VW it's a minor annoyance if not your own fault outright.
My current favorite is their helpful suggestion that one should crawl under their car
on a regular basis to remove their intercooler hoses and drain them out. Oh sure...
no problem. But it's your fault anyway because "you don't know how to drive the car properly." Really?

Permanent Fix

To fix this issue permanently, purchase the proper vacuum fitting at Napa and put it between the A-Pillar tube and the rubber firewall fitting. Wire tie at both ends to prevent it from having the same fate as the factory design. This should last the life time of the car. The passenger side looked fine on mine - properly seated due to it's straight run thus not fixing what isn't broke. The drivers side is a different story - the A-Pillar tube is supposed to fit, at an extreme angle, into a rubber firewall fitting. VW should know better and understand this design is poor - it simply won't hold for long durations. During assembly a bump from mounting the dash, wiring and/or other necessary components can cause this connection to become dislodged resulting in a wonderful waterfall effect within the interior. Everyone with this model of Passat should check the tubing on the drivers side - simply twist, to the interior of the car, the top of the small panel between the door seal and fuse cover. It removes from the upper panel very easy - lift it up out of the bottom most portion of the interior plastic panel and inspect the connection. Poor a little water on the roof and watch for any water leaks at the junction. - make sure the car is semi-pointed down hill so that the water will run down the front drains and not that rear.

-Chris

Only a couple Ford Explorers with firestone tires lost their tread so there wasn't really a problem.