GSW water leak

nikdfish · Apr 5, 2017

Last week, after driving a while in the rain, when we opened the rear hatch we saw water running down the passenger side rear-most pillar area (by the hatch) shortly after noticing a piece of paper in the well on that side had gotten wet.

We checked the headliner & saw a wet spot from the door rear pillar to the hatch extending a third of the way across. Later, looking closer at the headliner it was clear this was not the first incident, as there were multiple water stains across the rear portion.

Took it in to the dealer Monday and they put me in a loaner til they got things fixed. Turns out they had to drop the headliner to find the source of the leak, a "glued" connection to a drain tube had failed. In addition to fixing that issue, it turned out the the headliner could not be adequately cleaned, so they had to order a replacement. I should be able to pick it up Friday (might have been ready Thursday, but I'm traveling). Fingers crossed that this was the only leak source, but only time will tell.

Nick

viking427 · Apr 6, 2017

That glued drain tube problem is a well known issue on the mk5/6/7 Golf and Jettas. You'd think vw would have figured it out by now.

nikdfish · May 13, 2017

Well, the leak reappeared at apparently the same location. Back in the shop for a second go-round.

This is what I found the day following a night with heavy rain when I opened the hatch. The headliner was damp to the touch in the same spot as last time, but no stain (yet).

Nick

2010golf · May 13, 2017

My mk6 golf leaked at similar location and it was a loose-leaky antenna. I had to pull the headliner while it was raining to find it.

giuseppe_b · May 15, 2017

Does it only happen in heavy rain?

I am about to purchase a 2015 that has been sitting unused for two years so it should be evident that it has the leak or not. Or do they develop as the car is driven and things start to loosen up over time?

volksjaeger · May 15, 2017

is this problem related to the sunroof? or do cars without the sunroof have the same issue?

cane929 · May 15, 2017

Mostly sunroof, if you are looking at an SE or SEL always always check the headliner towards the back, i can;r even remember the number of wagons I saw that had stains in the headliners.

Mr_robs · May 15, 2017

Non sunroof here. Only had my car washed once.

Picked it up last week after tint. Opened the liftgate and heard a rush of water pour out and noticed this massive stain on my headliner. Guess i'll be calling the dealer too.

Yawiney · May 15, 2017

Mr_robs said:
Non sunroof here. Only had my car washed once.

Picked it up last week after tint. Opened the liftgate and heard a rush of water pour out and noticed this massive stain on my headliner. Guess i'll be calling the dealer too.

Where did you get yours?

I'm looking at 2 in the Bay Area tomorrow. Both S models.
Maybe i should ask to run a hose on the top for 10 min. and check it before buying?

Mr_robs · May 16, 2017

Bought mine at sunnyvale VW. My friend bought one off the same lot a week later. I dont think dealer matters, if it happens get it warrantied.

RIP TDI · May 16, 2017

Another SR leak

giuseppe_b · May 19, 2017

On the SE I am looking at is at a dealer 4 hrs south of me in El Paso. He said he was going to put it in the wash bay or use a pressure washer on the roof to see if he could find a leak. He did this today and said he did not see any leaks. Should I specify locations such as footwells and rear area shown in the pics above?

nikdfish · May 26, 2017

Finally got word that they are about done (still reassembling). Sounds like there was a combination of drain & antenna seal issues. They had to re-order a seal gasket after the first one arrived with a crimp across it. Should get the full story when I pick it up later today ... this trip was heading into week three between finding & fixing.

Nick

nikdfish · May 26, 2017

Correction to above - not the antenna seal, it was the sunroof frame gasket. The original was deformed by a weld interfering. They ground the weld flat & replaced the gasket. Another drain tube had to be replaced because it had been deformed by the original bad sunroof seal. Apparently there is a tech memo out on the sunroof frame issue, it was referenced in the paperwork (i.e. work done "per tech memo").

Only negative, other than the wait, is the obnoxious "air freshener" someone in the body shop applied (to the headliner?). Svc manager said that they would arrange have a third party "fog" for odors (ozone treatment?) if it didn't go away in a couple of days.

Anyway, glad to be back in my GSW!

Nick

Mr_robs · Jun 26, 2017

So update.

They found the leaks and this is what they did/replaced.

Re sealed liftgate glass
Replaced headliner (due to stains)
Replaced 3rd brakelight assembly
Replaced drivers body side tail lamp (water inside)

Now onto my experience and why im not pleased lol.

Wait time was fine, took about 10 days, parts took a while but i was in a loaner the whole time, no biggy. Good communication from my advisor the whole time.

Pick up the car, first thing i notice when i open my door, the headliner and A pillar trim are hanging down past the main seal. Ok....how did no one who moved this car let alone the tech working on this not see that? Called over my advisor before i drove off. Go to check the back of the car, noticed one of the side panels is half installed. So a tech comes over, takes the car and re seats both of those things.

Get home later that day after running errands and i notice the tail light they replaced is still completely wet inside. Now i start going over the car with a closer eye because apparently the tech who worked on it just didnt care. Upper trim that finishes the back of the headliner is not clipped in properly. I take a closer look before i clip it in and notice the part that anchors it is damaged (an adjoining trim piece).

Check out my rear glass to make sure the brake light is good. Oh? When it was removed the black outer edge of the glass has a nice half inch scratch in it. Sweet.

Getting my backpack out of my hatch saturday morning for work. Rear dome light isn't even plugged in. Thanks VW great service.

Called service advisor, let him know. He was embarrassed, said they will make it right but clearly the tech who worked on my car doesnt give a ****. I didnt even mention to him all the foam and debris they left all over my center console after doing the work.

Does no one take pride in their job anymore?

bmwM5power · Jun 27, 2017

Mr_robs said:
So update.

They found the leaks and this is what they did/replaced.

Re sealed liftgate glass
Replaced headliner (due to stains)
Replaced 3rd brakelight assembly
Replaced drivers body side tail lamp (water inside)

Now onto my experience and why im not pleased lol.

Wait time was fine, took about 10 days, parts took a while but i was in a loaner the whole time, no biggy. Good communication from my advisor the whole time.

Pick up the car, first thing i notice when i open my door, the headliner and A pillar trim are hanging down past the main seal. Ok....how did no one who moved this car let alone the tech working on this not see that? Called over my advisor before i drove off. Go to check the back of the car, noticed one of the side panels is half installed. So a tech comes over, takes the car and re seats both of those things.

Get home later that day after running errands and i notice the tail light they replaced is still completely wet inside. Now i start going over the car with a closer eye because apparently the tech who worked on it just didnt care. Upper trim that finishes the back of the headliner is not clipped in properly. I take a closer look before i clip it in and notice the part that anchors it is damaged (an adjoining trim piece).

Check out my rear glass to make sure the brake light is good. Oh? When it was removed the black outer edge of the glass has a nice half inch scratch in it. Sweet.

Getting my backpack out of my hatch saturday morning for work. Rear dome light isn't even plugged in. Thanks VW great service.

Called service advisor, let him know. He was embarrassed, said they will make it right but clearly the tech who worked on my car doesnt give a ****. I didnt even mention to him all the foam and debris they left all over my center console after doing the work.

Does no one take pride in their job anymore?

this is exactly why I dont go to the dealers anymore, and if you try to point these things out to them every time they mess up they think you have something wrong with you, too demanding or too anal

showdown 42 · Jun 27, 2017

This should be an embarrassment ,but I suspect they don't care. This water problem with these cars is a design defect that VW refuses to change. My 09 JSW had same issues with leaks,so it goes back yrs,. How does this not be fixed at the production level? UGH.

740GLE · Jun 27, 2017

BTW there are a slew of leaks reported on Alltracks, even with a couple bought back, this is from the facebook group.

Guess even after this many years, nothing can be perfected.

knock on wood ours is holding up well.

krebsy75 · Jun 28, 2017

That tech should be fired. If he doesn't like flat-rate work, he should consider another career.

Colville · Aug 6, 2017

Mr Robs… Thats a shame to hear that, i've dealt with issues like that many times from crappy dealerships, we live in Columbia SC and drive to South Charlotte NC to their dealership just because the ones around here do not do good work in my opinion. Was the dealership a VW only dealer or one of those mazda/vw type places? I've found better luck with the VW exclusive dealers.

I have this same issue with my '15 GSW at the moment…

Water leaking in the same areas as described and staining to the headliner… Dropping off the car this week coming up for a fix and getting the VW flash fix while its there, they are lining me up a loaner at the moment. I will update you all on the fix and how it goes, the dealer knows how particular I am so I hope they will give it to their best tech. Looking forward to getting the leak fixed and the Dieselgate stuff done so I can put my Kerma tune back on and be good to go!

RIP TDI · Aug 8, 2017

nikdfish said:
Correction to above - not the antenna seal, it was the sunroof frame gasket. The original was deformed by a weld interfering. They ground the weld flat & replaced the gasket. Another drain tube had to be replaced because it had been deformed by the original bad sunroof seal. Apparently there is a tech memo out on the sunroof frame issue, it was referenced in the paperwork (i.e. work done "per tech memo").

I PM'd Nick about the Technical Service Bulletin number for the sunroof frame gasket leak issue and got no response. Does anyone else have any info on this TSB?

GSW water leak

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