Panoramic Sunroof Leaking?

[jsun98294]

How do you clean the drains out on these? I was going to ask someone about this as I had seen it mentioned, figured I better figure out where they are and what to look for.

One thing you don't do is use COMPRESSED AIR as mentioned in first post If drain(s) are totally blocked even blowing air from discharge end could blow the tube off! I ran into someone at hardware store parking lot who happened to be VW mechanic form dealership.and we discussed many things ( I was kind of picking his brain) and one of the items was about the sunroof. He said if your drain is blocked and you put compressed to it you very likely will blow the drain tube off as they are only held in place by compression (not clamped at all). Best to use a skinny flexible wire like piano wire (or maybe guitar string)and gently push through from bottom to top after obstruction is out pour a little water down drain tube to test.
He told me the main issue with leaking sunroofs is the weld from over zealous welding causing obstruction right at the entry point to the drain tube. He said the fix is rather extensive and at their dealership they send cars out to have fixed which entails removing entire head liner ALL the pillar covers, grinding welds, repainting weld areas and re-installing everything. It sounded very involved. I park in garage at home and covered parking at work. If you have to park under trees or outdoors keep a close eye on those drains.
Oh, one more thing he said the discharge ends of tubes have a red marker (ring) or something on them and aren't too hard to find, he made it sound not difficult to find them. Probably can find that info online.

 

[Exaybachay]

I may be late to the punch here, but I bought a 2017 Alltrack in February, now have 4500 miles and after a big rainstorm a couple weeks ago noticed there was water in the rear lift gate. When I opened it, water came pouring out of one of the seams. I brought it in and they diagnosed it as a leaking sunroof. I was curious how water would get in at the sunroof and travel all the way back to the lift gate, but they said thats where the drain ends up. Hmm, so does it go through the electrical conduit? Still not sure exactly how it is getting in there but they are in the process of replacing the gasket and headliner. Sheesh.

 

[RobynNJ]

Not going to say it definitely isn't your sunroof leaking, but I had a similar problem with water getting in the tailgate of my MINI. It turned out not to be the sunroof drain (which was my first thought), but rather water getting into the tailgate through the seal around the rear wiper, which penetrates through the rear glass just as it does on the Alltrack.

 

[Arm&Hammer]

Well count me in for the sunroof leak.
My three month old 2017 Alltack SE which just turned 1500 miles started leaking. There is a stain on headliner on the front passenger side above the grab handle.

I usually park my car outside. We had rain on the east coast for about a week nonstop where the car sat without moving for the first couple of days, but no noticeable leak or stain. Then I drove it long distance in heavy rain for 3 days in a row. On the fourth day I noticed the stain. Good news is I got 31 mpg in mostly rush hour traffic and some highway use, bad news is the sunroof is definitely leaking since I have not even opened the sunroof in the past month. Seems like I did notice more than usual condensation on the inside of my car in March when it snowed and whenever it rained.

Build date on my car is April 2017. Now I'm worried if my car is included in the sunroof weld defect. Especially now that I recall when I initially bought the car I found left over screws in the passenger door pocket and an extra overhead grab handle bracket, I thought that got left over from the factory. Now I'm wondering if the dealership I bought it from replaced the headliner or messed with it. So much for VW quality! I guess I'm headed to the dealer for some warranty work.

 

[1.8Turbo4me]

Anyone have this issue with a 2018?

 

[Arm&Hammer]

I would encourage everyone who has has a sunroof leak to report it to NHTSA as a safety issue.
The safety issue for me is the windshield fogs up excessively, when it rains and can't see out the window(s) and front windshield clearly.
Reading about the problem it may be:
a bad weld that didn't allow a proper fit with the rubber gasket seal,
or kinked tubes,
or bad connectors that don't seal at the tube,
or clogged drains (not likely due to being a new car)
Either way if there is a high defect rate with our Alltacks, this is one of the ways NHTSA can keep track of it, and maybe VW will address the issue. But the way VW handles government inquiries probably nothing will happen.
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

 

[Arm&Hammer]

One more issue with my car at 1,800 miles. 3 of the 4 speakers stopped working intermittently, no matter what I did. Then I reset the radio options and turned the volume to max and the speakers came back. Not sure if it is related to the sunroof leaking but I am loosing confidence in my VW.

 

[theguywiththelongestname]

I ended up using California Lemon Law with my Alltrack. The leaking panoramic sunroof / headliner damage / multiple (lousy) repair visits ended up being the deal-breaker for me. I really wanted to like the Alltrack and enjoy it for a long time;however, having the car in the shop for almost 50 days before the 15K mark / first year of ownership was a real drag. I was able to get most of my money out of the deal and I am now in a diesel RAM 2500 truck.

 

[patrrob]

Anyone have this issue with a 2018?

Just got a bran new 2018 Alltrack 2 days ago. Its been raining for half a day and my ceiling is full of water and discoloration on the front passenger side coming from the pano roof. Very upsetting as I got rid of my 2013 Subaru Crosstrek that was breaking down too often. I took a chance with this car and hope that I will not regret it. So far, not too happy. It does not seem that they have fixed the pano roof leaking on the 2018 model also.

 

[Sailby2]

Parked my 2017 SEL outside for a month and guess what I found? Water stains on the headliner around the tailgate and rags I store in the passenger rear well in the trunk that were soaking wet. Guess it's another thing that is really making it hard to like this car. I haven't taken it to the dealer yet. I'm not happy with their attempts to fix other problems the last time I took the car in. You'd think VW and the dealers would be bending over backwards to provide outstanding customer experiences but it seems they just don't get it.

 

[WolfsburgAlltrack]

I've had my car for over a year, with 24k miles on it without a single leak, seems like some cars are fine and then some cars get these bad welds. Or maybe its like a matter of time before my car gets it.
I remember with my mk6 Golf TDI that they had this issue with self exploding high pressure fuel pumps sending metal shrapnel into the fuel lines or the intercooler piping having ice/water in the charge pipes thus sucking in some water during winter. I never expereinced either of these but they were well documented on the forums too.

 

[mjhirshb]

Picked up a new 2017 alltrack SEL in late December. Sunroof began leaking in May. 2 week fix. At first VW was not going to cover under warranty until I demanded a buyback. Dealer basically said there is a manufacturing defect where the drain holes are too small and prone to clogging, but as of now no recall. They basically modified the sunroof drain plugs on mine to avoid future clogging. When I picked up the car (yesterday), the service guy who worked with me said last week they had another one come in for the same issue.

 

[Sailby2]

I took the car to the dealer today and long story short, they couldn't work on the car since they knew it would require more than a few hours and were out of loaner cars. Guess they couldn't pick up the phone and tell me not to drive the 45 minutes to the dealer...... What gives with VW? Are they intentionally trying to push all their customers away? The roof leak, a serious suspension/brake/steering noise, an automatic AC that doesn't work the rear vents and I think I've got a real lemon. We are documenting everything assuming we'll be using the law to cut our losses and never buy another VW. This after owning 9 models starting way back in 1975. I plan on updating our dealer/repair experiences here on the site as they continue to unfold.

 

[WolfsburgAlltrack]

I took the car to the dealer today and long story short, they couldn't work on the car since they knew it would require more than a few hours and were out of loaner cars. Guess they couldn't pick up the phone and tell me not to drive the 45 minutes to the dealer...... What gives with VW? Are they intentionally trying to push all their customers away? The roof leak, a serious suspension/brake/steering noise, an automatic AC that doesn't work the rear vents and I think I've got a real lemon. We are documenting everything assuming we'll be using the law to cut our losses and never buy another VW. This after owning 9 models starting way back in 1975. I plan on updating our dealer/repair experiences here on the site as they continue to unfold.

Sorry to hear the bad news Sailby2. I wouldn't throw VW in boat that they're trying to push away their customers away, it sounds like a lack of dealership management/customer service that VW corporate can't really control. Frustrating still. Would they be able to reserve a loaner car for you since it sounds like they'll need your car for a bit? I know the audi dealership allows me to reserve a loaner when i take the A6 in for service.

 

[patrrob]

Here is an update on the leak for the pano roof. Well, on July 1 it's going to be a month that I got my 2018 Alltrack and it was at the dealership for 16 days so far...still is. So far, the checked the drain lines and had to replace the heardliner, they changed both windows on the roof, readjusted it but every time I leave with it and it rains; water comes in. I am starting to hate my car. What car, I barely driven it... I have to admit, they are trying but I am very discourage by the whole thing. Anybody had that water issue and go it fix permanently?

 

[Sailby2]

Sorry to hear the bad news Sailby2. I wouldn't throw VW in boat that they're trying to push away their customers away, it sounds like a lack of dealership management/customer service that VW corporate can't really control. Frustrating still. Would they be able to reserve a loaner car for you since it sounds like they'll need your car for a bit? I know the audi dealership allows me to reserve a loaner when i take the A6 in for service.

We'll see as the next visit is scheduled for 03 JUL. I'll give this dealer one more chance then it's off to another. VWoA has been keeping up pretty well.

 

[Whale pilot]

Hello

New to the forum but not to the VW’s. Had them dating to the early 70’s.
Last year we purchased a brand new 17 Alltrack for our daughter,top of the line model with of course a panoramic sunroof which I can say was probably the reason she liked the car so much and as you may conclude here we are, at about 15 000 miles and 15 months of ownership with water stains on the drivers side along the A pillar and right in the middle of the left side.Being mechanically inclined I did some trouble shooting before taking it to the dealer. No observed obstruction on the roof drain holes,when I poured water down the front holes the water drained below the windshield where it was supposed to but also in the middle of the A pillar .Yes we did have some bad rains but I am definitely taking it to the dealer,will keep you posted...

 

[Sailby2]

Whale Pilot, Sorry you are experiencing a leaking roof. I haven't gotten mine looked at or fixed yet because of a terrible dealer experience. I'm in touch and have a case opened for my problems (suspension noise, sunroof leak, AC issue) with VWExperience and I'd suggest you do the same. The more VW hears from owners suffering from the same problem, the more they should (in theory) admit it's a design/manufacturing issue and do a permanent fix. Reading this forum, there are several owners who say they've had it fixed only to see the problem return. Bad rains or not, these cars should not be leaking! My car is going to another shop this next week so we'll see what the second VW dealership has to say.

 

[Whale pilot]

Whale Pilot, Sorry you are experiencing a leaking roof. I haven't gotten mine looked at or fixed yet because of a terrible dealer experience. I'm in touch and have a case opened for my problems (suspension noise, sunroof leak, AC issue) with VWExperience and I'd suggest you do the same. The more VW hears from owners suffering from the same problem, the more they should (in theory) admit it's a design/manufacturing issue and do a permanent fix. Reading this forum, there are several owners who say they've had it fixed only to see the problem return. Bad rains or not, these cars should not be leaking! My car is going to another shop this next week so we'll see what the second VW dealership has to say.

I definitely will advise VW of my issue since it is apparently a bad design and nowhere do they mention that during the regular service visits the drain holes are a maintenance or a check item! The reason I have joined this thread is to inform others and if something is going to be accomplished with VW it is going to be due to numbers of owners complaining.

 

[RyanThomas]

Hello all,

I recently purchase a new 2017 Alltrack SE. Given the car was a 2017 model we received a good deal on the car, despite being brand new with only a few miles on it.

One week after purchase we discovered pooled water in the spare tire well in the back compartment. Took it to the dealer for repair. Our dealer in Chicagoland took good care of us, provided a loaner, etc... the car was in the shop for 2 weeks. They replaced the headliner, cleaned out the ?plugged? drainage tubes, and replaced the carpet and subwoofer in the rear. They even threw in an aftermarket roof rack and set of kayak saddles as a goodwill gesture. Like I said, took good care of us.

Well not 2 weeks later we discovered water staining in the headliner and windshield column. Back into the shop.

The car remained in the shop for over a month while they attempted to determine the issue. Then the tech were told from Corp the issue is with spotwelds around the sunroof. The repair memo from Corp states that the welds should be ground down. They couldn?t do it in-house and sent the car out to a body shop to be ground down, re-waterproofed, and repainted. Then they reinstalled the headliners and tested. Like I said the car was in the shop for over a month.

During this second repair, my wife and I submitted a strongly worded email tot VW Corp and our Dealer expressing our frustration that we are paying for a car we?re not driving and expressing concerns that the car potentially has a mold issue in the ventilation system and now has 2 service repair records on its carfax within a month of ownership. Something that would jump out at me as a prospective yommused car buyer.

I was told flatly by the service department manager that the car should qualify as a lemon, will leak again, that the repair is likely a bandaid fix.

We just received the car back after 6 of 10 weeks of our ownership in the service department. We are currently attempting to work with VW Corp, which has been a little like pulling teeth, to explore options. I suspect none of the options will be super attractive or painless but we?ll see.

Long story short. If your sunroof is leaking it?s likely a result of these spotwelds being raised too high and not with the drainage tubes (as they initially told us). Just thought I?d share my experience. Best of luck.

(Aside from this issue, I really do love the car... (which makes it tricky!))