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My car doubles as a swimming pool

Denied

Dont know what I'm doing.
Location
North Jersey
Car(s)
GTI MkV
Hey guys!

So with all the snow recently my car has started taking on water. A lot of water :( Both my front footwell carpets get a little damp and my rears get completely soaked, I mean press down and water rises up over your hand soaked. Pulled out the boot carpet and my spare tire well was over halfway full. I was 100% able to verify the front sunroof drains have failed, I'm assuming its a case of the hose disconnecting from the drain because I pulled my driver side A pillar and it runs right out of the headliner at that point. As for the rear I had a harder time testing it, even parked uphill I couldn't tell where it was leaking from however nothing leaked out from the under the car either :mad0259:

At this point I think its probably safe to say all 4 drains have failed in some way. I'm getting ready to pull my headliner and just wanted to see if anybody out there has had to do the same and could maybe throw some pointers my way. Of course every related thread has dead pictures so I'll be sure to update this as I go to help anybody else out in the future. Wish me luck, If I cant fix it im stripping the interior and putting a hot tub in the back.
 

vwengineer

Ready to race!
Location
Switzerland
Hey guys!

So with all the snow recently my car has started taking on water. A lot of water :( Both my front footwell carpets get a little damp and my rears get completely soaked, I mean press down and water rises up over your hand soaked. Pulled out the boot carpet and my spare tire well was over halfway full. I was 100% able to verify the front sunroof drains have failed, I'm assuming its a case of the hose disconnecting from the drain because I pulled my driver side A pillar and it runs right out of the headliner at that point. As for the rear I had a harder time testing it, even parked uphill I couldn't tell where it was leaking from however nothing leaked out from the under the car either :mad0259:

At this point I think its probably safe to say all 4 drains have failed in some way. I'm getting ready to pull my headliner and just wanted to see if anybody out there has had to do the same and could maybe throw some pointers my way. Of course every related thread has dead pictures so I'll be sure to update this as I go to help anybody else out in the future. Wish me luck, If I cant fix it im stripping the interior and putting a hot tub in the back.
I have had water in the boot, like it was really wet and the spare tire compartment had maybe 5mm of water. I was never able to find the leak but it did not reappear so I guess once the boot was not completely closed. You might want to check the rear vents under the rear bumper, it seems to be a frequent point of failure.
 

c3156

New member
Location
USA
This exact thing happened to my MKV Jetta with the sunroof drains. VW even lost a class action for this very problem on MKIV & MKV cars.

What I did:

There are four drains for the sunroof, one roughly at each corner. First, I pulled the appropriate pillar interior trim at the respective drain location. Then I gently started to pull down the headliner to gain access to where the drain connects to the drain line.

The drain line was basically a rubber hose glued to a plastic grommet which plugs up to the sunroof drain. The point of failure was the joint between the hose and the grommet, for whatever reason it came loose.

Once I had access, I pulled the grommet loose from the drain and pulled the hose/grommet to where I could reach all the way around. I dried everything thoroughly and then went around the joint twice with silicon (Apply once, allow to dry, repeat). Then I plugged the grommet back up to the drain, done. Pop the headliner back in place and install the pillar interior trim.

I repeated at all four corner drains. Then I used a combination of wet vac and fans to dry out my interior to prevent mildew from setting in. As a final touch, I ran a piece of weed eater string down each drain to make sure it was clear.

Hope this helps. I would have pics, but it has been to long and I lost them.
 

Denied

Dont know what I'm doing.
Location
North Jersey
Car(s)
GTI MkV
I have had water in the boot, like it was really wet and the spare tire compartment had maybe 5mm of water. I was never able to find the leak but it did not reappear so I guess once the boot was not completely closed. You might want to check the rear vents under the rear bumper, it seems to be a frequent point of failure.

I wish this was the case but after originally finding water in the boot and vacuuming it out, it reappeared the very next day after it snowed. Had a friend spray the hatch with a hose as I sat inside and surprisingly even with aftermarket tails it didn't leak a drop.
 

Denied

Dont know what I'm doing.
Location
North Jersey
Car(s)
GTI MkV
This exact thing happened to my MKV Jetta with the sunroof drains. VW even lost a class action for this very problem on MKIV & MKV cars.

What I did:

There are four drains for the sunroof, one roughly at each corner. First, I pulled the appropriate pillar interior trim at the respective drain location. Then I gently started to pull down the headliner to gain access to where the drain connects to the drain line.

The drain line was basically a rubber hose glued to a plastic grommet which plugs up to the sunroof drain. The point of failure was the joint between the hose and the grommet, for whatever reason it came loose.

Once I had access, I pulled the grommet loose from the drain and pulled the hose/grommet to where I could reach all the way around. I dried everything thoroughly and then went around the joint twice with silicon (Apply once, allow to dry, repeat). Then I plugged the grommet back up to the drain, done. Pop the headliner back in place and install the pillar interior trim.

I repeated at all four corner drains. Then I used a combination of wet vac and fans to dry out my interior to prevent mildew from setting in. As a final touch, I ran a piece of weed eater string down each drain to make sure it was clear.

Hope this helps. I would have pics, but it has been to long and I lost them.

This is good news! Glad to hear its possible to fix without fully pulling the headliner! I may just pull the whole thing as I have rear sagging issues anyway but nonetheless good to know. Thanks for the solid info!
 

Nitrous1024

Ready to race!
Greetings,

I'm in Jamaica. I have a 2008 MK5 GTI Right-Hand-Drive 2-door hatchback.
I have an issue with the left footrest area being damp (almost like a smimming pool) when I drove in the rain. I thought it was a fault with the floor such as driving over a huge rock or something. After drying out the car in the sun, I noticed that the left footrest area gets damp again, even when the car is parked. My headliner is sagging, my trunk area remains dry.

Having come across this thread, is it safe to say that the issue lies in my "left" A-pillar from the sunroof drain?
 

c3156

New member
Location
USA
Greetings,

I'm in Jamaica. I have a 2008 MK5 GTI Right-Hand-Drive 2-door hatchback.
I have an issue with the left footrest area being damp (almost like a smimming pool) when I drove in the rain. I thought it was a fault with the floor such as driving over a huge rock or something. After drying out the car in the sun, I noticed that the left footrest area gets damp again, even when the car is parked. My headliner is sagging, my trunk area remains dry.

Having come across this thread, is it safe to say that the issue lies in my "left" A-pillar from the sunroof drain?

It is worth a shot. Take off the A-pillar and pull down the headliner. Open the sunroof and pour some water down the drain. Look at the drain line and see if there is any water dipping. Bet there is.
 

vwengineer

Ready to race!
Location
Switzerland
It's not in the A-pillar, it drips from there but it's because the line is clogged at the end. You should clean it there, no need to disassemble
 

vwengineer

Ready to race!
Location
Switzerland
It's on both sides under the plastic cover in front of the windshield, you can just lift it and you should be able to touch it (but it's difficult to see). Put some water in the drains of the sunroof and check in which it doesn't flow out. Mine just required some massage to unclog it.
 
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