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Another interior leak thread

Uberryan

Banned
So I got into my car and noticed a bunch of water on the rubber mats. It hadn't rained yesterday when the car was in use, but I figured maybe it dripped in through a bad spot in the weatherseal on the door like it used to a while ago. Well, as I'm driving, water is dripping onto my feet, so I realize it's coming from within the run off drain system somewhere.

I get back home, and open the sunroof fully and pour water down the driver's side, and see it drain off like normal onto the ground below behind the fender wall, but I notice a few drops dripping in from just under the in-dash fuse box as well. I don't want to start pulling everything apart just yet, but I pull off the dash fuse panel and the small trim piece between the hood hatch trim and the a pillar, and water appears to be entering the car from somewhere behind the a-pillar, or at least this is where the water is mostly manifesting itself via the sunroof drain.




How horrific of a fix is this, and is there a DIY to taking off the A-pillar? I assume no screws because the air bag is there, right?
 

Uberryan

Banned
Alright, pulled the A-pillar and the driver's side headliner, which of course is coming apart... thanks vw. Started pouring water into the drain, and no real issues, no leaks oddly enough. Tube seats fine. I can pull it off, but there's no real need to, I don't think. I then accidentally splashed water on the track, shown here, and noticed it leak through onto the headliner. So it would seem the seal there is down. Going to grab some rubber cement and tuck it down in there. See if that fixes it. Water shouldn't really make it onto the track, but in case it does, this should hopefully fix it.

 

Uberryan

Banned
I take it back, that portion of the sunroof is not weather sealed, so it leaks if water gets there. However, there shouldn't be any water there unless the drains are plugged up and overwhelmed in a heavy rain. So while the driver's side is passing water just fine, it appears it wasn't passing it quick enough, hence my problem. Not to mention the passenger side is apparently blocked up. I poured hot water mixed with a little CLR/bleach combo and it cleared the sunroof res almost instantly, vs letting it slowly pour out. I'm hoping it's cleared, but I don't see water leaving the passenger side channel.

In fact, I don't see a passenger side drain end point at all. Lifting up the rain tray cowl, I didn't see any nipple at all, vs the one I could visually see on the driver's side. I tried fishing some weed whacker thread into it, but it's not strong enough to move anything, and I am hating the shit out of these A-pillars. What is the proper tool to use to clean these drains? I've been told speedometer cable, etc, but I was also told there was a proper tool, as well...

Is there a way to access the passenger side drain point from the point itself? I really don't want to take the dash apart.
 

MMKAY6

Ready to race!
Not an expert on leaks as I've not had one (yet) on my MK6 but I do remember reading a few years back that the drain tubes for the sunroof on the early MK6s (I assume '11 would fall into early) were too short which caused them to eventually leak into the interior instead of dumping the water outside the vehicle as intended.

If it is in fact a matter of just unclogging the drain tubes then you can get small drain snakes at Home Depot, I think they have one called handy snakes which are small enough for drain holes.
 

Uberryan

Banned
I might have to go that route. Oddly that after 6 years, almost 7 it would manifest now. It has never done this until now, and living in SFL with hurricanes, the car literally has had hundreds of gallons of water dumped on it. I just wish I could access the drain point, and not just the feed point.
 

Uberryan

Banned
Bump, pulled the cowl up as far as I could. Saw a lot of debris in the area where I assume the drain ends, so I'm either going to flush, vacuum or blow the area out. Someone also recommended nylon clothesline, just wish there was an easy access route, as I'd rather not pull the wipers.
 

zrickety

The Fixer
Pulling the wipers is better than the headliner! Just had mine out thanks to falling fabric, one of the drain hoses was popped off in the back...don't know if it happened with removing the headliner but it hasn't rained here in awhile. Popped the hose back on, headliner back in.
 

Uberryan

Banned
Well my 3 year old headliner is fucked regardless. So eventually it'll have to be dropped and redone, but I'm going after market this time around. Hopefully it'll do better than the OEM shit they're using with an avg lifespan of 3 years.
 

Uberryan

Banned
Alright, decided to try the wiper pull.

Wipers came up easy, I sprayed penetrating lube in on the nuts and let it sit for about 15mins. Nuts came off easy, blade arms took a bit of finesse. Came up pretty easy though, unlike what others have claimed. The cowl did give me more fuck-around room without the arms attached, but there was no easy way of taking the cowl out/off. I didn't want to have to fuck with the windshield track or worry about creating another interior leak for myself, so i carefully bent the cowl high enough to get my hand in on both sides to reach the drain nipples.


Driver's side was easy, it's pretty far back, but if you shine a flashlight in there, you can see it, no sweat. Pinched it and got a whole bunch of nasty black shit on my fingers.

The passenger side is a bitch though. There's some sort of heat deflector or shield that shifts air into the ambient/hot air intake for the interior. If you can get leverage, you can unhook it from its housing and slide it a little further over to access the passenger side nipple. I squeeze that one too, and same black gunk. Now both drains are free flowing, and I dumped hot, soapy water down the tracks of both with a little peroxide in it for good measure. Seems fine now.


Cross your fingers, but that seems to have done the trick. I was winging this, so no pics, but I can dig up what I saw if need be.
 

gti1480

Ready to race!
Hi buddy, any update? Mine has a leak at the same spot.

Thanks

never mind, turned out to be the driver side sunroof drain was clogged.
 
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debaser2

New member
Found this forum because I'm having the same problem on my 2013 GTI on the driver's side. I poured a bit of water down the drain hole in my sunroof and it spilled out through my dash by my pedals. I took off the little piece of trim and the side of my dashboard where the fusebox is (like i your pics) and by peaking through a little crack, I could see the end of the drain tube hanging there not connected to anything. Problem is, I haven't the slightest idea of how to get at it. Anyone with a 2013 GTI know of an easy access to this?

I was thinking of getting a little piece of foam or rubber (maybe an earplug?) and just plugging that hole. Has anyone tried this quick fix? Obviously worried about the water then leaking in somewhere else, but I feel it would get funneled to the drain on the passenger side that does work correctly.

Judging from the amount of links online and YouTube videos, this seems like a really widespread issue. Curious if VW will ever do anything to remedy this. It's a little frustrating have to deal with this on a car that is just over 6 years old with only 75K miles...
 

vw_kyle101

New member
Found this forum because I'm having the same problem on my 2013 GTI on the driver's side. I poured a bit of water down the drain hole in my sunroof and it spilled out through my dash by my pedals. I took off the little piece of trim and the side of my dashboard where the fusebox is (like i your pics) and by peaking through a little crack, I could see the end of the drain tube hanging there not connected to anything. Problem is, I haven't the slightest idea of how to get at it. Anyone with a 2013 GTI know of an easy access to this?

I was thinking of getting a little piece of foam or rubber (maybe an earplug?) and just plugging that hole. Has anyone tried this quick fix? Obviously worried about the water then leaking in somewhere else, but I feel it would get funneled to the drain on the passenger side that does work correctly.

Judging from the amount of links online and YouTube videos, this seems like a really widespread issue. Curious if VW will ever do anything to remedy this. It's a little frustrating have to deal with this on a car that is just over 6 years old with only 75K miles...


Having the same issue with my 2013 TDI, have taken the cowl off and tried tried blowing it out with air and snaking it with whipper snipper cable (aka weed whacker) and couldn't get the cable to come out the other end or close to it. thinking the drain tube is disconnected on the drivers side. I've felt the water drip on my foot from just behind the hood release. is there a easy way to get inside the A-pillar?....If I caulk that hole will the water find its way to the other drains?
 

phil_cote

New member
@debaser2 and @vw_kyle101 :
2013 Wolfsburg edition here, I have the same problem where the drain tubes are disconnected from the grommet that transfers to the other side of the firewall at the bottom of the A pillar. On BOTH driver and passenger sides. Had about an inch of water through out the bottom of the car. Removed trim, seats, pedals etc. Lifted carpets and let dry for a week.

It very much looks like my tubes are too short and were disconnected because I can see marks on the tubes where they used to be connected.

My theory on how this happened: Extreme temperature changes. I live in Qc, Canada and this winter was super weird, -35°C to 0°C the next day. So my guess is that the tube contracted or "dried" on is now permanently about 1.5 inches too short which would explain how this happened ON BOTH SIDES.

Basically to see and access the tube (with the tip of your fingertips, but manageable) you have to remove the A pillar. To do so you have to first remove the plastic airbag symbol at the top of the pillar by pushing up on it while prying with a flat head screwdriver. It is held by 4 pins and I broke two of them, so be gentle.

Then you'll have easier access to your disconnected tubes. Some have said they could just reconnect them with the grommet at this stage and add a little glue to prevent from happening again. However in my case, my tubes are too short. So I contacted my dealer who told me he'd never seen that on an MK6. Said I could order new tubes but that they'd probably do the same thing. Awkward silence on the line, then, "Good luck!". And that was that.

This is where I am at right now. Car held hostage in garage for fear of rain. I am thinking of cutting the tube at the middle of the A pillar, reconnecting the grommet and the tube at the bottom of the A pillar and joining the cut tubes with a male-male tube adapter like we use in the maple syrup business here up north. Don't know what size of adapter to use yet though so I need to check that out first. Will also apply glue and maybe collars although that may be overkill.

Thoughts?
 
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