Leaking door or sunroof

Tiny
PHILIPSHAW
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  • VOLKSWAGEN
2001 VW Jetta 2.0GL 73000 miles. During heavy rain, water is getting into the car. Alternates between the front passenger and drivers side coming in from the bottom of the door - foot mats and carpet are soaked. It happened previously and dealer said it was blocked drains in the sunroof and charged $120 for what seemed a 10 minute job. Is this is an easy 'DIY' job I could at least check for myself and repair?
Monday, May 8th, 2006 AT 8:39 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
LOSONE
  • MECHANIC
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Welcome to the Jetta world. They have always been prone to leaks. You can DIY around the sunroof and other places but once the seals have shrunken with age you will have leaks. Goos luck
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Monday, May 8th, 2006 AT 3:30 PM
Tiny
FRIEDEMANN
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I have to smile when the determination is blocked drains in the sunroof. Blocked with what? Show me the blockage.
I did check my car for such a thing. Use a wire they say. I used a very supple wire. Nothing. Ended up that the wire dislocated the vinyl tubing from the metal outlets that were in the sunroof. That was the easy fix. Found that there was water in the rear quarter panel in inches. Why cause the other end of the vinyl tube is suppose to go into a rubber outlet. They were not connected. I managed to reach my hand up from the rear compartment and fit the two together. The drivers side only.
The passenger side is more complicated because the fuel pipe takes up alot of room so I can't get my hand up to match the vinyl pipe and rubber grommet together.
Taped my sunroof closed for the winter. The water stays out.
This car will be like swiss cheese for leaking points from shrunken door seals to body parts that are not completely spot welded for their entire length, to a possibility of the windshield seal not fitting correctly. That was a multiple year problem which I find they haven't figured out yet. That gets the front carpets wet. I find silicone on visible seams in the wiper motor tray will take care of that problem there. For the rear, inspect the shock towers for rust and cracks and take off the side panels and look in there for rust. You will find something amiss.
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Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 AT 6:29 PM
Tiny
LOSONE
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All water that falls from the sky has natural contaminates from dust, micro-organisms etc. Even tap water has the same. If you don't belive me, take off the aeroater screen from the kitchen faucet and check out what is trapped. As water evaporates it leaves a residue that builds up over time.

VW's are prone to have collapsed drain hoses. As the plastic get old and warm it will start to close. With the combination of contaminates and restrictions it will back up and leak. Some times it is impossible to clean and they have to be replaced.

The seals on the static and movible parts also shrink with time and they have to be replaced. It is a tiresome pricy fix and one wonders what VW was thinking when they designed the roof.

I have only had about a 75% success rate with those kind of fixes.

Good luck Losone
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Monday, December 18th, 2006 AT 9:30 AM

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