Leaking sun roof ?

[geordiebroon]

Hi Levenco

Many thanks for your comprehensive reply. I love the concept of a courtesy courtesy car.

John

[levnclo]

wouldnt be the first car manafacturer to suffer leaking sunroof's.....ive had a ford and hyundai that leaked in certain conditions..both were new'.....one reason why i dont order with a sunroof nowadays, my current car leaks when i go thru car washes'.....( ford focus)...not thru a sunroof tho(hasnt got one)..but down inside the front A pillar :S ...anyways hope u both get your leaks sorted asap, esp lev' as yours has been far too long and i for one wouldnt have handled the situation as cool as u thats for sure

Thanks Lee67,

It just doesn't seem to be anyones fault. As long as the dealer and SUK are doing their best to sort it out, and being honest with me, then I'm sure I will be happy in the end as the Yeti is a very good car...and as I put in a previous post, I've had four Discoveries and a Defender 90 which all leaked trough the sun roof, and the Discoveries had two!!

Happy motoring,

Levnclo.

[levnclo]

I once had a Mk3 Cortina that leaked, so I took the carpets out and drilled holes in the floor!!

The car had only cost me £100.

tom

Hi Tom..never mind holes in the floor, I thought about putting a loo in the yeti and using it as a bathroom!

Regards,

Levnclo.

[Sanqhar]

Hi Tom..never mind holes in the floor, I thought about putting a loo in the yeti and using it as a bathroom!

Regards,

Levnclo.

Surely a shower room

tom

[Lady Penelope]

Hi all,

Copy of email recieved today from Skoda UK :

"Thank you for your email dated 16 July 2010, regarding your Yeti.

I can confirm that we have so far only had two Yeti cars with a reported water ingression issue on their sunroofs. Each of those

cars issues are being dealt with by their Skoda Retailer and the appropriate repair will have taken place.

As with all new model of cars, when an issue arises Skoda will fully investigate why the water ingression occurred and what

needs to be done to rectify that issue, however at this stage we can confirm that there is no design problem and therefore these

are isolated cases. If for any reason your car develops a water ingression problem then we would recommend that you contact your

Skoda Retailer, who will resolve the issue under the warranty scheme.

Thank you for contacting Skoda Customer Services.

Kind regards

Ian Watson

Skoda Auto Customer Services"

So it looks like just a couple of faulty ones for you two :'( ...so I will stop panicking levnclo :yes: but I will still keep my fingers crossed for the rest of us!

best wishes

Lady Penelope

[levnclo]

Hi all,

Copy of email recieved today from Skoda UK :

"Thank you for your email dated 16 July 2010, regarding your Yeti.

I can confirm that we have so far only had two Yeti cars with a reported water ingression issue on their sunroofs. Each of those

cars issues are being dealt with by their Skoda Retailer and the appropriate repair will have taken place.

As with all new model of cars, when an issue arises Skoda will fully investigate why the water ingression occurred and what

needs to be done to rectify that issue, however at this stage we can confirm that there is no design problem and therefore these

are isolated cases. If for any reason your car develops a water ingression problem then we would recommend that you contact your

Skoda Retailer, who will resolve the issue under the warranty scheme.

Thank you for contacting Skoda Customer Services.

Kind regards

Ian Watson

Skoda Auto Customer Services"

So it looks like just a couple of faulty ones for you two :'( ...so I will stop panicking levnclo :yes: but I will still keep my fingers crossed for the rest of us!

best wishes

Lady Penelope

Hi Lady P,

So there we have it!!

I bet the words 'design fault' won't be said to me again!! Sorry if it has caused worry..I have tried to report here accurately and truthfully the experience I am having with the Yeti, the Dealer, and Skoda UK...should it prove useful to another member.

It is certainly very good to see the problem is not widespred, and I look forward to getting my Yeti back. Its been 32 days.

Regards to all, and happy dry motoring!

Levnclo

[Thomas29]

Hi Lady P,

So there we have it!!

I bet the words 'design fault' won't be said to me again!! Sorry if it has caused worry..I have tried to report here accurately and truthfully the experience I am having with the Yeti, the Dealer, and Skoda UK...should it prove useful to another member.

It is certainly very good to see the problem is not widespred, and I look forward to getting my Yeti back. Its been 32 days.

Regards to all, and happy dry motoring!

Levnclo

Hi there,

Skoda are going to try and fix mine at the begining of august, but I have to drive it to maidstone from London and take a day off work! so they better not give me the courtesy car with no petrol. I think Levnclo, you have been very understanding, I won't be if it isn't fixed, I'm already very irritated as its a inconvience and a cost. It has nothing to do with parking on a slope, my car is parked on a totally flat drive way and now the electrics have started to play up, the sunroof, its blind and the automatic lights don't work (its not the fuse, I checked), and the car smells due to the leak. So its 30c bright sunshine and my headlights are on...... and I can't shut the blind.

I could really do without all this, its why I buy brand new cars.

Kindest Regards

Thomas

[Terfyn]

This is probably the best you can expect from the importers - but it is rubbish. If the roof and its fitting to the car had been DESIGNED properly then there would be no chance of a leak. By this I mean that there would be a proper gutter with suitably sized drain pipes to take the water, there would be an adequate lip to prevent the water from entering the car, the roof should not rely on seals to prevent water ingress and the seals should only be a back up to a properly designed flow path for the water.

What is needed is a roof pressing that incorporates the guttering around the sunroof hole. The design that does not work is the one where a hole is cut as a retrofit to the standard car and the roof fitted in on a bed of mastic.

I have had roofs that have leaked and have relied on copious amounts of mastic before they were cured. This never worked in the long run as sealants do age and can crack with body twisting and vibration.

I have also had roofs that never let in a drop of water because the design ensured a water path away from any gap into the car. (X-Trail - in my model the sunroof was standard)

I don't have the sunroof because of the history above but I do suggest you keep the drains clear and the mechanism lubricated and maintained.

[PALIMAN]

Hi there,

Skoda are going to try and fix mine at the begining of august, but I have to drive it to maidstone from London and take a day off work! so they better not give me the courtesy car with no petrol. I think Levnclo, you have been very understanding, I won't be if it isn't fixed, I'm already very irritated as its a inconvience and a cost. It has nothing to do with parking on a slope, my car is parked on a totally flat drive way and now the electrics have started to play up, the sunroof, its blind and the automatic lights don't work (its not the fuse, I checked), and the car smells due to the leak. So its 30c bright sunshine and my headlights are on...... and I can't shut the blind.

I could really do without all this, its why I buy brand new cars.

Kindest Regards :'(

Thomas

Hi, really sorry to hear about your leaking Yetis - Levnclo and Thomas29… Just discovered my Yeti's also leaking, so that now makes at least 3 of us...On mine it's not just a few drips :'( IMO from a five min poke around the boot area this morning there must be either a design or assembly issue to allow this much water in…. No visible damage, the roof wasn't open... Maybe everyone with the roof option should check their Yeti’s assuming they were left out in the rain yesterday

My Yeti was parked on a level drive... the water ingress appears to be from behind the white pillar trim on the right side rear pillar… This has resulted in a couple of water features… the little shelf behind the wheelarch and the plastic tub in the floor containing the tools under the boot mat…. Both were brimming. Headlining, carpets and everything forward of the boot appears to be dry.

Will update once I have had a better look this evening. Given the amount of water which has entered the boot area, in a single shower.... (I know the boot was dry the day before.) i'm sure it's not going to be difficult to confirm where the issue is....

My dilema now is how to go about getting this resolved before the weather gets worse without significant inconvenience, multiple trips to the dealer and side effect rattles, damage as the dealer attempts to dismantle, fix and reassemble something which is currently an unknown. How many of these roofs will technicians have worked on?

[levnclo]

Hi, really sorry to hear about your leaking Yetis - Levnclo and Thomas29… Just discovered my Yeti's also leaking, so that now makes at least 3 of us...On mine it's not just a few drips :'( IMO from a five min poke around the boot area this morning there must be either a design or assembly issue to allow this much water in…. No visible damage, the roof wasn't open... Maybe everyone with the roof option should check their Yeti’s assuming they were left out in the rain yesterday

My Yeti was parked on a level drive... the water ingress appears to be from behind the white pillar trim on the right side rear pillar… This has resulted in a couple of water features… the little shelf behind the wheelarch and the plastic tub in the floor containing the tools under the boot mat…. Both were brimming. Headlining, carpets and everything forward of the boot appears to be dry.

Will update once I have had a better look this evening. Given the amount of water which has entered the boot area, in a single shower.... (I know the boot was dry the day before.) i'm sure it's not going to be difficult to confirm where the issue is....

My dilema now is how to go about getting this resolved before the weather gets worse without significant inconvenience, multiple trips to the dealer and side effect rattles, damage as the dealer attempts to dismantle, fix and reassemble something which is currently an unknown. How many of these roofs will technicians have worked on?

Hi Paliman, so sorry to hear about this. Under the circumstances I think it will become an increasingly wide spread problem. My Yeti too leaked considerably, and leaked in at the same place..The Maidstone dealers Beadles Skoda have dealt with mine, and are going to sort Thomas29's Yeti. The Skoda UK Customer Services rep 'looking after' us is John Good: 0845 7745745. Beadles Skoda:0800 248 4061, contact Kirsty.I am afraid they have had my Yeti now for 35 days and still no sign of return so DO go to a dealer accepting and knowledgable about the problem. At the last report my car is completely stripped out inside awiting new underlay from Cz. It had a new sunroof fitted but this did not cure the problem..it is the drain chanells which take water away from the roof...they are too narrow and officially NOT a design fault...'at this stage'.....see post 80 above!! I guess its going to take a few more leaks until it does become so.

Good Luck with getting it sorted,

Regards,

Levnclo.

Edited 23 July, 2010 by levnclo

[PALIMAN]

Hi Paliman, so sorry to hear about this. Under the circumstances I think it will become an increasingly wide spread problem. My Yeti too leaked considerably, and leaked in at the same place..The Maidstone dealers Beadles Skoda have dealt with mine, and are going to sort Thomas29's Yeti. The Skoda UK Customer Services rep 'looking after' us is John Good: 0845 7745745. Beadles Skoda:0800 248 4061, contact Kirsty.I am afraid they have had my Yeti now for 35 days and still no sign of return so DO go to a dealer accepting and knowledgable about the problem. At the last report my car is completely stripped out inside awiting new underlay from Cz. It had a new sunroof fitted but this did not cure the problem..it is the drain chanells which take water away from the roof...they are too narrow and officially NOT a design fault...'at this stage'.....see post 80 above!! I guess its going to take a few more leaks until it does become so.

Good Luck with getting it sorted,

Regards,

Levnclo.

Hi, Thanks for empathising and your advice. Really hope you won't have to wait too much longer to be reunited with your Yeti. It's a great car, and the roof really made it special... I agree that this might become a much bigger issue for Skoda if /as the weather gets worse... with the summer we've had so far, not much rain this is one aspect which hasn't really been tested. As the Yeti has been out in some markets for a while just wondering why this issue hasn't been picked up already. Were the carpets wet, or did you have to remove them to confirm water in the footwells/ underlay?

Will carry out further tests this weekend... sit in the boot and see what happens.... I believe more rain is forecast. will post results asap. Then contact dealers/ Skoda etc.

I really hope you are saying that your Yeti's leak has been fixed and that the wait is now down to waiting for replacement parts damaged as a result of the initial leak issue.

Do you know what Beadles have done to prevent further leaks? Are wider drain channels available, or were the original channels defective in some way and simply replaced??

Regards

Paliman

[levnclo]

Hi Paliman:

I took the Yeti to a dealers in Eastbourne when the leak was first noticed, by a sodden back seat and jumper which had been left there. I was told no leak could be found. That night it rained and in the morning I took the footage as seen here: watch it all to see how much water is in the footwell, and the speed of the water running in.

There was at least 25mm of water in the rear footwells and the boot was wet. The front footwells were also wet.

Spraying with a jet wash wont find the leak..we washed the car four times with no problems.

With a complete loss of confidence in Eastbourne heightened by the discovery of a mysterious new dink in the roof I took the car to the dealer in Maidstone where the car was purchased.

The source of the leak was eventually found by raising the front of the Yeti and running a hose over the roof.

I have been told by John Good from Skoda UK that the entrance to both drain channells has been widened (he also told me it WAS a design fault) and that this has cured the problem. The number of cars this affects is not yet known, and wont be, I guess, until more cars leak and more data can be gathered. When pressed for more details he said he was not a technical advisor and could not tell me any more. I am in manufacturing myself and am intrigued as to how this 'fix' has been accomplished, and wether making a funnel will cure the backup of water, but I have been assured by the dealer that the car does not leak any more. Mind you, it took them three weeks and a change of sunroof to find the leak in the first place!!!

I now have to trust that the interior will be refitted as good as it was before..........

Meanwhile I'm afraid that after 35 days without her new Yeti, and two missed deadlines for its return, my wife has had enough and is looking for a new car.

Not a happy end.

Good luck with yours, and DO take it to a dealer who is aware of the problem, and who realises that carpets have to be ordered with underlay.!!

Regards,

Levnclo.

Edited 23 July, 2010 by levnclo

[levnclo]

Edited 23 July, 2010 by levnclo

[PALIMAN]

Any update on your car?

After considerable testing( hoses, buckets, etc) I haven't been able to recreate the leak. It's even rained twice! I managed to get one of those snake cams and feed it up between the headlining and roof and left it there recording.... no leaks. The only thing I did notice was that the two drain channels exits either side of the tailgate hinge (they look like rubber blank covers) were retaining water, the exit holes appear to be covered by design with only a cut in the rubber to form a flap which allows water to exit. By slightly raising the flaps water was draining much faster. wondering if these had stuck, thus causing a bottleneck, and water to back up and overflow elsewhere, leaking into the interior.

For now my Yeti appears to be dry inside... will monitor and update as things progress.

[2slo]

I don't see the sunroof option in SUK's current brochure anymore.

Isolated incident?

[CJJE]

I don't see the sunroof option in SUK's current brochure anymore.

Isolated incident?

The sunroof option was deleted around April due to "inability of sunroof manufacturer to meet demand". Now apparantly to be reinstated from January 2011.

The leak problem is said to be due to the drain channels being too small to take the water flow when the car is parked on a slope and an angle, a few members reporting problems with their cars so far.

Chris

[levnclo]

Hi All:

Received Yeti back at last.

It was delivered to our door which was much appreciated!

Gripes?...Drivers seat (Gobi Sand Leather) has some dirty grease marks on it but overlooked this as not too serious.

The car appears to be just as good as it was before and appears to have no rattles or bits missing!! We haven't had a chance to examin or test it fully yet as we have had a very busy weekend.

For those intersted, and for PALIMAN, here are a couple of pictures of the modified left and right hand sunroof drain channels, taken from where they exit the Yeti by the hatch back hinges....I didn't look at these before the problem but it might be interesting to compare these with your own.

http://picasaweb.google.com/109230172612561844330/YetiSunroofDrainOutlets#

I'm afraid that my overall experience with Skoda has left me feeling that their service is no different from any other car manufacturers out there, (that I have experienced), and certainly no better!

However, the problem is solved, the car didn't leak during the rain this weekend, and it is good to be able to drive it again. Would I buy another Skoda?.......Nope. Not because of the problem...but because of the service, which is simply not matched to the standard of vehicle.

I know that there are many many satisfied Skoda drivers out there and as all this fades from memory I'm sure we will be amongst you, unless my wife's complete failure of confidence remains and she goes for the Forrester she's been eyeing up since coping with the frustration!

Good luck to all,

Regards,

Levnclo.

Edited 2 August, 2010 by levnclo

[The Plumber]

Hi levnclo,

good news that at last you have your Yeti back and fingers X fault free from now on

Hopefully not a Plumber who designed those inadequate guttering systems; obviously their engineer didn't read Building Regs

Regards,

TP

[levnclo]

The sunroof option was deleted around April due to "inability of sunroof manufacturer to meet demand". Now apparantly to be reinstated from January 2011.

The leak problem is said to be due to the drain channels being too small to take the water flow when the car is parked on a slope and an angle, a few members reporting problems with their cars so far.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Both Trevor29 and Paliman have had leaks 'on the flat'...and from the modification performed on my car, and from Paliman's posts, I think this is as much a problem with the flaps where the water drains out as it is with the diameter of the drain channels. Just as Paliman can't force the leak, neither could the dealers testing my Yeti,, until it was raised at the front and tilted. I think this is an intermittent problem which is caused by water not forcing through the end flaps, for some reason, and backing up around the sunroof. In my 'modified' Yeti, the flaps have been cut away.

Regards,

Levnclo.

Edited 2 August, 2010 by levnclo

[levnclo]

Hi levnclo,

good news that at last you have your Yeti back and fingers X fault free from now on

Hopefully not a Plumber who designed those inadequate guttering systems; obviously their engineer didn't read Building Regs

Regards,

TP

Thanks TP,

15mm Copper on all Yeti's from Jan 2011 !!!!

Regards,

Levnclo.

[lee67]

glad to hear u have it back...hopefully all sorted ....we are all aware that new products can raise manafacturing issue's....u was the unlucky one here'...( i had 2 new gpz600r's in mid 80's that both failed bigtime) never bought another kwacker again, but there good bikes, i was unlucky to buy 2 new ones that had same fault...so id use your car and see how things pan out, hopefully the last few months will become a distant memory asap ..i cant fault mine

[900000]

My Yeti (with sunroof) is going to be built in week 41 (early October). So I do hope they make running changes to the sunroof by then so that I don't get a mobile swimming pool! But glad to hear you have yours back.

[geordiebroon]

Thank you for your pictures levnco. Great that you have your Yeti back.

Just checked my drain holes and found them each covered with a circular rubbery flap.

There is a "crease" horizontally across the diameter of the flap which means that the bottom edge moves very easily away from the drain pipe so that rainwater can come out - at least it has done so far.!!

[levnclo]

Downpour today flooded the local town...and my workshop....but the Yeti remains dry!!!!

[geordiebroon]

Result or what