Leaking sun roof ?

[Pete Pod]

I have just taken my Skoda Yeti Elegance back to the dealers due to a leaking sunroof. There is obviously a design problem and I,m gutted to think my brand new car may have most of the inside trim and carpets removed to fix the problem. This is only day one for me, but the service manager who I spoke to did not phone me back as requested, so I have no idea of what plans they have for my car. We will see.

[Yeti_Man]

I dont understand why some of them do it and others dont if its a design fault?

Ive had mine at said angles in torrential rain, in continued light drizzle, even left the hose running over it and blasted it (at a relatively low power setting!) with the karcher and I just cant seem to get mine to leak. On mine the water seems to drip ok from the rear gutter flaps in the boot area - sometimes building up and then running faster in more of a burst BUT it does seem to drain effectively.

Are all the ones effected early build cars? (I dont think they are from looking at the posts)....

[900000]

I have just taken my Skoda Yeti Elegance back to the dealers due to a leaking sunroof. There is obviously a design problem and I,m gutted to think my brand new car may have most of the inside trim and carpets removed to fix the problem. This is only day one for me, but the service manager who I spoke to did not phone me back as requested, so I have no idea of what plans they have for my car. We will see.

Grrr... This is not good news... I hope my sunroof will be ok... Good luck. At least others before you have paved the way to get it resoved that much quicker. But you want it fault free for life. My A2's Panoramic roof (also made my Arvin Meritor) has not leaked in nine years.

[levnclo]

I have just taken my Skoda Yeti Elegance back to the dealers due to a leaking sunroof. There is obviously a design problem and I,m gutted to think my brand new car may have most of the inside trim and carpets removed to fix the problem. This is only day one for me, but the service manager who I spoke to did not phone me back as requested, so I have no idea of what plans they have for my car. We will see.

Hi Pete Pod, sorry to hear of your leak problem. Dont let them tell you they can't find the leak!!

Contact John Good at Skoda UK customer services to ensure a good service and that your problem is taken seriously. He knows about the leaks and has dealt with several.

Good luck with sorting it out. Useful contact numbers have been posted earlier on in this thread.

I am confident that I would not have received acceptable levels of service had I not contacted SUK.

For what it is worth having been through the whole experience, my Yeti is now fully repaired, the interior was reinstalled perfectly and it no longer leaks.

Once again, good luck,

Levnclo.

[Pete Pod]

Received a phone call from SKoda (Claybank Motors Manchester) on Friday (Day 3) giving me an update on my car, and asking me if I would like to come and see the progress. They have repaired the leaking sunroof by replacing the rear drain pipes with larger diameter clear pipework and removing the rubber diaphragm from the outlet fitting in the hatch back area. I don't think anyone knows what the diaphragm in the outlet is for, other than to restrict the flow of water from the sunroof drain channels !!! If anyone else has problems with their sunroof, simply cutting out, these outlet diaphragms, could well be enough to solve the problem. If the drain pipes have to be changed, as with my car, this requires the roof lining removing.

So, my car at the moment has a sunroof that does not leak and has been tested with hosepipes while at a steep uphill nose first angle. Because the new drain pipework is clear plastic, the water can be seen flowing away beautifully and the Skoda Maintenance Manager that is looking after my car, is confident the problem is solved.

All that remains, is to now refit the carpets, sound underlay, front seats, practically every piece of trim, roof lining etc. The inside of my car looks looks a real mess. New sound underlay,carpets and roof lining are on order (due to the mouldy smell) and its these things that will now determine when I get my car back.

Hopefully I'll get my car back fully repaired and it might even have that new car smell again. On the other hand because so much trim has been removed to carry out the repair, will my practically brand new car ever be the same ?

By the way I printed off all the information I found on this website about how other people solved their sunroof leaks and gave it to the Skoda Maintenance Manager at Claybank. I'm sure this speeded up the whole repair process because no-one at Skoda is admitting they have a design fault with their cars yet. Perhaps they will as more and more Yeti's start taking a leak !

I have been given a Skoda Fabia while my car is being repaired, for which I'm grateful and I'm happy that the sunroof has been repaired and should not be an issue in the future. I just hope my car now comes back as good as new and blemish free like it was when it went in. (apart from the puddle in the back footwell)

[geordiebroon]

Hi Pete

Good to see progress. My Yeti is build week 46 and has no leaks in 5000 miles but the rubber flaps certainly can cause water to back up in the drain tubes !!!

When did you buy your Yeti because if it was post week 45 then I will snip off the bottom half of my flaps.

Edited 18 September, 2010 by geordiebroon

[Pete Pod]

Hi Pete

Good to see progress. My Yeti is build week 46 and has no leaks in 5000 miles but the rubber flaps certainly can cause water to back up in the drain tubes !!!

When did you buy your Yeti because if it was post week 45 then I will snip off the bottom half of my flaps.

[Pete Pod]

Hi Pete

Good to see progress. My Yeti is build week 46 and has no leaks in 5000 miles but the rubber flaps certainly can cause water to back up in the drain tubes !!!

When did you buy your Yeti because if it was post week 45 then I will snip off the bottom half of my flaps.

[Pete Pod]

Hi Geordiebroon,

I'm having a bit of trouble replying in the right place, sorry. I don't know what build week my car was. We ordered it on 10/12/09 but did not pick it up until a full 16 weeks later on 12/4/10. Good luck with yours, but unless someone can explain what the rubber seals in the outlet drain pipes are for, I would be tempted to remove the whole seal rather than risk what my car is going through. I think after reading some of the nightmare stories on this web site, it is only a matter of time before Skoda will recall all their sunroofed Yeti's anyway.

Good Luck, with what ever you decide.

[geordiebroon]

Many thanks Pete.

Your car was built a couple of months after mine so it seems the reality may be:

1. If the rubber seal flaps are "stiff" water cannot get out fast enough and backs up and leaks into the car

2. Your car was built after mine and has had its drain channels replaced - presumably my channels may also be too narrow!!

3. If I remove the seals and my roof then leaks because of forward air pressure in the channels my warranty would be void.

4. I/we all need a statement from SUK as to what if anything to do

Will post when anything useful to report

Edited 20 September, 2010 by geordiebroon

[Pete Pod]

Finally got my Yeti back from Claybank Skoda (Manchester) It's taken them 24 days to put the interior of the car back together, probably due to having to import a new roof lining. The car seems none the worse for having the inside completely stripped out. New sound underlay, new carpets and a new roof lining have been fitted. I have been assured the new rear drain pipes and removing the rubber flaps from the outlet of the drain pipes has cured the problem. None the less when I got the car home I parked it front first up hill into my drive and got the garden hose on it. With a full flow of water covering the sunroof, there was no leakage to the inside of the car !!! When lifting the tailgate with the garden hose still on, the outlet drain pipes can be seen, and a good flow of water draining harmlessly away. Result.

Just to make me even happier, I phoned Claybank Skoda to ask if there was any compensation for the inconvenience and trauma my car has been through, and I was promised that the cars first service will be free of charge !!

So after the initial shock, and nightmare of a leaking sunroof, on my brand new Yeti, I now have a leak free Yeti that seems as good as new and a free first service. Claybank Skoda have done an excellent job and I can still recomend the Yeti to anyone, it's fantastic.Buy one from Claybank.

[snoopy73]

Add me to the list.

This morning opening my car boot while it was raining, the mat was all wet. Pulling it up, I found about 5l. of water in the tools plastic container

I could see water running down the rear left and right pillars (just at the bottom of the white parts).

Car was parked with the front uphill and we had lots of rain last night.

Sound mat it totally ruined, hopefully the blow-up compressor and spare bulbs will work when dried out as they were totally immersed.

The right back seat floor mat is a bit damp as well.

Bought the car new in April 2010 and it never happened before. But past winter, I did notice lots of frost inside the windscreen and sometimes a damp smell so maybe it was happening but did not notice it.

At least, thanks to you all, I'll know what to tell Skoda when I bring the yeti for repair. Might be a different story here in France....

PS: excuse the English.

[Zelig87]

Can someone with a fairly recently built Yeti have a look and see what design changes, if any, have been made to the drain pipes/rubber flaps.

[geordiebroon]

A definitive reply would be very helpful as my March 2010 Yeti will be going for first service in a couple of months. To date the sun roof has not leaked. Thanks in advance.

[900000]

Mine has not leaked either - Nov 2010 car. It is now in Epsom with James at Allams to have the towbar software checked so I can't check the drains sorry.

[AnthonyB]

Can someone with a fairly recently built Yeti have a look and see what design changes, if any, have been made to the drain pipes/rubber flaps.

I will hopefully be picking mine up on Tuesday and can take pictures of the panorama roof if you want. Just let me know what parts to take pictures of.

[Zelig87]

I will hopefully be picking mine up on Tuesday and can take pictures of the panorama roof if you want. Just let me know what parts to take pictures of.

Yes please. Go back through this thread and I think you will find some pictures. It is at the rear when you lift the tailgate I think.

[glamorgan]

Another one to add to the list of leaking Yetis ! My Yeti was delivered in October 2010 and till now I've had no problems. However, like Levnco, my Yeti is parked on an incline with a slight tilt to the left. For the past few weeks when taking the dog for his last walk at night, I've noticed the inside of the windscreen was full of condensation, but really didn't think much of it. So this morning, when "hoovering" the inside of the car I was pretty shocked to notice the rear passenger footwell, behind the drivers seat was absolutely saturated! I can't say there has been any noticable smell, but the dampness was obviously causing the windscreen condensation at night. I immediately phoned Capitol Skoda in Newport and she's booked in for Tuesday. I've printed all the useful information I've found from this thread and will take this with me on Tuesday - thanks to everyone who contributed. I did a little experiment this evening with the hose pipe and noticed that the drainage flaps near the tailgate only allowed a trickle of water through, and yet when I opened them slightly a torrent flowed out! Hopefully this will be sorted on Tuesday but I'm afraid to snip the rubber flaps myself in case I invalidate the warranty. Thanks again to everyone.

[Macdemon]

Hope you get it sorted glamorgan. :yes:

Kitten and I have had our Yeti since Sept 1st 2010 and (touch wood) have not had a single problem with our sunroof.

I will check the rear footwells tomorrow morning before I head off to see my father for lunch

We're delivering his birthday present.

[glamorgan]

Hope you get it sorted glamorgan. :yes:

Kitten and I have had our Yeti since Sept 1st 2010 and (touch wood) have not had a single problem with our sunroof.

I will check the rear footwells tomorrow morning before I head off to see my father for lunch

We're delivering his birthday present.

Thanks Macdemon - I don't quite understand why its just happened considering the bad Winter we had - didn't expect a leak in August!

[Macdemon]

Thanks Macdemon - I don't quite understand why its just happened considering the bad Winter we had - didn't expect a leak in August!

I just think I've been lucky, or just not noticed anything

[prj]

Hi please add me to the list of Yetis with a leaking sunroof. It is a July 2010 1.2 Elegance with leaks from the driver side passenger pillar (runs down the seatbelt)

and from the back pillar (runs down the speaker grille into the small gallery shelf). To date it has been back 3 times and the 4th return visit is this Wednesday (11th Jan).

Great pity about this fault on an otherwise great car.

[Saber]

Well, I hope it gets resolved because its a nice looking feature. However, I discovered that I seldom used the retractable/tilt style designs on the cars I've owned and my current Passat. It's just there and after 5-years I think I've used it maybe 20-25 times and even then it was too noisy, or the sun would cut right between my sunglasses and eyes. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Edited 8 February, 2012 by Saber

[900000]

Well, I hope it gets resolved because its a nice looking feature. However, I discovered that I seldom used the retractable/tilt style designs on the cars I've owned and my current Passat. It's just there and after 5-years I think I've used it maybe 20-25 times and even then it was too noisy, or the sun would cut right between my sunglasses and eyes. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

As you say they can be noisy on the move... but that is not why I will never be without one in any car. Reason: in very hot weather you leave it on tilt and all the hot air escapes BEFORE you get back to the car. The difference is amazing and I really curse myself when I had forgotten to leave it open as the temperature can be nearly double - and with black leather seats that is not a nice place to be. Furthermore on the Yeti there is an automatic close feature should it start to rain too (that closes any open window and sunroof) - but to be honest if it is grey and rainy looking outside, it won't be hot enough to leave the roof on tilt to begin with!

[Yeti_Man]

As you say they can be noisy on the move... but that is not why I will never be without one in any car. Reason: in very hot weather you leave it on tilt and all the hot air escapes BEFORE you get back to the car. The difference is amazing and I really curse myself when I had forgotten to leave it open as the temperature can be nearly double - and with black leather seats that is not a nice place to be. Furthermore on the Yeti there is an automatic close feature should it start to rain too (that closes any open window and sunroof) - but to be honest if it is grey and rainy looking outside, it won't be hot enough to leave the roof on tilt to begin with!

Agreed with the above whole heartedly and the after going in a Yeti sans Velux last week I really appreciate the amount of natural light the glass roof brings into the cabin. Having the tilt facility, especially when we are abroad in the summer is a great benefit.