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Leaking Panoramic Roof - The Cause and the Cure


United232

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I have had 2 Yeti's leak, but it was the drain hole getting blocked by plant debris.

 

I too have had to dry out the inertia, those floors do hold a lot of water don't they.

 

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Thank you United232, I have a very similar leak to the one described, mine being the driver's side corner. This could save me a fortune, as your success has given me the confidence to attempt an insitu repair.

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..brilliant post..many thanks.

 

I have just got a Yeti with a panoramic sunroof (2015), and now starting to wonder if I have done the right thing !!

 

(Perhaps I could swap my sunroof for a solid roof  if anybody is interested.... :)  ...)

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Many more posts of this quality and we may have a Newbie taking The Plumber's title (I think he still looks in once in a while). Excellent description of "how to do it" and whilst firstly I hope never to have the water ingress problem and secondly, if I did, I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to try and sort the problem myself but it's useful background to have in mind when talking to the garage and they've done the sucking-in-of-breath thing that means the cost of repair is likely to cost a second mortgage or your first born.

 

Update. I spoke too soon. Came back to the car yesterday and there is a pool of water in the passenger foot well and large damp patch at the top of the A pillar trim. The original 5 year warranty (I paid for the extra two years) was up at the end of June so I'm now about 6 weeks outside of that and the extended warranty.....excludes the sunroof. Clearly whoever writes the warranties is more on the ball than some other parts of the Skoda organisation. Hopefully it will turn out to be blocked drainage holes......

 

 

 

 

Edited by Paul52
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I've JUST bought a 2012 Elegance with sunroof and after a few days rain found the inside to be drenched (rear & front offside footwells). I've read about other causes of leaks being windscreen seal, blocked wiper vents and airconditioning hoses but am I deluded in thinking that this might be the cause? I'm hoping it isn't the sunroof but can't see how any of those other causes would soak FRONT AND BACK footwells. Can anyone with a better knowledge of the car structure / architecture advise me please? If there's no point in getting my local garage to investigate aircon etc then I'll bite the bullet and get on with the repair detailed so well above........

 

Thanks for any advice, help.

 

Simon

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55 minutes ago, silverfoxtsbb said:

I've JUST bought a 2012 Elegance with sunroof and after a few days rain found the inside to be drenched (rear & front offside footwells). I've read about other causes of leaks being windscreen seal, blocked wiper vents and airconditioning hoses but am I deluded in thinking that this might be the cause? I'm hoping it isn't the sunroof but can't see how any of those other causes would soak FRONT AND BACK footwells. Can anyone with a better knowledge of the car structure / architecture advise me please? If there's no point in getting my local garage to investigate aircon etc then I'll bite the bullet and get on with the repair detailed so well above........

 

Thanks for any advice, help.

 

Simon

Simon, you don't mention the drains on the sunroof. 1st point of call, have you checked that these are clear? 

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Martin,  good point, sorry. I haven't investigated yet as I'm away from home. All I've done is park it up in my garage to try and dry it out.

 

My main question for you experts is whether I need to assume the source of the problem is the sunroof because it's in both rear and front footwells. Or, whether it MIGHT be aircon or some other cause that could be easier to fix. If it is the sunroof I'll definitely check the drains first.

 

Of interest I've asked the long haired CEO to buy a reasonably powerful dehumidifier and put it inside the car in the hope that this'll do the drying out job without me having to remove all the seats, carpets etc etc. I'll update you all on how that goes.........

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3 hours ago, silverfoxtsbb said:

....Of interest I've asked the long haired CEO to buy a reasonably powerful dehumidifier and put it inside the car in the hope that this'll do the drying out job....

 

My first Yeti had a period of spontaneous 'window-drop' (sorted; others here suffered too). the last event being on a very wet night.  Carpets were squelchy.  It took a good domestic dehumidifier (Ecoaid) three days of almost continuous daytime work till it was running dry.  The unit puts out some waste heat and airflow, which helps.  A good job, no aftereffects. 

 

Good luck!

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4 hours ago, silverfoxtsbb said:

Martin,  good point, sorry. I haven't investigated yet as I'm away from home. All I've done is park it up in my garage to try and dry it out.

 

My main question for you experts is whether I need to assume the source of the problem is the sunroof because it's in both rear and front footwells. Or, whether it MIGHT be aircon or some other cause that could be easier to fix. If it is the sunroof I'll definitely check the drains first.

 

Of interest I've asked the long haired CEO to buy a reasonably powerful dehumidifier and put it inside the car in the hope that this'll do the drying out job without me having to remove all the seats, carpets etc etc. I'll update you all on how that goes.........

Simon

Try and vacuum as much of the water out of the carpet first. Screwfix sell an excellent wet/dry vacuum 16 litre size for about £40. Really good suction and gives you a great head start before dehumidifier.

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All, thanks again for all your advice and help. I still find it amazing how generous people are with time in order to help others on these forums. Good on you all ! I'll return the favour and keep you all posted.

 

United 232 - very useful to know that this could all still be coming from the front. Not sure I can identify the source of the leak by testing for wetness as I'm currently working away from home for 2 weeks and hoping that i'll return to a dry, dehumidified Yeti ! Hopefully my in-situ plan will work. The long haired CEO bought a dehumidifer from Screwfix. My plan to ID the source when I get back to Blighty in 2 weeks is to ask my local garage if theres anything obvious 'up front' and if not seal the sunroof with wide Duck tape then leave it out in the rain again. If it stays dry I'll have the answer but will have bought some time in which to do my repair. If the leak is from somewhere else (eg aircon) I already have a little time before I need to do the preventive work that you suggest - and I agree with. Thanks again for all your techincal advice, most appreciated. I'm just hoping I can buy some time (maybe with Duck Tape) before I need to do this........

 

Brijo & Martinb100 - thanks for the top tips. Already done - by the Missus !

 

Later guys...... (& gals) .......

 

Simon

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

All a quick update

 

I've been away from home for 2 weeks during the recent BIG snow weather and the long haired CEO has been trying to sort the Yeti. It's been in a garage that's at ~ +10degC. She's had a dehumidifier running 24hrs/day for the last 2 weeks and this along with screwing up a towel then pushing it as hard as possible into the low points of the 2 footwells (OSF/OSR) seems to have got it 'nearly' dry. (I say 'nearly' as my 80kg can push harder than her 50kg and I can just about get the towel wet).  About 50ml / day has been coming out of the dehumidifier.

 

The attached video was taken by my wife and seems to suggest that it's coming from the aircon. It goes into my trusty local garage tommorrow for some investigation along with cambelt, water pump, service so it's gonna be a big bill anyway......

 

After this, when I get some time and the weather is nicer I'll investigate the sunroof.

 

Will keep you all posted on progress.......

 

Thanks again for all the help.

Simon

HBXN9947.mp4

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3 hours ago, silverfoxtsbb said:

All a quick update

 

I've been away from home for 2 weeks during the recent BIG snow weather and the long haired CEO has been trying to sort the Yeti. It's been in a garage that's at ~ +10degC. She's had a dehumidifier running 24hrs/day for the last 2 weeks and this along with screwing up a towel then pushing it as hard as possible into the low points of the 2 footwells (OSF/OSR) seems to have got it 'nearly' dry. (I say 'nearly' as my 80kg can push harder than her 50kg and I can just about get the towel wet).  About 50ml / day has been coming out of the dehumidifier.

 

The attached video was taken by my wife and seems to suggest that it's coming from the aircon. It goes into my trusty local garage tommorrow for some investigation along with cambelt, water pump, service so it's gonna be a big bill anyway......

 

After this, when I get some time and the weather is nicer I'll investigate the sunroof.

 

Will keep you all posted on progress.......

 

Thanks again for all the help.

Simon

HBXN9947.mp4

Good work by the CEO! Hope you get it sorted

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I count myself fortunate not to have wet carpets but I do have something awry that readers may be able to help with. The carpets are dry but the car steams up readily on a cold evening so there is damp somewhere. I get a gentle bubbling/popping sound from the rear corners of the sunroof which drew me to this posting. The frequency of the 'bubbling' increases as the fan speed is turned up. Open a door and the noise ceases so it seems to be associated with increased cabin pressure.  All four of the sunroof drains pass water ok so are not blocked. I noticed that as I poured water down the front drains (the car was on a slope) they made the bubbling sound as of air rising up the drain pipes but I cant work out how this applies to the rear. It doesn't have to be raining and the sound can persist for tens of minutes, including when the car is parked nose down on my drive.

 The car is still under warranty but I doubt dealerships abilities when it comes to diagnosing issues not in the manual or diagnostics log so forewarned is fore-armed!

Ideas welcome.....

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Hi

I believe that the bubbling sound of air being displaced up the drain tubes is normal, particularly if the volume of water being poured down is greater than that, which the tubes are designed to cope with. I think it might be somewhere in the region of a maximum of 0.7 litres/minutes -not a lot really but sufficient for what should  normally pass past the glass and seal, if the sunroof is 'seated' flush with the roof. So I think that is a 'red herring'.  With you mentioning the fan, it could be linked to your air-conditioning system in some way. Try and discuss with your dealer, as some are very good! Nothing to lose whilst under warranty but try and make it formal in case the problem persists and the car goes outside it's warranty.

 

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Thanks Martin, it will certainly be mentioned although it't not worth a special trip and will wait for the next service. I had my last yeti for nearly 8 years so am familiar with this dealer, the better one in the area but not outstanding.

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United232, firstly,thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed account,secondly have you put the repair under pressure since completion? By that i mean jet washing your car?

I ask because i have been at my wits end with the panoramic roof in my mk2 superb. Water had been leaking at the offside front,tracking along the headlining,down the A pillar trim and ending up under the carpet on the drivers side,all unbeknown to me.

I suspected blocked drains initially,then the seal around the sunroof,which i changed by removing the complete sunroof as you did. At this point i thought i had cracked it,i could wash my car with a hosepipe and leave it facing nose down when raining. However it leaked really badly when i jet washed it and when left out in biblical rain fall. I have purchased the fluid you recommended and applied to the join you pinpointed. We will see if it has worked when i have applied a few more times. Like i say i have my fingers firmly crossed because its last chance saloon for my car.  

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Hi @italian job

 

Thanks very much for your comment.

 

I feel your pain - what is ostensibly a trivial issue has rendered the car unusable, so let me try and answer your question.

 

I originally tried to diagnose the problem by hosing the roof and windscreen of the car with a helper sitting in the front seat. The results were inconsistent. On occasions, drops of water were seen falling to the floor in the vicinity of the glove box (on mine, the problem was on the N/S). Other times no amount of hosing would make any water visible.

 

Clearly you can’t fix the problem unless you can successfully diagnose its cause, so it was important to have a reliable, repeatable means of provoking the leak. Fundamentally (unless there are multiple underlying causes) this also gives you an initial point from which you can test the effectiveness of your repair.

 

I describe how I isolated the cause in the Analysis and Testing section of the document I originally posted. Let’s call that method ‘Test 1’.

 

Having effected the repair then, I conducted the following tests with the headlining, seats, carpet and underlay out of the car:

  1. I repeated 'Test 1'
  2. I set up a test-rig to irrigate the roof and windscreen of the car with a hose (avoiding irrigating the vehicle sides enabled me to see the run-off from the drain tubes)
  3. I left the vehicle out in what turned into a torrential downpour lasting a several hours
  4. I re-fitted the interior and put the car back into service leaving some blue absorbent paper behind the NSF screen pillar trim as a witness. I retrieved the paper after three weeks in service and, like the rest of the car it was bone dry.

What I didn’t do was to use a pressure washer though. Were you referring to its use as a means just to ‘wash' the vehicle, or as a means to attempt some form of pressure test?

 

If it’s the former, a pressure washer is essentially a high-pressure, low-volume device, so a hose pipe will deliver a greater volume of water in the same time, and is therefore more likely to provoke failure of an inadequate repair. If you meant as a pressure test, I wouldn’t advocate this because it wouldn’t effectively replicate a normal service condition. A fairer test may be to put it through a car wash though.

 

If you’ll forgive my hubris, given the positive identification I made of the problem, the nature of its cause and the characteristics of the material I used for the repair, I would have more faith in mine now than that of a new vehicle.

 

I would urge you to conduct ’Test 1’ after your repair, and before you proceed to any further testing, and I wish you well.

 

Please post back with you findings.

 

Best regards 

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