yeti Leaking Panoramic Roof - The Cause and the Cure

[Mawes]

On 01/02/2021 at 14:06, Yeti-YMe said:

Hi,

 

My car is now going to be repaired, Skoda UK are coming up with 75%, so new carpets, roof liner, new sunroof etc is now less than £700.00 inc VAT. The dealer has been so helpful and so good, I can't praise them enough. 

Hi Yeti-YMe

Its good to hear praise for a dealer doing the right thing. So many on this thread are reporting dealers and Skoda UK leaving them high and dry (sic). Would you mind sharing how you managed to press the right buttons, obviously without naming the dealer (unless you feel they deserve a public pat on the back)? 

[Neil_]

I have found the comments useful on here so for what its worth I have added my experince. It took a while to realise that water was getting in, the penny didnt drop with condensation on the inside until I saw some drips inside, then I checked the front footwell and the carpets were soaked. Didnt notice as it was under the mats. I have attached a couple of pictures.

No garage at home to check things out away from the weather but cleared the pan roof drain holes as described on the forum and all looked normal. However still leaked so as its not the best time of year to do this stuff the main dealer dealt with it. The franchise had changed so the company was not the same as I had bought the vehicle from. Anyway the panoramic roof cassette cost inc fitting was £1661 plus VAT so it has cost me £1993 with a two year warranty. So I have two years to make up my mind other than that the Yeti must rate as the most practical vehicle Ive had.

Anyway I hope that what I have desribed might benefit someone else.

I have complained direct to Skoda but not holding my breath!!!

[edbostan]

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......

My insurance company does not include panny roofs in the windscreen cover. How many companies do?

[Yeti-YMe]

On 11/02/2021 at 20:20, Mawes said:

Hi Yeti-YMe

Its good to hear praise for a dealer doing the right thing. So many on this thread are reporting dealers and Skoda UK leaving them high and dry (sic). Would you mind sharing how you managed to press the right buttons, obviously without naming the dealer (unless you feel they deserve a public pat on the back)? 

HI, the dealer has been brilliant, one girl in particular to be honest. 

 

I had a phone call last week to say that she to the leak, the blind and the motor for the blind need replacing!!!! So email gone to SKODA UK requesting that they do the repair at 75% discount as well, watch this space.... (The cost would be about an extra £1k,  and about £200 additional cost to me).

So the total repair would be over £4.5k without Skoda's contribution.

To be honest, I said I was going to shout very loudly to the national press, as it's a known fault by Skoda, so will start again next week,so I'll keep you posted. But I do think that there's enough of us to go to the press and get Skoda UK to take so.e responsibility. So far I'm still in Skoda's hire car, it'll be 3 months at the of the month.

 

[Mawes]

Hi Yeti-YMe

Your dealer has played a blinder given that as a 2016 model it must be out of warranty. Well done to them. Hopefully you are pushing at an open door with the blind ...

£4,500 with no manufacturer contribution would have been scary.

[logiclee]

My 2017 Yeti is currently back with Rainworth Skoda.

 

Bought in August 2020 but leaked at first rain and was "Repaired" in October.

 

Started leaking a couple of weeks ago.

 

I'll report back on the findings. I've asked for an extended warranty on this repair. 

[Yeti-YMe]

On 15/02/2021 at 10:47, logiclee said:

My 2017 Yeti is currently back with Rainworth Skoda.

 

Bought in August 2020 but leaked at first rain and was "Repaired" in October.

 

Started leaking a couple of weeks ago.

 

I'll report back on the findings. I've asked for an extended warranty on this repair. 

I was told my repair would have a 2 year warranty - just so you know

 

[Cradoc]

Hello again, well so far after copious amounts of welsh weather this weekend the car is still dry,both sides now . I peeled this seal back amd filled the void with silicon sealant careful to be fairly quick to reset the seal and clean up any excess sealant before it got tacky. In my case I believe this was the main cause of the leak although I did use the Tolley treatment as well as said before. It’s a quick trick a d the only dismantling needed is the 5 torx screws ( in red ) removed which hold the fly screen in place at the front , hinge the fly screen back and then that gives access to the seal .as you can see in the second pic the seal is actually deteriorating and may have been responsible for some ingress itself,however,had the pan set up been designed correctly that ingress should have been transported to the drain point irrespective of where or how the point of ingress was. Hopefully this will help those with the roof with the same leak as mine. Good luck.

[Yeti-YMe]

Just an update, getting complete repair for under £700 (inc VAT), also including the blind. 

[BigA@CPFC]

Thanks, buddy - at time of writing, I have had a brilliant and highly recommended mechanic in Norwich look over my car, research on the web and look in detail at the posts and suggestions on this site. Early days, but it looks like he has found the issue/s and without the need to replace or repair the frame, he is going to pursue the Captain Tolley route with defects he has found. Your deal sounds a no-brainer and I wish you well. I'll report back on my vehicle once the work has been completed, along with a detailed breakdown of the work he has carried out.

[Duffman21]

Hey folks. You only tend to frequent car forums when you have a problem so yep, here I am!

 

I've a 2015 L&K with pana sunroof. Totally drenched with water in front but mostly rear OS footwells. I gather it doesn't really matter though as the floor is flat so water will run wherever.

 

Car was parked up for quite a lot of the last 6 months throughout lockdown and I only really noticed the issue last week when the windscreen was condensated inside and then the OS rear window wouldn't demist. On inspection, carpets were sodden.

 

So quick question or two before I embark on analysis as I'd rather start at the easier things.

I have this tapping/knocking sort of noise when the fan is on past setting 1 or 2 and just initially thought it was some problem with a vent. Strangely though it was still making the tapping noise when I was out of the car one night, so is this the telltale signs of the drainage tube being blocked? It was coming from rear OS (or C panel) area.

 

Second thing - I can see the front drain holes on sun roof frame (not sure where they exit). I can try blowing these through as per normal if I know where the exit hole is. But how do you access the rear drains? When the sun roof is fully open, I can't suss out how to gain access, even before I know where to start looking.

 

Third, scuttle vents? I had a problem with a USB lead that was failing to charge and just the other day when I was out, the radio started to turn on and off of its own accord. I assume there's water getting in to electrics somehow.... if it was just running down A/B panels for example, I wouldn't expect it to effect electrics, unless if I read correct, the fuse box is in the front and close to the sun roof drain tube route?

 

So essentially, for those with prior experience, where would you say to start? I don't really want to start ripping off trim or panels if I can help it but will if that's the logical steps.

Cheers one and all!

[muppix]

23 minutes ago, Duffman21 said:

So essentially, for those with prior experience, where would you say to start? I don't really want to start ripping off trim or panels if I can help it but will if that's the logical steps.

 

Hello mate! I've had dribbly footwells on and off for just over a year now on my 2016 L&K Yeti, and for the longest time I've put off any remedial action because it just sounded too daunting. About a week ago we had a deluge of biblical proportions and my footwells experienced a flood, so it was a case of biting the bullet or driving around in a foot-spa.

 

I'll upload a fuller post with pictures in a day or two, but long story short: removing A-pillar trims and pulling back the roof lining is easier than I thought, and I identified the leak as being caused by the rubber grommet which connects the drain hose with the extruded plastic tube in each corner of the sunroof cassette. It appears that this grommet loses some of its elasticity with age and water starts to seep through, which is in line with what others have reported on this forum.

 

The solution for me was to pull off the grommet, clean it, and re-seat it onto the drain tube once that's been coated with Room Temperature Vulcanising (RTV) sealant, which is a cross between silicone sealant and the proverbial poo from the blanket. Doing that for the first A-pillar took a couple of hours, the second less than 25 minutes. There's an excellent PDF guide floating around on removing the roof trim, and I recommend you spend 2 or 3 quid on a plastic trim removal kit on eBay.

 

As for your specific case, I'm told that the bluetooth part of the audio unit is under the driver's seat, so maybe your audio gremlins are something to do with that system becoming waterlogged? Either way you may want to pull off the cover for the fuse box, as that's quite close to the bottom of the o/s A-pillar and mounted on bare metal. Water ingress there will be readily evidenced by rust ...

Edited 17 February, 2021 by muppix
Speeling mistook.

[Duffman21]

4 minutes ago, muppix said:

As for your specific case, I'm told that the bluetooth part of the audio unit is under the driver's seat, so maybe your audio gremlins are something to do with that system becoming waterlogged? Either way you may want to pull off the cover for the fuse box, as that's quite close to the bottom of the o/s A-pillar and mounted on bare metal. Water ingress there will be readily evidenced by rust ...

Cheers Muppix. I think I'll start with the scuttle drains tomorrow. Easiest of the lot I guess. Car had been sitting with a fair bit of snow on it over last 2 weeks so assume the sun roof wasn't really the problem as the temps were so cold the snow wasn't melting. On occasion though, I had started her up and gone for a drive and there would been thaw from the front windscreen into engine bay, so it does seem slightly plausible.

 

Be interested if anyone has photos of how to quickly assess if drains are blocked before I tackle them from inside (ie the rubber grommets).

 

Cheers

[snafu]

I've just had my panoramic roof repaired (2014 Yeti L&K), not by a dealer but a local garage. They ended up replacing the rubber seals, after a lot of investigation. I've always kept the drainage channels free using a length of bike hydraulic hose (perfect diameter) but it was still letting water into the footwell. It was getting grim in there so it was a case of either seal the damn thing up with Gorilla tape or spend a few hundred to get it fixed, I'd had a good look under the roof lining but couldn't get further. It ended up costing nearly £2k, and now the leak is fixed but DAB reception has pretty much gone. The garage won't accept that it's a problem so I wish I'd just bought the Gorilla tape now.

 

Anyhow they tell me the life of the rubber seals is about 4 years and it's a known issue on VAG sunroofs. Known by them, maybe.

 

Cheers

[Duffman21]

10 minutes ago, snafu said:

Anyhow they tell me the life of the rubber seals is about 4 years and it's a known issue on VAG sunroofs. Known by them, maybe.

 

How much were the rubber seals and do you have a part number? Presume the sun roof has to come out? How was the water getting in then if the drains weren't blocked?

[snafu]

I think the kit was about £260 if I remember rightly. I don't have a part number I'm afraid and yes the sunroof had to come out. The water was getting in via the leaking seals, I suppose, and it has fixed the problem. But it cost about half the value of the car to fix.

[Duffman21]

2 minutes ago, snafu said:

I think the kit was about £260 if I remember rightly. I don't have a part number I'm afraid and yes the sunroof had to come out. The water was getting in via the leaking seals, I suppose, and it has fixed the problem. But it cost about half the value of the car to fix.

 

Ouch! My one is self-isolating in my garage right now - very much taking a breather (and trying to dry out a bit). As I said, not sure what to tackle first. I'm loathe to pay any mechanic, let alone the £113 an hour the Stealer wants just for labour!

[snafu]

The water had also got into the sunroof motor and switch, but I managed to get the motor off ebay saving me about £300. Everything seems incredibly expensive

[Neil_]

Re pan sunroof and my costly repair above - Well after spending stupid money to get it fixed as I have no where out of the weather to work on it or keep it I thought I would try Skoda UK and say my bit. Response was swift they are only interested in their legal obligations - its just a pity I cant prove that it was their legal obligation to build the vehicle properly in the first place before I bought it. Their view of customer relations is poor Im glad some have had success with their dealer though its a pity mine had changed hands. And I concur the warranty person for Skoda earns his/her salary. Not even interested in a goodwill gesture for the soaking carpets.

I cant prove its a manufacturing defect - evidence on how many actual complaints Skoda have had on this would be useful or maybe people dont bother. Anyway I dont think the Ombudsman route would do any good as I have no proof - has anyonbe else tried the ombudsman on the matter?

 

Neil

[Stubod]

With the amount of reports for this problem I am surprised there isn't some sort of class/group action option available.

There must be lots of evidence by now  to prove its a design/manufacturing fault, and I think there is some law that states even after the warranty has expired a product must still meet certain criteria?

[Mawes]

2 hours ago, Neil_ said:

Re pan sunroof and my costly repair above - Well after spending stupid money to get it fixed as I have no where out of the weather to work on it or keep it I thought I would try Skoda UK and say my bit. Response was swift they are only interested in their legal obligations - its just a pity I cant prove that it was their legal obligation to build the vehicle properly in the first place before I bought it. Their view of customer relations is poor Im glad some have had success with their dealer though its a pity mine had changed hands. And I concur the warranty person for Skoda earns his/her salary. Not even interested in a goodwill gesture for the soaking carpets.

I cant prove its a manufacturing defect - evidence on how many actual complaints Skoda have had on this would be useful or maybe people dont bother. Anyway I dont think the Ombudsman route would do any good as I have no proof - has anyonbe else tried the ombudsman on the matter?

 

Neil

 It seems crazy that Skoda UK have been downright unhelpful with you and indeed most others posting on this forum, whilst at the same time paying 75% of Yeti-YMe’s £4,500 repair. On a 2016 car presumably out of warranty.

I can understand patchy responses dealer by dealer, and indeed different approach to claims in and out of warranty, but Skoda UK blowing hot and cold on a case by case basis is baffling...

I am well out of this having sold my car to a main dealer after spending a small fortune on a leaking pano a few years back, but I do check back from time to time to see if the stonewall refusal on SUK’s part to do anything has modified in any way. I thought Yeti-YMe was the start of something good, so maybe the fact that the Yeti pool is no longer being refreshed by new car sales means that a change of heart may be in the offing??

 

[Duffman21]

So chaps.... the drain at the rear of the sunroof... is this accessible via the tailgate or is this only via the removal of the headliner? And where does the pipe exit the car so I can ensure it's not blocked?

[andy03021970]

Hi I have a skoda yeti 2015 with dreaded sunroof leak had pipes checked and ok I cannot download the article on the repair any help please waterlogged drivers footwell 

 

[Martinb100]

10 hours ago, andy03021970 said:

Hi I have a skoda yeti 2015 with dreaded sunroof leak had pipes checked and ok I cannot download the article on the repair any help please waterlogged drivers footwell 

 

Hi, hopefully you can download this pdf file. Keeping the car dry during the treatment and 'less is more' Captain Tolley's (i.e lots of small doses) is critical to success.

Yeti Panoramic Roof Leak.pdf

[logiclee]

Well just had word back from Rainworth Skoda, my 2017 requires a replacement cassette.