Hello guys,

 

After my recent experience with my leaking panoramic roof on my new (to me) VRS - fingers crossed foxed now - i have decided to very much keep on top of the maintenance for the roof. I have cleared the various drain points and applied gummi-pflege to all of the rubber seals  (I know VW recommends krytox for this job but the stuff is very expensive - from my reading it seems the gummipflege isn't as durable but i figure that gives me a reason to reapply it and re-check the roof more regularly).

 

I have invested in some of VW's lubricant paste which is referred to in the workshop manuals (again this must be made of unicorn tears given the price of it). Having checked the Skoda workshop manual the greasing procedure seems much simpler than the process listed in the Mk7 Golf and Leon workshop manuals and refers only to greasing the rails and a short length of runner.

 

I have greased the rails this afternoon, but cant work out where this runner is that is referred to. I have attached a clipping from the workshop manual showing this but wondered if anyone had done this procedure may be able to direct me to it with photos of the area as it looks in the real world?

 

Thanks again

BigJakk any chance you can provide a link to the maintenance procedure you have decided to follow. Or post the details, I have a PR and am concerned about getting leaks in the future and suspect it may not be a priority for the dealer during a service who may not have much experience with PRs?

Hi BigJakk,

Can you tell me how often this needs to be done, please?

Thanks in anticipation

Interested in any details also for the pano roof on our Yeti (assume it's broadly the same).

 

I bought the genuine VAG unicorn tears lubricant about a year ago but when I went to do the job I wussed out as it looks quite complicated. I seem to remember the instructions say to clear the runners using an air gun which is standard garage equipment but not something I have at home!

If you don't mind sharing, where are the drain points, what do they look like and how do you clean them?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZAROX-OYN-14-PFPE-Coating-for-rubber-seals-30g-bottle-equivalent-GPL105-VW-EOS-/4018423800

 

The above is the equivalent of the VW group product for lubricating rubber "pano " roof seals and the black painted blade type rails that pass between these seals . I use it on my VW Eos roof seals  and sunroof blades . It is much cheaper than the VW product which is Dupont Krytox GPL105 a PFPE synthetic lubricant . 

Where to being with this, I recently bought my Mk3 VRS used (but new to me) from a good friend. The car has a pano-roof, which i wasn't massively fussed about and on the basis of my experiences so far I will never buy a car with again. Long story short within a few days of buying the car i found the roof was leaking. The issued appears to have been fixed now by my local VW independent specialist who had to remove the roof, fit a new seal, re-bond the roof to the plastic frame and then refit.

 

As a result of my issues I've done a LOT of research into these roofs the last few weeks so prepare for a long winded response. 

 

The roofs themselves appear to be manufactured by Webasto however the VAG appear to have a particularly poor track record in terms of leaks and drainage issues when compared to other marques.

 

Clearing Drainage Tubes

The most common issues are the sunroof drains themselves becoming clogged and flooding. The way to test this is to carefully run some water into the sunroof tray (i used a squeezy mineral water bottle) and see if it drains effectively - the drain points are at the front and rear wheel arches. Even if still draining okay i would suggest this should be a yearly job. My front drains were nowhere near as efficient as the rear drains.
 

With the roof open, the drainage points can be found in the four corners of the plastic sunroof tray, however the two rears ones are not readily visible and are hidden by the mechanisms. The two front ones are easily identifiable and are circular holes a few millimetres in diameter. These drain points are bonded to drain tubes - I've seen other people have these bonds fail and leak or become disconnected and they have had to drop the headliner and re-bond the pipes to the roof.

 

The front drainage tubes run down the A-Pillar and exit at the bulkhead in the engine bay. The drain tubes themselves are just push fit into a rubber boot at the bulkhead and again in mu opinion there is the potential for this to work loose and leak. 

 

The procedure i used to clear the front drains was firstly to open the bonnet and remove the rubber stripping from the plenum chamber cover - it will just pull off. From there you will see there are several metal clips which secure the plenum cover, again these will pull out and you should be able to lift both corners of the plastic plenum chamber cover. The workshop manual suggests the windscreen wipers need removing, but even with my shovel hands i was able to reach in under the plenum chamber cover and feel towards the base of the A-Pillar where you will feel a rubber nipple. You need to manipulate this and you should feel an amount of gunk work clear from the nipples, this in itself should improve the efficiency of the drainage tubes markedly.

 

To clear the tubes themselves some recommend blowing compressed air from the drain point in the roof tray, however VW seem to advise against this and the workshop manuals refer to using a bowden cable or similar as a drain snake. Personally i wouldn't use anything metal or too rigid as the drain pipes themselves aren't especially heavy duty and i could see the potential to cause damage.

 

I purchased some plastic garden strimmer line for a couple of quid from the DIY shop - 2mm diameter, in reality i could probably have done with using the same stuff but a bit thicker as this was a bit too malleable and not strong enough. As such i doubled it up and taped it at several points to double its thickness and make it a bit stronger. It was then a case of gently feeding it down the two drainage pipes - if you hit any snags its probably a bit of blockage, working the cable back an forth it should push through and i was eventually able to get my cable to appear out of the bulkhead nipple and then basically 'flossed' the drainage tube. I repeated this several times and quite a bit of  gunk was loosened. I then repeated this on the other side front drain.

 

Finally i used a large syringe containing hot (but not too hot) water and washing up liquid and injected this directly into the drain point just to try and degrease and clean any final bits out.

 

As discussed the rear drainage tubes cant be easily accessed from the top by my eyes. The workshop manual suggests these exit by the rear wheel arch and that access to clear the drain point nipple can only be gained by removing the rear bumper - which looks a right ball ache. I have seen some suggests that taking off the wheel and arch liner should also get you access. You could also clear the tube from within the car - removing it from the rubber boot where it enters the drainage nipple and exits the car, but this would mean removing a lot of the boot trim. This was all a bit involved for me as my rear drains seemed okay, however i will keep an eye on this. My research suggests that the way to clean these drains is again using your improvised drain snake - however this time from the bottom up, feeding it from the wheel arch nipple up towards the roof where it should emerge. 

 

I will stick another post on shortly re: the lubrication of the mechanism and seals

Edited 3 August, 20205 yr by BigJakk

Lubrication of Roof Mechanism and Rails

 

All workshop manuals for the Octavia, Golf and Leon refer to this as being a maintenance/service procedure however the only information i can find for the service interval comes from a Golf website where every 4 years or 40k miles is given.

 

The three procedures seem to vary quite a bit, with the Octavia one appearing the most simple. I personally think that the sunroofs may be different for each model (as there are two different procedures for the Leon depending on body shape) however cant confirm this. Links to the procedures below :

 

Octavia: See Page 115 in the pdf (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6mvh3pqryshv3rp/AAAYSoCsp-vVWz-h4ko4QoAha?dl=0&preview=Maintenance.pdf)
Leon: http://www.seatia.com/secon-1242.html (Procedure differs from hatch/couple and the ST)
Golf: https://www.vwroc.com/forums/topic/26804-sunroof-maintenance/

 

The lubricant itself in all manuals is listed as VW solid lubricating paste (G 060 751 A2) - I managed to get a 160g mastic gun type tube for £40 from TPS, you can get it on Ebay for slightly more. That quantity looks like it will last beyond my lifetime. Im not sure what exactly the stuff is in terms of identifying a cheaper alternative - it a graphite grey type colour, thicker consistency than lithium spray grease, quite sticky.

 

In terms of the procedure itself, i tired using a shop vac to hoover any debris out of the rail area - however the nozzle was too big to really be effective. Likewise i had a spray can of air that i tried to use to blow out the thick, however this didn't really do much - i can imagine though that a proper decently powered air compressor may assist here. All i ended up doing was using a clean microfibre cloth and making sure i gently worked well into the rails and nooks. As the existing lubricant was still quite sticky this managed to pick up a lot of the loose old lubricant and the dirt embedded within.

 

In terms or applying fresh, a little went a LONG way. I tried applying it to the rails using a small artists brush bent at an angle however I am far too clumsy for this and access is quite tricky (a small step ladder may assist with this from the outside, from the inside you'll have to climb onto the seat base). In the end i used cotton buds, bent at an angle and smeared in the grease and ran them along the rails. This probably ended up going on a bit thick but i cleared up the excess with another clean microfibre cloth. I then ran the roof open and closed a few times.

 

The Leon workshop guide details a specific attachment to the mastic tube which looks to apply it precisely where it needs to do - i googled this - VAS 6621 'Grease Stone' however couldn't find anywhere selling or a price.

 

As per my original post, i cant quite work out which final section of runner the Octavia manual is referring to?!?

 

After re-greasing, the panoramic roof's opening and closing doesn't feel or sound any different, no smoother and no less smooth - with that said the old lubricant i removed did seem to have picked up quite a bit of grit and dirt - always an issue with greases and given the potential damage this could cause with metal on metal contact i feel it was worth doing. The service interval seems a bit long to me, maybe something you just check on each spring time? 

Drainage Tubes - Continued:

 

While not specific to the Octavia - the Leon Workshop Manual pretty much shows the layout of the drain tubes as they are on the Octavia in quite a lot of details as well as the cleaning procedure:

 

http://www.seatia.com/secon-887.html

Lubrication/Treatment of Sunroof Seals

 

In my initial research into my leaky roof i kept coming across a lot of VW EOS Convertible owners boards - it appears that the EOS is basically a collander!

 

One of the solutions VW have offered to fix the problem was treating the various rubber seals on the convertible roof using a special lubricant oil. This lubricant is called 'Krytox' manufactured by DuPont and is an expensive, super high specification PFPE lubricant. It seems that it has the effect of rejuvenating seals causing them to swell and remain water tight - it is also extremely durable and does not react to the elements and contaminants.

 

VW sell this stuff under three part numbers:

 

G 052 141 A1 - Oil based
G 052 141 A2 - Paste based
G 052 141 A3 - Aerosol based

 

It can also be bought direct from DuPonts UK distributor GBRTech.co.uk who quoted me £30.30 for the 30ml of the oil (Krytox GPL-105) and £38.90 for 2oz of the paste (Krytox GPL-205), not including VAT and £13 fedex delivery.

 

A lot of chat on the forums suggests it can go a considerable time before needing reapplying and that a little goes a very long way, however the oil based version apparently contains a lower quantity of the actual lubricant compared to the paste.

 

There are several alternative PFPE type lubricants that can be found cheaper on ebay etc. including Zarox, Fluorofluid and Whiteline bicycle lubricants - however anecdotal evidence is that these, despite being cheaper are still fairly expensive and are not as good as the Krytox and this a bit of a false economy.

 

Interestingly the Golf and Leon workshop manuals refer to applying the Krytox paste to the seals, however there is no mention of it in the Octavia manual.

 

As such i was a bit reluctant to spend £50 quid on something that may or may not be necessary. In my research i found a lot of references to 'Gummipflege', particularly among owners of MB and BMW cabriolets. This stuff is a rubber conditioner which also appears to rejuvenate the condition of seals (unlike normal rubber dressings which simply make it look shinier) although the reports are that it is nowhere near as durable as the Krytox stuff as it isn't really meant for external use.

 

There are several brands of Gummiplege - Sonax, Liqui-Moly, BMW and Nextzett. The Nextzett stuff seems to be the best rated and i got a 100ml tube from MicksGarage for about £6 delivered so thought it was worth a whirl. It comes in one of those Kiwi-Shoe Polish type applicators with a foam pad on the end.

 

Having wiped the seals down with a damp cloth and dillute washing up liquid and water mix which i allowed to dry,  i applied it to all of the rubber seals around the inside and outside of the roof panel as well as all my door and boot seals. There's still loads left in the bottle which i can see lasting sometime. I will see how it goes, but even if i feel the need to reapply every couple of months or so at this stage I dont feel as if im losing anything by trying this first as an alternative to the Krytox.

 

Hope this has all been of use to you folks

 

 

Absolutely superb write up from BigJakk .

I own an Octavia 111 but am glad to say it doesn't have a "pano roof" so no leaks creaks or time consuming  roof maintenance . I also own a 2006 VW Eos and believe me they leak due to ageing of the seals and generally poor design of the Webasto roof drain mechanism . Having owned it now for over 10 years I have tried many roof seal and roof  maintenance procedures  cleaning regimes and  have implemented every modification and maintenance procedure available for the EOS roof seal and drain system.

I have learned that all greases even the exotic Krytox paste simply attracts dirt no matter how applied .

I favour using Krytox GPL105 which I used to buy from the USA in 0.5 kg bottles . I have used two of these altogether in the last 10 years . 

Although expensive GPL105 really works, it preserves and rejuvenates rubber seals, prevents creaks and is a first class lubricant. It is however incredibly expensive.

I own a selection of the Gummipledge products which are ok but no substitute for Krytox GPL105 and simply do not provide lasting results on rubber and do not really lubricate sliding parts.

One application of GPL 105 lasts me about 6 months here in Derbyshire UK but I always garage the car and keep it very clean. Other ownership styles will require more applications of the product.

GPL105 can be applied very sparingly from a fine nozzle dropper bottle and messaged into clean rubber seals. For sliding parts use whatever will reach, ie brush , cotton wool but etc but clean the  sliding parts of all dirt and grit harbouring grease first ( as you can gather I'm not a fan of grease for the sliding parts!).

Not all apparent GPL105 substitutes are equal however and some are not even close and may be completely unsuitable as simply containing PFPE in the mix is not enough to ensure correct lubrication of sliding parts and maintenance of supple rubber seals,  in fact some fluids although containing PFPE are for metal lubrication ie bike chains! The nearest  sensibly priced substitute for GPL105 is the Zarox OYN 14 which I linked to in my earlier post. 

I have been using this for a year so far , two applications and can find no discernible difference between this and Krytox GPL105. If the EOS lasts another 10 years maybe I will know for sure but so far so good!

The main thing I have learned is keep the rubber seals well lubricated , clean them and the sliding parts of the roof , flush out the roof drains regularly and keep an eye out for leaks. And finally and don't buy a car with a fancy folding or sliding opening roof and expect it not to leak or require zero maintenance!

I hope this helps fellow Octavia owners too?

Massaged not messaged , sorry ! How do you edit posts?

Well a huge thank you to you BigJakk for going to so much trouble to provide some very interesting information. I think I'll leave mine alone as it doesn't seem to bear much resemblance to the graphic you posted from the workshop manual. I think maybe my roof is a different design?

BTW my hand is there to block the sun, not to say, "This is my PR" 🙂

3 hours ago, GUM213K said:

And finally and don't buy a car with a fancy folding or sliding opening roof

 

Quoted out of context (maybe i should become a journalist?) but that would be my overall advice!

 

I kick myself a bit as I've never previously owned a car with a sunroof as any kind as i personally find them a bit redundant nowadays when A/C is pretty much universally standard. Likewise cabriolets have never been of any interest to me.
I would certainly never spec one on a new car, it just happened to be that this car came up and happened to have one. I will certainly NEVER be buying another car with one.

 

Its only once you dive into it you realize just how many potential flaws and problems there can be with these things and the maintenance requirements and the costs should repair become necessary -- when mine started leaking a few days after purchase i seriously worried it was going to be a case of getting rid of the car. Since having it repaired I will be watching it like a hawk and in my gut i cant help feel that this car wont be around long term once it has been paid off.

I would never order one if buying new either but then I would never buy new. Like yours, this was a s/h vehicle which was exactly what I was looking for in all other respects and it just happened to come with a pano roof as well. Actually though, I do like the roof open in spring and autumn.  I had a Honda S2000 before moving to France in 2003 and so I enjoy driving with my head exposed to the sky.

4 hours ago, GUM213K said:

Although expensive GPL105 really works, it preserves and rejuvenates rubber seals, prevents creaks and is a first class lubricant. It is however incredibly expensive.

I own a selection of the Gummipledge products which are ok but no substitute for Krytox GPL105 and simply do not provide lasting results on rubber and do not really lubricate sliding parts.

One application of GPL 105 lasts me about 6 months here in Derbyshire UK but I always garage the car and keep it very clean. Other ownership styles will require more applications of the product.

GPL105 can be applied very sparingly from a fine nozzle dropper bottle and messaged into clean rubber seals. For sliding parts use whatever will reach, ie brush , cotton wool but etc but clean the  sliding parts of all dirt and grit harbouring grease first ( as you can gather I'm not a fan of grease for the sliding parts!).

Not all apparent GPL105 substitutes are equal however and some are not even close and may be completely unsuitable as simply containing PFPE in the mix is not enough to ensure correct lubrication of sliding parts and maintenance of supple rubber seals,  in fact some fluids although containing PFPE are for metal lubrication ie bike chains! The nearest  sensibly priced substitute for GPL105 is the Zarox OYN 14 which I linked to in my earlier post. 

I have been using this for a year so far , two applications and can find no discernible difference between this and Krytox GPL105. If the EOS lasts another 10 years maybe I will know for sure but so far so good!

 

 

Do you use the GPL-105 on the metal runners as well as the seals then?

 

It is interesting that the Octavia manual makes no reference to the seals but the Leon/Golf ones do - perhaps the Octavia procedure has been updated since. I know part of the TPI for the repair on mine was to replace one of the outer seals - in extreme cases water can trap between the seal and the roof leading to corrosion (thankfully not in my case).

 

Regarding the Krytox, when i contacted DuPont's UK reseller they explained that on the face of it Krytox isnt really designed for this sort of application - it was only when they started receiving equiries from car owners that they looked into it and confirmed that it works as a rubber rejuvenator/protectant. 

It is important that people note that Krytox contains PFPE (not PTFE which is cheap as chips in comparison) - there are other PFPE lubricants but most don't seem suitable for our purposes. Finish Line do a PFPE lubricant for bicycles however this reportedly doesn't work well on roof seals and whilst half the price of Krytox is also half the quantity - so a false economy. Reports on Fluorofluid suggest that whilst a lot cheaper its nowhere near as durable - the suggestion being it doesn't have as great a concentration of PFPE in it.

Your experiences with the Zarox sound positive though and i may give it a whirl if the gummipflege doesnt work out.

 

On the subject of gummipfledge there also seems to be several versions - each slightly different. The most recommended are the Nextzett and BMW OEM stuff (which may not be produced any more) as these are water based, others (such as Sonax) apparently contain Silicone which apparently (contrary to what i always thought) may not be the best thing for rubber in the long term.

Edited 4 August, 20205 yr by BigJakk

34 minutes ago, Gasconman said:

Well a huge thank you to you BigJakk for going to so much trouble to provide some very interesting information. I think I'll leave mine alone as it doesn't seem to bear much resemblance to the graphic you posted from the workshop manual. I think maybe my roof is a different design?

BTW my hand is there to block the sun, not to say, "This is my PR" 🙂

 

I have the same roof on mine by the looks of it - i basically gave the tray and roof panel a bit of a clean with soapy water, cleaned out the runners/rails which run down the side length and then reapplied fresh lubricating paste to that areas and ran the mechanism to work it in. Likewise it seems a bit different to that pictured in the workshop manual so i didn't venture any further with moving parts etc.

 

I then applied gummipfledge to all the rubber seals, particularly the thick inner seal/weather strip and also the harder more 'plasticky' seal around the glass panel and the roof themselves.

Edited 4 August, 20205 yr by BigJakk

OK, well, although my car was first registered in January 2018, I bought it with just 8,000 kms on the clock and even now it's only done 20,000 kms (12,500 miles) so I'm going to note all this info and see how things go in the future.

 

Thanks again 🙂

55 minutes ago, BigJakk said:

 

Do you use the GPL-105 on the metal runners as well as the seals then?

 

It is interesting that the Octavia manual makes no reference to the seals but the Leon/Golf ones do - perhaps the Octavia procedure has been updated since. I know part of the TPI for the repair on mine was to replace one of the outer seals - in extreme cases water can trap between the seal and the roof leading to corrosion (thankfully not in my case).

 

Regarding the Krytox, when i contacted DuPont's UK reseller they explained that on the face of it Krytox isnt really designed for this sort of application - it was only when they started receiving equiries from car owners that they looked into it and confirmed that it works as a rubber rejuvenator/protectant. 

It is important that people note that Krytox contains PFPE (not PTFE which is cheap as chips in comparison) - there are other PFPE lubricants but most don't seem suitable for our purposes. Finish Line do a PFPE lubricant for bicycles however this reportedly doesn't work well on roof seals and whilst half the price of Krytox is also half the quantity - so a false economy. Reports on Fluorofluid suggest that whilst a lot cheaper its nowhere near as durable - the suggestion being it doesn't have as great a concentration of PFPE in it.

Your experiences with the Zarox sound positive though and i may give it a whirl if the gummipflege doesnt work out.

 

On the subject of gummipfledge there also seems to be several versions - each slightly different. The most recommended are the Nextzett and BMW OEM stuff (which may not be produced any more) as these are water based, others (such as Sonax) apparently contain Silicone which apparently (contrary to what i always thought) may not be the best thing for rubber in the long term.

Hi , yes I have used  Krytox GPL 105 for 10 years to lubricate the vertical metal runners that slide between the sunroof pinch seals on my 2006 VW Eos and other moving parts of the sunroof rise and slide mechanism. I bought  the GPL 105 in a vain attempt to eliminate roof leaks , (some success) and creaks (complete success)  from where the rubber parts rub together. 

I discovered the bonus of reducing friction between the painted metal parts almost by accident.

In fact GPL105 is magic at reducing all types of plastic  trim creaks .

Its main use was o ring seal lubricant in pumps and diving apparatus apparently?

The gummipfledge stuff  from Nextzett  is the best of its type and works ok to keep the rubber soft  but doesn't last long and doesn't help much with creaks . 

A good lubricant for other moving parts is Wurth 2000 aerosol lubricant , this I use on some of the other pivoting joins in the Eos roof , it doesn't attract much dirt!

The best alternative I have found to genuine GPL105  is the Zarox OYN ( catchy name? ).

I'm sure I will have made typos , old age, small phone, sorry!

 

5 hours ago, GUM213K said:

Hi , yes I have used  Krytox GPL 105 for 10 years to lubricate the vertical metal runners that slide between the sunroof pinch seals on my 2006 VW Eos and other moving parts of the sunroof rise and slide mechanism. I bought  the GPL 105 in a vain attempt to eliminate roof leaks , (some success) and creaks (complete success)  from where the rubber parts rub together. 

I discovered the bonus of reducing friction between the painted metal parts almost by accident.

In fact GPL105 is magic at reducing all types of plastic  trim creaks .

Its main use was o ring seal lubricant in pumps and diving apparatus apparently?

The gummipfledge stuff  from Nextzett  is the best of its type and works ok to keep the rubber soft  but doesn't last long and doesn't help much with creaks . 

A good lubricant for other moving parts is Wurth 2000 aerosol lubricant , this I use on some of the other pivoting joins in the Eos roof , it doesn't attract much dirt!

The best alternative I have found to genuine GPL105  is the Zarox OYN ( catchy name? ).

I'm sure I will have made typos , old age, small phone, sorry!

 

 

In my research i found a lot of people seemed to think that the Krytox has to be used for all aspects of lubricating the panoramic roof parts (including the metal parts and runners) however looking at the workshop manuals i don't think this is the case and that the Krytox is intended for the plastic and rubber parts. I also read that Krytox has a background in diving equipment but my father in law does a lot of diving and said he had never heard of it and the stuff they use is cheap as chips - which makes me think Krytox may be for even more specialist applications.

 

While i used the expensive VW recommended stuff this time, it was quite messy and awkward to apply accurately to the rails. The fact its also a paste leads me to think, as you say, that it will capture dirt and grime which isnt good for metal-metal contact. I would wonder whether it would be thick enough too that if applied it to any moving mechanisms it could clog them. With that said the stuff i removed appeared to be the same stuff and is presumably six years old and hadnt clagged up with dirt and dried in the same way that lithium type greases would to do in my experience.

 

I've seen mention of the Wurth 2000 aerosol stuff and may be tempted to get some next time i do this - i assume its a dry spray lubricant? I wonder if this would be better on moving parts as you wouldnt end up with a thick residue being left behind?

 

Thanks

The EOS roof is  as far as I know unique having a sliding glass  opening sunroof as well as a folding metal and glass roof . It is extremely complex and thrives on meticulous maintenance . The main thing I have learned  is that Krytox GPL 105 reduces friction between the metal , plastic and rubber parts of the sunroof section of the roof.  (Each of the two metal guide blades of the roof have to slide between a pair of vertical rubber seals . ) It does not  appear to attack rubber , plastic or metal. 

There are many guides about what it can be used for in the Dupont publications.

The "fact"  that it is "inert "and "non toxic" according to Dupont makes it suitable for many applications where contamination of people (diving) ? and foodstuffs is not desirable.

I'm not expert but Krytox GPL105 works for me and my Eos roof still folds smoothly , leaks only a little and it has served me and many  other Eos owners  well for many years.

Wurth 2000 is indeed a semi dry  aerosol lubricant and works well  on the pivoting and sliding hinge pins and joints of the Eos roof which are under enormous strain when moved by hydraulic rams .  It does not appear to attract dirt. As I say I avoid grease where possible in places exposed to dirt , tree sap ,tree seeds , leaves etc as these turn the grease into an abrasive paste and clog up the roof drains!  ( in my opinion ). 

Maybe VW group has a different view of this for their Panoramic roofs but I guess they have perhaps been wrong about other aspects of car design and maintenance?

 

3 hours ago, GUM213K said:

 

Maybe VW group has a different view of this for their Panoramic roofs but I guess they have perhaps been wrong about other aspects of car design and maintenance?

 

 

My research into my problems took me through a lot of BMW and MB owners websites - it does seem that although the sun roof's for all three marques are manufactured by Webasto they are a particularly troublesome on VAG cars.

 

In most cases this seems to be down to the way that VW has designed and routed the drainage systems, them clogging or the pipes coming loose. However there are a number of issues reported of roof frames twisting and distorting and needing a full replacement. I know leaks are pretty rife on the Yeti and apparently in the states there is an ongoing Lawsuit against VW over Panoramic roof faults on the Golf Mk7.

 

Never again for me folks! 

 

 

Buy a Toyota or a Lexus , not a VAG group vehicle if you value proven reliability ? They are maybe a bit dull but seem to have fewer issues?

Awesome write up. Mods, can we make this sticky so to have it as a reference for other users as well?

2 hours ago, GUM213K said:

Buy a Toyota or a Lexus , not a VAG group vehicle if you value proven reliability ? They are maybe a bit dull but seem to have fewer issues?

 

Erm, no!