Unusual Panoramic Roof Drainage Channels

[srh007]

Dear Briskoda forumites,

 

Thank you for all of the fantastic information that I have been able to glean about our new family car already. We are the very happy new owners of our '64 (2014) Octavia 2.0 TSi vRS Hatchback. Purchasing it used, it just "happened" to have an option of a panoramic roof fitted, it wasn't something we were looking for. Reading the issues that many have had about the drainage channels of the panoramic clogging (and a small dribble of water appearing from the bonnet release catch), I decided that these channels needed to be investigated. 

 

I poured water down the drainage channels and from my reading on the forum, expected the water to drain to the plenum chamber. However, it actually appeared at the top of the windscreen and made it's way down the side of the windscreen ...

 

I decided to remove the A-pillar to investigate further. The attached images are what I found….

I could not see the green drainage pipes that others unclogged. As I mentioned, our is a '64 plate and I wondered if perhaps there was a design change at some point in the life of the MKIII, or perhaps if it is something to do with being the hatch and not the estate version.

 

Any feedback, ideas or suggestions on the lack of drainage channels would be greatly appreciated.

I do have a hardwired dash-cam that I have installed and this is the black cable you may have noticed running alongside the wiring loom in the A pillar.

 

Thank you very much 

 

[TrinityJay]

You've made the thread I've been meaning to!

 

When I installed my dashcam I followed a guide for removing the $@#%ing A pillar covers somewhere on here, and I too was perplexed by the lack of the drainage tubes. I had not yet poured water down what appeared to be the drainage channels (thankfully by the sounds of it). That said, it's been parked outside in a few downpours and is yet to leak anywhere. I have the hatch as well.

 

Would be great to have this cleared up as Googling hasn't shown me any useful answers.

[village]

Well not having the "normal" drainage is probably a good thing, as the design is utter ****. I've been chasing the leak for 107k miles and i think there's an inherent design flaw that means water cannot drain fast enough (even without any blockage), so overflows into the wind deflector holding area, which isn't sealed, and so from there into the headlining and down the A pillars

 

So it would be interesting to see exactly how this design differs from the norm 

[srh007]

36 minutes ago, TrinityJay said:

You've made the thread I've been meaning to!

 

When I installed my dashcam I followed a guide for removing the $@#%ing A pillar covers somewhere on here, and I too was perplexed by the lack of the drainage tubes. I had not yet poured water down what appeared to be the drainage channels (thankfully by the sounds of it). That said, it's been parked outside in a few downpours and is yet to leak anywhere. I have the hatch as well.

 

Would be great to have this cleared up as Googling hasn't shown me any useful answers.

Thank you for your reply, it’s ever so reassuring that it’s not just our car that has this design! 
 

I too had spent much time searching on this forum for another vehicle like mine, then I turned to Google and still could not find the answer. So thank you @TrinityJay, you have diminished my concerns - at least a little! 
 

Can I ask, have you had any issues with leaks or drips?

 

Many thanks

[srh007]

29 minutes ago, village said:

Well not having the "normal" drainage is probably a good thing, as the design is utter ****. I've been chasing the leak for 107k miles and i think there's an inherent design flaw that means water cannot drain fast enough (even without any blockage), so overflows into the wind deflector holding area, which isn't sealed, and so from there into the headlining and down the A pillars

 

So it would be interesting to see exactly how this design differs from the norm 

Thank you ever so much for your reply and sharing the issues that you had with your sunroof - I’m so sorry to hear that.

Reading some of the Briskoda forum posts with other people that have had issues with the drain design on your car did leave me with a sense of dread...

 

It has also taught be a lesson about options on a car, we desired the heated seats and Canton Sound - which our car had. We then just thought the panoramic roof was an added bonus. However, this could have easily turned out to not be the case!

 

Thank you very much for sharing your experience.

[misor1994]

What I understand from the workshop manual, liftback does not have drainage hoses in the front, just back. Combi has both and the front hose can be seen after removing the A pillar cover.

[srh007]

17 hours ago, misor1994 said:

What I understand from the workshop manual, liftback does not have drainage hoses in the front, just back. Combi has both and the front hose can be seen after removing the A pillar cover.

That is very helpful and interesting, thank you for sharing this information.

[misor1994]

Liftback - no. 10 in the first picture

 

 

 

 

Combi

[TrinityJay]

Still not sure what to make of that....is it supposed to be a single tube on the right hand side? The perspective on the 2nd & 3rd images as pictured is very confusing.

[srh007]

Thank you @misor1994 for the images. That is really helpful to see - and know that my car is "normal" and as intended from the factory.

[weyland]

I have a 2017 VRS hatchback with panoramic roof drainage down the nearside A pillar behind trim. Confused!