Just wondering if anyone else has experienced a tailgate leak?

 

It looks to be either from the rear tailgate hatch not sealing properly, the inner rear light units on the tailgate not being properly sealed, or maybe the gas strut mounting points.  Basically water is pooling on top of the tailgate seal near the boot latch and from closer inspection appears to be getting in behind the internal trim whilst the tailgate is shut.  It then drips out onto the top of the tailgate seal, where it will either drip back into the wheel well or, if the tailgate is opened, can be drained outside the car.  Opening the tailgate also seems to lead to any water still trapped behind the trim running back up the tailgate and out of the trim at the top of the rear window.

 

Any thoughts before I / the dealer attack it?

So it went into the dealer today to be looked at but they apparently can't replicate the issue with their 'sprinkler' (that could be because I've already adjusted the rear hatch rubber stops, tightened the tailgate light fittings and tightened the tailgate gas strut mount out of necessity given the heavy rain we've had recently - so I may already have fixed it).  However, they have also informed me that water sitting on top of the hatch seal, internal to the sealing line (see below), is 'normal'...

 

It's not and doesn't explain how water got behind the internal tailgate trim such that it ran out from behind the trim when the hatch was opened on two separate occasions.

 

I wouldn't mind if they simply said 'it's not leaking at the moment so we can't trace it but bring it back if it does it again'...  but trying to suggest it's normal and how the seal is supposed to work is taking the mickey.

 

And the final outcome was the dealer couldn't replicate the leak and the service manager maintained that water sitting on top  of the seal was 'normal' because there is a drain hole in the tailgate above the seal so that anything that gets inside the hatch can drain out.

 

Well...   there is a drain hole on the base of the hatch but:

1.  it's fitted with a rubber bung so is effectively sealed against the passage of water

2.  it's location is such that it is 'outside' the line of the tailgate seal, so that, with the hatch closed any water would drain out onto blakc plastic bumper finisher on the outside of the car, and not onto the seal or the inside of the car

3.  the leak was causing water to drain out from behind the internal tailgate trim, meaning it was 'inside' the interior trim

4.  as far as I can make out no other Kodiaq appears to demonstrate this particular 'design quirk'

5.  in over 30 years of maintaining and repairing many cars (and as a professionally qualified engineer) I have never seen a design that would allow water to drain ONTO the top of a tailgate seal unless there was a leak from somewhere allowing water to track internally.

 

Needless to say I now have the car back and will sort it myself.

I will open the tailgate and take a look at the seal on mine next time I wash the car. It certainly looks odd with water sitting on top of the seal.

11 minutes ago, Manc-Fletch said:

I will open the tailgate and take a look at the seal on mine next time I wash the car. It certainly looks odd with water sitting on top of the seal.

 

Thanks that would be much appreciated.

I have had water in that spot from pressure washing the tailgate area, but never from just sitting in the rain.  I just assumed that I had gone in too close with the sprayer.

 

I can't really offer any other commentary but will watch with interest.

Well I thought I'd fixed this by tightening up the rear lights and adjusting the tailgate stops - but in the heavy rain over the last couple of days it's doing it again - I'm starting to wonder if I have a dodgy hatch seal or a rear light seal that needs a bit of attention...

 

I may yet go back to the supplying dealer and ask them about the warranty on the car given it was Skoda Approved, and whether I can take it to another Skoda dealer to look at, bearing in mind I have no confidence in the supplying service manager's knowledge given his previous comments...

 

Edit

 

Just had another close look and I 'think' water is getting in at the top of the hatch opening over the seal - it seems to be where rainwater 'pools' against the seal due to the angle of our driveway and maybe the lack of pressure on the seal from the hatch at that point.  I'm therefore wondering if I can get the hatch hinges re-set to tighten this or a new seal (maybe a bigger revised part?)

Edited 31 October, 20214 yr by skomaz

I once had a Peugeot that used to regularly leak big style into the boot.  It took two years to track down, but eventually turned out to be a previous accident repair where they'd failed to reinstall seals on some of the lamp clusters.  Any chance of something similar?

Rear lamp clusters on the tailgate are on my list to look at but I've already tightened them up and a good feel round them through the access points for the fixings seems to suggest they are bone dry.  There's also no evidence of accident damage (all the paint matches, there's no evidence of overspray, there are no new seams, and the hatch hinges and bolts both appear to have original paint on them) and nothing to indicate such on any of the records.

 

I had a play with the tailgate seal on Sunday to see if I could ease it further out to create a better seal and it 'seems' to have been improved things the last day or so but who knows...   it might just be because we've had less rain!

 

After that the only other thing I can think of at the moment is the number plate fixing rivnuts and whether it's getting in past one of those as where the water is collecting behind the tailgate trim does seem to roughly line up roughly with one.  I'll wait for a dry day, take the plate off and seal round them just in case.

 

After that I'm flummoxed

With my Peugeot experience by looking at the car it wasn't obvious that there was a seal missing.  It was only by dismantling mine and dismantling one that didn't leak that the problem became obvious.

 

...and also with the way the water can run out of sight, where the problem was really wasn't intuitively obvious based on where the water pooled.  But you're obviously alive to that possibility.

 

I my case however the was actually a problem and I got it fixed.  Hope yours is the same.     

I also note the following is for a Karoq but might have some relevance?

 

https://www.karoqforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=561

Ah ..   thanks.  I've already sealed the boot strut balls but it sounds like the lights will be worth looking at

You've probably already looked at this too, but could block drainage channels in the 'aero fins' be a factor?  If water is pooling in those I guess it could go nearly anywhere when the tailgate opens.

 

 https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/449712-bootdoor-drainage-on-kodiaq/

Yep seen the aerofins note but it's not those...

 

However, it's been pretty dry since I had a tweak of the top of the hatch seal so I've checked it again and done a more thorough job this time.

 

I've also checked the rear wiper grommet and that looks fine with no signs of water ingress.  However, I took the number plate light off and noticed that he blind rivnuts for the plate mounting screws, above where the water pools, was quite rusty on the outside and internally.  I've therefore sealed around the outside of both and put a smear of sealant on the threads before reattaching the number plate.  So we'll see how we go.

 

In other news I also checked the voltage at, and fitted some Osram Nightbreakers in, the headlights (dipped and main beam) and drilled a small hole in the centre console cubby insert in the bottom of the recess where the 12v power socket cover is supposed to fit, so my 12v to USB adapter can go in there too without falling out all the time.

 

All in all a useful hour spent...   

Bugger...   Heavy rain last night and water on top of the boot seal this morning.

 

Looks like I'll be investigating the inner lights next...

Indeed.  I know we've kicked several ideas around.  Are you confident is entering through the tailgate Vs getting past the seal somewhere and running along/down it to the lowest point (on the inside)?

 

I haven't completely ruled out that water is getting past the seal but it is very hard to tell as there are no obvious water marks or tell tales 

 

However, it does appear that water is present behind the interior tailgate trim as you can see water glistening in the 'join' where the trim and the metal of the tailgate meet at the lowest point of the tailgate to the right of the lock.  That to me suggests water inside the tailgate.

 

I also remember early on water running out from behind the upper internal trim when I opened the tailgate, which again suggests it's getting inside the tailgate

Agreed.  How frustrating.

 

I just know from other vehicles that water often runs along things as well as just straight down under gravity, which makes spotting the point of ingess difficult some times.

 

Yep.  I recall a post on another sitelong ago suggesting finding leks byremoving trim and dusting the inside of panels with talcum powder so any drips or water runs show up...

 

Im not quiteat that stage yet.

Well it leaked a lot again yesterday in the torrential rain we had...   so today I took both tailgate lights out and discovered the right hand one  looked to have a few water marks behind it.  I also got a damp finger when feeling inside the metalwork to fish out the light connector block - so that's gives me the impression that's where the water has been getting in.

 

I therefore cleaned up the rubber / foam sealing strips on both lights, applied a bead of RTV gasket sealant to the metalwork where the seals seat (easier than handling a light unit with uncured sealant) and refitted both light units.  Touch wood the leak will now be fixed.

 

For info though - on my 2018 SE there was no pre-fitted light wiring/socket/connector for the nearside inner light unit, which is just a dummy - so that's scuppered my plan to retrofit the higher spec inner lights from an SE-L to get a second revering light.

No doubt you've already checked this, but a (relatively) common issue on the Kodiaq is the pair of electrical feed bellows on the top of the tailgate aperture. They often visually look intact but quite a few people have had issues with them not sealing to the body of the car properly. This essentially diverts a large proportion of any water that either runs off the roof into the gulley where the bellows are, or that runs down the tailgate when it's opened, either inside the car (which then runs down into the boot or spare wheel well), or sits in the bellow and instantly runs into the tailgate when it's opened and the bellow lifted.

 

The bellows are often used to route the electrical feed for rear dash cams and the retrofitting of a reverse camera. Either some of the clips are snapped off or they're not reseated properly. As mentioned, they look OK but in reality they're still able to let water past.

 

Might not be your issue, but worth a cursory check if you haven't already. 

9 hours ago, silver1011 said:

No doubt you've already checked this, but a (relatively) common issue on the Kodiaq is the pair of electrical feed bellows on the top of the tailgate aperture. They often visually look intact but quite a few people have had issues with them not sealing to the body of the car properly. This essentially diverts a large proportion of any water that either runs off the roof into the gulley where the bellows are, or that runs down the tailgate when it's opened, either inside the car (which then runs down into the boot or spare wheel well), or sits in the bellow and instantly runs into the tailgate when it's opened and the bellow lifted.

 

The bellows are often used to route the electrical feed for rear dash cams and the retrofitting of a reverse camera. Either some of the clips are snapped off or they're not reseated properly. As mentioned, they look OK but in reality they're still able to let water past.

 

Might not be your issue, but worth a cursory check if you haven't already. 

 

Do you have a part number for the pair of these duct/bellows? The clips are broken on one of mine.  It's hanging in there but I don't want to try to remove it to look for a part number.

9 hours ago, silver1011 said:

No doubt you've already checked this, but a (relatively) common issue on the Kodiaq is the pair of electrical feed bellows on the top of the tailgate aperture. They often visually look intact but quite a few people have had issues with them not sealing to the body of the car properly. This essentially diverts a large proportion of any water that either runs off the roof into the gulley where the bellows are, or that runs down the tailgate when it's opened, either inside the car (which then runs down into the boot or spare wheel well), or sits in the bellow and instantly runs into the tailgate when it's opened and the bellow lifted.

 

The bellows are often used to route the electrical feed for rear dash cams and the retrofitting of a reverse camera. Either some of the clips are snapped off or they're not reseated properly. As mentioned, they look OK but in reality they're still able to let water past.

 

Might not be your issue, but worth a cursory check if you haven't already. 

 

Thanks - will bear that in mind.  As you suggest they 'look' intact but no doubt a run of sealant wouldn;t go amiss...

 

Touch wood though - it seems to have been dry today despite some very heavy rain...   so fingers crossed it was the lights.  Time will tell!

40 minutes ago, wokwon said:

 

Do you have a part number for the pair of these duct/bellows? The clips are broken on one of mine.  It's hanging in there but I don't want to try to remove it to look for a part number.

 

Sorry, I don't. I'll take a look to see if there is anything printed on them next time I'm in the boot.

May not be relevant to your Kodiaq but my 2018 Superb estate tail gate had water leaking into it, you could hear it sloshing around when opening it.

 

I done all the usual stuff but just ended up removing the 3 small rubber grommets from the bottom of the tail gate to let the water drain away.

Normally the drain holes in tail gates serve a purpose  so I'm not sure why the factory fitted grommets to them in the first place?  

 

Good luck

 

Skoti