[Hedwig]

I bought a 2009 Eos in March. Glorious NZ Summer, so it's only in the last couple of weeks thar we've had heavy rain and I noticed water coming in on the passenger side.
Took it to VW workshop today and they've told me that the seals are all perished or damaged (they found evidence that someone tried to use silicone in the past as a temporary fix) and they've quoted me a couple of dollars literally under what I paid for the car to replace all the seals!
Is there anything else I could do as a alternative fix or have I bought a total lemon?
Gutted about this. It took me 5 years to save the cash to buy her, no way can I pay the same again to repair her.

 

[voxmagna]

Yours is a sad story but a warning to others who think they can use the wrong products to lubricate EOS roof seals.

Without looking it's hard to tell what the 'damage' is they refer to. If as they say they are visibly perished, seal rubber peeling away and breaking up, then that is a very serious problem because these important soft roof seals keep the car dry.

Unfortunately, replacing most EOS roof seals requires a very expensive dismantling of the complete roof by trained technicians and careful work not just putting in new seals, but reassembling the roof correctly to fine tolerances in a large workshop space. This work isn't like sliding in a new wiper blade.

I wouldn't expect a V.W shop to want to do it, they would much rather quote to fit a new pre-assembled roof part supplied by the factory, which would cost more than you paid for car.

If you tried to get this work done cheaper by an independent they would not have the right skills and training and you could end up with money spent and roof seal leaks. Only an enthusiast with a lot of free time, patience and a willingness to research what little information is available might take this on. I love my wife but I wouldn't do it!

Sorry I couldn't suggest a solution. If you keep the car, enjoy it in good weather and keep it under cover when it rains. For the cost of repairing your car, you could probably buy a newer used EOS?

 

[Hedwig]

Thanks. I think it's going to have to be a fair weather only vehicle from now on. My only other option is to try to sell it at a massive loss and warn the new owner that they'll need to fork out several thousand dollars to have the seals replaced.

 

[voxmagna]

IMHO A serious EOS roof seal problem is worse than buying a lemon car with a bad engine. At least there are shops and techs that know how to swap engines. Your only other option is to find a good used EOS complete roof from a (Newer) car that hasn't been crash damaged. There are some around where engines have gone seriously bad but I suspect few locally to you.

Removing and fitting an EOS roof complete with sunroof is a tedious job, but relies far less on putting parts together with critical dimensions and there's a greater chance of success without seal leaks. A good independent garage tech. might be able do it? Some repainting of parts may be involved. EOS roofs are pre-assembled in a factory using alignment frames and jigs. It's really hard (but not impossible) to get the same assembly accuracy removing and replacing individual parts.

Some EOS roof seals are joined and rubber welded on corners which is not a job for a first timer. Research what you could buy a good used working roof for and the labor cost to have it transferred to your car? Otherwise sadly you may have to let your car go.

Whatever you might think about this as your EOS problem, others with Audis and similar cabriolet roofs also face huge bills when their roofs fail.

 

[Teejayvg]

I'll probably be shot at for saying this, but. There is a VW procedure for repairing damaged seals in situ. This involves repainting the 'Sipiol' coating on the seals. there may be a problem with silicon contamination in your case, I don't know. But it's maybe possible to clean that away, again I don't know.
I doubt there are many 'technicians' out there with experience of this roof and they may be trying to put you off because they have to warrant the work.
that being said, I don't know how bad your leaks are or where. but some seals are easily (relatively) replaced without dismantling large sections of the roof. So it might be worthwhile seeking advice from a competent independent bodyshop.
Good luck

 

[voxmagna]

Competent independent body shop is the problem. Have you looked at any V.W procedures for seal replacement in the shop manual or tried replacing a seal yourself? IMHO the only simple seal to replace is the trunk seal and that's easy. Most body shops see a car as a collection of crash damaged body panels to take off, replace and paint. They won't read through a lot of V.W workshop procedures before starting to ruin your car even more.

EOS roof panels with seals either come as expensive complete assembled parts with seals attached (assuming they are still available), or as for the sunroof, most of the roof system has to be dismantled to get to them and replaced with V.W alignment tools. The roof seals must make contact pressure to within 1mm across some very long lengths. Body repair shops work by eye - If shut gaps are 'about right' and look right, it's o.k for them. But they don't have to sit in the car when it rains.

Warranty is important to ensure you have some come back if leaks occur after you paid a lot of money for roof work. It also ensures those working on your roof know what they are doing. That's why V.W shops fit new complete factory roofs. The complete roof assembly is warranted by Webasco as if it was in a new car and V.W techs follow a complete roof fitting procedure. V.W pass any liability over to Webasco as a manufacturing defect if it fails. If you can find an independent cabriolet repair specialist that does nothing but work on cabriolets, you are in with good chance. Even V.W dealerships may lose and not replace EOS trained roof techs 3 years after it stopped selling.

If everybody who had a roof seal leak fixed on 13 year old seals coated in Sipiol, we would have happy members. It would be useful to hear from any who went this route with success? These seals are quite delicate foam sponge rubber material easily deform or can be destroyed by poor maintenance until gaps open and they fail the thin paper grip test. I doubt surface coating will recover them and last?

 

[Hedwig]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Unfortunately none of the other non VW workshops wanted to touch my car, they've all said it was too tricky a job for them. The EOS is not a well known car in NZ which is why I ended up taking her to the VW dealership workshop in the end. It seems that any options to repair her are way out of my price range, as I've just been laid off at work I just don't have the money to be able to do anything at this stage. I'll have to garage her for now on rainy days and use public transport. See what I can do in the future once I have a steady job again.
Thanks all.

 

[KICKB0X]

"I'll probably be shot at for saying this"

Yeah, He shot you...

 

[Teejayvg]

 

[doregan]

I bought a 2009 Eos in March. Glorious NZ Summer, so it's only in the last couple of weeks thar we've had heavy rain and I noticed water coming in on the passenger side.
Took it to VW workshop today and they've told me that the seals are all perished or damaged (they found evidence that someone tried to use silicone in the past as a temporary fix) and they've quoted me a couple of dollars literally under what I paid for the car to replace all the seals!
Is there anything else I could do as a alternative fix or have I bought a total lemon?
Gutted about this. It took me 5 years to save the cash to buy her, no way can I pay the same again to repair her.

Since you are in a pickle, I suggest you spend time cleaning the seals and guides and then lube all the seals with Krytox or its true equivalent and see how that works. If you still have leakage, then consider using the Sipiol coating suggested by Teejayvg, above. He may guide you further in which Sipiol sealant to use since there are quite a few. You may have to clean the damaged areas you just Krytoxed to make sure the Sipiol bonds properly and see if that materially improves the seals.
If the above is not satisfactory, you might try taping over the seals with a black tape, possibly a good electrical tape and trimming the tape to the width of the seals. Again, with the roof closed, you should probably clean the seals so that the tape adheres to the seals. That may allow you to use your Eos in rainy weather and not have it look terrible.
Good luck.

 

[voxmagna]

they've told me that the seals are all perished or damaged

😢

 

[Lesir]

I bought a 2009 Eos in March. Glorious NZ Summer, so it's only in the last couple of weeks thar we've had heavy rain and I noticed water coming in on the passenger side.
Took it to VW workshop today and they've told me that the seals are all perished or damaged (they found evidence that someone tried to use silicone in the past as a temporary fix) and they've quoted me a couple of dollars literally under what I paid for the car to replace all the seals!
Is there anything else I could do as a alternative fix or have I bought a total lemon?
Gutted about this. It took me 5 years to save the cash to buy her, no way can I pay the same again to repair her.

Have you tried to flush the roof gutters there are drains located next to the connecting pin at the roof connection where it interlocks to the windshield's frame.
I used a air "blow gun" to flush the drains; they get filled with leaves...etc...
There are actually more drain plugs at the rear roof joints also; same process flush out the clogged drains and this might stop water from leaking inside Just saying!
Here is a You Tube to show you the drain locations. Good luck

 

[KICKB0X]

I bought one of these for that job a while back. Flush it all out every 6 months or so.

500ml Large Capacity Medicine Syringe Veterinary with 1m Hose Connector | eBay

Syringe: 26.5 19 7cm. Included: 1 X Large Capacity Syringe. It can be used with 1M hose. Wide range of uses. 12 months Warranty. The scale is clear, easy to observe the reading. Due to the different monitor and light effect, the actual color of the item might be slightly different from the color...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[New2VW]

So sorry to hear that you have spent so much money only to have found out your roof seals are beyond repair. I've "been there, done that" as well. After a certified roof tech told me how much it would cost to have my seals replaced, I just dealt with the water. Not an easy thing to do here in SW Florida!
There is a silver lining, however. My 2009 EOS is now someone else's problem! O Happy Day!

 

[voxmagna]

I'm sure your 2009 wouldn't have found its way to OP in NZ unless somebody thought it far enough away to lose it! Yes it's unfortunate, not just an issue with the year but how careful POs were looking after it (badly) because MY07 doesn't leak and the seals seem o.k to me (at the moment)?

I've always known from day 1 that any water inside the cabin and lack of regular inspection and attention to EOS roof seals is the killer for these cars. You have a lot of sun in Florida and I've been concerned about external rubber parts and their degradation caused by exposure to high U.V. Unfortunately Krytox doesn't contain a U.V inhibitor.

 

[Catweazle]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Unfortunately none of the other non VW workshops wanted to touch my car, they've all said it was too tricky a job for them. The EOS is not a well known car in NZ which is why I ended up taking her to the VW dealership workshop in the end. It seems that any options to repair her are way out of my price range, as I've just been laid off at work I just don't have the money to be able to do anything at this stage. I'll have to garage her for now on rainy days and use public transport. See what I can do in the future once I have a steady job again.
Thanks all.

Qualitat European in Auckland is New Zealand's largest independent VW, Audi and Skoda service agent and parts importer. Founded in 1972 and proudly New Zealand owned and operated we pride ourselves on providing the best possible quality service.

They service EOS roofs - I know that because they fixed the roof on one of our EOS's before we bought it and I have seen them advertising EOS roof repair services on Facebook.

Cheers

Catweazle