I've never written up a how to before but I figured I should document this somewhere in case someone else finds it useful. I didn't find very many pictures showing what this looks like before I attempted this so I hope the pictures can help anyone that is trying to attempt it. I had to put all the pictures as links at the bottom because for some reason I was not able to attach any pictures.
The whole thing (both sides) maybe took me an hour. It wasn’t very difficult just took time to make sure it dried and to have patience when removing the panels as you don’t want to break any of the pieces (VW charges a lot for them).
I had a problem that every time it rains I would get water running down the front a pillar and as I drove I would get drops onto my pants. I used krytox on all the seals around the roof as per VW instructions but this did not help at all. I also heard of people cleaning out the sun roof drain tubes from the roof however I discovered that mine were clean and water could run through them freely.
Removing the sun visor panel
You may not have to remove the whole panel which is holding the sun visors however I found it easier to pull this down a bit before attempting to remove the A pillar panels.
Start by removing the sun visors. I don't have a picture but there is a screw under cover where it is attached on the side closest to the window (See picture 2 and 3). This came off very easily for me. The power cables are connected on this site so be careful when pulling and disconnect them. The hard part is removing the other side which hold the visor in place. These have covers that just clip on and were very hard to remove. After you get the small covers off there are 2 torx screws underneath which you need to remove. (See picture 1). Once I had the screws out I could just run my finger and a flat head screwdriver around the edge which allowed me to pull off the panel that holds the dome lights and visors. If you want to take the whole thing off you will need to disconnect the cables in the centre but this was pretty straight forward (1 clip).
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Removing the A pillar panel
The panel that runs down the A pillar is held in by little knobs that you can just pull out on (see picture 4). Pull away from the side window as they are pointing out. You will also have to remove the piece at the top of the A pillar which is held by 2 metal clips (see picture 5) and just pulls straight down. 1 of my clips was pretty rusty and so it held very hard and actually did not come off with the plastic piece. You can see in my picture that 1 metal clip is missing.
Picture 4
Picture 5
Fixing the tube
Finally you will find a tube inside (See picture 6 of it disconnected and 7 where the tube connects on). In my case this tube was pretty hard and a little bent which caused a gap around the edges between where the plastic joint was connected with the tube. I found a tiny bit of old hard glue on it which wasn't doing much anymore. I took some washroom caulking from my bathroom as I figured this would be a little flexible and went around the outside of the tube which has a little connector at the end of it. Don’t put any caulking on the top side of the connector its only the part where the connector joints with the tube that needs to be “glued”. The top black end which is highlighted in picture 7 does not need anything put on it. Just make sure to reconnect the joint over it properly when you are done. It was actually holding pretty snugly for me. Picture 6 shows the tube with the connector on the end and picture 8 shows the tube without the connector that needs to be glued/sealed to it.
Picture 6
Picture 7
Picture 8
Picture 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/i5q2s9f7lmxw5p6/1.jpg
Picture 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/oopeycbala38cv1/2.jpg
Picture 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/erkeq6ihiame5e6/3.jpg
Picture 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/jdpcmjz8znlt9il/4.jpg
Picture 5 https://www.dropbox.com/s/puffddxiocltx4z/5.jpg
Picture 6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/dd5gy6j8zlxm4xw/6.jpg
Picture 7 https://www.dropbox.com/s/402bj48rmwb67pg/7.jpg
Picture 8 https://www.dropbox.com/s/cbdan9v8chpauqo/8.jpg
If you have any questions about this or its unclear let me know and I'll try to clarify.
The whole thing (both sides) maybe took me an hour. It wasn’t very difficult just took time to make sure it dried and to have patience when removing the panels as you don’t want to break any of the pieces (VW charges a lot for them).
I had a problem that every time it rains I would get water running down the front a pillar and as I drove I would get drops onto my pants. I used krytox on all the seals around the roof as per VW instructions but this did not help at all. I also heard of people cleaning out the sun roof drain tubes from the roof however I discovered that mine were clean and water could run through them freely.
Removing the sun visor panel
You may not have to remove the whole panel which is holding the sun visors however I found it easier to pull this down a bit before attempting to remove the A pillar panels.
Start by removing the sun visors. I don't have a picture but there is a screw under cover where it is attached on the side closest to the window (See picture 2 and 3). This came off very easily for me. The power cables are connected on this site so be careful when pulling and disconnect them. The hard part is removing the other side which hold the visor in place. These have covers that just clip on and were very hard to remove. After you get the small covers off there are 2 torx screws underneath which you need to remove. (See picture 1). Once I had the screws out I could just run my finger and a flat head screwdriver around the edge which allowed me to pull off the panel that holds the dome lights and visors. If you want to take the whole thing off you will need to disconnect the cables in the centre but this was pretty straight forward (1 clip).
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Removing the A pillar panel
The panel that runs down the A pillar is held in by little knobs that you can just pull out on (see picture 4). Pull away from the side window as they are pointing out. You will also have to remove the piece at the top of the A pillar which is held by 2 metal clips (see picture 5) and just pulls straight down. 1 of my clips was pretty rusty and so it held very hard and actually did not come off with the plastic piece. You can see in my picture that 1 metal clip is missing.
Picture 4
Picture 5
Fixing the tube
Finally you will find a tube inside (See picture 6 of it disconnected and 7 where the tube connects on). In my case this tube was pretty hard and a little bent which caused a gap around the edges between where the plastic joint was connected with the tube. I found a tiny bit of old hard glue on it which wasn't doing much anymore. I took some washroom caulking from my bathroom as I figured this would be a little flexible and went around the outside of the tube which has a little connector at the end of it. Don’t put any caulking on the top side of the connector its only the part where the connector joints with the tube that needs to be “glued”. The top black end which is highlighted in picture 7 does not need anything put on it. Just make sure to reconnect the joint over it properly when you are done. It was actually holding pretty snugly for me. Picture 6 shows the tube with the connector on the end and picture 8 shows the tube without the connector that needs to be glued/sealed to it.
Picture 6
Picture 7
Picture 8
Picture 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/i5q2s9f7lmxw5p6/1.jpg
Picture 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/oopeycbala38cv1/2.jpg
Picture 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/erkeq6ihiame5e6/3.jpg
Picture 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/jdpcmjz8znlt9il/4.jpg
Picture 5 https://www.dropbox.com/s/puffddxiocltx4z/5.jpg
Picture 6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/dd5gy6j8zlxm4xw/6.jpg
Picture 7 https://www.dropbox.com/s/402bj48rmwb67pg/7.jpg
Picture 8 https://www.dropbox.com/s/cbdan9v8chpauqo/8.jpg
If you have any questions about this or its unclear let me know and I'll try to clarify.