[GreenGables]

Greetings and Happy 2021!

My 2013 Eos has developed a roof leak on the passenger (right) side, so I've been investigating possible causes. The symptom is that water leaks in and drips onto the outer (window-side) edge of the seat when I brake or make a left turn while driving in the rain. I'm aware of the potential issues with the clogged A-pillar drains and dry/cracked roof seals, but the drains seems to be draining, and I've Krytoxed my roof seals at least annually since I bought the car in 2016.

Instead, I'm wondering if my roof has developed a misalignment that could be causing the leak.

As I wait for the roof to close, I tend to watch the points where the roof pegs connects to the A-pillars. (I never get tired of watching the roof close, and anyway, I'm stuck there with my finger on the close switch until it's finished, so...) Late this past summer, I noticed that a small gap remained on both sides when the roof closed, and this has continued to be the case. I'm almost certain the gap was not there prior to August.

Please see my attached photo, showing the left side where the roof meets the A-pillar. What do you make of the gap? Of course I've looked at the roof from the outside and, to my eye, everything seems to be sealed/lined up.

Assuming it's supposed to line up more tightly than that, any suggestions as to the cause of the misalignment? Again, this gap is visible from the interior on both the right and left sides. More to the point, is there some straightforward way for the dealer to adjust the distance of travel so there is no gap?

While I do take a DIY approach to many things in life, I don't have access to a garage so won't be tackling any Eos roof issues myself. I have to assume the major VW dealer here knows their way around the Eos roof, but I'd like to hear from the experts on this forum about any pitfalls I might encounter.

Thanks for any experience you can share about this gap and possible causes.

Anne

 

[aku-aku]

You need to look from the outside. See if you can fit a thin piece of paper between the rubber on the roof seals at the sides and along the front (you shouldn't be able to). Also, open the sunroof and make sure all the seals and the drainage channels are clean.

 

[voxmagna]

Gap between 'A' Pillar and roof Side members

This question popped up and some saying they had gaps like MY07 or bigger. We concluded that as long as the side members are fully locked, any gap seen however ugly to look at was a common EOS 'feature'. I can now explain this: Each side member trim is held by seals on the outside, 3 pegs and...

www.vweosclub.com

 

[GreenGables]

You need to look from the outside. See if you can fit a thin piece of paper between the rubber on the roof seals at the sides and along the front (you shouldn't be able to). Also, open the sunroof and make sure all the seals and the drainage channels are clean.

Thanks for reminding me of these specific simple maintenance checks while I was focusing on a possible mechanical cause. Perhaps I was hoping to shift the blame away from myself for improper maintenance? Anyway, yesterday's weather wasn't conducive so I had to wait until this morning to investigate.

I can slide an index card in between the seals, with a bit of effort. Thinner more flimsy paper doesn't really pass through, so I take that as a good sign that there is not a true gap anywhere. It's cold out today (35F) so the seals are rather stiff. I'm realizing that a new Krytox treatment is in order; I didn't make a note when I last did it, and more time has probably passed than I was estimating. I'll see if my friend with a garage can host my car for a few hours so I can do that. In my mind, Krytox-ing once per year was enough, but I've read here that spring and fall treatments are recommended. Duly noted!

As for the sunroof seals and channels, all looks pretty good there, but I will do an extra cleaning and test those drains again when it's a bit warmer out. The sunroof struggled to open and close in the cold temps, which makes me think I need to lube those parts/rails as well. It seems that my significantly-reduced driving in 2020 has led me to neglect certain things that deteriorate regardless of use.

Will report back on the leak. Thanks again!

 

[viceos1]

Water will come out of there if your drain is blocked ? Get a 500/600ml plastic drink bottle and attach (with a hole in it) to the lid a hose half the diameter of a garden hose. Fill bottle with water,screw your custom lid/hose back on and stick it in the drain hole on leaking side. Now squeeze bottle and wait for water to appear from top of front Tyre on that side. Keep doing it and other side even if not blocked. Will save you more $ and tears down the track !! GOOD LUCK


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[voxmagna]

The sunroof struggled to open and close in the cold temps, which makes me think I need to lube those parts/rails as well.

You should always operate the sunroof and main roof with the engine running. Winter and Covid lockdowns take their toll on batteries. If you keep operating the sunroof with friction, you could be looking at impending expensive doom - Nylon sunroof motor gear and the rest of the kaboodle.

Drains are not the solution to seal leaks. If you get water in the drain channel, you have a seal leak somewhere to find. The 'A' pillar leak you are trying to find sounds like it is outside and forwards of the drain channel, so won't get there anyway. Look very carefully at how the roof top section with seal closes against the 'A' pillar and the long horizontal seal forwards of the sunroof. Also, look at how the sunroof is dropping into the seal along the front edge and corners, assuming the motor is pulling it down hard? There are some strange V.W breaks in the 'A'pillar seals to work out.

 

[GreenGables]

Water will come out of there if your drain is blocked ? Get a 500/600ml plastic drink bottle and attach (with a hole in it) to the lid a hose half the diameter of a garden hose. Fill bottle with water,screw your custom lid/hose back on and stick it in the drain hole on leaking side. Now squeeze bottle and wait for water to appear from top of front Tyre on that side. Keep doing it and other side even if not blocked. Will save you more $ and tears down the track !! GOOD LUCK


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for this advice, I did find that the drain is clogged somewhere near the top. With the sunroof open, when I dribble water along the front seal it comes out of the weep hole/inlet above the side window instead of flowing down the drain and exiting above the tire as it should. However, I now have a bigger issue of my roof not opening (which I am about to add a comment about) so I can't investigate the drain further...

 

[GreenGables]

The plot thickens...
So the weather is better today and I started by Krytox-ing the seals I can reach with the top closed, since it's difficult to get to some parts once the roof is folded up in the trunk. Feeling good about my progress, and looking forward to further investigating what I found to be a clogged drain on the right side, I started up the engine and began to open the roof. It got as far as trying to disconnect from the A-pillars and I got an error! It appeared/felt as if the right side of the roof wouldn't disconnect. (The error was something along the lines of "Roof error – close convertible top!" but don't quote me.) So obviously, I closed it. I did try a second time to open it, in case it was just a fluke, but the same thing happened.

This is the first time in the 4.5 years I've owned my 2013 Eos that the roof hasn't opened correctly, so a sense of doom settled upon me, after reading this forum and knowing how many things can go wrong.

So my drain/seals problem is on the back burner until I can get my roof looked at by the dealer. I'm not working right now so I'm not feeling great about "investing" in Eos repairs to the degree I've been willing to when I was gainfully employed.

Thanks again for the previous tips. I'll post about the roof issue (and hopefully the solution) when I know more.

Anne

 

[voxmagna]

Search for vox props, that's what you should consider for roof service. If you haven't openend the roof for a while electrical connections can deteriate. Make sure your battery has been kept fully charged and have a diagnostics scan done to find out why the roof faulted. Low charge batteries can cause all kinds of problems. Always open the roof, sunroof, or windows when the engine is running.