round holes, remove the trim under the window and you will soon see the poor excuse for adhesive VW have used
Leaking Kombi Windows? How-to guide to resolve.
- Thread starter DaveyB
- Start date
Exactly as @david173 says, there are two parts to the drain channel and the bottom one is very badly fixed to the upper one. Anything pressed down through the round hole will separate these two pieces and simply allow any water to run inside the vehicle. That knowledge is from owning three T5s and a T6 all with the same fault! i.e. you don't have to do anything to separate these parts they do it all on their own but re-gluing then adequately is almost impossible.
Ok I had issues in my T5.1 but my T6 been good for nearly 3 years until recently. I’ve taken the bottom tray trim off and carried out full tests. The drain slots near windows are fine and drain well. It’s the drainage / pin hole at front of sliding channel. If I squeeze hard from below and squirt water in top it drains as it should. No pressure and it leaks between lower and upper half. I’ve pulled down ever so slightly on lower section and there’s this flexible like sealant , and water comes out there as if small hole or gap somewhere. What I can’t see is how I might remove this to do proper seal job as it’s part of larger piece running back to the shell of door. Any suggestions other than create pressure pinching together! Thanks 
It’s been covered on the Forum before, have a look through this and other threads.
It is extremely difficult to seal without blocking the very thin drain channel. Almost certainly caused by somebody thinking they are clearing the drain by poking something down the drain hole.
I eventually sealed mine, takes a lot of careful cleaning, careful application of sealant and some wedging / clamping. Don‘t clamp too hard or the sealant will be squeezed into the drain slot.
Have a Search.
I forgot to mention, I started out using black sealant but later found that it’s much easier to see where you have applied white sealant. Might seem trivial but it reduces the number of attempts to repair what must be one the worst engineering designs on the planet.
Thanks for tip re sealant, read through entire thread, various different reasons for leaks but as you say this one too is covered. No one poked anything down there. I’m wondering if the 2 persistent heatwaves this summer reduced effectiveness of the factory sealant, as that side of my van always faces afternoon & eve sun on drive. Anyway at least found problem. Interesting as different to my leak on previous kombi ,
DaveyB your step by step guide is bang on!! I’m useless at anything like this, I followed your guide and it was all done and back to get her in 20mins!! Tested it with syringes of water before putting it all back together and they flow perfectly !! I’d never of figured out how to get to them so thank you!!
Such a poor design. The caddy ones don't appear to leak and they are a similar design.
Anyway, I found mine were leaking from the below areas. Since sealed and been OK since.
So I’ve been having similar troubles with my 65 plate Kombi. I’ve also found the cause of the leak to be under the large drain hole. See image. Also I’m struggling to understand how water can even be getting to that hole in such large quantities as the seal around the window seems to be fine. Does anyone have any tips to reapply the sealant from the little drain tray?
Read the rest of this thread, it’s mentioned and it’s not easy.
My advice is not to bend the flap like you have to take the photo, that just made it much harder to repair.
Actually, I don't know why I'm surprised. A mate of mine has two top of the range T7s hybrids that have leaking windows after less than six months.
Again, in the archives, I gave the rubbers a good clean with soapy water and a paint brush, left them open to dry, then application of autoglym vinyl and rubber with a thin modelling paintbrush onto the seal. No leaks in 2 years.
Need to re-do them!!
Ian
Need to re-do them!!
Ian
I’d try AG V&R first - it rejuvenates the seals and is very water repellant.
I have purchased some 2nd hand plain OEM windows to swap mine out if they leak but so far been OK.
I have purchased some 2nd hand plain OEM windows to swap mine out if they leak but so far been OK.
Like @Paynewright says this subject has been covered until there’s not much left to find. Silicone grease used like marmalade keeps the water out, also gets 50% of flies on the way in at this time of year.
kohnny boy
New Member
hi guys 4000 miles in and my sportliner kombi windows are leaking not good 60k van,I have only had them open once (yes they are closed properly)its disgraceful,love the drive and power but the poor quality of the seats and now the side windows makes me wish i would never have bought it,opened the side doors today and no kidding a ltr of water sat on both steps, well until it drowned my trainers ,waiting for dealer to contact me will keep you all posted
