Sliding-window leak

[chrisw]

Recently found rain water inside the side steps, and a wet bottom door after 16 happy dry months.
Got checked in with my local VW Van Centre Swansea and they quickly said, - replacement window, which was fitted today, so I shall see, we do get a lot of rain in West Wales so it shouldn't take too long to find out.
What I did learn was they say its a new design or at least it has had some design changes made, which should solve the problem. Just hoping that my other side window hasn't gone as its on the kitchen side of my conversion.

 

[Mwillis]

Hi,

Picked up our t6, Kombi, 4 month old van on Saturday and when we got home water running down the inside of the rear door just like yours.

I will call today and take it back. Does seen odd as it much be a know fault that dealerships don't check prior to sale (and vw dont sort before manufacturer).

Sad on a new purchase.

 

[3shotdave]

Just checked both my side door windows after reading this thread. Both leaking and water damaged door cards. It is in for first service next week so I will see what dealer has to say.

 

[Colner]

Found a puddle on my o/s step this morning
No roof bars, factory kombi etc...

 

[3shotdave]

Dealer put in warranty for my kombi side windows straight away, no arguments. Spoke to local window fitter and he showed me a stack of the VW sliders in his unit. Will update when got news.

 

[Dubmotion]

Well , I have owned my T6 now for 6 months plus now and I am sorry to say I have water ingress too due to the poorly designed sliding windows , to add insult to injury when I removed the moving windows to further understand what exactly is causing this ingress I found the tops of the frames on both widows were blown out with well set in corrosion and thus loosening the seals ( as if they are not poor enough .
As this kombi is less than three years old and still under warranty , I would like them replaced ( minimum ) but I would like to ask , have any of you VW owners here had the windows replaced entirely and not just new sliders (moving portion ) because what I have found leaves me to believe that they are total s**te and I would be far happier with non leaking fixed glass panels in dark tint before I start to customise .

 

[LastBoyScout]

Regretfully these windows are a well know problem. Bad design and to be honest not fit for purpose judging by how long the issue has been known. I had this problem of leaking windows in a 2005 model!

 

[Dubmotion]

Yeah it seems that what I have deducted , I was alarmed when I found water under the load area matts which led me to investigate via this forum site loads of good info to be had here through experience , If I may ask , how have you overcome the water ingress , did you replace under warranty or just man up and get it sorted yourself and what did you replace with ?

 

[LastBoyScout]

Yeah it seems that what I have deducted , I was alarmed when I found water under the load area matts which led me to investigate via this forum site loads of good info to be had here through experience , If I may ask , how have you overcome the water ingress , did you replace under warranty or just man up and get it sorted yourself and what did you replace with ?

After 3 sets of replacements under warranty decided to use silicon and seal closed and treat windows as permanently closed. Did the trick but not acceptable in my opinion.

 

[Lord Mfwic]

Yeah it seems that what I have deducted , I was alarmed when I found water under the load area matts which led me to investigate via this forum site loads of good info to be had here through experience , If I may ask , how have you overcome the water ingress , did you replace under warranty or just man up and get it sorted yourself and what did you replace with ?

I have a twin sliding door Kombi and unfortunately both of my sliding windows leaked. I had both replaced under warranty. I don't see why I should be out of pocket for faulty products/workmanship when I paid top dollar for my van. So I have no problem with getting any and all faults repaired under warranty. They replaced both windows and I've had no problems since.
We buy new so we don't have any further expense for 3 years. Then I joined this Forum and have spent a very small fortune, in comparison to others, on things I never knew I needed but I have generated a love for my van that far exceeds any other vehicle I have owned.

 

[Dubmotion]

In no way is that acceptable , were the windows only the moving portion that were replaced ?
Although I see your point but would prefer fixed panel glass under warranty just to know there is no water getting into the interior before spending time and money sound proofing and going custom .

 

[Dubmotion]

Lord Mfwic : Yeah I hear that , since I have owned this kombi and it is only a van but it gives me a smile as it grows on me every time I drive it ( love the 4motion ) . Did you replace the windows for fixed or carry on with sliders and did the windows get replaced entirely or just the moving portion ?

 

[Davejo]

I have written on here extensively about my issue with leaking windows. The problem seems to be that the rail which carries the sliding window is bonded by a mastic to the surround glass. This fails and allows water to get in from around the outside of the window but also along the sliding track. Not all windows do it, only about 10% apparently.... so a quality control issue.

We had them replaced under warranty, the damage to the camper interior repaired and compensation from VW. So I can’t complain about service, just the poor quality control of the windows.

 

[Northern Monkey]

Well if it was me I’d bin the sliders off and have fixed

 

[Higgidav]

I’ve had my van since Feb this year and my first VW after having Transits. It was a demonstrator with low miles so I thought it was a good buy. I’ve wanted one for ages and finally managed to afford one. My windows are also leaking and yes I have checked the seals and drainage holes. Called the dealer to discuss and was very disappointed to find that I will have to make at least two trips to get this sorted as the first is to do the video for warranty approval. I explained this was not acceptable as it’s a three hour round trip for me to the dealer and have no way of getting home without a courtesy vehicle. VW do not seem to care that having spent a lot of money on the van that I now need to spend hours travelling backwards and forwards to get a known issue resolved. It’s simply not good enough and it serverely impacts on my enjoyment of finally getting a van I’ve been after for years. I had no problems at all with the Transit which cost a whole lot less. Hopefully once this is corrected I will once again be happy with my decision.

 

[Lord Mfwic]

Lord Mfwic : Yeah I hear that , since I have owned this kombi and it is only a van but it gives me a smile as it grows on me every time I drive it ( love the 4motion ) . Did you replace the windows for fixed or carry on with sliders and did the windows get replaced entirely or just the moving portion ?

They were replaced like for like so both are sliders. I not had a problem with them since. Well, 1 rattles a bit on bumpy roads but not bad enough for me to spend the 1 hour drive to the dealer. I will bring it to their attention next time I'm in for service.
If yours are sliders now then I would definitely get them replaced with sliders. I find they give great ventilation in the summer when driving or camping so I would not settle for fixed rear windows.
A little tip I have found, when you take the car in ask them to ensure they don't wash it, tell them its only ever been hand washed by you from new ( This is true in my case) they then realise the van is your pride and joy and not just a work vehicle and they tend to treat it with more respect and make sure the work carried out is perfect. Could be nothing in it but it seems to work for me so far.

Keep us posted. Let us know who did the works, if you're happy with the results and name and shame if they don't get it right.
Its always good to know who's good and who's not, this forum is a great source of information for people who are looking for companies to carryout works on their vans.
With the above in mind it was Wrexham VW who replaced my windows and did a good job. There will be a few gasps because they don't have the best reputation but on this occasion they did a good job.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[Dubmotion]

DaveJo : This topic is well documented for sure .
That is slightly comforting to know that it can be fixed under warranty but I will need to get this issue registered as warranty expires August this year , but I still feel after what I have found myself that these windows are trash and won't last so would like fixed glass there on .

 

[Lord Mfwic]

DaveJo : This topic is well documented for sure .
That is slightly comforting to know that it can be fixed under warranty but I will need to get this issue registered as warranty expires August this year , but I still feel after what I have found myself that these windows are trash and won't last so would like fixed glass there on .

I may be wrong and I would certainly recommend you carry out your own checks but I would expect a 12 months guarantee on any works carried out by a dealer. *Therefore, even if you run out of warranty within the 12 month period, the statutory guarantee lawy thing should still apply.

*This is just my opinion and you should make your own checks to clarify if this is correct.

 

[Skyliner33]

No, if the dealer does work on the warranty then the work they have carried out has the same warranty as the rest of the van. Unless you make a contribution to the cost of the work, no matter how small.

 

[Tommy]

Hi all

Just after some advice, my side door window leaks in, started about Christmas time. I spoke with VW regards a repair and they said it has to go in for 2 days, video the potential leak, order parts then carryout repair. My issue is that I need a courtesy vehicle as live over 40 miles away from dealer and also work away at irregular times. When booking the vehicle in I was told I would have to wait 1 month as there was no courtesy vehicle available

So you can guess what happened next, work called so had to cancel, rescheduled for another date and again in just over a months time. Problem now is I've been called away again the day before the van goes in but this time I'm over in Ireland so wont be taking the van and the van will be stood idle for 5 weeks. Now even though the rain can be a pain I'm always available to mop any leaks up daily as and when they occur. This next trip will leave the van unattended for a long period so dreading the thought of the potential ensuing mess

Is there anything I can do on a temporary basis to tie me over till I can get this rectified with the dealer and definitely wouldn't contemplate leaving with them for the 5 weeks - any help/advice appreciated

PS, don't know the extent of this issue and can't see/feel any damp patches etc but will there be any hidden damage being caused unbeknown to me