PDA

View Full Version : 2015 passat estate water in tailgate



goe555
05-03-2017, 03:37 PM
Hello all,
I bought a 2015 1.6 bluemotion estate last August from a local approved used dealership. They no longer sell new vw's. The car is lovely but for one irritating niggle. The tailgate is holding water and when opened pees out through sides of the trim, all over the load cover and shopping. Something is obviously wrong and needs sorting pdq.

if its something I can fix myself rather than be off the road st the dealers im happy to investigate.
I do wonder if this is a common isseue, already known with a fix.
I only really noticed it after winter rain. The rear screenwash is blasting out ok so I dont think a pipe has come off,
I see what looks like a rubber drain grommet in the base of the lid but no water escapes that and it seems connected to something else indide the tailgate. Mmmm? Wonder what that is.

Id be very greatful if someone can advise, I dont want rust setting in.

regards Jeff.

niall campbell
05-03-2017, 03:51 PM
take off the trim and dry it out, soak with a towel or something to get as much out as possible


then put a bead of silicon that flexes round the number plate lights & screws seals

if you have lights on there, then do the same .................. these sometimes have like foam seals which don't flex over time and just go flat

Rob69
05-03-2017, 04:05 PM
If it's a 2015 car is it not still under the 3 year warranty?

goe555
05-03-2017, 05:03 PM
Thanks for the replies guys. Its still under warranty so I guess best to take it in. Just wondered if its a known problem as car is not yet 2yrs old.

SW2016
05-03-2017, 06:28 PM
I have a Passat estate (Oct 2016) which has been having the same problem with water inside the tailgate.
I took it back to the main dealer who said it may be the rear window not properly sealed - they took out the rear window and re-fixed it. This did not solve the problem!
They then had the car for a week in their bodyshop whilst they tried to stop the water getting in.
When I collected the car they said they had found two drain holes blocked with sealant and showed me how they had removed two plugs on the bottom edge of the tailgate to let the water run out! I am not at all happy about this as a solution, but the tailgate no longer fills with water.
(the grommet at the centre bottom edge of tailgate is a drain-tube attached to the VW badge used to open the door).
When I got home I discovered that the spare wheel well had a layer of water still inside - they hadn't even bothered to dry it out!
Neither have they painted the exposed metal where they removed the two plugs.
I have complained to the dealership business manager but all I get is a lot of waffle.
Does anyone know how to take this up a step with a complaint to VW GB?

goe555
05-03-2017, 07:17 PM
Thanks my friend for that valued info. I guess its a common issue which no doubt has been seen by many dealerships. I did wonder what those plugs were but as they are painted, I thought they were something to do with the pressing. I will investigate further but it does seem to be a schoolboy error of design. Other than letting water out, it must be getting in which again is an error known to car designers since day one! Ridiculous.
I understand that VW headquarters is at Milton Keynes so im sure that they will have an email addy to which to complain; probably best to give them a call first and have a rant. Will let it be known what I find and what the outcome is.

gamichea
05-03-2017, 10:56 PM
I posted about this issue last October but no one else reported similar experience. It came out of the blue. IIRR the car had been on the drive during a lot of heavy rain over several days. I opened the tailgate and water came running out from behind the trim panels either side of the window and then stopped. When I closed the tailgate I could hear what remained which had settled above the top of the window run back down. I repeatedly opened and closed the tailgate and the water could be heard running back and forth and each time more emerged. We had recently returned from nearly three weeks abroad during which we had experienced two very wet days on the motorways and some absolutely exceptional rainfall one morning in Italy without experiencing any evidence of water ingress.

As luck would have the car was going into my dealer's bodyshop to replace the nearside rear door damaged by some lowlife in a 7.5 ton tipper so I presented them with the problem. They tested it from the outside using high pressure water jets and could not replicate the problem so tried putting talcum powder on the outside of the tailgate and applying a high pressure airline from the inside. This showed up a tiny pinhole which they sealed and so far there has been no repeat. The tailgate came back totally dried out as the car had been in the low bake oven several times. There has been no repeat occurrence so far.

At the time there was nothing recorded in VW's systems documenting this as a known problem.

timdc
07-09-2017, 02:47 PM
I posted about this issue last October but no one else reported similar experience. It came out of the blue. IIRR the car had been on the drive during a lot of heavy rain over several days. I opened the tailgate and water came running out from behind the trim panels either side of the window and then stopped. When I closed the tailgate I could hear what remained which had settled above the top of the window run back down. I repeatedly opened and closed the tailgate and the water could be heard running back and forth and each time more emerged. We had recently returned from nearly three weeks abroad during which we had experienced two very wet days on the motorways and some absolutely exceptional rainfall one morning in Italy without experiencing any evidence of water ingress.

As luck would have the car was going into my dealer's bodyshop to replace the nearside rear door damaged by some lowlife in a 7.5 ton tipper so I presented them with the problem. They tested it from the outside using high pressure water jets and could not replicate the problem so tried putting talcum powder on the outside of the tailgate and applying a high pressure airline from the inside. This showed up a tiny pinhole which they sealed and so far there has been no repeat. The tailgate came back totally dried out as the car had been in the low bake oven several times. There has been no repeat occurrence so far.

At the time there was nothing recorded in VW's systems documenting this as a known problem.

I have exactly the same problem. Can you tell men where the pinhole was please?

goe555
07-09-2017, 03:36 PM
Since I posted about tailgate water, I had an issue with the rubber pipe that drains water from the tailgate handle recess. The dealer replaced it under warranty. No more water in the tailgate.

gamichea
07-09-2017, 04:37 PM
I have exactly the same problem. Can you tell men where the pinhole was please?

Not now after almost a year I'm afraid. However, I've emailed the bodyshop manager with whom I am on good terms to see if he can remember or documented it for future ref. I have not suffered any repeat since. Incidentally, when was your car built? Mine was built April 2016.

goe555
07-09-2017, 05:35 PM
Not sure of exact build date but I guess around June/July 16.

goe555
07-09-2017, 05:36 PM
Not sure of exact build date but I guess around June/July 15

timdc
07-09-2017, 07:01 PM
Thanks Goe. I've had the door release replaced. No luck 😞

timdc
07-09-2017, 07:03 PM
Hi Gamichea. Mine is earlier than yours. Not sure of build date but it was registered in April 2015. Any info you can find would be very much appreciated.

goe555
04-02-2018, 04:26 PM
The tailgate water ingress is back! I pulled the 2 rubber bungs out of the top edge of the tailgate frame and water streamed out with the gate open. I also found 2 tiny plastic bungs in the lower edge which were covered in paint. These tiny bungs are lose fitting when unstuck from the paint so should help to drain. I’m still none the wiser as to where water is coming in. Any ideas or fixes found?? Thanks.

Crasher
04-02-2018, 06:22 PM
Check that the rear wiper screen wash connection or jet tube are not leaking.

BenR
13-02-2018, 04:35 PM
Wow, amazing isn't it that people are on here complaining about a bit of water in the car; they probably didn't own an "iconic" BL car from the seventies or eighties.I still have a copy of a letter writen by the owner of a Dolomite Sprint, which had a somewhat "experimental" design of engine top end and you should see the catalogue of serious complaints.

Crasher
13-02-2018, 10:38 PM
Unfortunately Ben the water in the tailgate causes havoc with the electrics, even setting off the alarm at all hours.

Steve

UMEL
17-02-2018, 11:11 AM
Unfortunately Ben the water in the tailgate causes havoc with the electrics, even setting off the alarm at all hours.

Steve

Yes, seconded.

I recall in the 1970's going on a holiday to Wales in my Ford Anglia (inward slopping rear window) when the windscreen seal failed. We (girlfriend then, wife now) had to wear plastic bags on our shoes...those were the days.