Reply With QuoteHere is where I can give some more informed answers for you guys . I have been fitting sunroofs for now over 35 years and have been working on them for at least another ten on top of that . For starters sunroofs have been proven by university testing to improve driving conditions , main one is the reduction in driver fatigue , you see if you drive around with several people in the car and no windows open the amount of carbon dioxide increased dramatically this then leads to drivers becoming drowsy . Open the sunroof any sunroof for that matter and its better for you , yes I know you can get the same results from opening a window but you had better have your hairstylist waiting for you at your destination . The wind deflectors are primarily for reducing turbulence over the open roof every car is different so you can find some models sunroofs will actually stop at a predetermined point for comfort . I will admit here that some car makers get it very wrong sometimes , Holden for around six years from 1999 to 2005 used a Dutch built and designed sunroof called the Hollandia 700 , it was fitted by Holden By Design and HSV as an aftermarket sunroof but dealers sold them as "factory fitted". This sunroof was perfect with no wind noise problems, but when Holden built and released the VE they then fitted a sunroof they sourced from Webasto in Germany it was fitted online during the build process in Adelaide but had a nasty flaw . For some strange reason the testing may have been done with ear muffs on as it had a horrible reverberation between 45kmh and 60 kmh , that actual sunroof was originally designed for a particular Maserati model so it was adapted for the GM body . After release GM had to then find a fix as customers were very quick to complain so a redesigned wind deflector was quickly made . Many other factory sunroofs have also had similar problems as well , any one with a VW Tiguan may find that the shade inside their panorama sunroof is very fragile as it has two guide cables running down each side and the fabric is heat seam welded around the cables . We have seen several of these already with seam failure and its not cheap to replace as repairs cannot be done to them . So far VW sunroofs either panorama models or conventional styles have been fairly trouble free , one exception is on Bora's and their could be others there are drain tubes which carry water down to the road via internal tubes these exit the body inside the front door hinge area we have seen many of these become blocked it's an easy fix but it can cause damage to the interior if not fixed . Now the biggy that has recently shown it self on the Tiguans is for some stupid reason VW have made the connection of the drain tubes to the actual housing in two parts the fitting at the corners of the housing have a bulge at the very outer end the hose that connects on to this is plastic and VW have just sort of glued a rubber silicone fitting that matches the same shape as the housing part . I fixed one last Friday and every one of the corner connections were leaking badly the roof trim was badly stained and had to be retrimmed plus I had to seal all the joints whilst the hood trim was out at a trimmers . Over all mechanically the VW roofs are more reliable than the Mercedes Kompressor C180 C200 which are pretty similar I have fixed close to 50 of these in the last 2 years . Then there is the dreaded BMW's E36 were a problem child with regular breakages of crucial parts the E46 was another one with problems with their sunshades breaking off the guides BMW X5's and X3's have another nasty problem which we have now been able to do some modifications and get customers roofs back to operational again and saving them $8000 at BMW dealers as they only want to replace the whole thing . Most sunroofs today have what they call "Venus Glass Technology" this was originally used exclusively by Hollandia for many years until the use rights expired so it is now used by many other companies . It gives you 99.9% uv block and up to 95% heat block some car makers do vary the amount but it is sold as "Light Without Heat" If you have any questions about sunroofs please feel free to ask , no criticism please as some years ago world war 3 broke out between myself and another forum member who seemed hell bent on telling anyone who would listen that regardless of whatever I said HE was right and I was wrong even when faced with so many truths in what I said he just would not let up so I left the Forum for some years as a result . Howard
Originally Posted by Moonee
I won't be trying to fill the drainage pipes with silicone. As I my Tiguan is still with the dealer & not yet fixed I will pass your recommendation on. Hopefully they will be serious about preventing further leaks & be interested in contacting you for the details of how to fix it properly.
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