Coupe sunroof water leaks - may be of help

I (like many owners it would seem from posts on here) have experienced issues with water ingress on sunroof models. The valid advice is ensure sunroof drains are clear and leak free to ensure any water can get away to the wheel wells / outside. Having done this I thought I had resolved the problem until jet washing the car led to more water coming inside down C panel, into rear seats and then floor. As I wanted to do a deep clean on the interior anyway, I pulled everything out, seats, carpets, side panels, insulation, the lot. Thankfully no signs of corrosion (lucky) but great opportunity to fully dry out and clean the items - taken years off the interior including removing water stains on headlining. Pouring water slowly down sunroof rails when open = no leaks and water goes where intended, pour too much and water leaks inside / close roof and use those = no leaks, use Jet wash and leaks. Took rear of headlining down to investigate further and seems that the outlets into drains are very small diameter and too much water will over flow the channels = need to stop water getting in. On majority of car I have had with sunroof, the seal around the opening is mainly to stop dirt and noise not prevent water ingress and drains can accommodate larger volumes of water (confirmed this on sons Golf). So I replaced the seal with new part from Heritage = passes the jet wash test. Whilst common sense, I hadn't seen this noted on any threads I read so suggesting good practice is to clear drains AND replace this seal - see pictures of old v new (my old one was the original). Steve

Good post, sometimes find on this forum that people put on useful info and don't get much of a response!

On my to-do list as old seal looking a bit tired!

Is that the outer seal between the sunroof and the body for when it's closed? Easy to replace - it looks like the old one just pulls off? Where did you get the replacement from?

Cheers for the response, appreciated

It is indeed. It pulls off easily enough but go gently in case there is any corrosion under there which could pull paint off (I didn't have that problem but have on other cars previously). Push it downwards into car to remove and repeat to install new one pushing up. It can be done with fingers to push/set in place but does help with a plastic trim tool with 90 deg bend to ensure tight home. My suggestion is to keep looking after initial install to look for any high or low spots on the seal - doubt it will affect the performance but it would mess with my OCD!! I bought mine from (VW) Heritage for no more reason than it was cheaper that other places (few pound), in stock and I have a discount due to my VW club affinities. D911 and Porscheshop have them listed.... Steve

Kudos to you young man .. impressive work to find the leak .. something Targa owners should be aware of ... Drains are not designed to handle a large volume of water .