Time for a new family car.

[MikeT]

I'm the only one (of 20 or so with sunroofs) on the B-Class forum with a leak in Canada, so it is unusual....and may be the door seal rather than the sunroof.

[MikeT]

A guy on the German B Class forum confirmed that the watermark indicates a sunroof leak. Aparently some of the early cars had this problem, but it was supposedly a thing of the past now. Apparently not. At least the car hasn't broken down. The honeymoon lasted what, 4 weeks? LOL!!

[Gent]

Might've just been a FNG on the assembly line when yours went through. Hopefully it's a simple matter of "ein Idiot setzte diese Dichtung innen rückwärts".

[MikeT]

Yeah that's what I hope too. It's kind of a pain to pay silly money for the option and then be rewarded by having it piss all over the car!

[ValgardForkbeard]

Yeah that's what I hope too. It's kind of a pain to pay silly money for the option and then be rewarded by having it piss all over the car!

Kind of like a lap top and a lap dogMG

[MikeT]

TPM had their "sunroof leak test fixture" on the roof for two hours hammering it with water, and.....

COULD NOT REPLICATE PROBLEM

To their credit, they are keeping the car overnight and will try other techniques tomorrow.

I will go down there tomorrow afternoon before they close, if no results are gained by then and bring my own hose nozzle down and do what I did last Saturday. If it does not work, I will wonder for my sanity......but no doubt it would leak like a seive at home again.

I wonder if the bodyshell twists enough where I park it at home (there is a mild "twist" in the driveway) that it opens up the sunroof seal. God that would be awful, the car would be useless to me.

I will try jacking the RR corner up and then spraying the roof, if it doesn't leak at the dealer.

[deezle]

Wasn't there wet snow on it when it first leaked? That would add some weight that might open a seal (unlike what the dealership is trying). I remember my old '67 200D Benz had a factory sunroof that never leaked a drop---then I made the mistake of going through an unusual automatic car wash that exerted a lot of downward pressure on the roof and the water poured in. Another option to keep in mind is using water colored with food coloring---applying different colors to different areas so that when it does leak, you can trace which area was the source. Sounds hokey, but I did that once on a car and it worked beautifully.I do hope they solve it soon or just give you a different car----it must be such a disappointment. As you recall me saying, I was very suspicious of that over-engineered roof the first time I saw one. Good luck Mike.

[MikeT]

The dye would ruin the headliner and other trim so that's out. I made it leak with a low pressure hose, so the weight theory doesn't "hold water".About 3500 of the 7000 B Classes in Canada - maybe more - have this roof, so they can't all be this bad.I am sure it will be repaired. Even if the tech has to come to my house to watch it leak.....

[smartcruzin]

Don't despair yet Mike. That is one nice car. Had some time to fully look it over at TPM while waiting for mine to be washed.Is it possible that it wasn't "fully" closed? Maybe the button was just slightly touched?

[fairsider]

Our family vehicle is a 2002 VW Jetta TDI 5 spd. It's a great vehicle and probably worth waiting for. Ours has just over 100,000kms on it, and, aside from a new set of glow plugs recently, has been trouble free. I think the new ones will be out in later 2008. I heard recently that VW were having issues with North American emissions licensing around the Bluetec technology (bought from MB) that they will be using.If you look, you can probably still find a new 2006 - maybe even a wagon.Just our 2 cents...Lyle

[MikeT]

Naw, the roof is shut.....I don't want a VW; if I had to, I'd sooner spend 10 grand making my Peugeot 405 new again, because it's been a peach over close to 400,000 km.It should be simple enough.....it is either coming from the roof or the door seal, if the roof, replace the entire sunroof assembly, that should do it.

[MikeT]

So, I went down to Three Point Motors, arriving at 3:15........the car was jacked up on the right rear side (top marks to the dealer, they were taking my suggestions very seriously), they had a major shower fixed on a stand, aimed at the left front corner of the roof, the A-pillar was bone dry: no leaks....

So I went into the shop and I attached my Gardena-type spray nozzle to the hose, and started spraying a concentrated stream (low pressure mind you) along the lamella plates....did this for five minutes, no leaks were apparent....

So I contiinued this for another five minutes. The Service Writer who had been with me went back to the office, I carried on....I checked again after a total of ten minutes: WE HAVE A LEAK!

There was a small drip at the junction of the headliner and left A-pillar. I got the Service Writer from his office and he watched as the watermark grew, both at the junction and lower down on the pillar.

The technician came to the car and yanked at the headliner and had a close look. Diagnosis: faulty front lamella plate and one other sunroof drainage-related part. The parts will have to come from Germany, so I'll get it and the brakes changed early in January.

Of course I feel vindicated, I am surprised that the dousing of the TPM "leak tool" would not show a leak, the car was in even a more extreme torsional position than at home and the volume of water was huge....they are ordering a new front lamella plate and a part for the drain.....

For the record, the lamella plates are sealed against each other with hermetic gaskets, but against the sunroof aperture it is not intended to be hermitic; there is an aluminium channel (visible from inside the car) which will capture water that gets past the outer perimeter of the plates and drains it away into one of the four corner drains.

So good news.....

[deezle]

... and a happy ending. The honeymoon continues, albeit temporarily interupted. Light the candles, dim the lights.

[Duck]

Your persistence with this at the dealership is admirable, I wish I had the guts to stand up against issues like this that you do! Glad you got it rectified.So are there 3 types of roof for the B, then? Solid, one-piece glass, and multi-piece opening?-Iain

Edited December 15, 2007 by Duck

[MikeT]

It leaked again last night in the rain, so that's the third time it's done it in our driveway....it is SO WEIRD that it wouldn't leak in the dealer until I used my own spray technique. The rainfall last night was heavy, but not anywhere near as heavy as the dousing equipment the dealer was using.I have a gut feeling that the first repair will not be successful, but I will let them do what they think they need to. The headliner is slightly stained now so the car will need a thorough cleaning once this first repair is done. Ultimately they may end up replacing the entire roof, the windshield and who knows what else. I will not rest until this issue is resolved (nor wiill they, TPM is a good dealer).In Europe, the laminated and fixed glass roof is an option, but not over here for some reason.

[MikeT]

Two more rainstorms since, two more leaks....the leak is getting worse now. this morning it was REALLY bad, with drips over the LH corner of the dash. See the attached photos.The car is going in on January 2 for the repair.I sent these photos to TPM to ask them if I really should keep the car outside in the rain for another two weeks. The carpet is being damaged now too. We'll see what they say. I would need a loaner car for the duration, or they could pay the insurance on my Peugeot if they like.

Edited December 20, 2007 by Mike T

[MikeT]

One other thing. I discovered a similar leak in one of the new 2007 B 200s in Nanaimo. It was parked in a row of three sunroof-equipped B 200s, and this one had a very wet A-pillar and drips over the dash.

[MightyMouseTech]

You listed my first choice. A3.

[42Kruiser]

Sorry to see your new ride experience all wet Mike.How far from home there on the sunshine coast have you been travelling to find that much rain. Remember > Persistance pays!

[MikeT]

It's going in on Dec 24 for an early repair. The dealer asked me to do that today, after seeing the latest photos.A3 = we don't fit, so it's out of the question. Besides, I am committed to this car, for better or for worse.

[MDFortwoguy]

I'm not quite sure why everyone is pushing you to get something else... it's not like you just picked the B up off of a dealer's lot and never had to wait for it or anything...Good luck with it - it has been our experience with our past 2 S500s and the S420 before that that MB will take care of you in cases like this.

[MikeT]

I agree, it's an unfortunate QC or assembly problem....I cannot imagine selling the car because of this. That would be nuts!If they can't solve it for some unfathomable reason, I'm sure there are plenty of other reasonable options we can come up with, that don't involve us buying something else.

[Gortok]

Are they looking at the other "leaky" cars, as well?

[MikeT]

Yep, the one in Nanimo is being repaired too.

[Gortok]

Super.A friend had his sunroof leak. The (Scion) dealer replaced the sunroof, the headliner, the carpet and one of his front seats...They didn't want to at first, they claimed his lowering springs had caused the leak. Scion corporate thought differently.Glad to hear things are getting fixed. You can BET it'll be right. Especially after YOU made them look bad.