Many VW Eos owners really enjoy their car, and that is an understatement. If they have to choose between bacon and ice cream, they’d rather take the EOS out for a spin.
There are a lot of things to love about this hidden-gem hard top convertible, which is totally a biased opinion because I have stolen one and in the process of trying to keep it for myself. This car is a nice looking coupe in one instance and completely transform itself into a classy, luxurious convertible in less than 30 seconds. Kids see it and they call it the Transformer, grandma sees it and bets on her 401k that she saw you drove off in a different car yesterday. Your significant other sees it and you can say farewell to your EOS.
Then on the other hand, we have a ratio of 3.14 out of all EOS owners who are very pissed they would rather give birth to a kid who will grow up and eat all their bacon and ice cream than keeping the car in sight for another day. Only mostly, because of one annoying issue. And that one issue, which has always been haunting the EOS like a plague since her early 2007-2012 models is all about the roof.
Just like any diaper, it leaks.
How bad ?
Well, let’s say you purchase an empty fish tank from a shady john doe on craiglist and drive that thing home. During that 5-mile trip, it rains. So by the time you get to your driveway, you probably have a 1/2 full aquarium and couple of angel fish busy making more of their glory baby fish in it.
Well it might not be as this bad for other people but the problem exists and there are many complaints.
To be fair, the leaks also happen to other convertible and even regular vehicle when the preventive care for the seal is being neglected.
Why it happens ?
Fortunately, the roof leak isn’t a terminal illness. Two common reasons that cause the leak are:
- Deformed rubber seals.
- Clogged drain tubes.
If the first problem occurs, the second follows very soon after. When the rubber seals got loosen or deteriorate, water is able to get inside the pillar and frame of the car. At this point it won’t reach you just yet, the drain tubes does a great job to lead the water out of the cabin. Over time, all the dust, dirt, debris and bird shit begin to clog the tubing and before you know it, you are taking a shower in your car. According to legend, some people use this opportunity to wash their interior and dashboard.
The good news is, the fix is actually in the car manual. Something that not many bother to read these days. Like the User-Agreement Terms of Service thing.
From what I know, a few good mechanics at a VW dealer got their hands dirty with the leaking issue in one of their first EOS customers. They couldn’t figure out what cause the issue for days; until one of the good men there came across the EOS’s user manual when he was bored and there was nothing else for him to read in the bathroom, not even a shampoo bottle.
And there it is, a wild solution appears!
Now it turns out to be quite simple. The outer rubber seals get dried up because of the sun, salt and other elements from the seasons. They start to change shape and shrink in size a little, which gives way for water to pass through. So all these gentlemen brought out their air compressor, blew away the dirty stuffs in the A-pillar drain tubes, cleaned all the rubber seals and applied this secret ingredient called Krytox (which also clearly mentioned in the manual) directly on to the rubber seals. Bravo! No more leaks.
It was a happy ending. The mechanics felt like a champ. The car felt happy. Krytox manufacturer felt like million buck. Until the clueless owner comes back in the next 8 months complaining the roof leaks again.
Now you don’t want to be that kind of owner, so let’s do this routine roof seal maintenance ourselves. After all we’d like our bacon dry on the next drive under the weather.
Things you need
– A clean car: It’s best to work on your EOS when she’s clean and smells good –you know Eos is that hot Greek Goddess of Dawn, right? Anyway, it’s a good habit to include the roof care routine in your quarterly detailing schedule. I recommend to have the process takes place a few days before November and last days of April. If your local weather is always winter…you might’ve bought a wrong car. But you can still pick a sunny day to do the deed.
– Air Can or Air Blower: You may need a can of air to blow out debris in the A-pillar drainage tubes. If you think long-term, buy an electric air blower because it’ll also make things easier during pollen season –you can read more about that at the end of the waterless car wash article.
– Krytox: This is the rubber lubricant recommended by VW. You can find this bottle on Amazon for about the cost of 3 full-size stuffed crust pizzas. It’s expensive because it’s genuine. Mechanics at the dealership use this.
I list two options here, they are both Krytox. Buy one that has better price.
– einszett Gummi Pflege Stift (easier on the wallet): Gummi what? My thought exactly when I first learned about this sorcery. Fortunately, there is a line of translation right under the German title –it read: “Rubber Care Stick – Cleans, conditions and protects rubber weather seals.”
I have been using Krytox for couple of years and it gets a little pricey for me. I used about 3 bottles which now has become over $100. When I was about to order the fourth one, I was recommended Gummi Pflege Stift by a Audi mechanic friend who uses it to treat the seal on the S5 Cabriolet and R8. After further research, I learned that it is the same thing as that genuine Krytox bottle. As matter of fact, turns out it has been used way long before Krytox to fix rubber seal leaks on convertibles and other European cars. This bottle is also well known in the BMW community.
After the first try on the seals, I fall in love with it right away. The seals restore to their excellent, pristine condition within a few wipes just like when using Krytox.
The Gummi Pflege Stift does a phenomenal job as the Krytox, while only costs 1/3 of its price. What does it mean? It means you might have just saved enough for 2 actual pizzas and a soda — but don’t worry, hand-washing the car and lubricating the roof will offset the surplus calories. It’s also a lot more convenient to apply the lubricant with Gummi Pflege Stift because the foam head makes it very easy to spread the solution onto the rubber seals.
Where to apply
Here’s the general illustration that shows you where we need to apply the treatment. You don’t neccessarily have to follow the order, just make sure you don’t miss any part. Now with the Gummi Pflege Stift on one hand and a ONR dampened microfiber cloth on the other, let’s go in the details of this process.
- Open the doors, clean and apply the lubricant solution on the rear window’s rubber seal. Do the same on the other side.
- Roll the rear windows down. Do the door seals, both sides.
- Don’t forget this small inner seal.
- Now we can begin to work the roof. Start applying the lubricant on the second-half rear rubber seals of the top of both sides.
- Open the sunroof, then you can do the two rubber seals at the top of the windshield.
- With the sunroof opens all the way back, you can also work on the middle seals underneath (another angle).
- Continue on with the first half of the side rubber seals on top (which we did the other half previously in step 3).
- Operate the rooftop to mid stage, where the rear windshield sits on top of the roof but the trunk lid stays closed.
- Don’t forget these curvy seals under the rear windshield mechanism.
Aaaand …You’re done! Too easy?
Installing a RDX Rear Spoiler For Volkswagen EOS.
Cleaning the aftermath
1. Use the spray solution made from ONR Rinse-less Wash & Wax bottle, clean the metal base where the rear windshield sits. If you don’t know what on earth these ONR things are, take a quick look at the Waterless car wash guide. Or if you don’t have the wash product handy at all, you can just use rubbing alcohol.
2. Use an air can to blow any debris out of the drain tubes by the top sides of the front windshield. If water gets in there, it should be able to drip out easily like this.
Installing Pendulum Dogbone and Rubber Mount Insert for Better Acceleration on VW EOS
That’s it! This process probably takes less than 20 minutes of your time but it goes a long way.
Join our Facebook Eos Owners group when you got a chance. Post a comment if you have any question. Share a picture of you, driving the Eos, with the roof down, in a blizzard, wear a swimsuit, with your dog and your newly wed wife when you dare. It’s such a time to be alive ;)
This is the best guide to lubricating the many seals on a VW Eos – thank you. I have a 2012 71,000 mile Eos and now prefer it over my other cars and previous cars. Since buying it 6 months ago Ive driven it Chicago to LA and back and, Chicago to Miami and back with zero issues but a lot of learning about the Eos car. One learning is roof noises (creaking moaning noises on uneven pavement surfaces) are the rubber seals talking to you. Using your guide today I lubed all the roof rubber seals using the Gummi Pflege Stift you list and all the previous noises from uneven pavement have gone further increasing my enjoyment of this car. Ill be doing this twice a year from today. Speaking of preventative maintenance what are the thoughts on removing carbon build up at 70,000 miles in the inlet valves to reduce the risk of engine failure? Based on some research seems walnut blasting is the way to go but Id appreciate any feedback on if this is needed or otherwise.
Thank you very much for the feedback, I’m glad it helped you enjoy the Eos even more. To remove the carbon build up, you can soak the valves overnight with B12 and break the carbon using a pack of zipties in the next morning effortlessly. Stay tuned because I’m writing an article about doing this as well.
is there any diagrame that shows the route of the drains as i have water coming throught the front and soaking my carpets, ive cleaned all rubbers in the summer, but somewhere theres a blockage, ive done the two in the boot, and the two where the roof meets the screen, but still water gets in, love the car, but its getting to a point where im concidering siliconing the whole roof till next summer,
hi John, been suffering the same problem, but i think i’m on my way to a fix.
first i removed the whole of the trim panel that houses the interior light and sun visors ( theres a good video of this on you tube)
next remove the top trim detail which houses the begining of the drain tube located in the A post.
you will now be able to remove the trim panel on the A post itself, therby giving access to the full extent of the silicone drain tube.
both my drain tubes ( left and right) terminated at the metal bulkhead !!!, therefore depositing water from the drain tube straight back into the car via the now very soggy sound deadening in the footwell.
the tube should connect to a section of black rubber tube that exits the metal box section below the windscreen and into the engine bay, the water then freefalls out between the inner and outer wing appearing on the ground just behind the front wheels.
i have no idea what has caused the drain tubes to both become detached from the black rubber tubes.
i have as yet been unable to fish the black rubber tubes back up through the small access hole in the box section, very small hands required!!
however if i cant connect the drain tube to the black rubber tube, plan B is to push the black rubber drain up into the box section from the engine bay ,connect a suitable length of rubber pipe to the existing silicone drain pipe and feed the new pipe out into the engine bay through the hole left vacant by the removal of the original black rubber.
i hope this makes sense to you,
i guess its possible that the tubes were never connected at the factory, who knows?
p.s you will need to remove both wiper arms in order to remove the plastic skuttle panel at the base of the windscreen, this in turn allows you to access the final end part of the black rubber tube.
good luck
nick
I have never met a funnier, bunch of great people who own the VW eos like myself 07 plate. I had the joy of getting my car very fast in the rain and sat in a puddle of, Y could callit pee. Very pleasant leaks thought the roof rubbers, while reading the hillerious comments I now use magnum washing up liquid to clean all the rubbers looks clean,, no leaks or sitting in a puddle of pee. Yahooooi. Good old washing up liquid premium £1
Hey, you think I could use this same stuff on my seals on the motorhome popout?
It definitely does not hurt :)
Very funny and informative!
I haven’t applied the procedures written here yet, but sure I will.
However I like to say that I loughed out load a couple of times while reading this artice. It is brilliantly written and lots of fun.
Many thanks bro :) Keep good stuff!
Steve,
Thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to write this article. Its clear and explained very well. Like you i hope to continue to enjoy my EOS for many years ahead. Just need to carry out this procedure to stop the leaks.
Thank you
My 2007 Eos suddenly at about 90,000 miles began to leak at the top front corner on both sides of the car. It was terrible! The car literally filled with water, and there were standing pools in the back seat. I went to the dealer, and the said that I could fix it for $2400 by replacing the roof seals. Sorry, but broke, so I muddled thru with towels under the leaks for a couple of months, then discovered your amazing article. I bought the Krytok lubricant for $40.00 and applied it to all the seals. Completely solved the problem! Thank you SO much!
Thank you! Fantastic article, very useful. I’m one of those who are still madly in love with my Eos despite the adventures she’s drug me into! (One day I’ll share MY waterfall video with you). On a passive note, we’ve shared three years and 90.000+ km together (I bought her with already 114.000 km) and despite the glitches, she’s still my favorite car ever!
I have had my 2015 EOS for almost 2 years, and this week (aug. 2019) I was reversing out of a parking spot, only to find I could not shift back into drive to continue out. My car is an automatic. I had to put my car in neutral and have a kind young woman push me back into my parking spot to avoid having my car sit in the driving lane. No matter what I tried, I was not able to change gears. Long story short, CAA towed my car to nearest VW dealer for disgnostic check. Their findings were that the gear shift mechanism codes had to be reset. According to VW repair the only issues they had with this problem are some of the VW Golf models, and never the EOS. Codes were reset, and now I am hesitant to drive vehicle on long distances, in case this occurs again. A new gear shift mechanism to be replaced would cost $1600.00… not about to spend that on a 5 year old vehicle with only 36,000 KM. Has anyone had this experience or am I driving a lemon? I would appreciate your thoughts…EOS owners. THANK YOU SO MUCH
Thanks this is the clearest explanation of the problem and the solution and it seems to work. David
Great post, thank you! I just bought a 2014 Sport with 9,400 miles and wanted to learn to care for it as well as possible, but didn’t have an owners manual. This post is exactly what I needed!
Thanks ,I just bought a 2015 Eos no sooner I got home closing the roof it stopped 10 inches from the mark. A sudden chill went right to my guts. My god want have I done, I purchased a bad car. The dealer is reputable and the sale man was honorable. He said did you hold onto the switch and not let go. I said maybe but what happens when you sneeze. Finally it worked.after an hour, glad it wasn’t raining. Is this what I have to look forward to ? I am consulting the manual and wondering that I should take this car back. Worried very worried. Please advise me I love convertibles but I’m old school.
Louis, please post on our group, maybe other owners could give you more advice.
Soo Great.I have an A5 Audi Cab and will translate the instructions to lubricate the rubber on the top housing and other seals. One question I have – on the EOS were are the back drains? Knowing this could help me find mine.
This is fascinating information. I own a 2013 EOS and had a leak on the passenger side. Dealer said $700 to fix. My friend in Florida had the same problem and sent me a can of tire shine that her husband uses and it worked after the second spraying. Thank you for the detailed and funny info.
Our used Eos leaked from the roif seals. We used Krytox on the rubber seals, which brought them back to new condition..
The drain channels were blocked with muddy sludgefront and back, our solution,, the turkey baster!!!
Suck up as much water as you can, push the baster tip ( perfect fit) into the top of drain pipe, squeeze baster bulb as hard as you can, after a couple of blasts,,,, you will blow the crud through and hear the water running out under the car. No more leaks , happy days !!
Wow – amazing tutorial on treating the convertible top rubber seals. Could not be better. Thanks for the product recommendations also. I recently;y purchased a 2007 EOS not knowing about the leaking problem. My repair garage did a great but costly job on the seals, replacing some of them, but I will use your process going forward. Thanks!
Great post. I was skeptical that it would work but I tried the Gummi Pflege Stift as directed and no more roof leaks. I will be applying it a couple times a year as part of routine maintenance. Thanks for the tip.
Massive thanks for this wonderfully thorough guide to keeping the rain out! Just bought a clean 10 year old EOS. I live in Cornwall UK so now have the knowledge to ensure I stay dry in this beautiful landscape where it rains and rains in utterly unpredictable fashion. Sunny today so I will be working through the steps you have made so easy to follow. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. All the best.
Thanks for this helpful information. Getting lub now ;))
Thanks!! Great step by step guide…makes it very easy. Really appreciate your taking the time to do this.?
Excellent guide!
a great car but it does have this “Achilles heel” of a problem
Thank you but just a note.. when taking down the roof you may overheat your hydraulics. if you get msg on dash just close and finish up later. We also did the seals in the trunk
This happened to me! Scared that I screwed up my car by leaving the top partway open while I did the seals. After sitting for awhile, the roof worked normally.
Thank YOU! for this! I live In California and I usually lubricate the seals every year. I didn’t last year and now the roof leaks on both sides. I was told by the dealership that all the seals and drains would have to be replaced. With the cost of 1200.00. I think I will spend some time cleaning the drain and lubing the seals first. Then see what happens. Wish me luck!
My awesome EOS is and ’07. I’ve never had many problems with it. Just normal maintenance.
Brilliant guide and entertaining. Many thanks for taking the time to create it. It will sure save a lot of unhappy EOS owners. (I drive it more than her) My wife’s EOS leaks around the windscreen pillars so now I will be able to get rid of the soggy seat problem. Living here in England we get plenty of rain !
Many thanks ,
Richard.
Very informative. Thanks for providing. New Eos owner and would like any links to Eos community.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/506457076189975/ :)
i have an eos but the top squeaks
is there an oil or grease i can put on the seal
When the weather is cold, the moonroof edge rubs onto the windshield top seal causing the noise. If this is the case, I don’t think anyone has come up with an idea to remedy it yet.
Thank you!!!! So helpful! It rarely rains in SoCal, but it is now and my car is leaking. This is all great to know! Ordering my Gummi Pflege Stift’ Rubber Care Stick right now!