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A VW class action lawsuit claims that some vehicles made by the company are equipped with defective sunroofs that leak in rainy weather conditions.
According to a VW owner, the defective sunroofs are present in certain Audi, Arteon, Atlas/Teramont, Golf, Jetta, Passat, Polo, Tiguan, and Touran vehicles, in model years 2016 to the present.
The VW class action lawsuit was filed by Krzysztof Ziarno who says he purchased a 2016 VW Golf equipped with a movable, panoramic sunroof in August 2016.
Ziarno claims that he expected his vehicle to be free of defects, as any reasonable consumer would. However, the plaintiff says that he has experienced several sunroof leaks that damaged his vehicle and that he was not informed of the sunroof defect.
The plaintiff states that he experienced the first sunroof leak in mid-October 2019 while it was raining. Allegedly, the doors, windows, and sunroof had been closed, but he found a significant amount of water on the floor of his car.
He claims that the problem occurred multiple times and, in a few instances, water seeped into the car while he was driving in the rain.
The VW class action lawsuit says that, in December 2019, Ziarno made an appointment with the VW dealer from whom he purchased the vehicle. He allegedly wished to have the vehicle’s leaky sunroof repaired, but could not get an appointment for multiple weeks.
In the interim, Ziarno says that so much water had accumulated on the right side of the vehicle that a passenger was unable to ride in the car.
After he was able to get in for repairs, the dealer reportedly told Ziarno that the leaking and flooding was caused by a clogged drain in the sunroof. Allegedly, his vehicle was kept by the dealer for several days but the dealer refused to provide a rented vehicle to Ziarno to use while his car was unavailable.
According to the VW lawsuit, the dealer unclogged the clogged drain and replaced the sunroof’s headliner, but this did not fix the problem.
Ziarno states that his sunroof continued to leak, causing mold to accumulate in the vehicle and discoloring the upholstery.
The plaintiff says he took the vehicle back to the dealer, and the dealer once again kept the vehicle for several day, but did not give Ziarno a rental car to use.
The dealer reportedly replaced the upholstery and claimed that the problem was fixed. However, Ziarno says that this was not the case, as the dealer did not replace the headliner the second time and water continues to enter the vehicle.
Ziarno claims that the leaky sunroof is a problem that plagues many Volkswagen vehicles and is the result of flaws in “design, manufacturing, and/or workmanship.” He stresses that the problem is a serious one, because it can can cause damage to the vehicle’s interior, electrical systems, roof headliners, and more.
The plaintiff notes that the problem is distracting and annoying to drivers and can cause mold to build up. If the water effects the electrical elements in a car, it can allegedly cause the vehicle to malfunction in a range of ways that can possibly endanger the driver, passengers, and other people on the road.
The VW class action lawsuit says that Ziarno and other customers were financially injured by the defect because, had they known that the defect was present, they would not have purchased the vehicle or would not have paid as much as they did for it.
Ziarno argues that Volkswagen is aware of the problem but falsely advertised the Class vehicles as free of defects. To support his claim that the company was aware of the problem, he points to numerous customer complaints about the problem as well as to instructions for dealers on how to deal with the problem.
Allegedly, Volkswagen told dealers not to notify customers of the defect. To make matters worse, the company has reportedly provided insufficient remedies to the problem.
Ziarno notes that eventually, the company did offer to provide inspection and cleaning of the valves on the Class vehicle sunroofs, but Ziarno states that this is an insufficient remedy.
According to the VW class action, the company expanded its warranty in an attempt to re-establish trust with customers. These changes reportedly came after the company’s reputation took a hit after the “Dieselgate” scandal, in which VW was accused of defrauding emissions regulators to make their diesel vehicles appear more fuel efficient than they were.
The VW class action suit argues the revamped warranty covered “any repair to correct a defect in the manufacturer’s material or workmanship” for six years or 72,000 miles. He says that this warranty is longer than any other warranty offered by another car maker.
However, despite the warranty’s generous terms, Ziarno asserts that the company does not fully honor the coverage and fails to cover issues associated with a sunroof deject. This allegedly requires customers to incur the costs of the sunroof leak defect repairs, which can be expensive.
Have you purchased a Volkswagen vehicle? Share your experiences with the car company in the comments below.
Ziarno is represented by Russell D. Paul, Jeffrey L. Osterwise, Amey J. Park, and Abigail J. Gertner of Berger Montague PC; Mitchell M. Breit, Jason ‘Jay’ Barnes, and Brittany A. Boswell of Simmons Hanly Conroy; Gregory F. Coleman, Mark E. Silvey, and Arthur Stock of Greg Coleman Law PC; and Mark P. Bryand and Emily Ward Roark of Bryant Law Center PSC.
The Sunroof Leak VW Class Action Lawsuit is Ziarno v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-03833, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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45 thoughts onVW Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Leaky Sunroofs
My 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan was verified by VW mechanic and VW service director as having known defective sunroof drains /hoses which have shrunk over time causing it to leak causing water damage to everything from electronics, my audio system ,carpets(the smell of mildew/mold is awful!)I can’t even drive my Tiguan in the rain and it is disheartening to know that Volkswagen sold me this vehicle knowing of this defect without notifying the consumer(me)
I have a 2017 Golf Alltrack Stationwagon. Several times in the shop for leaking from the sunroof and damage to the electric system. Currently in the shop again, was just asked to pay $2,600 to fix the sunroof (install new roof etc.). This was never fixed correctly and now they are asking me to pay. When I asked if this was a manufacturing defect they said most likely but not covered by the warranty? Please add me to the lawsuit. I will have to go ahead and pay since I need the car for work and I am questioning why such an obvious defect is the fault of the consumer and not the manufacturer. They did not fix it permanently while it was still under warranty and waited to spring this expense on me after it expired.
Had a leaking sunroof on my 2019 Tiguan. It only has 3000 miles on it. It has been at the dealership for almost 3 weeks. They have to replace all the carpet. Who knows what it has done to the electrical system.
I also have a 2019 Tiguan. 1900 miles on it. And every time it rains the condensation is so thick on the inside of windshield and moonroof. Also in glove box and back compartments. Had it at dealer for 3 weeks and they claim couldn’t find the issue. I’ve had it back for one week and it rained Saturday night and the interior is soaked again. What are your results?
I have a leaky roof as well on my Volkswagen what can I do about the class action
Leaking Panoramic Roof 2015 Golf Wagon . Dealer did NOT perform service bulletins connected with
problem. now wants 2,400.00. to fix
It looks like they are being instructed by VW to delay major repairs as much as possible until warranty runs out and the consumer has to foot the bill on replacing the entire sunroof assembly (which still doesn’t guarantee that it won’t leak again),
I own a 2003 Volkswagen Passat and it does leak. The sunroof doesn’t seem to seal appropriately and or adequate ventilation in there for the moisture to dry causing it to mold. There always seems to be moisture on the windows on the inside in the winter time all of the time . Due to the sunroof leaking and the constant moisture there is mold on the interior and on the headliner
Add me to the lawsuit. I own a Volkswagen Jetta
I purchased a 2002 certified pre-owned VW Passat 4 motion with 30K miles & closed on the paperwork in January 2006. I still own this car today; however, the sunroof has for years automatically opened or lift up without me trying to open it. It has caused condensation and rain to get into my car. My car currently has approximately 135,000 miles on it, so of course due to its age and mileage it is out of warranty. If a 2002 Passat 6 cylinder 4 motion has been having problems with its sunroof for many years, then VW has known about this problem for a long time and has simply ignored it and possibly their actuarials have calculated the odds of repairs/possible claims from lawsuits of wrongful deaths vs. profits. There is probably even an internal memo to such addressing the issue of the sunroof. Please include me in this case.
At this time when the sunroof completely opens & will not close, I have to use 1 hand to keep the sunroof button turned to the close position and with my other hand I have to manually push on the inside of the sunroof glass to push it in place to completely close it or it will only open up again. Imagine if it was raining and I needed to do this to avoid rain from pouring into my automobile. This would not only cause more damage to my automobile than has already occurred, but it could be hazardous for both me & other drivers on the road as I would try to attempt to get to a safe location to correct the defective sunroof. It is extremely difficult to do this 2 handed maneuver for anyone, especially for me since I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Neck & Spinal Arthritis, and Asthma. VW not only needs to pay to have EVERY automobile’s sunroof repaired regardless of the mileage or age, but VW needs to compensate the owners for VW not doing a recall earlier to repair their defective product and trying to cover up their design & electronics flaw. VW also needs to compensate the owners of their products for their inconvenience, loss of time & money taking the automobile for repairs, the cost of not having access to a loaner or the owner required to rent another automobile while their VW was in the repair shop. VW also needs to compensate we owners for our health hazards from the mold from the dampness & condensation the defective sunroofs left in our automobiles. Also, VW needs to correct and compensate we owners for the repairs we already had to pay for the electric problems we have had due to the defective sunroof, but since it continues to still continue, VW needs to correct the automobile’s electrical system back to original speculations for the automobile, regardless of the age or mileage of the automobile. VW & all automobile manufacturers need to be sent a message by this class action lawsuit. An automobile is considered a deadly weapon in the USA if the driver hurts or kills someone. The driver could face jail time if he/she kills someone with their automobile; therefore, the automobile manufacturers need to be held to the same high standards that the average citizen is held. It is time that corporations start cutting corners and start producing a quality product for their consumers that are getting poorer and poorer daily as the corporations keep getting huge bailouts and their executives get their golden parachutes. Enough is enough. Please include me in this class action lawsuit. Thank you for your time and consideration in advance for reviewing my comments.
add me
I owned a 2008 Touareg and it was a nightmare. I bought it pre-owned in 2011, with 26k miles on it. Just about averaging every 3 months I needed to take it to the dealer for servicing. The drains from my sunroof clogged as too, despite taking it into the dealer for routine maintenance. Water was leaking from the footwell on the passenger side. The back seat footwells were also soaked. When the car just hit the 75k end of warranty clause, the axle needed to be repaired. Under warranty, a radio was replaced, new motor for the automatic window broke, replace the sensor lights encased in the side mirrors, a new horn, replaced a part so when you gas up, the pump doesn’t disingage from the gas tank, replacing taillights about every six months, not to mention tires and brakes wore out faster than any car I’ve ever had. Best decision I made to get rid of that lemon.