2017 XC90 Blocked sunroof drain

2017 XC90 Blocked sunroof drain

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Coolmover

Original Poster:

78 posts

140 months

Thursday 27th August 2020
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Hi All,

Anyone else had any issues with blocked drains on a XC90? Bought brand new and serviced by Volvo from new. Serviced 2 months ago and extended warranty purchased from Volvo. 2 days ago noticed a pool of water in the driver's footwell and then the car won't start.

Had the car recovered to Volvo, Preston. They have now told me that it isn't covered under warranty and that 'someone' has put some putty down the drain and this has blocked it. Having pointed out that we haven't done it and that it has only ever been serviced by Volvo they've now changed their story that it may be down to leaf debris. The water ingress has caused the electrical boxes to 'fry' and there is a big bill in the offing.

As someone who buys 400+ vehicles a year and has to deal with dealers all around the country I appreciate that the dealer just wants to know who's paying them. So far Volvo are resisting....Not sure if they expect the driver to have to take all the trim pff once a year to flush out the drains but that appears to be what they are saying so far.

Any previous instances of drain issues with XC60/XC90/V90 etc would be greatly appreciated.


Double Fault

1,381 posts

270 months

Thursday 27th August 2020
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If you had to dismantle the car and unblock the drains then the maintenance section in the manual would show you how it's done?

i.e. its not your problem

Coolmover

Original Poster:

78 posts

140 months

Thursday 27th August 2020
quotequote all
Agree completely. They are basically saying that we would strip the sunroof trim and flush out the drains. This is despite the fact that this isn't part of their expensive service schedule.

They are now saying that the drain has been filled with some 'putty'. One of my workshop lads has said it looks like some kind of two pack stuff that has then been painted over. He thinks it is a factory bodge. There is 5cm of water in the well beneath the driver's footwell so it must have been like that for quite some time.

They have sent me one photo of the area of concern. We have asked for 10 x more showing the content of where it is on the car and the other side for comparison purposes. We do have another brand new XC90 so I can compare the two.

Customer services are pleasant enough but totally useless. I don't think they know how big a fight they are going to have on this one.

I'll put the photos up for comparison once I get them.

Double Fault

1,381 posts

270 months

Friday 28th August 2020
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What was the bodge that required the putty?

Coolmover

Original Poster:

78 posts

140 months

Friday 28th August 2020
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To be honest, no idea. We have another XC90 so we've spent all morning trying to find the drain hole and found out that it is under the front of the roof and nowhere near the area that the garage has photographed. They keep on sending me emails saying that the fault is down to a putty substance having blocked the drain. The only way this can be the case is that it left the factory like that.

They have just confirmed (Volvo UK) that it isn't a warranted item so it's down to me! Not taking it lying down so I can see this going quite a bit further...

Double Fault

1,381 posts

270 months

Friday 28th August 2020
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Keep us posted,

jputland

1 posts

16 months

Wednesday 19th July 2023
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Hi - what was the outcome of this? Garage just found water leak passenger side behind panel strip....caused modules to displays lots of warnings. Now need to get assessment of damage to electronics but this appears to be a design flaw. XC90 2018 T6