2011 Tonneau Cover & Bladder (?) Leak Questions

[NorCalGen5]

Ok, so I bought my 1st convertible (2011 2SS/RS Grey, blah blah blah) - actually more for my 13 year old daughter, she FELL IN LOVE with the car!!! We live in central Cali on the coast by Monterey so even just after a month or so it's proving to be long overdue! BEAUTIFUL scenery around here & it's all that much better with the top down! Now if I can just convince her that it doesn't need to be down on the freeway at night when its 37 degrees!!! So, I have 2 questions so for:

Tonnea Cover:
The car didn't come with one & from what I've seen they look WAY better with the top down & the cover on (not that big head sticking out doesn't kill it for passers-by ). From reading thru here it looks like there are 2 styles, will either fit my 2011? If not how do I figure out which one to get?

WATER LEAKING INTO CAR:
Seems like there is A LOT on this subject & not sure where to start. Sounds like GM screwed the pooch on the 2011 design resulting in some leaks that I'm fortunate enough to be experiencing. When it rains heavily (which fortunately we've had A LOT of lately - I get water pooling behind the front seats. My driveway has a slight incline & if I pull in forward the water pools behind the driver seat, if I back in it pools behind the passenger seat. Everything other than the rear carpet is bone dry. The water seems to run in behind the plastic panels next to the back seat & run straight onto the floor. SO - where the hell should I start? I've messed with plenty of Gen5 SS/ZL1 hardtops & certainly know my way around the cars pretty well but DO NOT know my way around the differences with the drop-tops. I AM NOT in a position to drop an arm & a leg at a dealership or other shop, this is intended to be a low-budget fun weekend toy to hit the road with my daughter... Any & all help would be greatly appreciated!

[Jfoster]

Tonneu cover, both will fit, the newer version is better. ShopChevyParts.com part # 22931371. It says 2013, but its the same from 11'-15'. If you can find a used one, you want the one with the two elastic loops that wrap around a bolt head to keep it secure which that part # above has.

As far as leaking, some say its the water management bag that goes around the back of the interior. It funnels the water to the quarter panels right behind the doors and drains out the bottom. I sold my '11 several years ago, from memory, with the top down you can see into that quarter panel and see down in there. On my '11, my water bag was good. But, the seams in the quarter panel metal had come a part allowing water to get into the rear floorboard. How the dealer figured it out, I'm not sure, but at the time they told me they had several 11's do the same thing. From the work order, they took out the interior plastic quarter panel and re-sealed those seams with black calking. After that, I never had another issue till we traded it. I would try the water test of running water around that whole seam and then open the trunk for signs of leaking and if you know how to take those inner panels off and back seat out to find where its coming in. I know on mine it didn't have to rain that much and it would leak in through that quarter panel.

Also, if you notice any rubbing spots above the doors, again from memory, a couple of inches in, with the top half open you'll see a pointed plastic tab on both sides. The point on that tab will rub when its folded up on some and eventually will rub a hole through the top. You can take a file and smooth it down and it has a second set of screw holes for those tabs. I think I moved mine to the second set of holes and filed it down some to round it off and it fixed that.

The most common issue with the '11 was the rear bow (5th bow) bending that holds the back tight to the rear. If you notice a gap where the top meets the rear panel and the fabric looks loose, that's your culprit. Some have repaired it themselves, I had to go to five or six dealers to find one that knew how and they did it right the first time. Some have had horror stories from poorly trained techs/dealers.

Hope this helps, not trying to scare you, but just a heads up on the most common issues.

[samman11]

Originally Posted by NorCalGen5

Ok, so I bought my 1st convertible (2011 2SS/RS Grey, blah blah blah) - actually more for my 13 year old daughter, she FELL IN LOVE with the car!!! We live in central Cali on the coast by Monterey so even just after a month or so it's proving to be long overdue! BEAUTIFUL scenery around here & it's all that much better with the top down! Now if I can just convince her that it doesn't need to be down on the freeway at night when its 37 degrees!!! So, I have 2 questions so for:

Tonnea Cover:
The car didn't come with one & from what I've seen they look WAY better with the top down & the cover on (not that big head sticking out doesn't kill it for passers-by ). From reading thru here it looks like there are 2 styles, will either fit my 2011? If not how do I figure out which one to get?

WATER LEAKING INTO CAR:
Seems like there is A LOT on this subject & not sure where to start. Sounds like GM screwed the pooch on the 2011 design resulting in some leaks that I'm fortunate enough to be experiencing. When it rains heavily (which fortunately we've had A LOT of lately - I get water pooling behind the front seats. My driveway has a slight incline & if I pull in forward the water pools behind the driver seat, if I back in it pools behind the passenger seat. Everything other than the rear carpet is bone dry. The water seems to run in behind the plastic panels next to the back seat & run straight onto the floor. SO - where the hell should I start? I've messed with plenty of Gen5 SS/ZL1 hardtops & certainly know my way around the cars pretty well but DO NOT know my way around the differences with the drop-tops. I AM NOT in a position to drop an arm & a leg at a dealership or other shop, this is intended to be a low-budget fun weekend toy to hit the road with my daughter... Any & all help would be greatly appreciated!

If you bought it from a dealer, take it back and show them the water. They have to give you a 90 day guarantee. If you bought it privately, you may be out of luck in terms of getting it covered for free. The dealers know of this issue. Search the forum, there's a PIC number that the dealers can look up to help them fix this issue. With mine, they needed to replace the water management bag and the 5th bow. All on their nickel, since like you, I discovered the issue within weeks of my purchase. It IS fixable, and I love my car. Worth fixing.

[xnuyokr]

Hopefully a simple fix. Typically the drain tube from the water management bag gets clogged and causes the leak you're experiencing. Do some googling to find out how it's routed and where to access it/clear it. Good luck.

[NorCalGen5]

Thank you for the feedback! The vehicle wasn't purchased from a dealer so I'd say it's on me to determine how to handle the issue. I will take a closer look at the 5th bow & also try to figure out how to access / clean out the water management bag as well as a couple of the other things Jfoster mentioned...

As for the tonneau - I'm trying to find a decent price on one but it seems like all of the ones for sale under the $350 range are either from a 2011 or the seller conveniently doesn't know what year the car was... I am trying to stick with the p/n 29931371 mentioned above as it seems to be the better of the covers offered.

Thanks again for the feedback & if anyone else has suggestions I will greatly appreciate any info!

[OrangeVert]

NorCal don't know if it will help you but I have a 2011 very bought new, no water issues, no rubbing issues. Worst thing is I get a bit of a lifter tick I think because I don't drive it enough (9,500 miles in 6 years). Would love to take it to Cali on a road trip but 45 hours x 2 is a lot of driving (also $650 in gas) and I have three jobs, one of which I volunteer for, so that's not going to happen anytime soon. I rented a V6 vert in San Jose about a year ago and it was a blast, only wish I had more time to take it to Big Basin and Muir Woods. These cars are a blast and I don't enjoy mine enough. Enjoy!!

[jeffrsho]

I have an OEM tonneau cover with loops I'd be willing to sell, message me if you're interested. It's hardly used and is from my 2012 2SS/RS, it also includes the storage bag.


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[18LTLoveIt]

GMPartsdirect has the tonneau & bag going for 350.00ish now