Water bag leaking, out of warranty, what are my options?

[sasha055]

Hi,

I got water in rear passenger foot well, my suspicion is water bag.

I dropped the car at the dealership and waiting for the call.

The problem is, it's out of bumper to bumper warranty so they will probably ask me to pay for water bag replacement.

What are my options? Should I ask Chevy to pay for it? it's a know issue after all..

Should I try the fix myself? Does anyone know where I can find a DIY guide?

Any information is helpful.

Thanks
Sasha

[classicrockr]

My most recent leak (on & off over 1 year) was on the driver's side rear floorboard.

The water bag has 3 anchor points; 1 on each side where a big triangle shaped rubber piece "hangs", and there's a bolt/washer combo that's mounted on the frame just behind the 3rd brake light that is crucial to preventing leaks.

On mine, the driver's side "hangar" piece was splitting apart & allowing a small leak because the bag was sagging on that side. While trying to fix it, the dealership removed the center bolt/washer combo & didn't reinstall it, causing MASSIVE leaks.

If you've veer had it worked on before, go back to that dealership & ask them what they'll do for you. Otherwise, if it's out of warranty then you'll have to pay for it.

[sasha055]

Update:
Just got a call from the dealership.
Chevy will not pay for it, I have to pay 800$ for them to first disassemble it and figure out what is leaking and then they could tell me how much it costs to fix it.
The fix might include new top, so I'm looking at $3k+ to fix, plus $800 to diagnose...

No way in hell I'm paying that. I'll just sell the car in spring..

Funny part, a couple of years ago I did get a letter from Chevy mentioning convertible top issue, it said "DO NOT bring the car in unless it leaks"
Car was always garaged.. so it did not see any water.. hence no leaks, it was under warranty back then.
I should've just poured the water in my rear footwell, dropped it off at the dealership and requested a new top with water bag. Would've been free back then.

Very disappointed..

[95birdible]

Do you still have that letter? If so, could you scan it and send it to me. I am sure the attorney that is handling the class action suit would love to see it as well as any other owners that have had top and leaking problems.

[Dom C]

Count me in as one person who would like to see that letter, or if anyone has a way of reviewing poured bulletins indicating a possible leak.

Thank you!

[samman11]

YOU must call GM and complain. Don't just go by what the dealer says. YOU ask them if it's normal for water to appear on the carpet, or if the water management bag is designed to begin leaking after the car has aged several years. Of course, the answer will be no, in which case you plead your case. You ask for help. You tell them you are a loyal customer. Have you and/ or family members purchased GM cars before? All of that helps. One time I had a GM olds supreme with 40,000 miles on it. The Transmission went. I called and asked if the transmission is supposed to go after 40,000 miles. Yes, it was outside the 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty, but I pushed on with my question. Their answer was no it is not supposed to go. They checked my repair history and saw that I did use the dealer for some oil changes and minor repairs. They ended up covering the whole $1800 bill. The bottom line is you must call up and ask, along with a violin and crying towel in the background.

[Jfoster]

You MAY not have a leaking water bag. We had a '11 that started leaking into the right rear floorboard. Turned out it was a seam in the quarter panel that had separated. They had to pull the right inside panel out to get in there and reseal it.

The dealer figured that out without tearing it apart.

[sasha055]

Sorry for going MIA

I fixed it over the holidays. BTW whoever designed it at GM, should be fired..

The rubber hose that connects water bag to the draining hole just popped out and all the water was going to my rear seat instead of the drainage hole.
The problem is that it will happen again, there are 2 design flaws in there:

1. The rubber hose is not attached with anything to the hole, it's just a groove on the rubber that when the hose is in the hole.. the groove keeps it from popping back in
2. The small rear windows, when opened push the rubber hose back inside the car.

When the car (and the rubber) is new it hold on, however as time passes the rubber gets old and when you put the windows down (ex: opening the top) they push the drain hose back inside the car.

Solution would be to either add a plastic ring from the inside and screw it in, so the drain hose would be held in place by something.. or redesign rear windows.

I took a couple of pictures:

1st Picture is the place where you can see the rubber hose (generic image just to show where to look)

Second picture is the rubber drain hose. I took the plastic cover off, the white stuff is silicone glue I added to make sure it holds until summer, when I can make a more permanent fix

The green arrow points to the rubber drain hose, The rear window is up in the picture.
However when you put the rear windows down it moves by the orange arrow and pushes rubber drain hose inside the car.

Hope it helps.

Sasha

[OrangeVert]

Great pics and explanation shasha055 - thank you!!

['11 cyber grey vert]

Sasha,

thanks for the photos and write up.

I am not sure if there is a difference in the newer water bags/tubes as to the location and components.

I know they redesigned the bag and supposed to drain much better

I just don't know all the details associated with the new design (although my 2011 has the new design in it)

[sasha055]

I did look at the difference in design, new water bag has 2 more holes in the back, this helps with heavy rain.
Other than that, new bags (looks like) are identical, I compared my bag with my friends 13'

The funny thing.. on the new water bags, the tubes in the back are held in place by plastic rings, this will stop them from popping out. The front ones are same as before.

BTW forgot to mention, there is no need for special tools or part removal to pop the tube back in, just some pliers..

Sasha

[Autobot209]

Just had a big rain storm and I noticed my vertical leaking in the driver side rear floor. Thanks for the post and pictures I will try this first.