XC60 windscreen bonding failure

[s1monc]

My wife has a 2009 model V70 which had exactly the same problem. Noticed water on the front passenger seat and damp carpet causing inside to steam up. Leak was coming from top of windscreen. Have used Comma seal n seal for now which has stopped the leak but will have to remove screen and rebond soon. She has had car from new and it's the original screen.

[844PHW]

The other day I noticed a small amount of water running down the inside of the windscreen and then realised that the front footwells were saturated. Having read this thread I knew instantly what the problem was. I booked the car into the dealer for apparently a two-day job. The windscreen bonding had failed along the top edge. The windscreen had to be removed, cleaned-up and re-bonded. Hopefully, things are ok now. I had to pay a 50% charge with the rest being a "goodwill" contribution.

The point to note is that it is not just early cars that this problem can occur on.

[wombat37]

A few weeks ago I noticed the odd drip coming from the top side of the passenger screen which over the weekend has also resulted in a pool of water on the passenger side of the car.

This just isn't impressive given this comes on top of the XC60 automatic gear box Neutral to Drive jerk software problem which was denied for over a year before a customer focussed dealer ship in the South West made us aware of a technical bulletin & was something our local dealership in Horsham weren't aware existed and then charged us to correct.

The sad thing was that I was just about to buy a new XC60 and that now relies on how well Volvo and Doves Horsham resolve this latest problem

[Thrustyjust]

Filled the sticky above, but seems when we went out in the car this morning, we had a reasonable trickle down the drivers side near the pillar and a smaller amount on the passenger side near the pillar. Not sure if it is related, but have always heard a wind whistle at speed since we bought the car. I have pushed the screen up from the inside and it does flex outwards. I checked it against my Focus, which is solid and no movement at all which is what I would have expected on the XC to be honest, with the windscreen being a structural part of the car. I guess being 5 1/2yrs old, it will end up being out of any goodwill gesture, even if the windscreen is original from build. I will email Volvo UK and see what they say about it .

[ajsimmo]

I've just joined the forum specifically to comment on this issue.

After reading all the above posts, it quickly became apparent to me that the 2009/2010 XC60’s seemed to have an inherent problem with the windscreen bonding.

Obviously I have the same problem as all the posters above and only noticed it during heavy rain with water running down the inside of the windscreen.

Thinking back, inside the screen had been full of condensation on quite a few occasions prior to my discovery, but I had put it down to wet dogs and wet dog beds in the back.

After reading all these posts, I think I'll start checking the passenger side foot well on a regular basis.

I had a quick chat to a windscreen repairer (he was fixing another unrelated car windscreen) and he said I would be better off intentionally damaging my windscreen in order to get a free replacement through my insurance! A sad indictment on today’s society.

Anyway, I may just try some clear bathroom sealant before I fork out more money, (I paid £900 a few months ago for a replacement AirCon compressor!!).

[Voltan]

I have posted an account of my water ingress on the associated sticky thread but this is the problem:

Last week, I collected my car from the dealer after servicing and noticed a single bead of water, internal, at the top of the windscreen on the driver's side. As the head lining was not wet, I presumed it had come from a wet cloth or whatever during the after-service valeting. I hadn't noticed any more evidence of water since but today, a small stream of water appeared running down inside the windscreen as I parked up at home after being out. The puzzling thing is that it was not raining then but there had been a short light shower about two hours earlier. There was no water evident when I got in the car to start my journey home.

Could this water has been trapped somewhere and percolated through after a period of time due to vibration at the seal while the car was being driven?

On reflection, the water I noticed previously at the garage must have arisen from them washing the car. I wonder if the car had been put through a car wash and the pressure of the brushes has broken the seal? I have never seen water on the screen like this before, whenever I have washed the car, even with a power hose or when driving out in rain.


I shall visit the dealer on Monday to discuss and hopefully resolve the problem under warranty, before any water damage ensues, though it might be tricky to convince them there is a leak.

[Voltan]

My car goes in tomorrow to have the factory original windscreen resealed. The leak is very small, only occasionally in wet weather has water run down the inside of the screen. If I slide a piece of kitchen towel up under the lip of the head lining after it has been raining it only sometimes gets wet.

I emailed Volvo customer services who were not very supportive and did not offer to contribute despite being asked, if the screen should break while being removed, which my dealer thinks is very likely. Volvo simply claimed that my dealer has the correct instructions for removing the screen and there should be no problem.

My car has just past 5 years and has a new Volvo extensive care warranty which sadly is not extensive enough! So I could be £500+ out of pocket for what appears to be a manufacturing fault. This could have been leaking from new but only now become evident. Needless to say, I am not impressed and this has tainted the ownership which until now has been a very pleasing experience.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by Voltan

My car goes in tomorrow to have the factory original windscreen resealed. The leak is very small, only occasionally in wet weather has water run down the inside of the screen. If I slide a piece of kitchen towel up under the lip of the head lining after it has been raining it only sometimes gets wet.

I emailed Volvo customer services who were not very supportive and did not offer to contribute despite being asked, if the screen should break while being removed, which my dealer thinks is very likely. Volvo simply claimed that my dealer has the correct instructions for removing the screen and there should be no problem.

My car has just past 5 years and has a new Volvo extensive care warranty which sadly is not extensive enough! So I could be £500+ out of pocket for what appears to be a manufacturing fault. This could have been leaking from new but only now become evident. Needless to say, I am not impressed and this has tainted the ownership which until now has been a very pleasing experience.

Volvo are correct in saying there should be no problem removing the screen. The dealer is wrong. Are they looking to make more profit?

I'd find someone who is confident in their ability to remove and replace the screen.

Roy

[Voltan]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

Volvo are correct in saying there should be no problem removing the screen. The dealer is wrong. Are they looking to make more profit?

I'd find someone who is confident in their ability to remove and replace the screen.

Roy

Perhaps Volvo are right but the screen should not need removed in the first place. No car I have had ever, over the past 40+ years, needed a windscreen replaced.

I am confident my dealer is not trying to rip me off. They have followed Volvos instructions but still have had windscreens break.

[Voltan]

Good news today! My dealer has informed me that they have successfully removed and re-bonded the windscreen. I'll collect the car tomorrow and hopefully that will be the end of the problem. They had had a two breakages recently while removing screens and Volvo UK had acknowledged to me that breakages can occur, usually if there are chips in the screen already, but wouldn't contribute to the cost of a new screen. It seems that Volvo in other regions (Greece, USA) have done so, according to some reports I have read online.

Interestingly, before I took the car in this morning I 'phoned my car insurer and having explained the situation and the risk of breakage during repair, they affirmed that they would cover the windscreen replacement less, of course, the excess. That was welcome reassurance so I will definitely renew with them next year.