— A VW sunroof leak lawsuit settlement has been reached for Audi and Volkswagen owners who claim the sunroofs are prone to leak due to problems with their drainage systems and seals.
Six Volkswagen sunroof leak class action lawsuits were filed between December 2019 and May 2020 and consolidated into this lawsuit which includes these vehicles.
- 2018-2021 Volkswagen Atlas
- 2020-2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport
- 2015-2018 Volkswagen Golf / Golf GTI
- 2015-2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen
- 2017-2019 Volkswagen Golf alltrack
- 2018-2021 Volkswagen Tiguan
- 2019-2021 Audi Q3
- 2019-2021 Audi Q8
- 2019-2021 Audi e-tron
The class action alleges a sunroof leak causes water to damage the interiors, audio systems, electrical systems, seats, carpets and roof headliners. The class action lawsuit also alleges mold and mildew can grow in seats and carpet that get drenched by water leaks.
The nine plaintiffs who sued contend VW knew the sunroofs were defective but failed to warn customers.
Those plaintiffs also assert the VW sunroof leak warranty didn't help, and neither did technical service bulletins Volkswagen issued to its dealers about sunroof leaks.
The six class action lawsuits which were consolidated into one include:
- Sokol Gjonbalaj v. Volkswagen
- Jessica Cole v. Volkswagen
- Krzysztof Ziarno v. Volkswagen
- Dimitri Williams v. Volkswagen
- Austin Barden v. Volkswagen
- Joseph Campbell v. Volkswagen
According to Volkswagen, it "continues to deny all allegations of liability, strenuously contending that the subject sunroofs are not defective, that no fraudulent misrepresentation or omission has occurred nor were any express or implied warranties breached."
VW Sunroof Leak Lawsuit Settlement
The sunroof leak settlement may help certain customers, but many owners will still be stuck paying a percentage for the repairs.
VW Sunroof Leak Warranty Extension
According to the settlement agreement, Volkswagen will extend the warranty for the sunroofs. VW has agreed to cover a percentage of the sunroof repairs for a period of seven years or 80,000 miles from the date the vehicle was first put into service.
The percentage coverage under the sunroof warranty extension will be determined by a “sliding scale” of coverage percentages based upon the age and mileage of the vehicle at the time of the repair and the time/mileage durations.
For some of the older vehicles, the "warranty extension" has already expired.
VW Sunroof Repair Reimbursement
It may be possible to receive partial reimbursement if you paid for sunroof repairs performed within seven years or 80,000 miles from the in-service date of the vehicle. However, the sunroof leak settlement agreement says reimbursement is based on a sliding scale of coverage percentages.
Audi and VW customers must submit timely claims and provide proof of repairs and/or expenses.
Extension of Previous Service Actions
Volkswagen has agreed to extend previous "service actions" related to sunroof leaks.
- Service action 60E2 (Front Sunroof Drain Cleaning & Modification), which applies to some 2018-2019 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles, will be extended for a period of six months from the sunroof leak class action notice date.
- Service action 60E5 (Front Sunroof Drain Cleaning & Modification), applies to some 2015-2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen, 2016-2019 Volkswagen Golf alltrack and 2018-2019 Volkswagen Tiguan vehicles, will be extended for a period of six months from the sunroof leak class action notice date.
According to the sunroof settlement, the nine owners who sued will receive $5,000 each, and the attorneys who represent those owners will receive $2,850,000.
The nine plaintiffs are Sokol Gjonbalaj, Joseph Campbell, Jessica Cole, Karen Werner, Austin Barden, Mary Govan, Antonio Cabezas, Rick Hornick and Krzysztof Ziarno.
None of this is official until a federal judge grants final approval to the sunroof leak lawsuit settlement.
The VW sunroof leak lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York: Gjonbalaj, et al., v. Volkswagen Group of America, et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC, Berger Montague PC, Bryant Law Center PSC, Ahdoot & Wolfson, PC, and Simmons Hanly Conroy.