Rear tailgate door drains plugged.

[WILBA1962]

Hi chaps. Noticed on the van when I lifted up the tailgate a bit of water was inside of the rubber seal. When I looked at the tailgate drain holes the 4 of them where blocked with plastic plugs. These fitted the holes perfectly so must have been an item you can buy. I always thought all drain holes in tailgates need to be open. The holes on our VW touran tailgate holes are open. Why would someone have plugged them with these plastic plugs? I thought they might have been having water ingress past the seal and put them in to stem the leakage. Or am I missing something here guys. Your thoughts please. Chris

 

[Skyliner33]

Hi chaps. Noticed on the van when I lifted up the tailgate a bit of water was inside of the rubber seal. When I looked at the tailgate drain holes the 4 of them where blocked with plastic plugs. These fitted the holes perfectly so must have been an item you can buy. I always thought all drain holes in tailgates need to be open. The holes on our VW touran tailgate holes are open. Why would someone have plugged them with these plastic plugs? I thought they might have been having water ingress past the seal and put them in to stem the leakage. Or am I missing something here guys. Your thoughts please. Chris

View attachment 260769

View attachment 260770

OEM plugs. Come with those in as new.

 

[WILBA1962]

But the drain holes are supposed to let water out. With the plugs won't it keep it in and rot the bottom of tailgate?

 

[Spaghetti]

I pulled the drain plugs out in 2018 and threw them away! It always baffles me why they’re plugged from new.

 

[Salty Spuds]

I pulled the drain plugs out in 2018 and threw them away! It always baffles me why they’re plugged from new.

likewise

 

[007jay]

Glad I'm not the only one. Tonight I opened the tailgate of my ply lined 22 plate swb t6.1 only to have a stream of water come out between ply and panel. I unscrewed the ply and could see water sloshing around and then spotted the tiny plugs. I removed them and now all drained. It's late and dark so I haven't done much investigation as to where it came from. No spoiler, may be something by hinges or brake light sealing however I have always noticed the fit of the handle surround has a slight bulge and gap at top middle. I suspect this is the source but will need more investigation. Is the handle bulging a common issue? Is there a seal around it? The water makes the panel appear damaged but it is not.