The dread of all MK5 GTI owners....rust.
So I decided to take the sill covers off to attack a couple of tiny little scabs of rust on the sills adjacent to the front door, the usual spot. The spot not covered under warranty due to VW's 'edge and fold' get out of jail card (w@nkers).
You know when you were a kid and picked at a 'falling off your skate board' scab, and regretted it? Yeah....no different to picking rust scabs on MK5s. Instant regret.
What I was greeted with after removing the arch covers was a bit shocking to say the least. I know MK5s have a reputation for being rot bags, but I wasn't expecting this 1980s Ford Escort level of rust.
Everyone knows about the front end of the sill rusting, but that isn't the main area of the concern. It's the rear of the sill you need to worry about.
I'll let the pictures do the talking but suffice to say guys, if your love your MK5 and it's a keeper.....please take your sill covers off ASAP and check for this level of rot before it's too late. Sill cover removal and refitting is a very involved job but definitely DIY'able. I will go over that if folk want me to, but just take your time removing the sill covers and don't gorilla them off. They are held on with double sided tape and a massive blob of urethane glue at the rear (very hard to remove).
A small 5mm scab in the usual place turned into lots of scabs the entire length of the sill.....
And then when we get to the back, and oh dear. Pretty much the same on both sides but the driver's side was by far the worst, which is weird as most of the dirt is on the passenger side of the road....
I used POR-15 rust treatment and some glassfibre to fill the holes in the sill, and then repainted the whole lot and refitted the sill covers. A complete and utter ball ache but well worth doing. It's an easy £1000+ job at a body shop.
VW simply don't deserve the following they have with their parts pricing and shoddily made cars. Seeing this p1ssed me right off. If it wasn't for the fact MK5s are so nice to drive, I'd be switching brands. Hopefully I've bought another 3-5 years lifespan repairing this, but my next car definitely will NOT be a VW.
The sill covers as nice as they are to look at, are primarily the cause of this rot problem. How many 1.4 and diesel MK5s with no sill covers do you see with rotted out sills? None.
