Sunroof / Moonroof Leak
08-07-12, 02:58 AM
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Western Australia (Australia)
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
10 Posts
Sunroof / Moonroof Leak
When I originally had my roof racks removed, the holes were not plugged up properly and hence I got some water spilling into the car. I took the car to Lexus who were gracious enough to seal them properly and the leak stop. This was last year. I had my windscreen replaced about 6 months ago due to a crack in the window and that was replaced no water leakage. Last week I noticed a wet smell, which was exactly as I remember the first time water came into the cabin. I checked the carpet and sure enough, the passenger foot well (driver side to you US guys) was wet again. So proceeded to see what was going on, which one of these things was causing the issue.
1) I initially thought that it must be those roof rack holes and I proceeded to remove the original sealant used by the dealer and seal the hole from the inside out. I basically put silicon into the hole (the threads that the roof racks would normally bolt to are destroyed) until it filled out (not that much) and then black siliconed over the top of that.
Result: Spray water around the area and water still spills in. I would have expected that if the hole was sealed up or mostly sealed up, the water volume leaking in would be reduced, but alas the volume is still exactly the same.
2) I thought it might be the front windscreen and so I sprayed around it to see if there was a leak there.
Result: No leak
3) At this stage I am thinking it must be the roof rack rail holes. I thought let me try the sunroof purely to see if that might be the problem. I could not understand why if the holes were sealed or if the seal wasn't that good, that the same volume of water was coming in. I put a blanket between the sunroof and roof rack bolts and poured water over the sunroof. I did this check 2 or 3 times making sure that water was not going near the roof rack holes.
Result: Volume of water leaks into the car.
At this stage I am 95% confident that the problem is actually the sunroof and not the roof rack holes.
The water is draining in the passenger footwell through this hole (driver's side for you US guys)
So
How do I stop this happening? How do I check if the passage is blocked? How do I empty it? Is there a plug I can remove somewhere to unclog the pipe? I need to get this resolved very quickly. I did speak with Lexus and they are wanting to charge me $170 per hour to find the problem or identify what's wrong with it. They would do 2 hours and if nothing found, would keep charging $170 until they found the problem. That's a ridiculous price to find a problem like that. Is there anything I can do to try and resolve this issue.
1) I initially thought that it must be those roof rack holes and I proceeded to remove the original sealant used by the dealer and seal the hole from the inside out. I basically put silicon into the hole (the threads that the roof racks would normally bolt to are destroyed) until it filled out (not that much) and then black siliconed over the top of that.
Result: Spray water around the area and water still spills in. I would have expected that if the hole was sealed up or mostly sealed up, the water volume leaking in would be reduced, but alas the volume is still exactly the same.
2) I thought it might be the front windscreen and so I sprayed around it to see if there was a leak there.
Result: No leak
3) At this stage I am thinking it must be the roof rack rail holes. I thought let me try the sunroof purely to see if that might be the problem. I could not understand why if the holes were sealed or if the seal wasn't that good, that the same volume of water was coming in. I put a blanket between the sunroof and roof rack bolts and poured water over the sunroof. I did this check 2 or 3 times making sure that water was not going near the roof rack holes.
Result: Volume of water leaks into the car.
At this stage I am 95% confident that the problem is actually the sunroof and not the roof rack holes.
The water is draining in the passenger footwell through this hole (driver's side for you US guys)
So
How do I stop this happening? How do I check if the passage is blocked? How do I empty it? Is there a plug I can remove somewhere to unclog the pipe? I need to get this resolved very quickly. I did speak with Lexus and they are wanting to charge me $170 per hour to find the problem or identify what's wrong with it. They would do 2 hours and if nothing found, would keep charging $170 until they found the problem. That's a ridiculous price to find a problem like that. Is there anything I can do to try and resolve this issue.
08-07-12, 06:23 AM
#2
Pole Position
some have had good luck with compressed air to the drain holes in the sunroof. plugged drain holes seem to cause the sunroof leaks and have been reported many times on these forums...
08-09-12, 02:29 AM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Western Australia (Australia)
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
10 Posts
Have done some more testing and I thought I was onto a winner with the sunroof but I am now not so convinced. I can pour small amounts of water (think takeaway plastic container) over the roof rack holes and also over the sunroof and I don't get a leak. However the instant I use something like a hose around the area, it starts to leak again. I have decided to take it to Toyota as they will charge $145 (per hour) vs $170 (per hour) from Lexus (Lexus recommends minimum 2 hours to diagnose) to identify where the fault is. It seems that because of the volume of water, it is not draining fast enough. This would be indicative of something being partially blocked somewhere that is causing the issue. It's almost as though the water is pooling somewhere and then slowly draining.
Last edited by draco; 08-09-12 at 04:28 PM.
08-09-12, 04:30 PM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Western Australia (Australia)
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
10 Posts
I would have like to as well, but I don't want to risk the potential of the tubes detaching somehow and then it causing me more of a headache. I'm sure this is what the dealer will do, but if they break the tube then they can fix that potential problem.
08-10-12, 05:04 AM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Western Australia (Australia)
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
10 Posts
I might remove the rocker cover moulding tomorrow and see if there is anything that I can see from there that might be causing an over flow.
Trending Topics
08-10-12, 10:06 PM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Western Australia (Australia)
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
10 Posts
I removed the rocker panel moulding and there was quite a lot of loose dirt and things in there. It made a small heaped pile in my garage. Initial signs looked good when I poured water over the top of the car with no leak apparent. However I moved my car up to the top of my driveway (where I have done all of my testing), and sprayed my car again with the garden hose. Low and behold, it started leaking into the cabin AGAIN!!!
At this stage, I can only think either the tubes that direct the water where to go have become dislodged; or they are blocked as well or there is something around the front windscreen when it was replaced a few months back that is causing the problem.
At this stage, I can only think either the tubes that direct the water where to go have become dislodged; or they are blocked as well or there is something around the front windscreen when it was replaced a few months back that is causing the problem.
The following users liked this post:
cmeldon (02-22-17)
08-11-12, 11:21 AM
#9
You know you can actually open the sunroof and then use a hose to spray water into the 'tray' that is around the sunroof. If you carefully spray a small amount to the corner that you think has the leaking hose, you'll then see if it leaks into the car and can be sure that it's the sunroof hose that's leaking, rather than spraying water all over the roof and trying to guess where the water is coming from.
When it rains, or when you spray water on the roof and the sunroof is closed, the water gets past that gasket anyway (it's supposed to, just like the windows in the doors) and ends up on the 'tray' and funnels down the sunroof drain tubes (one for each corner).
When it rains, or when you spray water on the roof and the sunroof is closed, the water gets past that gasket anyway (it's supposed to, just like the windows in the doors) and ends up on the 'tray' and funnels down the sunroof drain tubes (one for each corner).
08-11-12, 05:36 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Western Australia (Australia)
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
10 Posts
You know you can actually open the sunroof and then use a hose to spray water into the 'tray' that is around the sunroof. If you carefully spray a small amount to the corner that you think has the leaking hose, you'll then see if it leaks into the car and can be sure that it's the sunroof hose that's leaking, rather than spraying water all over the roof and trying to guess where the water is coming from.
When it rains, or when you spray water on the roof and the sunroof is closed, the water gets past that gasket anyway (it's supposed to, just like the windows in the doors) and ends up on the 'tray' and funnels down the sunroof drain tubes (one for each corner).
When it rains, or when you spray water on the roof and the sunroof is closed, the water gets past that gasket anyway (it's supposed to, just like the windows in the doors) and ends up on the 'tray' and funnels down the sunroof drain tubes (one for each corner).
08-11-12, 11:14 PM
#11
I've read all your posts and nowhere do you state that you OPENED the sunroof and poured water into the area that the drain holes are. In a later post you state that you're not sure that it's the sunroof after all.
My suggestion is to open the sunroof up and pour water into the drain holes so you can be sure that it's the drain tube leaking. From reading your posts, it seems as if you are pouring water over the sunroof with it closed, not finding a leak, then using a hose to shoot more water and then finding the leak. The hose has volume and velocity behind it - enough to get water past the sunroof seal when it's closed and into the drainage tray under the sunroof - the tray that channels water toward the drain hoses.
My suggestion is to open the sunroof up and pour water into the drain holes so you can be sure that it's the drain tube leaking. From reading your posts, it seems as if you are pouring water over the sunroof with it closed, not finding a leak, then using a hose to shoot more water and then finding the leak. The hose has volume and velocity behind it - enough to get water past the sunroof seal when it's closed and into the drainage tray under the sunroof - the tray that channels water toward the drain hoses.
Last edited by rcy; 08-11-12 at 11:46 PM.
08-13-12, 07:36 AM
#13
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Western Australia (Australia)
Posts: 1,254
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
10 Posts
Well the Toyota dealership charged me 1 hour's labour time and have resolved the issue. They found that the drainage tubes were blocked and have opened them up . They have also extended the drain tube for the sunroof to go beyond where it does to allow the water to drain out faster. Apparently the hose drains into a cavity (which was also partially blocked) and water drains out from there. The extra bit of tubeing now also drains water directly out of the car (I think I got that right).
I tested this when I got home and did my own tests (park in the same spot and put the garden hose over that area) and low and behold no more leaking. I have now finally put my car back together again.
I tested this when I got home and did my own tests (park in the same spot and put the garden hose over that area) and low and behold no more leaking. I have now finally put my car back together again.
03-16-13, 02:17 PM
#14
I removed the rocker panel moulding and there was quite a lot of loose dirt and things in there. It made a small heaped pile in my garage. Initial signs looked good when I poured water over the top of the car with no leak apparent. However I moved my car up to the top of my driveway (where I have done all of my testing), and sprayed my car again with the garden hose. Low and behold, it started leaking into the cabin AGAIN!!!
At this stage, I can only think either the tubes that direct the water where to go have become dislodged; or they are blocked as well or there is something around the front windscreen when it was replaced a few months back that is causing the problem.
At this stage, I can only think either the tubes that direct the water where to go have become dislodged; or they are blocked as well or there is something around the front windscreen when it was replaced a few months back that is causing the problem.
how is your leak fix holding up so far? Strang but I am having the same problem as you, what caught my attn is that the front windscreen was replaced shortly before I bought the car. Water is coming thru the headliner and thru the overhead courtesy light fixture. I've already blew out the drain holes and tested water going thru the drainholes, but I'm still getting the leak. I may remove the entire headliner to see where it's coming from however I wonder if the windscreen was installed correctly, Lexus indicates the entire interior headliner, front and rear pillar posts needed to be removed when replacing the front windscreen and I KNOW those guys didn't do all of that when they replaced it, what's your suggestion? Thanks.