Hi all. First time poster.

My 2014

RX350 recently had a bunch of lights come on: Check AWD, TRAC off, and check engine. My wife took it to the dealer this morning.

She said that she saw water on the driver side floor (after heavy rain from the tropical storm).

Upon inspection, the dealer said that the sunroof water pump is leaking and there is mold in the car. They essentially want to tear a bunch of stuff out for mold remediation. The estimate is for $8800!?!?! Holy crap.

I'm not sure how he can diagnose mold from seeing a wet floor mat. I attached the estimate which seems crazy to me. How is a coolant flush and banjo gasket bank related to a leaky sunroof?

Any advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

 

Mold can be a serious issue but that price is nuts, keep in mind they are quoting you by the hour to strip the interior and clean. At minimum the carpet needs to be removed and washed and allowed to completely dry.

 

It's not the sunroof water pump, no such part exists. They want $6200 to clean your sunroof drain and get rid of the mold, and they also want to replace your coolant water pump and do a coolant flush.

I think they noticed the water pump problem while inspecting your car, so they're offering to fix it for you.

I don't think the mold needs to be cleaned because once you fix the sunroof leak, the mold will dry out and turn to dust.

Thanks for posting, this is an interesting case.

 

For $6237 I hope the carpet remediation includes complete replacement with new OEM factory carpet.

I think you quote is sketchy as it is not clear in all cases what you get for your money.

I bet a good local upholstery shop can rip out your carpet and install new factory carpet for $1500 or so.

 

Run away now from that crooked dealership and never return.

 

How to know a dealer is ripping you off. Did you go to a dealer? Then the answer is yes.

Even if they replaced the carpet with new that still leave $5000 for the rest of the job. Good lord.

 

Get an independent to clean your sunroof drain then find a great detailing company to clean out the mold and carpet.
Most shops clean the sunroof drain by carefully blasting it out with compressed air. I have used weed wacker line to clean them out.

 

Any decent body shop can remove the front seats and lift the carpet.
There is a felt lining under the carpet that may need to be replaced or maybe it will dry out too.

 

All this doesn't explain the flashing lights in the dash. Just saying!

 

Water from the sunroof drain got into part of the dash as it overflowed wetting electrical connections. This is not uncommon with these leaks. Sometimes the sunroof drain separates higher up due to pressure build-up and spews even more water inside the dash or other body areas before ending up on the floor carpet.

 

How hard is it to get to the rear drains? The Toyota repair manual implies that the headliner needs to come out or be loosened (it doesn't explicitly state it).

Anyone have any photos of the start point of the drains?

 

You may be able to see the rear drain holes with a flashlight and be able to fish some weed wacker line down the hole. It is probably best to find where they drain under the car and attack them from below. A professional repair shop may be your best bet for cleaning the rear drains due to the difficulting of accessing them and you may need it on a lift to find the rear drain exits.

My sister just had this problem with her BMW 328i as the driver-side rear drain clogged and flooded the back area. Her local I work on anything repair guy gave up trying to work on the rear drain as he could not get at it to blow compressed air through to clear it and sent her to a BMW specialist because he did not know where it drained out. They had to take some stuff apart in the lower rear somewhere and found the clogged valve at the end of the drain. Luckily I don't think Lexus uses a valve at the end of the drain hose.

 

I've seen the rear hoses from inside, when I had my headliner partially down. At the time, I was replacing my rear hatch motor that is in the ceiling. I'm going to find a way to clear the rear hoses, preferably from above, without having to take the interior apart. The option of cleaning them from where they drop out the bottom of the car is a possibility. A car lift is not a problem for me.
Generally, I do not let others work on my cars. In my experience, I'm a better mechanic than most mechanics at professional repair shops, though I am sure I am an exception. Besides pulling and rebuilding engines, I've pulled, rebuilt and reinstalled transmissions, done body work, done interior work. I'm also not in a hurry like them. I don't work on cars for a living. Side note, part of the reason I love my RX so much is that its needed so LITTLE in the way of repairs.

 

I have just come from the dealership and the exact same thing was told to me. There has been some torrential rain and I have been out of town for a couple months. Come back to find check engine light and traction light on and wet flooring and odd smell. Was told the exact same thing. Debris clogs the drainage pipes, water gets in the car, causes mold and also shorts out the electrical system. BUT the dealer said this might be covered by insurance, which I thought was odd, and currently am waiting for the insurance adjuster to come out to the dealership to inspect the car. In the meantime they have issued me a loaner at no cost. I am not sure what I am going to do if I am told insurance won't pay and it's an $8000 repair bill. Mine is a 2010 and the bluebook value is only about $12,000 at this point.