I hate Toyota sunroofs

[linuxgod]

For a vehicle Toyota knows gets used to ford rivers I don't understand why every wiring connector isn't at least designed to be water-resistant if not fully waterproof. Or at least installed inside a water resistant enclosure.

Also... drip loops. Connectors shouldn't be at the lowest point. A small bit of slack and placing the connectors higher up would get rid of a lot of issues.

 

[Docwyte]

The roof rack foot leaked on my GX470. Nothing I could notice until one day the headlights just started freaking out. Luckily all I had to have replaced was the gasket. Despite the fact that these are Toyotas, they will break. Things will wear out and sometimes we'll have to pay for repairs. I'd take it to a good Indy shop and see if they're willing to repair the harness. The dealer most of the time just wants to plug n play parts and also make sure that you won't be coming back with another complaint, hence them loading up the parts cannon.

 

[Heckraiser]

That's it, I'm getting my roof vinyl wrapped right now.

 

[bloc]

For a vehicle Toyota knows gets used to ford rivers I don't understand why every wiring connector isn't at least designed to be water-resistant if not fully waterproof. Or at least installed inside a water resistant enclosure.

Also... drip loops. Connectors shouldn't be at the lowest point. A small bit of slack and placing the connectors higher up would get rid of a lot of issues.

Fully gasketed harnesses would significantly increase cost and I'm sure it would have some impact on weight as well.. all in a context where toyota didn't think it was necessary and for 99.9% of vehicles it isn't.. whereas open connectors under the hood or at the hubs would fail in ten minutes in a rain storm.

Your point about connectors not being at lowest point is a very good one though.. It seems like toyota's stance was "water should never get in here".. but clearly that isn't the case 0.1% of the time. All of these issues could be avoided by making half the wires 4" longer and half of them 4" shorter.

A small tangent on weight. Ever notice how some of the bolt heads interior to the vehicle are somewhat hollowed out? Saving materials ($) and weight, where possible. Couple grams per, but over a few hundred or thousand fasteners.. I believe this is a primary reason german manufacturers moved to triple square in many places hex used to be used. Not that rubber gaskets would be heavy, but they would add cost.

 

[justinsmnz]

Is there a post somewhere on cleaning out those drains? Seems like a good preventative measure to take every year or so.

Agreed - I know that I need to clean out my drains, but I have had no luck finding any photos or videos showing the location of all the drains.

 

[bloc]

Agreed - I know that I need to clean out my drains, but I have had no luck finding any photos or videos showing the location of all the drains.

I may be able to get a photo later, but the front two are obvious. Small holes in the corners of the tray around the perimeter of the sunroof opening.

The rear ones are basically impossible to get to

 

[linuxgod]

Fully gasketed harnesses would significantly increase cost and I'm sure it would have some impact on weight as well.. all in a context where toyota didn't think it was necessary and for 99.9% of vehicles it isn't.. whereas open connectors under the hood or at the hubs would fail in ten minutes in a rain storm.

Your point about connectors not being at lowest point is a very good one though.. It seems like toyota's stance was "water should never get in here".. but clearly that isn't the case 0.1% of the time. All of these issues could be avoided by making half the wires 4" longer and half of them 4" shorter.

A small tangent on weight. Ever notice how some of the bolt heads interior to the vehicle are somewhat hollowed out? Saving materials ($) and weight, where possible. Couple grams per, but over a few hundred or thousand fasteners.. I believe this is a primary reason german manufacturers moved to triple square in many places hex used to be used. Not that rubber gaskets would be heavy, but they would add cost.

I'm already at 7000# and $85k, I'll take another 100# of weight and $1000 in materials tyvm

 

[bloc]

Agreed - I know that I need to clean out my drains, but I have had no luck finding any photos or videos showing the location of all the drains.

Front drain is dead center of this picture.

To my point about the gasket.. none of this dirt and crap should be allowed to get through. I cleaned the area well a few months ago. Granted my truck doesn’t stay in a garage.. but gasket shrink is a thing, and along with the pollen comes more water than intended. Drains get overwhelmed.

I’ll put a thread together when I get around to installing the gasket.

 

[CharlieS]

Would it help to clean that material off the metal to make a better seal? I've had dishwasher door seals leak when the mating surface wasn't kept clean. Same general idea (except keeping water in instead of out...).

 

[mobi-arc]

Do you feel the same way about windows? I‘ve had lots of sunroofs in 4Runners and Pathfinders and Muranos and Audis and even Blazers that didn’t leak but both the LC and the LX have leaked.
And I’m on the “dielectric grease is good” team.

I would respectfully suggest that windows are a practical necessity...particularly in winter. Can't say the same about the motorized door in the roof and, without exception, every vehicle I've owned with a sunroof has either leaked, broken, or both....regardless of manufacturer.

 

[2014 LEX 570 GA]

Does hitting the drain holes with a few blasts from an air compressor hose help at all?

Going to take a look at this this weekend. You thoroughly scared me.

 

[linuxgod]

Does hitting the drain holes with a few blasts from an air compressor hose help at all?

Going to take a look at this this weekend. You thoroughly scared me.

I don't know how they're secured but you might risk knocking them loose if you do that and they're not clamped on.

 

[Leaky2014]

I don't know how they're secured but you might risk knocking them loose if you do that and they're not clamped on.

Hose Barb Fitting

 

[justinsmnz]

Front drain is dead center of this picture.

View attachment 2941237

To my point about the gasket.. none of this dirt and crap should be allowed to get through. I cleaned the area well a few months ago. Granted my truck doesn’t stay in a garage.. but gasket shrink is a thing, and along with the pollen comes more water than intended. Drains get overwhelmed.

I’ll put a thread together when I get around to installing the gasket.

Thanks for the pics. I guess I was wondering more where the end of the drain tubes actually are, as I've thoroughly cleaned the sunroof area multiple times, but still get water inside the cabin during extremely heavy rain. I get water mostly in passenger footwell, but I've also had water falling from passenger headliner during one Florida deluge. I'm imagining pulling back the fender liners near the outlets would let me actually clean out whatever crud has accumulated to cause the backup. Even if the gasket is doing most of the job, I wouldn't be surprised to find 10 years of pollen and dust completely blocking the drain tubes themselves.

I'd love to see your steps for the gasket though!

 

[bloc]

Would it help to clean that material off the metal to make a better seal? I've had dishwasher door seals leak when the mating surface wasn't kept clean. Same general idea (except keeping water in instead of out...).

This was cleaned pretty recently. IMO the root issue is the gasket has shrunk down and gap is too big, letting more water and crud in than should be allowed.

Does hitting the drain holes with a few blasts from an air compressor hose help at all?

Going to take a look at this this weekend. You thoroughly scared me.

I would strongly advise against compressed air. Even if it’s a mild amount, if it becomes dislodged you’ll only find out once water starts accumulating and you have to deal with that, and reconnecting them is a lot of work. Ensuring they are free of obstruction and flowing some water down there should be enough.

Thanks for the pics. I guess I was wondering more where the end of the drain tubes actually are, as I've thoroughly cleaned the sunroof area multiple times, but still get water inside the cabin during extremely heavy rain. I get water mostly in passenger footwell, but I've also had water falling from passenger headliner during one Florida deluge. I'm imagining pulling back the fender liners near the outlets would let me actually clean out whatever crud has accumulated to cause the backup. Even if the gasket is doing most of the job, I wouldn't be surprised to find 10 years of pollen and dust completely blocking the drain tubes themselves.

I'd love to see your steps for the gasket though!

I forget where the front ones terminate.. the rears are behind the bumper skin wing and not accessible without removing that. If you have an aftermarket bumper the job may be easier.. I haven’t yet checked one of those out.

 

[4gotalot]

I just flushed the front left and right drain for the moon roof.

A puddle of water appeared just behind each of the aft mud flaps for the front tires less than a foot from the mud flap.

 

[04UZJ100]

While talking sunroofs. Where and what do you use to lubricate the mechanism?

 

[bloc]

While talking sunroofs. Where and what do you use to lubricate the mechanism?

I did some work on a Mercedes sunroof in the past and they call for a specific grease for theirs. I just use the leftover from that.. assuming it is designed for the heat/environmental conditions specific to sunroof tracks in the roof of a vehicle. I can dig up the part number if you want.. or we can try to find what toyota specified in theirs.

 

[alwaysme]

Why didnt toyota make the drain "container" fully sealed? I remember it was open from the top and I was thinking of ways to seal it...

 

[bloc]

Why didnt toyota make the drain "container" fully sealed? I remember it was open from the top and I was thinking of ways to seal it...

I’m not tracking.. what container?