Outdoor parking problems, seals around windshield

[kty]

tl;dr: I have questions about parking outside, and specifically the seals around the windshield -- how do I tighten the up?

I've a new-to-me 2015 that is in really nice shape, and I'm hoping to keep it that way despite the fact that I don't have a garage. My driveway gets a lot of shade, but also a ton of leaf litter and debris from trees (Cedar Elms) with very small leaves and seeds. These leaves also have a lot of tannins, and they stain anything they touch that's wet.

Until I'm able to install sail shades or even carports, two questions:

1. What areas do I need to make sure don't get clogged up? I know the drain ports in the sun roof are an achilles heel. Any where else that can get clogged with leaves and cause issues?

2. The exterior seals around the bottom and sides of the windshield are not tight against the glass, and leaves are already sneaking in -- see photos. Any advice for how to solve this?

 

[doru]

I'm afraid you need to replace the cowl. That is way beyond repairs. And you want to do it soon. Water ingest via cowl is responsable for electrical damage under the dashboard. Just search for water damage to see what I'm talking about.
Depending on how much you drive, you may want to get a cover to protect against all that nasty stuff comming down. Just make sure you remove the cover from time to time to allow for drying and air circulation, UV exposure to kill the funguses that are trying to grow under the cover.

 

[kty]

I'm afraid you need to replace the cowl. That is way beyond repairs. And you want to do it soon. Water ingest via cowl is responsable for electrical damage under the dashboard. Just search for water damage to see what I'm talking about.
Depending on how much you drive, you may want to get a cover to protect against all that nasty stuff comming down. Just make sure you remove the cover from time to time to allow for drying and air circulation, UV exposure to kill the funguses that are trying to grow under the cover.

Interesting! Because from what I can see, there are vents just below the cowl (with metal mesh on top) and water going under the cowl drains to the same place. But I googled and see that this can cause issues. It's currently raining But I taking it to my mechanic tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

[Weedhopper]

Get a cover with mirror pockets for the krap days.

Roll it up from the front then the back, nice neat pile in the middle of the roof, toss in laundry basket with the front marked.

To deploy put back on roof, roll it out, find the mirror pockets and done. The cover won’t stop all the rain but will keep the junk off the finish. Even for a big truck it’s easy.

They are cut to the vehicle specs and about $600 if I remember.