Water Leak; Sunroof / Windshield?

[Mark SR.]

Rainwater has been soaking my DS footwell carpet during heavy rains. My 100 had a replacement windshield about 8 years ago and I initially thought this was the culprit.

Although I spent countless hours on finding what ultimately was clogged sunroof drains on my Rabbit GTI a couple decades ago, it took the members of this forum to help me fix the same issue again. I was seeing a water trickle in the side of the dash where the A-pillar lands, and drips near the gas door pull.



I opened the sunroof this morning after finding my carpet was soaked again overnight. There was an obvious pool of water on the DS, which was on lower ground than the passenger side.



User smm3 had suggested in an eariler post to use string trimmer cord to clear the drains. I did that and water quickly poured out at the rear of the front fender area as I slowly pushed in about 3 feet of the cord. Problem solved quickly thanks to this forum.

 

[Mark SR.]

Problem solved, now for a little clean-up.

 

[lrowe_csp]

Nice! Thanks for the photos and update. That weedwhacker string idea is excellent and showing where to insert it in the drain will save time when I eventually have to clear mine.

 

[04UZJ100]

Your TLC could use some TLC.

 

[Makoo]

I have the same problem with the leak being on the passenger front side. I was told that this was because of a windshield leak but I may now try this weed whacker string idea before I turn to LC windshield experts to solve this. I have also noticed that it takes a considerable amount of heavy rain to cause this leak.

 

[smm3]

Glad the forum was able to help you figure out your problem. I have been able to figure out so many fixes to problems.

 

[Mark SR.]

Thank you for the tip.

 

[Mark SR.]

I have the same problem with the leak being on the passenger front side. I was told that this was because of a windshield leak but I may now try this weed whacker string idea before I turn to LC windshield experts to solve this. I have also noticed that it takes a considerable amount of heavy rain to cause this leak.

You could have a blockage that still drains a little, so for heavy rains the tube fills up faster than the water trickles out. I had a complete blockage of the driver side tube. As soon as I poked through the blockage the water rushed out so fast I could hear it.
Also, it does not take much tilt of the vehicle to transfer the water from side to side. As my driveway is not level side-to side, looking back it was worse when the truck was parked front first than when I would back in. My PS drain was not clogged. It is likely that when I drove the truck, during left turns the collected water flowed to the right and drained out that side.

 

[GaFJC]

I have a sunroof leak also, in the front 90 degree corners immed above the driver and/or passengers head.

I've previously used the trimmer string method to clean the two front drains (an excellent suggestion!) but the leak persists. I believe my problem is the rubber molding that surrounds the sunroof glass isn't making a proper seal against the roof. I'm in hopes that cleaning/lubing the mechanism will allow for a better seal and smoother operation, possibly closing with enough added pressure to help.

I'm also planning on replacing the rubber molding asap. Too many southern summers.

 

[Mark SR.]

Rained hard this a.m. & no wet carpet. Looks like this was definitely the culprit.

 

[newsomew]

Ive been chasing a passenger side leak for a couple of weeks. Tried the weed eater cord method and I got about 4-5 feet into the sun roof drain and came to a halt. Should the cord go further or is it possible that it hit the area that is clogged? I also went under the ps runner and located rubber plugs. I removed the plugs and water poured out. Could I have solved the problem or do you think there is more to it? Why even have the rubber plugs in the runner?

 

[jellyroll]

Anyone have any photos of where the drain holes come out? My not only leaks but refuses to open, would like to do the procedure in reverse if possible.?

 

[Mark SR.]

Did you have standing water in the tray around the sunroof?

 

[fireball]

Photo of sunroof drain exit?

Anyone have any photos of where the drain holes come out? My not only leaks but refuses to open, would like to do the procedure in reverse if possible.?

BTT - would like to see the photo of where they come out. I've tried the cord, can't seem to get it all the way through.

Thanks!

 

[3D FJ]

bump i too would like to see where the drain ends

 

[Phat1842Many]

This problem can be solved by simply purchasing a residence which allows you to park the truck under a port or in a garage.

To cover all you bases be sure to get a job with accessible covered parking, preferably an enclosed spot near the entrance with your name on it.

If the above two do not work or are for some reason not viable mods for you, try keeping the sunroof closed when there will be rain. This helps to keep water from building up in the roof area and has worked for me with other vehicles, though I have not tried it with my LX due to aforementioned house/CEO internship. YMMV

 

[FAMAJ]

Anyone have any photos of where the drain holes come out? My not only leaks but refuses to open, would like to do the procedure in reverse if possible.?

Can't help with pics of the drain exits, but I had the same problem and suspect cleaning the drains from the bottom up won't help. Here's what I did:

1. Get in the car and slide the sunshade back. You'll be looking at the underside of the sunroof glass panel.
2. There are black plastic trim pieces on all four sides of the glass panel. Gently pry off the ones on the short sides of the sunroof panel. This will expose 4 nuts - two on each side.
3. Those four nuts are all that hold the glass panel to the sliding mechanism. Take the nuts off.
4. Remove the glass panel by pushing up from the inside. You can now see the sliding mechanism and the drains.
5. Clean out any debris you see. Lubricate the rails and all other parts of the mechanism with your lubricant of choice. WD-40 worked for me to free everything up (I followed it later with track and cable lube.)
6. Now you can so the old string trimmer trick.
7. Since the WD-40 soaked in while you cleared the drain lines, you can now try to operate the sliding roof. Keep your fingers crossed!

That was all it took to get the roof on my '04 operational a few months ago after getting a discount from the dealer due to the inop sliding function. Good luck!

 

[wood744]

When I cleaned my drains I wasn't able to get all the way down with the trimmer line. The drains seem to work fine now though.

 

[fireball]

FWIW, I used trimmer cord and didn't get all the way through. Then boiled some water, let it cool a bit,and slowly poured a bit down each side. That seemed to open them up nicely.

Not sure why I couldn't fish all the way through, and this obviously won't work if you've got a tough clog but it worked OK for my particular situation.

 

[Glassman850]

I own an Auto Glass Shop. We repair sunroofs on a daily basis. If you are not able to run the cord from the top you can get to the drain hose by dropping the front of the headiner. Make sure the hose is connected to the sunroof (the hoses shrink over time). It should slide off easily then run weedeater cord down it. Make sure it slides all the way back on when you reconnect. Takes us 30 mins to do both sides using that method.