[debbiebuster]

:?: Help with leak: Twice my toyota has leaked rain into the cabin, but missing the doors/windows and other obvious entry points. First time I got it fixed at dealer and it was caused by debri gathering in the "tubes" or channels that take water away from the sun roof. They cleaned out the debri, mostly oak tree pollen and leaves, etc. That was last year about this same time. Now I see the water leak coming directly down from where the sun roof control buttons are. Saw several dribbles. I get so much it fills up the foot/floor areaabout one inch, but keeps "coming up" from the floor board as I remove the water I can see. Not wet on seats, dash, just foorboards. Does anyone have the problem, the fix, and/or if there is a hidden warranty or deal responsibility. THANKS. It rains a lot here in Fla and the hurricane just about flooded inside of my car!! ugh. Debbie

 

[janey]

Re: water leak in cabin of 2003

Well, several weeks ago I came in here looking for solutions to the same problem--leaks in the cabin--and FINALLY my dealership has figured out the problem. (It's in the shop as we speak, as a matter of fact). Evidently, it was NOT clogged drain channels, but a poorly fitted sunroof glass. They are replacing it, under warranty thank god, and then they will try to clean out the musty smell caused by the leaks. There is also a water stain on the driver's seat.

I'm not very happy with how long it took to figure this problem out (three trips to the dealership!), but I am happy that they are covering everything and have provided me with a rental today. (I TOLD them it was the sunroof!) By the way, it's Acton Toyota in Acton, MA

Hope you can get a solution to your problem, too!

 

[Linds823]

It took Toyota a year and an extended warranty upon purchase of my car off lease for them to finally replace the glass. It was replaced with glass, not the plastic one it came with. I had the exact same problem, and many unhappy trips sitting in water. I had to carry a plastic trash bag and towel with me at all times. If anyone with a sunroof experiences a water leak, the only way to fix it is to replace the sunroof. It's a pretty penny if you do it on your own dime. I thought I was crazy when I first saw it... little drips from the sunroof controls that I could see from the corner of my eye. So here's 3 cases of it... I'd say there's a bit of a problem with the '01 "glass"!

 

[waltrav]

I washed my RAV last week and while pulling out of the Car wash there was a few drops of water coming off the sunroof controls

I just thought maybe I did not close the Sroof good and I reset it.

Well, we had rain here in TO yesterday and today i went to drive the car today and there was a huge puddle under the Mat, All the symptoms described in this thread. No evidence of water on any other surface, just in under the Drivers Matt.

Tonight i pulled the Drivers seat out and cleaned/ disinfected the carpet (both sides) and pulled everything out. The hair dryer is in the car over night so hopefully by tomorrow it will be dry and I can inspect the sun roof...

What a Drag :x

 

[waltrav]

Prais the Lord !! Just a cherry pit got clogged in one of the drain holes (drivers side) of the Sunroof bottom tray.
I cut the tree down last month, so it is back to haunt me :shock:
Instead of the excess water going throught the pillar, exiting the bottom of the Drivers side Quarter panel, it overflowed and ran inside the car

Anyhow, I fully cleaned, lubed the Sunroof.

When the carpet padding dries tomorrow I will sand the small section of rust on the floor and repaint it.

Also because the Drivers seat is out I have sanded the rust spots on the mounting bracket and painted it. I think that I will dip it in rubber coating .

Cheers, Walt

 

[cabsandy]

Hi all,
First post-just like to let you know that I have the same, exact symptons as yourself.Being in Scotland, it becomes vey apparent, very quickly -I've only had the car for 2 months and it's going back into the garage-again.
So it's a toss up between the rain channels being blocked and poorly fitting glass?

Cheers

Stewart

 

[waltrav]

Stewart, It's real easy to do a check on the drain. Either it's very visable when you pop the window back and look at the holes (like mine). Or, you can get a turky baster or large syringe and poor water directly into the pan. It should just drip out under the car.
Tomorrow one of my jobs will be to blow compressed air through the holes.

If you check out my other post in the general section you will see the hastle I went through to prevent having any rust or nasty smells.

Cheers, Walt

 

[KIMBA]

SUNROOF LEAK

I have had the same problem as all of you are mentioning. I'm sure it was there when I bought it used, but couldn't get the dealer to admit it, they said they couldn't find the leak. well if you can't find it, you can't fix it right?
Anyway, a glass repairman said he'd try to find my problem and fix it. what he found was a bunch of leaves, twigs, mud, etc. hiding in a compartment that's not easy to get to. the area is behind the front wheel and in front of the door. you can't get your hand in there but he was able to put a power sprayer inbetween the outer protector and the molding. he couldn't believe all the gunk that was coming out. he thought it would never end.
Now this was yesterday so I haven't had any rain to see if this is the fix. I hope it is. It costs $85 to have this done and he said that I can go to any car wash with power sprayer and do this myself occasionally to keep it clean.
I hope this is it becuase seeing I'm out of warranty I don't think I could afford to replace the sunroof.
Good Luck to all and I'll let you know how I do.

 

[waltrav]

Kimba, what a lame excuse from the Dealer. What Incompetence.

You can still do the test that I mentioned above by retracting the sliding the sunroof fully back, push your 2 front seats forward, pop your head out the roof like on prom night (except your not drunk :lol: ),,, then carefully poor the water in the plastic housing tray with the 2 holes, one on each side… It should easily flow out the side of that front Qpanel.

Hope you fair well, Mine worked on the first test and has gone through 5 rainy days and 2 or 3 good hosings.

Cheers, Walt

 

[enrjones]

I had the same problem, but in addition, all the moisture in the cabin was causing the electronics, like the central locking, to play up.

After reading this thread I took it to the dealer and told them to check the sunroof drainage. They did and said that the right side drainage tube was 'installed incorrectly" and it was draining inside the car. So they re-installed it correctly and now after a weekend of very heavy and constant rain, the car is still dry inside and no more electric problems.

Thanks for all the good info here.

 

[waltrav]

Isn't RAV4World a great place to trade and share information :thumbs_up:
Great to here another problem solved. :cheers:

Cheers, Walt

 

[KIMBA]

hey "enrjones" what did it cost to take your car back to the dealer and reinstall that drain tube?
and I plan on writing a letter directly to Toyota about my experiences but can only find an address to the consumer problems people. I'd rather find an address directly to someone on the board or higher up. does anyone know where or how I can find that kind of address?
thanks
and yes it is great to have this forum. i have found so much information for my Rav4 that has helped a great deal.
Thank you all for your help.

 

[cabsandy]

Hi all,
First post-just like to let you know that I have the same, exact symptons as yourself.Being in Scotland, it becomes vey apparent, very quickly -I've only had the car for 2 months and it's going back into the garage-again.
So it's a toss up between the rain channels being blocked and poorly fitting glass?

Cheers

Stewart

Well-update#1

Been in the garage for the last 2 days-they say the sunroof was completly changed on th last visit.I pulled back the sunroof and stood up with my head out-drain holes looked ok and also was bone dry around the seals.
So they've rebonded the windscreen, for the 2nd time, and say that was the problem-to be fair, water was coming down the INSIDE of the windscreen, as well as through the sunglass holder
We'll soon see-as I write this, we've had the usual West of Scotland downpour so I'll be going outside tomorrow to see if it has worked
I'll post back the results

Cheers

Stewart 8)

 

[waltrav]

I just stopped by a Toyota Dealer and spoke to a mechanic on break. He said that he had the same problem on a different car but by parking it under a Maple Tree.

He also said that there are only 2 drain hoses, contrary to what the Toyota Tech manual says.

As far as I am concerned, if you have a sunroof than it should be in the routine maintenance schedule.

Cheers, Walt

 

[enrjones]

hey "enrjones" what did it cost to take your car back to the dealer and reinstall that drain tube?

It cost me $85 to get them to fix the tube. They made a note on the slip that the sunroof was an aftermarket sunroof. To my untrained eye it does not look like an aftermarket, but I bought the car used so I'm not sure. I have a feeling they made that note for stop me arguing that it should be covered under warenty.

 

[KIMBA]

SUNROOF LEAK

Just to let everyone know, I washed my vehicle this weekend and ran quite a bit of water over my sunroof on purpose to make sure it wouldn't leak. To my surprise I didn't have any water in my floor board. YEA
I really hope that cleaning out that area behind my wheel well did the trick.
Thanks for all of the help and replies.
Kimba

 

[cabsandy]

Hi all,
Resealing the windscreen seems to have done the trick-had plenty of rain and no leaks! So watch out for this as well

Many thanks to all the comments-much appreciated

Stew

 

[waltrav]

Don't forget to check the underpad soundproofing on the floor shown below. Don't panic when you see the pic :lol: You can simply pull back the carpet to get to it. Then address any rust issues below it, remove the Pad and soak it in water and Javex for a short time then spin dry it in the washer (carefull its fragile). As for the Carpet, with a carpet cleaner you can slip plastic under it and give it a super heavy prewash to soak for 30 minutes or so with disinfectant, then final cleaning, then remove the plastic, hold up with a stick and use a fan in there.

Cheers, Walt

 

[KIMBA]

LETTER WRITING

ok guys, from the awful help I received from the dealers, I want to write a letter complaining but where do I send it? I don't want to just send it to the "cusotmer's service" on the web page, I'd prefer the president or a chairman.
and I wonder if I got treated poorly because I'm female. LOL
Kimba

 

[waltrav]

and I wonder if I got treated poorly because I'm female. LOL

There was another case of a used RAV from a dealer leaking oil. I don't think the member was a female

Good luck with your complaint.

BTW, the other member did get some compensation.

Cheers, Walt