Leaking Sunroof/Moonroof

If it’s not dripping in the vehicle then it’s not a issue .

 

I usually hate moonroofs, and even more that my 7 year old thinks it’s the coolest thing on earth and wont step messing with ever! But one thing I like is i haul a lot of stuff on top and i like being able to see some portion of the load and that I didn’t fk up the strapping

 

I would go with if it's not dripping "on you" then it is not an issue for Toyota. Because technically, it is dripping in the vehicle. I know we went back and forth with this quite some bit. It is just impossible to change my mind that water drips inside a $50k vehicle. I just close the cover and try to pretend I don't have a sunroof. That gets me through it...haha

 

Did you ever check the drain holes in the corners of your moonroof?

 

My drain holes are clear. The water drains out just like Toyota says it is supposed to. However, it still rains inside my vehicle. Whether it hits that trap or not. It is the fact that water enters the inside of a vehicle. Just a really stupid design in my opinion, but their engineers are a lot smarter than me.

 

Going to have to check mine in the next rain storm.

 

Mine doesn’t drip inside the vehicle thank God. Dialectric grease on the rubber kept the T-tops from leaking on my old shitbox z28 maybe try that?

 

I hope you're not as disappointed as I was. I saw mine the day I was driving off the dealer lot and had to bring it back before I had 1 mile on it. Look at the beginning of this thread and there are some good videos on it. It rains inside the vehicle and then is caught in a drip tray which then comes out the bottom of the vehicle.

You can turn around in your seat and see the water dripping in. Done by design is a terrible one in my opinion...

 

I'm not going to go too far down this rabbit hole, however I will say I have a moonroof on my 2016 and have never noticed it leaking. Saying that, the next time it rains a good rain or I wash the truck, I will definitely check to see if the moonroof is leaking.

When I was in college, I had a 1993 Mercury Cougar with a moonroof. And that was my first vehicle with a moonroof. And i loved it. However, towards the end of ownership (had the car about 2 years), the moonroof did allow condensation to start to gather on the front windshield. (As a side note, the car was about 9 or 10 years old at this point.)

Even now, I still love my truck with the moonroof.

I do, however, agree if this is "normal" (according to Toyota per previous posts), it is a bit unnerving. However, nothing man-made is 100%. There are bound to be issues.

Case in point: the LED 3rd brake light on some of the 2016-2018 Tacomas have been known to leak into the cab. It was a badly designed gasket. Toyota had to redesign the gasket so it was thicker (I believe). On the 2019 and newer, they used the redesigned gasket. Unless your truck is under warranty, Toyota is gonna tell you to pay outta pocket for the labor and replacement of the gasket. Some might. A majority probably will apply the $10 fix of some type of clear silicone. And so for now, my 3rd brake light does not leak. And if it starts again, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

 

as long as its not dripping IN to the vehicle its fine. Sunroofs are not the most waterproof things in the world so there has to be a drainage system. The big problems happen when those drains get disconnected or clogged.

 

Mine will have a slight bit of moisture in the drain troughs after rain storms that verge on biblical, some seem to regularly get rain visibly dripping into the troughs. I wonder if there is any adjustment that could be off in terms of the positioning of the sunroof mechanism to the hole in the roof. Of course, that would involve dropping the headliner to do, and some trial and error, which I'm sure most dealers would rather not deal with.

 

USMCGRUNT, if it's any consolation, it's not specific to Toyota. I've had Fords, Nissans, and Hondas with sunroofs and they all use the same drip-tray style system. In car washes or really heavy rain, a steady stream of water would come in on both sides of the panoramic sunroof on the F-150 I had.

Most people don't realize just how much water comes through sunroofs until there is a problem. Both front drain lines on my mother in law's Explorer came off and it was like it was practically raining from the headliner any time it rained.

I get it, though. It's very concerning to have water entering the interior of a truck you paid a lot for and it doesn't help when the dealership and manufacturer just shrug their shoulders when you bring it up.

 

Wow. This is a great informative thread. I recently traded in my 15 SBOR taco in june in favor of a LBOR 2020. It came with the technology package. That included a moonroof. I was like ok, cool with me. Well had I known they are a headache I would have reconsidered. Around 4.5 months in I started to ge a mold smell in the cab.

I finally got around to taking it in to the dealer after troubleshooting it myself. I was told the passenger side floor was wet under the plastic moulding inside the door running back to the rear passenger side door entry. I was told they needed more time. They had my truck for a week. When they were done i was told and learned about sunroof drains. Apparently the passenger side sunroof drain was clogged. What a disappointment. The truck is no were near even broken in and only has 4300 miles on it.

I was able to get Toyota corporate to cover the repair cost even though the dealer said it wasn't a warranty issue since there was no failed part.
Things are dry and draining now but i'm still left with a twinge of mold smell. Any suggestions on how to rid the cab fully of it? It is strange I will not smell it on colder days. I really liked this truck when I got it. I'm on my third taco. The process to get them to cover the cost has put a dent in my brand loyalty to Toyota.

 

Clogged drains aren’t a “failed” part my ass. Fucking warranty gremlins.

 

Just have to make cleaning the drip tray and sunroof drains a regular part of your maintenance schedule. I turn the output on my little Harbor Freight pancake air compressor down to about 12-15 PSI and blow some air through them a couple times a year. Don't use a higher pressure than that, you don't want to blow the tubes off.

I love my sunroof, use it a lot, it's worth the small amount of effort it takes IMO.

 

This is part of the reason why I'm glad I purposely got a pro without a sunroof

 

I make sure to clean any/all dirt debris up there as well.

 

Yep, make sure there is no junk in the drip tray, then blow out the lines. So far so good.

My niece has a 2008 or so Corolla, she was complaining about water dripping on her after a heavy rain storm, there was so much crap in the drip tray it was ridiculous, cleaned everything out, blew out the lines, she says no more water dripping on her, all it takes is a little maintenance. Told her she has to bring it over a few times a year for me to clean it out. I guess I better remember to remind her, as this is probably not a high priority for a teenage girl until the drips start.

 

Mine didn’t use to leak now it does and there’s mold in the headliner and starting to short out the door electronics. Definitely not ok.

 

My 1993 4Runner had a sunroof and had zero leaking problems..
My 2017 TRD Off-Road $45,000 truck didn’t use to leak now it does as of recently and there’s mold in the headliner and starting to short out the door electronics. Definitely not ok.