260HPBuick

Hello,

I took her through the car wash today and load and behold, the sunroof started to LEAK!!

Okay, I am not 100% if the sunroof was closed properly. Had the car for a week and didn't test the sunroof until after the car wash. Anyhow, the sunroof trim looks pretty cheap and a little bit too frail to withstand anything besides 'normal' rain fall. I won't be surpised if it really does leak!! Anyone having this problem?

My 93 Mazda uses much better trim and has never leaked (yet).

I'm kind of shocked right now. Other than that, the new ride is amazing! I'll take it through the car wash again a week or so later and confirm.

James

P.S. Touchless car wash all the way. :-)

DonVince

iTrader: (1)

I have had the same problem. With the salt and the cold I did not have the time to wash the car myself. What I found out was with some places the water to clean the soap off the car is at a high pressure and it just blows through the seal on the sunroof.

Also I just brought my Max back to the dealer because the sunroof wasnt sealing properly. This I found out was due to the use of the sunroof in severe cold temps.

Otherwise this is my first Max, I have had it since 8/28/02 with no complaints at all.

TimW

iTrader: (6)

its not supposed to leak, but its designed to leak and not cause damage. unfortunately, if the drain clogs or youre in a heavy rain, it will damage your headliner and soak the car.

If its an alignment issue, you'll see a gap and on the otherside the seal will look compressed or pinched. If thats the case, you need to fix it before the seal tears or wears out. then both sides will leak.

Most dealers will try to get out of realigning it. Mostly because the procedure is not really outlined in their factory service manual. However, you just pop off the trim and there are 4 10mm bolts. 5 min job tops. Obviously how much to tighten them is in question and the sunroof is expensive, so try to get them to do it first.

Generally if its leaking, you might be getting wind noise from it too, so if fixed there's a nice bonus there.

On my pathfinder (same assembly as the max), I got tired of the dealer not wanting to touch it and telling me it was designed to leak, or normal. the other cars on the lot werent like that! I did it myself, super easy... but again, the liability is there if you were to over tighten or misalign it worse and burn the motor out. Just an easy job that requires great care.

260HPBuick

Thanks for the replies,

First off, I only put 500km on this car and took it through the touchless car wash twice. First time, the sun shade was closed. 2nd time, it wasn't and I noticed the leak. Probably about a teaspoon of water dripped right through the back side of the trim as the high pressure water passed by.

I just did a search (didn't know I could do searches, hehehe) and found several threads about this issue. There is still a small chance that the roof wasn't closed 100%. I still need to confirm this, but by the looks of the design, I think it will leak.

Alright, the sunroof appears to be perfectly aligned. No pressure points around the trim. My guess is that the drain pan is not aligned properly or that the high pressure wash was too strong. Besides that, I think this is rediculous. If my 9 year old Mazda is leak free through the same car wash, why the heck can't Nissan make a leak free sunroof (not something that is water resistant).

I just studied my Mazda's sunroof. The trim is solid rubber (aging, flaking rubber too!). It does not leak.

Last but not least, does anyone NOT have this problem going through a high pressure car wash?

Sorry for ranting, but I think this is unacceptable for this car, not to mention others especially when much older cars don't have leaky sunroofs.

Thanks,

James

GuZo

iTrader: (6)

Same thing in my 2k2, the few times I have taken it to other car washes that use pressured air to dry the car, water came in, I always noticed it since I never close the inside part of the sunroof, I like the light that comes in from the top, it's no big deal though, If I was to go to that carwash again, I would just take a couple of paper towels and be ready when the air is activated. If our cars can adapt to our mistakes, why can't we adapt to theirs?

Pangburn

Welcome to the Leaky sunroof club. At least complaining makes you feel a little better. It took me four trips to the Dealer before they finally got it right. The wind noise at highway sppeds 70-80 drove me nuts. I can settle with the high pressure touchless wash coming in, but wind noise was another matter. Mine actually gurglled when it was raining outside from the water/air mixture coming through the seal. I agree totally poor design. I had to old Hondas with never a problem. Make sure you look your car over real well before you bring it in if you do. The dealer dented my hood and had grease all over the headliner when they replaced the glass (the weatherstrip is attached to the glass). Like Tom said, not a hard job, but with a 3yr36k warranty I'd make Nissan fix it. If it's not bad besides the car wash, I'd leave well enough alone and be comforted by the fact that there are drip channels to catch the water...just keep the drain lines clear.

Good Luck and if you get down....just row through the gears a few times and remember why you bought a Max!