2005 Moon Roof Leaks

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jmvvibeowner
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:22 am

2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by jmvvibeowner »

Hi. I have two water leak issues from the moon roof. My car has over 200K miles. I have water leaking down my A-pillars from the moon roof. My moon roof leaks from the two rear corners where the gasket meets the metal roof. I checked the front drain tubes, flushed them and they drain fine, but water still leaks into the car down the A-pillars.
Does anyone know how to fix the moon roof leak and would anyone know why the water leaks into the car even though the front drains work fine? Also, are there rear drains? I could not see anything when the moon roof is open.

thanks.
zbyers
Posts: 1767
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Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by zbyers »

The seal isn't 110% waterproof. It is designed to let some water into the sunroof assembly.

It's possible the front and/or rear drains are still clogged.

It's also possible that the windshield seal at the roof is bad or you have rust under it. That could also cause water to run down the A-pillars.

Last I checked RockAuto had the sunroof seal listed under the matrix...it's the same sunroof for the Vibe.
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jmvvibeowner
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:22 am

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by jmvvibeowner »

Hello,
Thanks for your response zbyers. Since I last posted about this I've noticed that I have water coming in the front center of the moonroof when it leaks, on the passenger side in the center of the moon roof and the entire length of the back of the moon roof. My front passenger seat and floor got very wet after a few heavy rainstorms we had.

Does anyone have any idea what it will take to fix this and what it might cost? My car is a 2005 with 226,000 miles on it and still runs great so I don't want to get rid of it, yet I also don't want to pay a fortune to fix this leak.

Would a regular mechanic be able to do this or would it need to be a body shop? Would they need to just replace the gasket around the moonroof?

Thanks in advance.
coppens1
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2016 10:14 am

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by coppens1 »

Vibe Owners 070721 Passenger Headliner Leak, no moon roof.

Dear Vibe Owners, I have a Headliner Leak on the passenger side of my 05 Vibe, from the joint where the headliner meets the plastic covering the roof column. I do not have a moon roof.

The problem was previously diagnosed as a leaking windshield. I was going to have my windshield replaced, but Safelight won't replace it because of some corrosion at the top of the windshield. I bought Fix Tape Rubberized Waterproof Tape, for Boat Repair (Clear, 4 inches x 5 feet), and put it all the way across the top of the windshield. The leak continued.

It appears the leak is from the luggage rack, and seems to be coming from the driver side luggage rack. When I covered the passenger side luggage rack and tested it in the rain, the leak persisted. So it has to be coming from the driver side luggage rack.

Has anyone else had the leak problem? How did you fix it?
jolt
Posts: 945
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:07 am
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by jolt »

coppens1, you need to find the exact spot where the water is coming into the cars interior. The only way that you will be able to do that is to pull the interior trim and head liner out. Use a forceful stream of water and start spraying down areas of the car and watching where the water comes in it.

Water will migrate to other areas as you drive down the road. The wind will take the water and push it around and up channels and seams. The main thing is to know where the water is coming in at, so the inside is the place you need to start. You have to see the crack, opening, seam, etc. that is letting the water in, then go to the outside and start investigating that area for damage.

If Safelight will not replace the glass because of corrosion, then you more issues. You may have to go to a body shop for the repair around the windshield. They will not know the extent of the damage until the windshield is out. If sheet metal is rusted away, the body shop may be able to repair the windshield opening and then get a good seal on the new glass.

Just because you taped the top of the windshield does not mean the leak is not there. As I stated above water does migrate and it could come up the sides of the windshield and under your tape to find the hole to the interior.
jmvvibeowner
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:22 am

2005 VIbe water leak

Post by jmvvibeowner »

After reading all of these posts about water leaks in the VIbe (mine is a 2005 with 223,000 miles), I have not seen a solution to finding my leak.
Yes, we did test the moonroof drains to make sure they were draining and they were.

After finding water leaking into my moonroof, and talking to businesses in the area that could either not fix the moon roof or it would be rediculously expensive, my husband and I decided to completely seal my moonroof. We sealed the moonroof from the inside and the outside and also used UV resistant, waterproof patch and seal Gorilla tape around the moonroof where it meets the roof. I didn't want to lose the use of the moonroof but I had no choice. I have not seen any leak from the moonroof since. BUT, I am still having a leak somewhere. We've done the test where one of us sits inside the car while the other uses a hose to soak the car and have not been able to locate a leak.

But in the last rainstorm we had overnight (we live in Massachusetts), I found water staining my driver-side A pillar again. I have had my windshield replace in the last few years, but have not seen any water leaking in along the headliner unless it's entering somewhere and moving to the A pillar.

Next, we worried that the roof channels that run from the roof racks to the windshield might be leaking. so we sealed those too. Hoping there's no leaking from the roof racks and don't think I"ll ever be removing them for anything. Also, this leaking has been happening since 2010, though I didn't realize how serious it was at first. SO now I have a hole in the floor on the front passenger side that I have to have repaired, because apparently the water seems to leak into that area the most

Next rainstorm is tonight and hoping I don't have another water stain tomorrow.

I hope it's not the windshield because there are a number of small surface rust areas but they don't look like the rust moves into or under the windshield.

Does anybody have any other ideas about what this leak might be?
jolt
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Re: 2005 VIbe water leak

Post by jolt »

jmvvibeowner wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 4:00 pm Does anybody have any other ideas about what this leak might be?
As given above your post: "you need to find the exact spot where the water is coming into the cars interior. The only way that you will be able to do that is to pull the interior trim and head liner out."
Lassie2033
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:27 pm

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by Lassie2033 »

We have a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. Every time it rains we have a lot of water under the floor carpet on the front passenger side. The moon roof is fine and dry. Where can water be coming into the floor area? Anyone have a diagram? We do have a roof rack.
SSizler
Posts: 144
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:06 pm
Location: Urbandale, Iowa

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by SSizler »

Lassie2033 wrote: Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:47 pm We have a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. Every time it rains we have a lot of water under the floor carpet on the front passenger side. The moon roof is fine and dry. Where can water be coming into the floor area? Anyone have a diagram? We do have a roof rack.
Welcome to the site.
I had the same symptom and found a plugged drain hole on the right front of the sunroof.
You can see the front drain holes easily by opening the roof and looking in the front corners of the opening.
Mine had a small rock in it that allowed dirt to cover it and form a mud seal.
Good luck!
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jmvvibeowner
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:22 am

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by jmvvibeowner »

Thanks Jolt for the advice. I'm a little nervous about pulling down the interior trim and headliner, so I'm going to have to think about what I'm doing next!

coppens1, you need to find the exact spot where the water is coming into the cars interior. The only way that you will be able to do that is to pull the interior trim and head liner out. Use a forceful stream of water and start spraying down areas of the car and watching where the water comes in it.

Water will migrate to other areas as you drive down the road. The wind will take the water and push it around and up channels and seams. The main thing is to know where the water is coming in at, so the inside is the place you need to start. You have to see the crack, opening, seam, etc. that is letting the water in, then go to the outside and start investigating that area for damage.

If Safelight will not replace the glass because of corrosion, then you more issues. You may have to go to a body shop for the repair around the windshield. They will not know the extent of the damage until the windshield is out. If sheet metal is rusted away, the body shop may be able to repair the windshield opening and then get a good seal on the new glass.

Just because you taped the top of the windshield does not mean the leak is not there. As I stated above water does migrate and it could come up the sides of the windshield and under your tape to find the hole to the interior.
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joatmon
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Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by joatmon »

jmvvibeowner wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:00 pm Thanks Jolt for the advice. I'm a little nervous about pulling down the interior trim and headliner, so I'm going to have to think about what I'm doing next!
You don't need to pull any trim to check the front moonroof drains holes. Just slide the moonroof open all the way, then stand up in the hole and look in the corner. You'll see a hole in each front corner, as shown in this picture, which shows the front passenger drain hole

Image


Take a cup of water and pour it in slowly, to see if it drains. If the drain is clear, it will drip out outside between the door and the front wheel, and that's not your problem. If it doesn't drain, then you'll need to find a way to clear it.
Image
stulceaseless19
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Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2022 7:02 pm

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by stulceaseless19 »

joatmon wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:23 pm
jmvvibeowner wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:00 pm Thanks Jolt for the advice. I'm a little nervous about pulling down the interior trim and headliner, so I'm going to have to think about what I'm doing next!
You don't need to pull any trim to check the front moonroof drains holes. Just slide the moonroof open all the way, then stand up in the hole and look in the corner. You'll see a hole in each front corner, as shown in this picture, which shows the front passenger drain hole

Image

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Take a cup of water and pour it in slowly, to see if it drains. If the drain is clear, it will drip out outside between the door and the front wheel, and that's not your problem. If it doesn't drain, then you'll need to find a way to clear it.
Nice! I am also struggling on pulling down the interior trim and headliner since I am thinking that I could damage it. Thank you for this advice.
tommytipover
Posts: 23
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Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: 2005 Moon Roof Leaks

Post by tommytipover »

Ugh, I was just up inside mine this weekend (headliner removal isn't as difficult as it would seem). Convinced it was sunroof, but no, it was the windshield. Stuck a plastic trim tool under the windshield seal and can feel the crunchiness of rust :shock: the old girl is getting old, I really love her, but I'm gonna have to start looking for a younger one...
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