Tips: Sunroofs in Winter

During the winter, which is more like the rainy season in Victoria, there is a common problem that pops up in regards to sunroofs. We live in the perfect city for an open top vehicle, but the constant wet and rain brings leaks and flooding along with it. This is the type of problem where the maintenance is cheap and effective, while the damage caused by leaving it too long can be expensive and inconvenient.

Sunroof Drains

Your vehicle’s sunroof collects rain water and funnels it towards four drain holes at each corner of the sunroof opening. These drain holes lead to tubes that channel the rain water through the interior pillars and drip out the bottom of your vehicle onto the road. The problem is that over time, these drain holes become plugged up with dirt, debris, pollen, leaves, and all manner of other things, and it causes the gaskets to break and leak into the interior of the vehicle. If the clog is on the other end of the drain tubes the standing water that is not draining out will freeze and expand overnight, which will cause cracks and leaks as well.

How do I know if my sunroof drains are clogged?

There are a few things that will tip you off to a leak. You might see that your headliner is getting wet, like in the photo above, which tells you that water is not draining properly. You may hear a sloshing or a swishing sound when you are making fast turns which would suggest that you have standing water around the sunroof assembly that did not make it out the bottom of the drainage tubes. This means you were a bit late for the preventive maintenance, so you will need to come in to have them cleaned out and the standing water removed.

How do you clean the sunroof drains?

The maintenance is extremely simple, but it requires a specialist to perform it. Since we recommend the sunroof drains to be cleaned once a year, you can mention it to your technician at every other oil change. It is best to save it for the end of summer so the drains will be free flowing for the winter months when they need to work their best. We will have a specialist come to clean the drains using some special equipment during your regularly scheduled maintenance and have it back to you the same day.

Are you due for a regularly scheduled maintenance? If so, be in touch, and don’t hesitate to mention the sunroof drains if you have never had them checked before. Our technicians would be happy to help.