Sunroof leak repair

[E Showell]

There's a class action lawsuits out there over leaky Volvo sunroof seals.

Has anybody successfully addressed this issue on their current ride?

If so, how did you accomplish that?

[RickHaleParker]

There's a class action lawsuits out there over leaky Volvo sunroof seals.

Has anybody successfully addressed this issue on their current ride?

If so, how did you accomplish that?

It is defective drain system not defective seals. There are three root causes.
1. The Pass Through Valve at the end of the drain hose is soft rubber, it splits.
2. The plastic hose between Sunroof and the Pass Through Valve can shrink over time and pull loose.
3. The drain system gets gets clogged with debris.

1 & 2 allows rain water to drain into the foot well.
3 Allows rain water to cascade from above.

Preventive maintenance:
1. Periodically check and replace Pass Through Valve.
2. Periodically clean debris out of the drain system.
3. Keep an eye on the length of the drain hose.

[cn90]

The nature of sunroof design lends itself to leak.

In contrast to let's say a kitchen jar with rubber seal, once you close the jar's lid, it is is nice and tight. This is because the lid squeezes the rubber seal.

The sunroof, being a "sliding door design" can never accomplish a tight seal, unless you design it like a submarine hatch, which looks ugly because it is not flush with sheet metal.

So, once the sunroof slides to close, it relies on "sideway" force to seal. And the seal is not rubber but rather some type of felt.

In a brand-new normal car, it is almost like a house with gutter and downspout...

- Rain water gets through the sunroof glass seal, not much but a drop here and there, basically "dripping". Next time it rains, slide the shade and watch how rain water drips between the glass and the SR cassette.

- Now water gets into the "gutter" system of the SR cassette, and it needs to drain somewhere.

- It drains down the tube to the under-carriage.

As mentioned above, this tube can get clogged with debris: from either leaves when you leave the SR open or just normal dirt that gets between the glass and SR cassette.

In an old car, it makes sense to replace the seal so you slow down the "drip".
Or clean the tube using fresh water in a bottle and a spool of grass trimmer to poke the tubing system.

The Volvo has a dumb design: there is a rubber thingy at the end of the tubing, which can becomes clogged ---> water backing up all the way to the SR cassette.

In an emergency, you can use some black electrical tape to tape along the edges of the glass (where it meets the roof) to slow down water ingress until you perform
the permanent fix.

[oragex]

As above, at least now that's 15y old, the seal not longer seals perfectly. Maybe some conditioner will help a little but also the seal has a small hole where it ends. I hear droplets leaking inside the tray in rain with the shade opened. The thing is, these small amounts of water bring dust with them and if living in a dirty city, this dust is enough to clog the drain tubes in the long term. I did clean the drains then kept the sunroof closed for 1 year, and the drains got clogged again. I now clear the drains every summer, ideally more than once, easy to do when giving it a wash. You can fit a small tube in the top drain hole with the other end on the garden hose nozzle, blows the drains clean really well www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jMAWVN2N0Q

Fun fact, the XC90 has much wider drain tubes, same design only bigger diameter, and still gets clogged

https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2016 ... clog.shtml

[RickHaleParker]

The Volvo has a dumb design: there is a rubber thingy at the end of the tubing, which can becomes clogged ---> water backing up all the way to the SR cassette.

Pass-through valve, Volvo part number 30753148. Yes it is a valve and it passes water through the A-pillar. The valve is normally close to keep critters from climbing up the hose. The weight of water in the hose will open the valve and drain the water ... unless it is clogged.

Volvo is not the only one that does it this way. Land Rover has the same design. I reckon there might be more using the same design.

Perhaps Volvo should of extended the lower side of the A-pillars to form the Catch pan and the drains.