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My roof is still leaking

77K views 93 replies 40 participants last post by  Tarsun2 
#1 ·
So I was giving the HL an overdue Christmas eve wash, and while drying the door jam on the passenger side rear noticed the seat belt was soaked and the headliner is again wet. The dealer had claimed they fixed this a couple of months ago so apparently not (I never did have them replace the stained headliner). Really disappointed in Toyota's quality control, and with this recent issue along with the wind noise and 1750 RPM drone that has gotten increasingly louder as the miles add up, I'm getting more tempted to trade her in. Too bad, there are so many good things about the new gen HL, but I have a bad taste in my mouth lately. Wish y'all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
 
#85 ·
My leak was coming from the floor beside the kick panel covering the electronics. The sunroof drains into a compartment there and drips out. The spot was plugged so I redirected the hose to a hole in the floorboard through a grommet. I did both sides. It's such a garbage design. About as garbage as that compartment drains into the rocker panel and now is rusting from the inside out. I drilled a small hole to see what was happening. I showed the video to the dealership and they basically just said 🤷🏻‍♂️. I also checked the rear drains and the design was just as infuriating. The hoses attatch to an L shaped rubber piece. The hose goes in about half to 3/4 of an inch to the rubber piece. The other side drains onto the plastic wheel well. Going over a big bump, the hose will come out. The L piece has a grommet style piece in the middle that doesn't stay in securely. Almost like it's a tad too small. I'm glad it's fixed but it's left a sour taste in my mouth. The dealership was nothing short of deliberately asinine towards me as if I designed the SUV and I should have known that was the answer.
 
#86 ·
Im at that point. If it leaks again it will be traded in, and I don't think it will be a Toyota unfortunately....
2016 Highlander here. I thought mine was the roof rails from all the talk on this thread. Took them off twice and sealed them but it kept leaking. Finally pulled the interior roof liner and poured water all over the roof. Not the rails! It was the rear sun roof drainage tube. Partially blocked so it was getting overwhelmed on heavy rain/car washing and light rain parked on an incline. The WORST DESIGN to have an open water canal and drainage tube junction INSIDE the cabin, between the roof liner and roof. Can't be cleaned from outside on top by sunroof---you have to take the roof liner down to access and clean the tube/reservoir junction.
 
#88 ·
I have 2017 highlander hybrid limited with panoramic roof and same leak...pilar along the seatbelt in the back seat....Im getting rid of the car. I cant deal with shit designs like this...so sad cause i love the car otherwise. Leaks in hybrid are a big no no. I belive toyota knows there is an issue but refuse to do anything about it.
 
#89 ·
Not really. Because it’s an open canal after the access point on the top of the car, nothing would guide the trimmer line the 6-8 inches it has to travel to get to the tube. On top of that, the canal dumps (off to the side and not inline) into a little plastic basin, where the drainage tube is.
 
#90 ·
redbaron, i think this is just a thing with sunroofs in general.

my 2008(?) rav4 didnt leak. my 2013 HL did. My 2010 mazda 3 does not. my SIL's 2022(?) rav4 leaks. Her fathers altima leaks (sometimes). my 98 4runner didnt leak but stopped working. lol. coworkers explorer leaks, my fathers 4runner did not.

i think its just a cr@p chute weather it will leak or not. maybe depends on location, usage, etc... the mazda dont leak but the HL did and they are always parked side by side each other. idk.
 
#91 ·
redbaron, i think this is just a thing with sunroofs in general.

my 2008(?) rav4 didnt leak. my 2013 HL did. My 2010 mazda 3 does not. my SIL's 2022(?) rav4 leaks. Her fathers altima leaks (sometimes). my 98 4runner didnt leak but stopped working. lol. coworkers explorer leaks, my fathers 4runner did not.

i think its just a cr@p chute weather it will leak or not. maybe depends on location, usage, etc... the mazda dont leak but the HL did and they are always parked side by side each other. idk.
Yeah im done with sunroofs...i never use then anyways. Just traded it in for 2020 highlander le...fuck these loaded ones im sticking with basic ones...lost good amout of money but but im not spending 4k to replace this retarded roof as it seams lots of people have to do...i still love toyota this is my first major disappointment hopefully last...lol knock on wood.
 
#92 ·
I am sorry to say that my sunroof is still leaking. I still own the same 2014 Highlander that I wrote about in 2016. As I said back then, it is normally parked in a garage. Last week I had to park it overnight outside in a heavy rain. I vacuumed several cups of water out of the carpet in the backseat. I think it's strange that the leak only seems to be bad when the car is parked in the rain. It doesn't seem to leak enough to notice when driven in the rain.

I have started another case number with Toyota - 240129000266. They said they were unaware of this problem, so I directed them to this forum. I also test drove a Grand Highlander a couple weeks ago. It was a Limited model but did not have a sunroof. I asked about this, and the dealership said that sunroofs are an additional option, and that Toyota has had a lot of problems with leaking sunroofs.
 
#93 ·
I have a Toyota Sienna, no sunroof, and have the same leaks into the door pillar between the front and second row windows. The seatbelts on that side are moldy and I can't drive it the mold smell is so strong. I had it repaired once and it leaked again after a few months. Are there any fixes that work or should I give up and get rid of it?
 
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