Thoughts on sunroof drain tube issues?

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toddjb122

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With my LR3, I had occasional water pooling on the driver side after rains. I eventually took it to the dealer and they "had a guy" who was able to sort out the drain tubes in the headliner and it was never a problem again.

I've had the LR4 for four months now. It is garage stored but I of course have driven it in rain and never had an issue. Until this weekend...

...drove in a torrential downpour for half an hour. One of those really hard summer thunderstorms. It was fun to watch, actually. When I got home, there was a pretty heavy drip of water in the passenger foot well. It was coming down from behind the glove box. I put a towel down and went to bed. Everything normal in the morning.

Question - Would you chase this ghost or just figure the drainage got overwhelmed in a heavy rain? I think it is a dealer issue and, I try to avoid going to my dealer at all costs. (long story, but it's always very frustrating and time consuming)
 

ktm525

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Sounds more like a leak from the lower cowl than a sunroof drain tube
 

toddjb122

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Sounds more like a leak from the lower cowl than a sunroof drain tube
Oh, that's a new one for me. Is that a known issue?
It was dripping down from the rear of the glove box (rear inside corner).
I'll have to do an forum search later on it...
 

roverman

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Is the rubber seal at the bottom of your windshield warped away from the glass a little bit? (That whole piece between the windshield and the hood is the cowling) Always wondered if this would happen on the 4 like the 3 but haven't heard much about it. Anyway don't worry it's a pretty easy DIY fix. Hardest part is pulling the windshield wipers off to access the problem spot.
 
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ktm525

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Drop your glove box and access your pollen filter. That may give you some clues. My 2010 cowl is in horrible shape but as a temp fix i pulled the cowl back off the glass and ran a line of clear marine silicone caulking and squished the cowl back down. That will hold until I replace the windshield.
 

roverman

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Why would you replace the windshield? The leak is (most likely) because the rain goes past the warped cowling and drips into the fresh air intake that for god knows why is located just under the windshield in the engine compartment. The silicone will probably work for a while, but the better fix is to create a little shield over the air intake box. For my LR3 I used a $.50 of aluminum flashing bought in the gutter department at Lowes to make a little umbrella for it. The post is in here somewhere...
I should say that this is all an educated guess that the LR4 is made in the same way as the LR3. As I say, it hasn't happened yet with my 4.
 

toddjb122

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Great tips guys, thanks. As CarMax replaced the windshield as part of my first 30 days of free service (with the cheapest possible contractor and windshield) that is certainly a suspect area. I'll have a look on the outside and at the pollen filter for clues.

@roverman I think @ktm525 was saying...sometime down the road, evitabley, the windshield will get replaced. rocks/cracks/etc.
 

roverman

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Great tips guys, thanks. As CarMax replaced the windshield as part of my first 30 days of free service (with the cheapest possible contractor and windshield) that is certainly a suspect area. I'll have a look on the outside and at the pollen filter for clues.

@roverman I think @ktm525 was saying...sometime down the road, evitabley, the windshield will get replaced. rocks/cracks/etc.

Could be you're right, I read it as "that will hold until I get the windshield replace and fix it for good".

I might take things apart this weekend and see if things are built the same, maybe fix it before it's a problem. Let us know what you find out :)
 

toddjb122

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So, sure enough, this cowling thing I didn't even know aided in keeping water out of the car is buckled out quiet a bit in the center and a little on each end.
Is this (pic below) likely my issue?

Is this a known design issue or due to a shoddy windshield replacement?

IMG_9079-vi.jpg


Haven't looked near the pollen filter yet.
 

roverman

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Maybe a little of both??? I've never seen one warped like that! I'd probably start with talking to the windshield guys and see where that goes. There's no way you can prove it wasn't warped before they changed it, but that is REALLY warped.
 

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