Damn...that’s my biggest fear with our ‘19. Please post what caused the leak once they figure it out

 

When the sunroof leaks, front or rear, it can drip out of the front overhead console.
In tropical climates it's a good idea to have a look at the front drain holes in the tray, not that hard to do as a regular inspection.
Fully open the roof, then open a rear door and step up on the sill. Reach up and over to hold the wind deflector down on the side you're looking at.
From the left rear you can see the right front drain hole, and from the right rear you can see the left front.
Use a flashlight and look for debris, dirt or dust blocking the openings. They are only about 1/4" and can clog with organic matter easily.

 

I atte

In tropical climates it's a good idea to have a look at the front drain holes in the tray, not that hard to do as a regular inspection.
Fully open the roof, then open a rear door and step up on the sill. Reach up and over to hold the wind deflector down on the side you're looking at.
From the left rear you can see the right front drain hole, and from the right rear you can see the left front.
Use a flashlight and look for debris, dirt or dust blocking the openings. They are only about 1/4" and can clog with organic matter easily.

I tried looking while standing on the rear sill. Probably as I'm not tall, I found it difficult to reach forward to push the wind deflector and see the drain hole. Finally able to see the drain hole properly by standing up in the middle of the 2nd row, and poking my head out of the sunroof.

 

So I'll say this - I've always been skeptical of moonroofs. In fact, given the choice, I would not have had one.

My wife's sunroof (VW Tiguan) leaked and there was so much water in the vehicle, it wasn't even funny. Hers found its way into the sunroof and worked down the passenger side B Pillar and collected on the floor in the back seat. I think a lot of where the water displays itself has to do with how the vehicle is parked, etc. Water will always follow the path of least resistance (obviously).

Anyway, we took it in, and it turns out the drain tube was blocked with debris. They cleaned it out about a year ago and haven't had an issue since. It still doesn't sit well with me. There was a lot of scrubbing and wet vac involved (on our part) because we didn't want mold to grow or to develop a smell. Hers is a VW, but in either event, I've seen this same issue with just about every make and model there is.

 

Yep, big hole in the roof to pour money into!

 

The moonroof thing is really annoying. Personally I don’t get them. Especially the panoramics. But my wife loves them and the XC90 is hers. Ours developed the leak around the front mirror and rear pillar. i inspected the drains and they looked ok. Spent 3 days at the dealer. They said fronts needed to be cleaned and one of the rears were kinked. Must have been installed that way. The gasket was also deformed and shrinking. They replaced it. They said we should ask for the drains to be cleared with services. How about just do it if you know this is common? I have a compressor and will get some trimmer line to do it myslelf. Not thrilled that the intellisafe components have gotten wet. Thinking of putting a dehumidifier in the car for a day. Techs if you have any thoughts be greatly appreciated.

 

A question for all those who have experienced Sunroof/Moonroof/Ceiling water leaks in their Volvos,

1) Do you regularly or quite often open/make use of the sunroof?
2) Is your default vehicle parking out in the open, exposed to elements?

I have never opened my sunroof (maybe a couple of times accidentally), and I park in a carport with a roof on the top, and I've never had the leakage issues that I read on Swedespeed. No leaves or twigs stand on my car roof. I, of course, leave the sunroof shade always open, so the natural light comes in, but never the glass itself.

Hell, I use a pressure washer every week or so to clean the car and spray lavishly over the sunroof and (front/rear) windshields, and I've never noticed any leaks or even dampness on the inside. My rear windshield was recently replaced, and even then, it's as waterproof as it always has been.

Just trying to figure out what might make a particular Volvo more/less susceptible to roof leaks.

 

I rarely opened the sunroof during the first 4 years. Maybe once or twice a year. It's parked outside on the driveway near a big tree. The left front side connector was clogged and water leaked from driver side and damaged electronics. It was an expensive repair. VIP extended warranty didn't cover damages from leaked water. But it was repaired with Volvo goodwill. Volvo should include drain tube cleaning in the yearly maintenance or mention it somewhere in the user manual. I will open the sunroof one or twice a year just to make sure the drain tubes aren't clogged. The sunroof edge rubbers aren't sealed. Dust and dirts can clog the angled connectors easily.

 

Parked outside but no debris aside from pollen falling from above. Sunroof used several times a week. Washed 1-2x per month and detailed 2x a year by myself. There was no visible debris in the sunroof well around the drains.

 

Sorry you are going through this and I hope everything works out. I don't have any help to add but I see your Avatar and handle and wanted to say Go Gators!

 

TJs are entirely voluntary. They are just there to help us with diagnosis and to outline the repair needed. Work is performed only on a car that fits the TJ with a verified complaint.

Recalls are done on every car in the recall, whether a problem occurs or not.

 

TJs are entirely voluntary. They are just there to help us with diagnosis and to outline the repair needed. Work is performed only on a car that fits the TJ with a verified complaint.

Recalls are done on every car in the recall, whether a problem occurs or not.

What I'm trying to say is I'd be surprised if TJ's are entirely voluntary without customer concerns. Cars can't be tested in a factory the same as mass production and usage on streets. I'd like to see how many TJ's are issued based solely on Volvo's internal knowledge and anticipated concerns versus customer complaints piling up for the same issues, thus causing a TJ (or updated TJ).

The piston ring example is a good one for my point. Unless I'm reading into this wrong, Volvo didn't voluntarily and preemptively put out TJ's for the oil consumption until customers started having problems.

Did Volvo know that changing the design would cause issues later on? And did they just ignore it (apparently in the name of EPA numbers) until they realized the true financial burden? Swedish Engineers aren't dumb, so I'm genuinely curious about whether they just fiscally gambled this decision.

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Recalls are not always a government mandate. Plenty of recalls are voluntary.

As for who pays for a TJ, these are generally warranty repairs, since they are issued for problems on newer cars. If someone is out of warranty, the TJ does not extend the warranty and the repair would be customer pay. There are also some TJs that just communicate to us that no repair should be made yet because a fix is being developed. Those are generally updated once the fix is released.

 

True. There are voluntary recalls but it seems a large portion of recalls end up being by the forcible hand of the government. Since once a recall is issued, it opens up pandora's box to liability. Although with a voluntary recall, a manufacturer is taking the lead to get ahead of a problem before it bites them further in the ass.

On the TJ issue, I partially disagree. For instance, there could be a TJ but the issue doesn't appear until outside of warranty, if ever. Therefore, the customer is on the hook for the expense. If the issue appears within warranty, then the manufacturer generally eats the cost.

Good example my Thermostat Code. Known TJ. Replacing Thermostat then fried the ECM. Even though there was a technical journal, had I not been under CPO, the issue would have been at my expense. Even though the journal had existed before my manufacturer warranty expired.

Just like the TJ on piston rings, even though there's a journal, doesn't mean everyone sees the problem immediately or if ever.

 

Has anyone seen this 19 May 2021 NHTSA complaint (#11417805) regarding the leaking sunroof and water damage on a MY16 XC90 T5/6. Vehicle Detail Search | NHTSA. I sure hope that Volvo gets this instance and similar ones resolved amicably for the benefit of all affected.

 

I'm going to resurrect this older thread. Curiosity got the best of me regarding my former 2020 T6 that had significant water intrusion through the D Pillars. I checked Carfax and found that the 2020 was re-sold as a CPO [emoji848]. And zero documentation (on Carfax anyways) about the water intrusion. Is this common?

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@Ultrarunner511 more concerning is even if the water intrusion is resolved, water can cause a litany of electrical problems. How and why Volvo would CPO the car is confounding.

 

@Ultrarunner511 more concerning is even if the water intrusion is resolved, water can cause a litany of electrical problems. How and why Volvo would CPO the car is confounding.

I'm really confused. Some poor b*****d is driving around in Florida with this. Sure, CPO is a great warranty. Until I realized Volvo can CPO a lemon like what I had. This makes me question a lot now. [emoji848]

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Carfax, autocheck ... isn't worth the paper it's written on.

 

It's a tool, albeit not the most reliable. It's dependent upon police reports and dealers reporting. Not all dealers or bodyshops report to carfax. And not all accident reports make it there either.

I wouldn't call CarFax or AutoCheck a confidence booster, but it is useful IF an accident has been report or services history appears missing. Red flags.

 

I wonder if anyone sells a really long pipe cleaner that could be gently used to clean the drains all the way to their exits? It’s one thing to clear off the top but if the pipe itself is clogged you are not going to fix the leak.

 

I’d be tempted to try track down the new owner and inform them to check for continuing issues. If I were the owner of that car, the information would certainly be appreciated

 

Wow! That was a major gusher! @MyVolvoS60 is right. Especially in the back of the XC90s there's lots of electrical components but primarily one of the fuse boxes is back there. It makes you wonder how much of it was cleaned or preemptively addressed; if there were any problems that may have started to crop up from water exposure.

 

There's a lot of speculation here. It could very easily have had a kinked sunroof hose, which is a simple fix and the car could certainly be CPO eligible after repair. The fact they bought the car back does not mean it can't be CPO later. You were uncomfortable with keeping the car long term so they did the right thing and got you out of it- that doesn't mean it has to be scrapped.

 

There's a lot of speculation here. It could very easily have had a kinked sunroof hose, which is a simple fix and the car could certainly be CPO eligible after repair. The fact they bought the car back does not mean it can't be CPO later. You were uncomfortable with keeping the car long term so they did the right thing and got you out of it- that doesn't mean it has to be scrapped.

I can't remember if I shared it with you, but the GM said nothing was wrong with the car and they gave it back to me (before I showed them the problem on video). That was coupled with a few of the dealer's bizarre theories of how water was ending up in the passenger compartment. Including simply driving in the rain and water is somehow somehow causing water to come through the wheel wells. And this somehow translated into "there's nothing wrong with your car" and giving it back to me. And parking it "on a weird angle." That's where my position changed a bit beyond merely not being comfortable with the car.

I'm not sure if the CPO process is different from one dealer to another. I already encouraged a family member to buy a CPO XC40 as I truly believe CPO coverage is one of the best available from any brand. She bought it. But now I'm doubtful, and skeptical, about this process.

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I don't know the extent of it. It does have a cover but it isn't waterproof.

 

I don't know the extent of it. It does have a cover but it isn't waterproof.

It was on the fuse box cover and had dripped around it and off of it. Similar to the battery. The car sat for 8 months prior to my purchasing it as a new car. So who knows how much water (if any) it allowed in.

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My point is just the fact there was water does not mean the car is destined to be a headache forever.

 

Bigger question at hand - As a regular consumer and not a technician, would you chance that statement by dropping 10s of thousand of dollars on this vehicle?

I certainly wouldn't. And that's assuming, the vehicle's history was disclosed with transparency.

My Funny suspicion says that with neither dealer nor Volvo reporting issue to CarFax, the buyer wasn't likely given the heads up on the past life of this CPO prior to being offered for sale.

 

If I'm a consumer that reads and believes everything on the internet- probably not.

I have fixed my share of water intrusion cars. The vast majority I would have zero problem recommending the car to someone after repair and there would be no need for any sort of special disclosure. Even some of the really bad ones I've seen have been successfully repaired.

 

All dealers have to fill out the same CPO inspection form.

 

@Ultrarunner511

Now you know. Would definitely have been another point to raise had they not bought back tge car.

At this juncture, would only serve to report dealer for violating the law on new car sales is my layman's guess.

 

@Ultrarunner511

Now you know. Would definitely have been another point to raise had they not bought back tge car.

At this juncture, would only serve to report dealer for violating the law on new car sales is my layman's guess.

Lol, man, the more I look back on the emails with the dealer, the worse things get. I was initially interested in a new 2019 T6 Inscription with every option that was listed as new for under $60k. As soon as I inquired, the vehicle disappeared and eventually ended up under the pre-owned list. However, the mileage wasn't listed. But the MSRP and the "savings" remained. Turns out it was a loaner with about 9k miles on it.

This type of thing bothered the hell out of me.

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Going back to the OP issue, am worried as I live in a tropical zone where when it rains, it can rain everyday.

The T8 is still newish. I have looked at the sunroof when closed and the seals around it appears snug. This debris that gets into the drain, does that happens when seals around the sunroof shrinks? That seal even when new, can still allow water to flow inside the drain?

I'll need to inspect and the identity the drain holes mentioned here.

 

It's been a problem since the start in our 2016. We even took it to the dealer under other warranty work and they 'fixed' the problem several times. Even after the last fix, it was pouring that day and we had water leaking from the rear view mirror area. We rarely park outside and never open up the sun roof anyway. While it's leaking, I've opened up the sun roof and checked the drains, but no water there. It's overflowing somewhere, but I can't narrow that down. Is there a TJ I can review for this?

 

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/SB-10087102-5448.pdf

 

No, there are similar drain holes in each rear corner too.

 

Hmm ... that would be impossible to inspect and clean?