Is350 Sunroof Leaking

[Sea_IS350]

hi

Recently i bought a used is350 with 42k miles on it from a nice dealership in town. then i found out the roof is leaking and it rains like 360days in seattle... i took it to lexus of bellevue... they said possibly it's leaking due to the clogged pipe or watever so ok... took a loaner 3 days later i went to pick it up... drove to a party on the way there at night pitch dark i reached into the hole where it was leaking.... yes sir.........still leaking.........so i'm very disappointed anyone has this problem? if u do did u fix it? or how did u fix it? i have 1year or 8k left on the warranty.. lexus told me they couldnt find the leak after they worked on it... and spray water over that...no more leak.... i believe it leaks when the car is in motion. please help a newbie out and allow him enjoy his is350...

thank you

[retired00]

hi

Recently i bought a used is350 with 42k miles on it from a nice dealership in town. then i found out the roof is leaking and it rains like 360days in seattle... i took it to lexus of bellevue... they said possibly it's leaking due to the clogged pipe or watever so ok... took a loaner 3 days later i went to pick it up... drove to a party on the way there at night pitch dark i reached into the hole where it was leaking.... yes sir.........still leaking.........so i'm very disappointed anyone has this problem? if u do did u fix it? or how did u fix it? i have 1year or 8k left on the warranty.. lexus told me they couldnt find the leak after they worked on it... and spray water over that...no more leak.... i believe it leaks when the car is in motion. please help a newbie out and allow him enjoy his is350...

thank you

When you say it's leaking, is it coming into the car or are you referring to water in the trough around the opening that's exposed when you fully open the roof? To some degree, there will be a little seepage getting around the glass portion and into that trough, and the trough is drained by tubes running behind the trim work to let it drain. Take a look at the trough and see if you see the drains, maybe let a little water run into those holes using a bottle or some container that will let you control the flow. If it's just some water collecting there and draining, it's not really a problem as long as the seals around the glass look like they have integrity and aren't gapped or torn. If the water drains in your experiment, then any water seeping around the seals will drain without damaging your trim. Often small leaves will block those drain holes and tubes.

[NicLX470]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe open the sunroof and visually inspect its track and see if there is any debris in the way. Also dispense some water in the drain holes if you can find them and see how quickly they drain, if at all.

[Sea_IS350]

thanks gentleman... well the leakage is...............like lil water drops... it keeps on dripping as i drive down the road. so far it seems like draining away... my garage is full of stuff so i cant park it inside to inspect it yet... and it has been raining for 1 month now nonstop so i cant work on it outside... made me so mad. but i thought a lexus dealership put the effort of fixing it shouldn't it be done? or their technicians are goofball at the one i went to? i love my car. i gotta take this to another dealership and have another try at this. i shall have the pictures up as soon as the sky stop pouring down. i ordered GFX kit already.. front and rear gonna leave the side alone since i might drop this baby with is-f sports springs and rear shocks... the car came with nav and backup camera no ML system though sad. oh well... any body in the seattle area here? we can meet up and maybe someone can show me all the buttons i've tried to read the manual..it's bigger than the bibble. i went through the basic owner guide seems to be ok.. and the rest i just press and see what it does lol hahaha :) call me stupid but i like to find out the funny way.. didnt know how to turn on the fog light initially :) how about *power button* does that really make it run any faster? or is it helping the throttle response for a faster acceleration? i still got a 1000questions left sorry newbie :)

[Sea_IS350]

oh god i didnt answer ur question got carried away..this happens when the roof is 100% closed... i looked at it.. the seals are good...can this be happening due to the fact the last 4 years the car was in arizona where it's like 110F year round? maybe the seals gets expand and contract under hot weather and start to shrink a lil and cause it to have a gap between the glass and the roof? does that make sense? it irritates me at this point knowing a 45k car can have a roof leakage. im determined to fix it by lexus or by someone... i dont care how much it is i just want it to drop leaking. gonna take my buddy out today he works for Jaguar and ask his opinion. wish me luck i do not want to dislike this car just because of the roof... it runs nice... i lost to 01 m3 but i kept up pretty dang good and i got 4 doors :)....he said oh s....didnt know u went the distance. i'm a proud owner...just sad at this point

[bartkat]

The seals can dry out if they aren't lubricated every six months or so. But I'm inclined to agree with the guys that think it's a plugged drain.

[Sea_IS350]

i agree.. i do not think this is a clogged up drainage pipe, if so then after their tech worked on it and unclogged it should remain wet-free correct? i wish i have the knowledge i can fix it myself. i do not think this is a super hard thing to fix. but i do not know where to begin. i took it for a spin got to 130mph. on a open freeway with no one around... so far i think it'll do 135mph. i guess back to the drawing board and see how i can fix this thing so i can really enjoy it... any suggestions gentleman. i'll buy you lunch if u can help diagnose this darn problem. LOBSTER too :) hahahahaha and beer.

[bartkat]

i agree.. i do not think this is a clogged up drainage pipe, if so then after their tech worked on it and unclogged it should remain wet-free correct? i wish i have the knowledge i can fix it myself. i do not think this is a super hard thing to fix. but i do not know where to begin. i took it for a spin got to 130mph. on a open freeway with no one around... so far i think it'll do 135mph. i guess back to the drawing board and see how i can fix this thing so i can really enjoy it... any suggestions gentleman. i'll buy you lunch if u can help diagnose this darn problem. LOBSTER too :) hahahahaha and beer.

I'm not sure where those drains go but some older models went through the trunk and out under the car. It may be clogged on the outlet end.

[Sea_IS350]

u have a very good point wil look at that tomorrow

[NicLX470]

Does it leak only when it rains or even when it's dry outside? The reason asking is because the drain holes might be plugged if it leaks and there is no rain, meaning it is water that has been trapped inside after rain. The force of air from driving may push out the remaining water out through the inlet holes. I dunno it's just a thought. Get a shop vac and put it in reverse blow the drains out.

Come to Texas if you want Lobster. Papadeaux has a special every Tuesday from 5p-close. All you can eat Lobster for 44.95.

I ate 8 of them last time.

[Sea_IS350]

thanks... mine is normally leaks when i'm driving and it's raining out side.. u can see it drip drip drip continously... now after those f.... guys worked on it... i hear wind noise through my sunroof ahh i'll go crazy soon...ok the lady from Lexus of bellevue did a follow-up call and i have told her what happened. She told me to come by when it's raining outside and send a tech along with me for a test drive.... now i've confirmed it's still leaking today.. i took a flashlight with me on a drive and i notice nothing really been fixed. can the seal be replace? i mean come on u dont buy a lexus to be rained on correct? hmmmm. i'd hate to depart this car... it starts to feel like my gf lol..... last time i had lobster was last month... 2 lobsters steamed in beer... tastes pretty good... try it sometimes fastest way to prepare but yet does the job. wish i can sayt he same for my sunroof leakage