Hello

Wonder if anyone can help with some advice - I have a leaking roof or windscreen on my 2001 Octy Estate. :( Its a 4x4 Elegance with a sunroof.

When it rains, water runs down from the top of the interior lining next to the top left hand corner to the seal above the door near the windscreen. Its on the passenger side and the water soaks through the fabric lining where it meets the plastic lining that runs up the interior next to the windscreen.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to fix this? I thought it might've been a leak where the roofrail is fixed to the body, but now I think it might be the top corner of the windscreen. There doesn't seem to be much water behind the lining, but the fabric gets soaking.

Any advice appreciated.

thanks

Scott

Has the windscreen been replaced? I would suggest that maybe some dirt / old sealant is stuck in the rubber windscreen mount.

Or otherwise maybe one of the drainage hoses/pipes from the sunroof is split (probably much more likely than my first suggestion)

The sunroof drains is the obvious thing to check first. Usually the tubes get blocked at the bottom meaning that water that collects in the well around the sunroof and cannot drain away. They'll be a drain in each of the four corners of the sunroof, and if you blow very gently down the drains any blockage should clear. Don't blow hard with an airline because there is the danger that the tubes might detach from the underside of the sunroof, and you'll have to remove the roof lining to get them back on. Pour water around the sunroof to test that the drains are clear. You should see the water drain at the bottom of the car....

3rd vote for the likely candidate being the sunroof drain. If you run a search, someone has posted a diagram of the sunroof and its drains.

Unlike Railroad, I'd advocate starting by checking that the space at the back of the LHF arch liner is clear of road muck and leaf mulch before trying to blow out the drain pipe.

if its not what the others said, check the roof rail is bolted down tight (2 bolts into plate inside the car above the lining) as my old estate didnt have a tightened down rail at the rear which made my car leak down the C pillar.

Thanks for your suggestions - I'll check the sunroof drains and the roof rail bolts to see if that helps.

Cheers

I seem to have fixed the leak. Checked the sunroof drains, they seemed to be clear and working fine. Checked the roof rail bolts, they also seemed ok. In the end I got some black silicone sealant and put it around the top corner of the windscreen where the glass meets the rubber seal, down the pillar and along the roof edge. Also put some sealant around the roof rail bolts.

Seems to have fixed the leak- have had some heavy rain and so far everything is dry.

Thanks for your suggestions.

I have just spent the last 3 months trying to locate a leak; supposedly from the sunroof! I say supposedly because all the indications were that that's where water was coming from - but not so.

Back to the beginning: In February I bought a 2003 1.9tdi Elegance with 153k on the clock, one owner, well maintained but with some peeling lacquer on the green metallic paintwork. All fine until it rained. My drive is on a slope so when water appeared inside at either side of the sunroof motor 'pod' I assumed the sunroof was the culprit. The seal around the sunroof glass is always likely to leak after a while but all the drainage generally takes care of this. So I checked everything, having referenced this excellent forum, only to find no difference. I decided to isolate the sunroof by covering and sealing it completely, only to find water still appearing. Not the sunroof then!

On a dry sunny day I ran a length of black insulating tape along the top of the windscreen between the roof bodywork and the seal near to the windscreen. This would stop any water seeping down into the car between the roof bodywork and the seal. It worked, no water inside. I've left the tape in place until we get a few nice days when I can properly seal using silicone or, because it's a small gap to get into, Waxoyl - a brilliant product.

The reason why the sunroof seemed obvious was because water was along both sides of the motor 'pod'. What appears to have happened is that water came in at the front at the windscreen and by capilliary action worked its way uphill!

So if you've got a leak in this area it's worth trying a length of tape; this will quickly and easily eliminate the windscreen seal. This is of course a summary; the grief and deep thinking was a lot more involved.

Hope this helps.

Anyway, having had 4 Volvos previously I really like the Octavia, especially 58mpg rolling average! Not quite as comfortable but a nice size and lots of features - excellent value. I quite fancy a 4x4 version now.

Really helpful, exactly fits the symptoms. I have been head scratching as the drain ducts were clear. Will give your remedy a try, many thanks :)