Hi all,

I've all of a sudden sprung a major major leak on my sunroof. 2015 Mk3 (pre facelift) octavia vrs tsi right-hand-drive.

It appears to be coming from the front right sunroof drain inside the headlining. I know it's quite common for these to clog and for it to spring a leak abouts where the A-pillar meets the dash, but the water appears to be coming from the roof. See video attached.

In my attempt for an urgent fix, I opened the sunroof to attempt to clean the drainage channels with a pipe cleaner, incase it was that. This just resulted in the sunroof getting stuck open, bouncing back open every time I tried to close it. I resorted to holding the tiilt button down to force it to close which worked, however I can now no longer open it. The glass first tilts up, then just bounces back closed. Which I guess is better than it being stuck open, but it means I now can't get to the drainage channels!

Just wondering if anyone has encountered this before, and what steps they took to rectify it? The car is currently looking sad underneath a tarp. :(

My drivers footwell is completely swamped with water, so I will be removing the carpet this weekend and will probably just use the car with no carpets until spring/summer 2026.

Initially the water was trickling down the inside of the plastic a-pillar trim and making its way down into the footwell.

Edited 9 December, 20259 Dec by Ripmax12345

oh goodness...

The drainholes do get easily blocked. I think there are two drains - one at each front corner. They need to be kept clear.

As its plastic pipe, it can also become split or broken. In which case, you need to remove either headliner or if the break/drain disconnection is near the sunroof connection, then you might be able to remove the sunroof and reconnect it gently.

Either way, its an ar5e.

I was concerned about what you used to clear the blockages. If you use a metal coat-hanger, then there is a high chance you broke the plastic piping. You need very small drain rods. See this from Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Sunroof-Cleaning-Flexible-Cleaner-Dredging

If it wont close anymore then maybe it wasnt closed completly last time as it might have come out of its runners etc hence why its leaking. I would cover the car with a tarp/polythene if you can until the rain stops and you can have a proper look. Damp cars and electronics don't mix well. Remove damp carpets and put a heater in car with windows slightly open to dry it up before switching anything on. Mate fried his VW tiguan cluster after leaving soaking wet clothes in the foot well.

Alasdair

Thanks both.

I didn't actually get chance to shove anything down the drain holes yet, as that was the intention yesterday before discovering the sunroof no longer opened.

The water appears to be coming from where the green drain tube connects to the sunroof. Pouring a cup of water into the sunroof runners made it just pour heavily into the ceiling. I dread to think how much water is in the headlining.

I have one of those tiny little thin bristle brushes with the twisted steel wire. But as mentioned haven't had chance to use it yet. I know them becoming blocked can cause it to leak but I would've thought it would result in the sunroof channels overflowing and spilling into the car, rather than it leaking out on the tube-side.

I'm thinking my best bet is to just remove the headlining and the carpet completely. One reason being is to give me access to all four drains on the sunroof to inspect fully, and also to allow me to dry everything properly. I squidged the carpet this morning with my hand and my entire hand became submerged in water...!

My priority this season is just to get the leak fixed, and the car dried out as unfortunately I have to use this car every day for work. Will address it with a proper fix in the spring/summer.

Edited 9 December, 20259 Dec by Ripmax12345

If the roof is sitting where it should be, you can use electrical tape to bridge the gaps between the sunroof and car roof to prevent further water ingress.

I did it once on a Prelude that had a terrible continence issue. It was one of the most professional looking fixes I’ve done - lasted all winter 👍

27 minutes ago, Gaz said:

If the roof is sitting where it should be, you can use electrical tape to bridge the gaps between the sunroof and car roof to prevent further water ingress.

I did it once on a Prelude that had a terrible continence issue. It was one of the most professional looking fixes I’ve done - lasted all winter 👍

I second the electrical tape suggestion above. It's a quick fix that, if applied when dry works well.

I used some waterproof tape on an old toyota but the glue was so evil and would not come off. May have been polythene repair tape.

The fact that its not closing properly would need to be looked at first. Removing headlining is a fair job and problem will be getting it back again. I do like a sunroofs but when they start to leak there a nightmare. I have siliconed a few permanently shut and forgot about them. Not the ideal fix but it does stop them leaking.

Hope you get it sorted.

Get some of the silica gell tubs and put them in the car as well as a heater to dry it out. You can get them from poundstretcher or found these on amazon 10 for £7-00

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Babz-Interior-Dehumidifier-40-23/dp/B00SYPPSF0/ref=asc_df_B00SYPPSF0?mcid=b7f5649a391631dab665550d93b012ab&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697300220071&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6719799811399785310&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9180744&hvtargid=pla-360087119501&psc=1&hvocijid=6719799811399785310-B00SYPPSF0-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

18 hours ago, Ripmax12345 said:

Pouring a cup of water into the sunroof runners made it just pour heavily into the ceiling. I dread to think how much water is in the headlining.

Arh - the drain pipe has either split/broken or has come off its connector. Try removing the panel off the A-Pillar and see if you can find anything there (do it on the side where the water ingess is)

Update, good news!

Managed to remove the sun visor & handle to pry the headlining down just enough to get to the tube. The pipe was clogged almost all the way down. Shoved some locking wire down it, then pumped some warm water through it and got it cleared.

Got my hands on a wet vac and managed to remove nearly 3L of water from the carpets! I had to cut out the yellow foam underneath the pedals as that was absolutely sodden, and it unfortunately just disintegrated in the process so i'll need to DIY something here before putting the carpet back in. The thick padding material underneath the carpets i've ran through the dryer a couple times and that seems to be nice n dry now. Car is currently sat with an electric heater in it and the drivers carpet pinned up to dry the rest out.

I'm going to repeat the same process for the drain on the passenger side later today as a precaution, though luckily that one hasn't leaked yet.

Thank god I caught this reasonably early!

You could use some carpet unerlay. Just got carpets fitted and they used 10mm polyeurothane foam underlay. If you have any carpet shops about the fitters will have offcuts they are dumping. Glad you got to the problem fairly easily and hope car dries out.

I think an investment into that £2.80 amazon brush that clears out the drain is probably worth it in that case. Well done for getting it cleared.

Both front drains cleared, ran some hot (not boiling) water down them and blew into them, both seem to flow unobstructed now.

Wasn't able to access the rear ones without disassembling the entire car, but they do seem to be working and the car has been parked nose-down every day for the last 3 years so presumably the rear drains don't get much action as the fronts. I poured some water onto the back of the sunroof and held the seal open with a plastic trim tool and I saw water dripping out from behind the rear bumper so i'd say they're good.

Also had alot of rain last night and the interior was dry this morning 🥳

Just waiting for a dry day now to reassemble everything. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to remove the front seats in the Octavia!

The sunroof is still jammed shut, but thats a future me problem I think. Whenever you open the sunroof, it tilts up a little less than it normally would, then you can see the glass jolt back as the motors attempt to start sliding the glass, then they just bounce back and it gives up opening, as if its triggering the obstruction detection It doesn't open any more than a tilt.

Thanks everyone for your comments/suggestions.

Edited 12 December, 202512 Dec by Ripmax12345