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Ok, so this is basically what I just found out. I, like a few other members on this forum, have had the notorious problem of water wetting the seatbelts and rear carpeting. The problem? It seems the sunroof water drain tubes can become dislodged from where water collects under the sunroof, thus allowing the water to leak down behind the side pillars.
Today I dismantled most of the headliner and side/rear panels to see if I could find these drain tubes and see what I could to do fix the problem. (Note, as of this how-to, this problem seems to be for coupes with sunroofs, I have no idea how the sedans are hooked up). It hasn't rained yet, so I can't confirm that this fixed the problem 100%, but after seeing those tubes dislodged, it was only obvious.
First, I just want to mention how bad of a design this is. If you look on both sides of your trunk, behind the side carpeting, you can see the drainage tubes. On my car, the driver side had a black tube, and the passenger side had a white tube. They run down the side of the trunk and appear to drain out the sides into the fenderwells. Why is this a bad design? Well, do you really want tubes with running water in them flowing right by the Monsoon amp (if equipped) and the fuse box on the other side? Didn't think so. Anyway, on to my discoveries!
To get at the tubes, you'll need to remove some stuff. So climb in the back seat with the following:
-Small flat head screwdriver
-Phillips screwdriver
-1/4" star wrench (allen wrench, torque wrench whatever you call it), You'll also need a really small one, not sure what size because the size wasn't printed on it it was so damn small.
-Long flat-head screwdriver
-Some clamps, 4 to be super-sure. (yes, you want this fixed for good right?)
-Zip ties (optional)
1. First you'll have to remove the side panels. Pop out the little panels right at the door edge to reveal two screws. Take those out. Now you can pull the back side panels away from the side of th car a bit.
2. Take off the plastic shroud around the seatbelt to reveal the bolt behind it. You can pry it off with the small screwdriver. Next, pop out the little rectangle panel above that, revealing a small screw. Also, remove the coat hangers: pry at the top of the rectangular panel on the hanger to pop it down. Now unscrew everything. (The seatbelt bolt may be a little tight, but it will come out, this used the 1/4" allen wrench.)
Now just pull the panel off.
3. Now you'll have to take off those rear panels, next to each speaker on the rear deck. Just pop them off, but don't pull them all the way off. They're attached to the side panel by some rubber thing, so just pop it off until you can move the panels down.
4. Now pull the rear of the headliner down. There are three clips near the rear window on top. Just pull them down. If you're leaking, this is what you may see:
Driver side:
Passenger side:
You can see the green rubber pieces that are attached to the sunroof, and then the black tube on the driver side that has dislodged from it, and the white tube on the passenger side that has dislodge as well. You want to get those tubes back into the green rubber pieces on the sunroof. The problem? There is hardly any slack, and once you put the tubes in, they are very likely to pop right back out, which is why many of you have visited the dealership multiple times for this problem.
Hopefully, my idea will solve the problem for good.
5. Clamp them up! Yes! Use clamps! My damn camera died after I took the previous pics, so I couldn't get pics of the clamps, but once you see how everything is set up up there, you'll be able to put clamps on if you've come this far.
Just get some small clamps, put them around the green rubber pieces. Slip the tube in as far as it will go. You can get a teeny bit more slack if you move the tube from under the bracket that the coat hangers screw into, to above that bracket. Also, the green clip that holds the tubes up nearest to the sunroof can be slid back a bit (towards the rear of the car), to get some more slack too.
Now, once you push the tubes in as far as they can go, clamp them down! Not too tight though, you don't want to pinch them. Get them nice and snug so that they don't pull out.
If you want to be extra cautious, get some clamps for where the green rubber pieces attach to the sunroof. Clamp that end down as well. I did it on the passenger side only , so we'll see if the driver side still leaks anymore.
Also, if you'd like, you can zip-tie the tubes to the coat hanger brackets for a little extra security.
6. If things are a little damp behind the panels, now's a good time to take out a blowdryer and hold it behind there for a few minutes, to dry things up a bit.
7. Reassemble the headliner, rear panels, side panels, and you're done!
I'm going to report back after it rains how everything worked out. Hopefully my problem will be solved. This process is a bit more involved, but it only took me about an hour and a half from start to finish. So if you like doing things yourself, and have a knack for taking things apart, this is a lot better than waiting at the dealership for hours or days, then possibly having to go back because those stupid tubes came out again! Enjoy.
Today I dismantled most of the headliner and side/rear panels to see if I could find these drain tubes and see what I could to do fix the problem. (Note, as of this how-to, this problem seems to be for coupes with sunroofs, I have no idea how the sedans are hooked up). It hasn't rained yet, so I can't confirm that this fixed the problem 100%, but after seeing those tubes dislodged, it was only obvious.
First, I just want to mention how bad of a design this is. If you look on both sides of your trunk, behind the side carpeting, you can see the drainage tubes. On my car, the driver side had a black tube, and the passenger side had a white tube. They run down the side of the trunk and appear to drain out the sides into the fenderwells. Why is this a bad design? Well, do you really want tubes with running water in them flowing right by the Monsoon amp (if equipped) and the fuse box on the other side? Didn't think so. Anyway, on to my discoveries!
To get at the tubes, you'll need to remove some stuff. So climb in the back seat with the following:
-Small flat head screwdriver
-Phillips screwdriver
-1/4" star wrench (allen wrench, torque wrench whatever you call it), You'll also need a really small one, not sure what size because the size wasn't printed on it it was so damn small.
-Long flat-head screwdriver
-Some clamps, 4 to be super-sure. (yes, you want this fixed for good right?)
-Zip ties (optional)
1. First you'll have to remove the side panels. Pop out the little panels right at the door edge to reveal two screws. Take those out. Now you can pull the back side panels away from the side of th car a bit.
2. Take off the plastic shroud around the seatbelt to reveal the bolt behind it. You can pry it off with the small screwdriver. Next, pop out the little rectangle panel above that, revealing a small screw. Also, remove the coat hangers: pry at the top of the rectangular panel on the hanger to pop it down. Now unscrew everything. (The seatbelt bolt may be a little tight, but it will come out, this used the 1/4" allen wrench.)
Now just pull the panel off.
3. Now you'll have to take off those rear panels, next to each speaker on the rear deck. Just pop them off, but don't pull them all the way off. They're attached to the side panel by some rubber thing, so just pop it off until you can move the panels down.
4. Now pull the rear of the headliner down. There are three clips near the rear window on top. Just pull them down. If you're leaking, this is what you may see:
Driver side:
Passenger side:
You can see the green rubber pieces that are attached to the sunroof, and then the black tube on the driver side that has dislodged from it, and the white tube on the passenger side that has dislodge as well. You want to get those tubes back into the green rubber pieces on the sunroof. The problem? There is hardly any slack, and once you put the tubes in, they are very likely to pop right back out, which is why many of you have visited the dealership multiple times for this problem.
Hopefully, my idea will solve the problem for good.
5. Clamp them up! Yes! Use clamps! My damn camera died after I took the previous pics, so I couldn't get pics of the clamps, but once you see how everything is set up up there, you'll be able to put clamps on if you've come this far.
Just get some small clamps, put them around the green rubber pieces. Slip the tube in as far as it will go. You can get a teeny bit more slack if you move the tube from under the bracket that the coat hangers screw into, to above that bracket. Also, the green clip that holds the tubes up nearest to the sunroof can be slid back a bit (towards the rear of the car), to get some more slack too.
Now, once you push the tubes in as far as they can go, clamp them down! Not too tight though, you don't want to pinch them. Get them nice and snug so that they don't pull out.
If you want to be extra cautious, get some clamps for where the green rubber pieces attach to the sunroof. Clamp that end down as well. I did it on the passenger side only , so we'll see if the driver side still leaks anymore.
Also, if you'd like, you can zip-tie the tubes to the coat hanger brackets for a little extra security.
6. If things are a little damp behind the panels, now's a good time to take out a blowdryer and hold it behind there for a few minutes, to dry things up a bit.
7. Reassemble the headliner, rear panels, side panels, and you're done!
I'm going to report back after it rains how everything worked out. Hopefully my problem will be solved. This process is a bit more involved, but it only took me about an hour and a half from start to finish. So if you like doing things yourself, and have a knack for taking things apart, this is a lot better than waiting at the dealership for hours or days, then possibly having to go back because those stupid tubes came out again! Enjoy.
I thought the same thing.
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