CX-9 Sunroof Is Designed To Leak, Really!

[nhokt]

So I brought my '08 CX-9 GT in to the dealer to have the sunroof looked at since water was dripping in (from rain) past the rear seal into a drip pan in the headliner. Seemed like a quick adjustment or new seal, not a big deal. I get the call today and this is claimed to be normal. I go down there and they are polite but firm that this is how the sunroof is designed to work. Some water gets past the seal, collects in the pan and gets out through the drain tube. Not believeing them I go over to the other area Mazda dealer and the tech there gives me the same exact story!

Any other experiences?

 

[not_too_shabby]

I know my VW has similar drains that go from the sunroof down to the door jams. I haven't really studied the mazda, but this seems somewhat plausible. I know for the vws, people were having issues with the rubber nozzles in the door jams sealing shut and water would not drain and eventually backup into the headliner. ....

As long as water isn't getting onto your headliner, I would say that's normal.

 

[SeCX-9]

I know my VW has similar drains that go from the sunroof down to the door jams. I haven't really studied the mazda, but this seems somewhat plausible. I know for the vws, people were having issues with the rubber nozzles in the door jams sealing shut and water would not drain and eventually backup into the headliner. ....

As long as water isn't getting onto your headliner, I would say that's normal.

Yeah, but if the dome light doesn't work when you shut-off the car with the advanced remote, you might not see the water dripping anyways right?(shocked).....oh...wrong forum (sad2)

 

[not_too_shabby]

Right, so make sure you are in you are in a well lit area which mazda assumes you are always in....

 

[nhokt]

I have never owned a vehicle where the sunroof was designed to let water pass through. Guess that explains why I get so much wind noise from the rear of the sunroof, if it lets water pass by we are certainly getting air leaks also. Had I know this in advance I would have reconsidered the purchase... what a dumb design.

 

[ceric]

"Some water gets past the seal, collects in the pan and gets out through the drain tube.."
As long as water does not get into the cabin, I have no quarrel with this design.
After all, how long does one expect the rubber seals to stop water from coming in?
10 years?

 

[nhokt]

Some water seeping (sp?) past the seal I would be fine with, when I hear a steady drip loud enough to make me turn and say what the hell is that I have an issue. I have owned many many cars with sunroofs and none were like this.

 

[nurse67]

The same thing happened to me. Have had my 08 cx-9 Gt only a few weeks.
Went through a brushless carwash and water dripped down from the rear seal
driver's side onto me!! Brought it back to dealership to have it checked and was told that moonroofs have a "controlled waterleak"?? That it is supposed to leak some and the "pan" should catch it and drain. Also said that Moonroofs are not made to not leak under high pressure water conditions.
What do you think?? Is this really true. I had a moonroof in a prior vehicle I traded in and have been through the same carwash several times and it never leaked

 

[squidly]

I have to push against the moonroof everytime I go to the car wash.
I hate that.

 

[nhokt]

The same thing happened to me. Have had my 08 cx-9 Gt only a few weeks.
Went through a brushless carwash and water dripped down from the rear seal
driver's side onto me!! Brought it back to dealership to have it checked and was told that moonroofs have a "controlled waterleak"?? That it is supposed to leak some and the "pan" should catch it and drain. Also said that Moonroofs are not made to not leak under high pressure water conditions.
What do you think?? Is this really true. I had a moonroof in a prior vehicle I traded in and have been through the same carwash several times and it never leaked

I was getting substantial water from just sitting in the rain, I wouldn't dare go through the high pressure wash!

I did some poking around and found 2 things, 1- the sunroof is very easy to adjust on your own (it already leaks so I wasn't to worried about adjusting it) 2- My sunroof wasn't positioned properly, the glass was to far forward and had crushed and creased the front left part of the seal.

I adjusted the sunroof to take all pressure off the front of the seal but it remained creased and crushed after 3 days. I returned to the dealer to show them the issue, they agreed to order a new seal but I'm not sure they really understood what I was showing them. I am having the new seal installed Tuesday and will report back after.

To those who want to try adjusting on their own, there are T25 screws in each corner of the sunroof where it connects the the track. When you loosen the screws there is some freeplay for you to reposition the glass. Looks to me like the sunroof needs to be centered horizontally and flush to the roof vertically. Unless the seal is damaged I think a simple realignment will do the trick. I am not a Mazda Tech so proceed at your own risk, if under warranty you are better off just trying to get the dealer to fix it, this was more of a last resort.

Hope this helps someone.

 

[nhokt]

So the dealer had a specialist (third party that does sunroofs and interior work for them) replace the sunroof seal, success! I noticed the sunroof is adjusted differently than before, the wind noise is gone, it hasn't been in any significant rain yet but I am confident that the issue has been resolved.

 

[cecill]

Wow - thought I was crazy..

First time through the car wash - drenched! Mentioned it to the service tech and got the same response. Seal not designed to keep up with a ton of water. Haven't had any leakage during a rain storm yet... Thought I was unique and that the tech was shining me on...

Really seems like the seal should be more robust. Dumb design on a great car...

 

[rk2112]

I have run my 2008 GT through many, many high pressure car washes and so far so good.........

 

[babypumpkinhead]

No Problem yet!

I have an 08 AWD Touring. Several car washes and no leak yet. I will keep my eye out.

 

[nhokt]

Sunroof is better after the new seal but I still do get some water in the drip tray under the real seal. Not nearly as bad as it was but still there. Easiest way to check is to reach back between the sunroof and headliner and you will find a drip tray. Last time the car was sitting outside in heavy rain I did get some water in the tray... oh well...

 

[table5511]

My garaged 08' with 76k miles is gushing now. A couple years ago, under high pressure carwash, it would drip, a few drips into the tray. Now it gushes like a half gallon, need to go through the carwash with towels in the drip tray. I will buy a new seal and try adjusting it to see how it goes. Hopefully replacing the seal isn't too hard.

 

[convertible]

I own a auto upholstery and we do sunroof repair also, what the dealer is telling you is half true all sunroofs will leak water thats why they have 4 drains but what they r not telling you is there is no drain pan in a CX9 why I have know idea what they were thinking of the only thing that will hold the water is the 2 side rails that the drive train for the sunroof is which is not good for the drive train either sooner r later it will start rusting and lock up then you need to replace the sunroof assembly, That will cost a good chunk of $$$$ in there favor I don't know the cost of the sunroof from the dealer but I'm thinking $1000 to $1500 then another $500 to have it installed. Sonwhen you go to the dealand they say drain pan tell them to pull the headliner out of the car and show you this so called drain pan the factory forgot to put in to drain the water