Leaky Sun Roof

We have a brand new KIA Soul with a sun roof that does not seal. So far no water has run out of the drain pan but if the sun pops out after a rain condensation has formed inside the vehicle. To us this is not a good thing but the dealer assures us this is normal. How many other KIA Soul owners have the same experiance?

Frankly I am not at all convinced you have a problem. Tell us, is your air conditioner being used and do you have it set to re-cycle the air?

BTW I don’t know of any sunroof that “seals” They merely keep most of the water out and drain the rest. Normally there are four drains, one at each corner, and if any one of them gets clogged, it will put water into your car.

If there’s condensation inside the vehicle there’s water, or at least water vapor. Where does the water condense?

The sunroof will never seal water-tight, but there are drain tubes to carry away any water that leaks past the closed sunroof.

The condensation may or may not be coming from the sunroof. What makes you think the sunroof is the problem?

How do you operate the HVAC system? The water vapor could be coming from the AC evaporator, which also has a drain tube.

I just looked at my sunroof Toyota) and it is completely sealed from the outside…no way any water could get into the car. If your problem is due to condensation, well that’s another story.

I just looked at my sunroof Toyota) and it is completely sealed from the outside…no way any water could get into the car.

Want to bet on that? Take a good look at each corner with the sunroof open. You will find drains at each corner. They are there because Toyota and every other car manufacturer knows the sunroof is not water proof.

I’ll take that bet…not a drop in over 4 years …

The car was parked and hadn’t move or been opened since the day before. When I found the windows to have condensation the first thing I looked for was a leak. I found water in the drain pan of the sun roof. As the car heated up in the daytime sun it steamed the windows was the natural assumption. This will probably be the last sun roof we buy. Just not really worth the risk. Also there is a lack of information published. Maybe this is common knowledge for someone in the industry but if you ask John Q Public I am thinking most would think a sunroof is suppose to seal. Thanks for the reply.

No power sunroof is entirely water proof. They are designed to leak some water and a moat captures the water and drains it away. Your does sound abnormal unless the cause is the something else leaking water like the AC compressor.

It did not have a blocked drain in 4 years.

HUH? Do you mean the A/C condensate from the EVAPORATOR Andrew? I think that is a good possibility. Perhaps the drain tube from the pan under the evaporator is disconnected at the top end or plugged at the bottom. Either are easy fixes. Feel the carpet in the front seat foot wells. If it’s damp, that’s almost certain to be the problem.