Rain coming in by rear passenger speaker

[keharty]

I have a 2004 Subaru Outback. Last week after a heavy rain I noticed my rear cargo area was soaking wet. We removed the panels and there was even water in the spare tire area. The seatbelt that comes through the roof was dripping water and the passenger rear speaker had water around it. After checking the internet for this problem I found some posts on this forum about the sunroof/moonroof drains being clogged and causing a similar problem. On Saturday we took the car to a repair shop and asked them to clean the lines (my husband and I are NOT handy). They had some trouble at first figuring out where the lines were but finally called and said they had blown them out and also run water through them and the problem was resolved. Well this morning, after raining all night, I checked the cargo area again. No water coming from the seatbelt in the roof but I could actually see water coming in around the speaker area. We are going to phone the repair shop and let them know it's still leaking but they had never really dealt with this problem before so I'm not sure what their next step should be or if we should just go to a Subaru dealership shop as they might be more familiar with the problem. We are expected to get up to 10 inches of rain in the next week so I've got to get this resolved.

[plain OM]

I could actually see water coming in around the speaker area.

Are you referring to the speaker in the door? The door is separate from the body, and a leak in the ceiling, such as from the sunroof, would not cause water to come out of a door through the speaker. In that regard, there really shouldn't be water coming out at the speaker because there are drains at the bottom of the door that would (or should) prevent build-up of water at the bottom of the door. So I think we need more details about what you're seeing, and where.

[keharty]

I am referring to the speaker in the rear cargo area. There is a panel around the speaker (the orginal speakers BTW) and water was streaming out from the seam above the speaker. I checked again later in the day and I again have water coming from the seatbelt that's located in the ceiling behind the rear seat on the passenger side.

[cardoc]

Originally Posted by keharty

I am referring to the speaker in the rear cargo area. There is a panel around the speaker (the orginal speakers BTW) and water was streaming out from the seam above the speaker. I checked again later in the day and I again have water coming from the seatbelt that's located in the ceiling behind the rear seat on the passenger side.

When they "blew" the line out, they may have also gotten the drain tube disconnected at a joint splice. The roof panel and side panels needs to come out of the car in order to make sure the joints are connected and all tubes are free of dirt/debris.

[plain OM]

The drain tube exits aren't easily accessed. Clean your Sunroof Drain Hose has good pics and details relating to the 2nd Gen Outback.

There have also been cases here of a tube coming off the fitting at the sunroof mechanism for some unknown reason. If this was the situation here originally, blowing the lines wouldn't have helped, which seems to be the case.

The linked thread has a good DIY on removing the inner trim and ceiling so that the rear drain hoses can be inspected.

[keharty]

Thanks for the additional suggestions. I'm taking the car back to the repair shop tomorrow. I did print out "Clean Your Sunroof Drain Hose" so maybe that will help. I did also wonder if they could have dislodged something when they blew out the drains. They admitted when I originally took the car in that they'd never dealt with this kind of problem before and now I'm getting the feeling they don't want to go too much further with it. Would the Subaru dealership's repair shop be better able to fix this? We have a series of huge storms coming and I have to park outside.

[cardoc]

Originally Posted by keharty

Thanks for the additional suggestions. I'm taking the car back to the repair shop tomorrow. I did print out "Clean Your Sunroof Drain Hose" so maybe that will help. I did also wonder if they could have dislodged something when they blew out the drains. They admitted when I originally took the car in that they'd never dealt with this kind of problem before and now I'm getting the feeling they don't want to go too much further with it. Would the Subaru dealership's repair shop be better able to fix this? We have a series of huge storms coming and I have to park outside.

Since you speak of heavy rain, I know you aren't near Austin, so I wouldn't be able to help. We are dry. Too dry.

Subaru can handle it. They know of the problem. You may be better off financial wise though if you find a shop that does interior work and is experienced in removal of the panels. Once the panels are moved out of the way, its a gravy job.

[keharty]

Cardoc, I'm in Northern California. If my usual repair shop can't or won't deal with it any more I guess I'll just go to Subaru but not looking forward to the bill and I need my car for work. This is a huge pain in the rear with the rain they're predicting.

[cardoc]

I'll make it easy for you. Subaru techs all over Northern Cali.


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