[KCe46]

Merry Christmas Eve everyone,

Before I get into the details, vehicle is 2006 Outback 2.5i (NO SUNROOF) with 73k miles and it is bone stock.

A few days ago I decided to run my wife's Outback through the car wash after driving on the salted roads from a recent snow we had. At that time I did not notice any issues or problems.

Flash forward to today I was driving her to her doctors appointment when I noticed a water stain on the drivers side A pillar. The water stain starts about a third of the way down the A pillar and looks like it stretches all the way down to where the fabric meets the dashboard. There is no evidence of water anywhere above that. I'm not sure where the leak is coming from and am curious if anyone has run into a similar situation and what the fix was to remedy the problem? I have searched and noticed a few people that have had issues with the drain line for the sunroof plugging, but as noted above we do not have a sunroof. Also, if it helps I did not notice any water stains or dampness in the footwell.

Any ideas on what to look for or ideas for a possible fix is appreciated. Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoy the holidays.

 

[gbhrps]

Two possible entry points for water where you are finding it.

One, unlikely but possible, that the seal around the roof rack mounting bolts is leaking. The only way to repair it is to remove the headliner to get at the 10 mm nuts (about 4 or 5 as I recall) that hold the roof rack. It may be possible to remove the A,B and C pillar mouldings, drop the weatherstripping around the doors, remove the overhead assist straps, remove the one sunvisor, and pull down the headliner enough on that side to take a look.

The only other culprit is the windshield is leaking and needs to be pulled and resealed. Good Luck!

 

[KCe46]

Hmmmm...the first possibility could be it. A couple months ago I had to have some body work done on the roof which required the rack to be removed. I figured if that was the source the water marks would have been much higher up the A pillar rather than at the bottom. I think I m going to clean it up and monitor it the next time I'm driving in the rain or taking it through the wash. Thank you for the reply an suggestions!