I'm with you, NEVER had a leak with any other car with a sunroof...about 700,000 miles worth.

 

The typical drain hose is probably plugged up. I guess it is possible, factory debris, dust. Do you live in a warm climate that you had it open?

The alternative is that something was not installed properly.

 

Shouldn't happen. You have a warranty. Stealer should service without question.

Hasn't happened with three different Gen 4 Outbacks.

Suspect the stealer is trying to brush you off.

 

I do live in Florida and have opened it all winter, yes.

 

If you live in FL, there is no need to wash the car nor run it through high pressure car wash... in our climate, where it rains almost once a day (down-pour) all you have to do is run your car in that rain at a higher speed and voila - the car is crystal clean having used the best "soft" water...LOL

 

Went through a car wash today, no leak.

 

What he told you is LOC...load of crap! A car wash will not cause the leak. More likely...it has a bad seal. Go over the whole thing with hose at regular pressure to make sure there are no leaks there. High pressure will exacerbate a weak seal...but it should be able to withstand the force of rain against while driving at highway speeds...that is relatively equivalent to a higher pressure spray.

...and on the same topic...what do walrus' and Tupperware have in common? They both like a tight seal....topic of seals....

 

I once had a Mazda 323 with what must have been an aftermarket manual sunroof. One time when I opened it on the highway, the wind caught it and threw it past the rear stops and it shattered on the highway (it operated on roof-mounted rails).

After that I sealed the roof with a rubber mat cut to size and silver duct tape. It was then referred to as my titanium laser proof sunroof.

Sorry, this is of no value to this thread...

 

Got to say I did go through a "touch-less" wash with just high pressure sprays spinning all around and we did feel a little spray inside not enough to realy feel drops but like a slight fine mist. Roof has never had a true leak though I chalked it up to the multi directional pressure spray. Was yours a true dripping? Has it ever leaked other then at the wash, and what type wash was it?

 

The car is only 2 months old. Has it even been in rain yet? The dealer can probably make some adjustments to the seals or the mechanism to get a tighter fit.

 

The dealer is correct. Water can leak through the sunroof during a car wash. There is an easy fix though. You just have to close the sunroof before going through the car wash! Ok, I'm being a smart-a$$. Sorry about that!

Ok, time to be serious. What kind of car wash was it? Some use very high pressure hoses which can get through some seals. Personally, if it's not too bad, I wouldn't let the dealer take it apart. These are the types of stories that progress to "now it leaks a lot worse after the dealer tried to fix it". Chances are the guy working on your car won't be able to put things back like the factory. If it's just a few drops during car washes only, I'd live with it. I'd rather keep a small towel handy and do a couple of quick wipes after car washes than taking the car back several times and risking them making it worse.

 

Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but the current model sunroofs are garbage. I have replaced 10+ for failures. There are no adjustments other than raising or lowering the glass. If it is sitting flush with the roof then its as good as it will get. Subaru has sent out letters to dealers that a high pressure car wash will indeed cause a minor leak. I will never buy a Subaru with a sunroof, complete waste of $.

 

ask your dealer for written statement that CAR wash can cause moonroof to Leak and if you wash your car it will void the bumper to bumper warranty?

 

Where does the water leak in?

 

Been thru the high pressure touchless carwash a zillion times with both our 2012 and 2013, never a single leak noticed.

 

I went to a different car wash last week, and it was a lot more violent than I have ever been in. Like the brushes beating on the roof of the car. The VDC has never leaked.

The Sedan must have been a problem for the previous owner.
I keep it shut 99% of the time.

Anyway I just noticed a DIY thread here if anyone is out of warranty, it can be easy work.

Maybe the OP has some florida mosquito jammed in there.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/8005-clean-your-sunroof-drain-hose.html

 

When it happened to me in my 2010 it was more like a very fine mist not really a leak could not have found a drop anywhere just felt a fine mist on our faces both pass and driver side. As long as it never gets any worse I'm ok with it, back in 1979 I bought a new camaro with T-roofs that was a leaker!! within the first year every piece of molding was replaced and it still leaked.

 

Yup, well, I just found out from the dealer that IT IS IN THE ONWERS MANUAL, PEOPLE. Page 10-3 of the 2014 Outback owners manual:

"Automatic car wash of the high pressure variety will override the seal and cause water leak".

I took the car in and they checked it out and found no problems.

Pmaher7474 was correct.

The funny thing is, the only reason I got the Limited was b/c I wanted leather and the Harmon Kardon. I didn't care about the moonroof.

I cannot stress enough how appalled I am that Subaru thinks this is acceptable. I have owned Hondas, Saabs, Lexus none of those sunroofs ever leaked in the same brushless wash I took the Outback to.

 

Yep - they put it in the manual to cover themselves. Maybe some leak, maybe some don't, but if they warn you ahead of time that it could happen and it's not a problem...

 

Umm folks a little water leak during the very occasional car wash run is not a big deal. I get more water in my car from rain storms blowing rain in the open door when I get in and exit the car. Heck the leaky water bottle that dumped its water all over the place last week was far more water than 50 trips to the car wash.

 

My 2005 never leaked, and I haven't noticed anything in my LGT 2010. Did they change something?

 

Weird, I run my 2003 Bean in high pressure wash multiple times and not a single leak.

 

My '04 with the dual moonroofs never leaked and the '08 with the huge dual-pane one doesn't either. I go through high-pressure car washes quite often on warmer winter days. Never a problem.

 

We got a slight mist when we took our 2013 Outback Limited through a high pressure wash.

 

2012 Subaru Forester XT, it sprays me with a fine mist when I leave the cover back as I go through a high-pressure car wash. It doesn't bother me too much (yet). We'll see if it becomes a bigger problem but I haven't noticed it leaking a significant amount at all (just a mist). Of course the Forester has a larger version of what the Outback has FYI.

I need to take my to the car wash soon to get all the grime and dirt off soon.

 

Subaru changer vendors for the 2010 model year. For some reason the decided to go with a company that never made them for a production car.

 

After numerous trips through touchless car washes after 40,000 miles I never had the sunroof leak. However after a heavy rainstorm one night I drove the car the next day and noticed drops of water dripping from the overhead dome light switch.Water was dripping into the cup holder. I took it to the dealer and they ask if I have had the windshield replaced, which I have. The dealer resealed the top of windshield, and said if it leaks again I need to contact the company who installed the windshield. No leaks after that.