Sunroof problem, third time now, water on the floor of the driver side, especially after a very hard rain, has been repaired twice, last time a year and half ago. Is this a common problem with some Minis? What causes this to happen; how can I prevent this in the future?

 

I was able to fix this issue in my car. I did a lot of searching when this happened to my car about a year ago. Same thing , driver's side foot well having water after rain or wash. The fix took me about 5 minutes once I knew what to do.

If its the same issue as mine, take off the trim to the sunroof (it just clicks off). Then pull down on the headliner so you can look between the headliner and roof of the car. On the left corner there is a channel that water runs through. Water is supposed to run through the channel then goes down a tube( in the A pillar) and out through the door or wheel well. That tube is plastic and the channel is metal. On my car (and many others), what happens is the the plastic tube becomes dislodged/disconnected from the metal tube (located above the A pilar, imagine in the corner above the left side of the drivers visor). Squeeze your hand there and connect the plastic tube to the metal one and it will solve the problem, you should be able to see it. Then pour a glass of water on the roof to see if it worked.

Good luck, hopefully this is the issue because its an easy fix if it is

Sorry I'm not so good at writing DIY

 

Don't just pslip the tube back on!!!!

Put a snap-tie to prevent this from ever happening again!
Your floors will appreciate it!

 

true , best bet is to secure the tube.

 

love the help in the forum

 

Mine leaks too....I have yet to check the status of the tube...as my car sits outside in this torrential down pour.

I love when nice, cold water dumps on my clutch, as if to say "You're ALIVE!"

 

Thanks Mini friends,for all the info and tips. I'm off to service, feeling a lot smarter

 

Yea, After thew snow melted and it was time to motor a bit - I discovered about a gallon of water on the driver side- plus my air bag light went on - so I scheduled an appointment at Patrick Mini for the Air bag light issue, and just for grins mentioned the water- Well, Patrick Mini replaced my carpet, fixed the sensor all under Warranty. I asked the Service rep what the deal was, and he mentioned the tubes had come loose they fixed them with ties. I bet that if you mini spends winter outside like mine does the snow on the roof thaws drains down then freezes and expands the tubes.


proppjones
hyper blue 06

 

Thanks man - you saved me a ton of dough on my 2005 MCS. I wish I'd seen this before the last 4 days of rain tho. Your instructions were pretty good but I was reluctant to yard on the headliner and couldn't get close to getting in at first. I eventually unscrewed the near visors and then got both hands in. It was pretty painful and felt nigh impossible to actually get the tube back on. But eventually I managed - I tried to get a ziptie on there but I'm not sure I got enough leverage for it to make a difference.

As a result of the water I took on the electricals are questionable - it partially recovered with a software reset (through the menus, which is supposed to be the same as disconnecting the battery). But the more worrisome symptom is the battery light is on and the power steering comes and goes - could be the battery or the powersteering pump.

Still I'm sure you saved me hundreds of dollars. Thanks again.

 

I am sticker shocked over what they want at the Cincinnati Mini Dealership to fix this. $125.00 for diagnostics (even thought they already know whats wrong with it). And to blow air through the line and reconnect the hoses they want another $466.00.

I immediately called a well respected import mechanic locally and they said Wow. Can you spell Rip Off? It will take less than 10 minutes. Then I found these instructions--- I say thank you in advance---I'll write back again to let you know if it worked ok. I have a Mini Cooper 2005.

 

One quick word of advise: The inner a-pillars are meant to swing out of the way in an accident, and allow the head airbag to inflate. By removing the pillar covers and reinstalling them, you defeat them. TRUST ME..... I've seen a-pillars fly off in an accident and hurt people worse than the accident would have. Spend the extra $100 bucks and replace them. My car thanked me after an Indianapolis mishap.

Second word: if there is enough water in the floor for your shoes to leave marks in the carpet, pull the carpet out of the car and let it dry. There are several $1000 modules under the carpet, and the wiring will become green and moldy, causing all kinds of 'fun problems.'

Sorry, just my $0.02. Seen and fixed enough water leaks...

 

Thanks you guys for all the posts it made my life a lot easier with my "sunroof" leak. Happened throughout the winter and I had about 2 inches of ice encrusted on the floor resulting in oodles of water. Now trying to dry it out.