My roof leaks when it rains, but when I try to make it leak, it won't. I can't figure out how it's getting in and need some suggestions!

This is where it leaks (the red dot is where it drips from and the blue area is what all gets wet when it rains for a long time):


It still leaked some more when I did this:





And then I poured a bunch of water here (with a watering can):


...and it all came out here and did not leak at all:


I then thought that maybe water was coming in from underneath the roof gutter trims so I poured water on them for a long time. No leak. Then I removed them and saw no where that water could be coming in from, but made it to where water would stand in the gutter for several minutes. Still no leaking.


So I am out of ideas. I don't think it's the sunroof (including the sunroof drains) or the roof gutters because of the above ^^^. Any ideas??

 

It leaks more on the drivers side, but will leak sometimes on the passengers side, too. Maybe it has to do with the windshield??

 

I GUESS I AM NOT ALONE, and I was the FIRST ONE on this forum to have this leak

It's not windshield, it's from your roof rack, so sealing the roof window completely will not help.

search for my thread, tells u where it is. and yes, it is from the location from your LAST picture.

 

Hmm.. funny that we had the same problem at the same time! I actually saw your thread yesterday, which is why I took of my gutter trim and tried running water on the spot you circled in red. But I couldn't seem to make it leak. Did you get it to leak while you were testing it? And how exactly did you do it? It visibly looks like it should not be leaking there.

 

it doesn't look like it, but it does. I think it's because the stuff they use to seal around that spot gets weaker overtime ... it's at the hook part.

what I did was just leave my garden hose around there, turn it on and walk away, come back in 2 minutes and it's already dripping inside.

then I just got myself one of those windshield leak fix stuff, clean the area with Acetone, squeeze some around there, been fine since.

it doesn't leak on the passenger side (mine doesn't) , but what I found is that IF it leaks on the driver side, for whatever reason, if there is enough water (hard rain), it gets fill up somewhere and the water will get to the other side. dunno why tho. ever since I sealed it with flowable silicone, never seen any water again.

 

Okay, I'll try it and tell you how it goes!

 

I bought some clear silicone liquid seal stuff and put it along the line where the two piece of the body come together under the gutter trim, as well as around the two front-most metal things where the trim clips on.



it'll be put to the test starting tomorrow night. If it still leaks, I will refocus on the windshield as being the most likely culprit.

 

i have an 04 rx8. black on black. leather 6 speed. doubledin dash full navi. so heres the problem. my abs light and traction light are on, is my car throwing a soft code. also my radiator light keeps coming on as well. does shut off but one more than off. GIVE ME SOME FEED BACK PLEASE!!

 

Hmm... I don't think you meant to post this here.

 

And it didn't leak on that side today, just the other side. So tomorrow I will copy what I did to the other side, and there should be no more leaking.

 

Seriously ?

good u might solved your problem

but the bad is ... this "Seem" to be a problem with rx8, and as our car ages, this "issue" might happen more and more often ... I hope I'm wrong ...

 

If we're like the only two it's happened to, then maybe it's just some freak thing and not a common issue with the rx-8. I guess only time will tell. At least it's an easy fix.

 

It indeed did fix the other side as well. No more roof leaking! Thanks nycgps!

 

Fixed the broken photo links, so maybe this thread will still be useful to some. I've noticed more and more people having this leak. :-/

 

The locations may be unique to the two of you but I'm starting to think this is a common problem with the sealant Mazda used. I had a terrible leak in my trunk last winter were the trunk lid bolts into the quarter panel. So bad that after a good rain there would be an inch of standing water in the trunk.

 

Well add my 05 RX8 to the list. Left rear seat soaked with water, area under seat looked like a pond.
Removed the top trim, siliconed the areas like the photos and sealed the rear area where the gasket piece for the rear glass is in the valley. Ran a hose for 5 minutes, no more leaks yet.
Hope this is the fix.

 

Unfortunately, the photo links appear to be broken again. I am hoping this can be fixed because I am having the same issue.

 

Fixed the links again