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Windshield or sunroof leak?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by sosarahsays, Oct 30, 2016.

  1. sosarahsays

    sosarahsays Member

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    I live in California where we don't get much rain, but this morning the sky really dumped on us. When I got in my Prius, I noticed a small leak on the passenger A-pillar. It's ONLY what you see in the picture. The water didn't drip, the footwell and headliner weren't wet... After it stopped raining, the A-pillar dried and it was like nothing happened.

    I suspect it's either something with the sunroof drain or maybe the cheap aftermarket windshield the dealer put in for me three years ago has a loose seal or something. Has anyone seen anything like this? Thoughts or ideas?
     

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    #1 sosarahsays, Oct 30, 2016
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    hard to be sure, i would suspect the sunroof, but sit inside and have someone hose down one area at a time, trying to recreate the leak.
     
    #2 bisco, Oct 30, 2016
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  3. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    That plastic piece isn't too hard to remove. The car stereo install Sticky Thread shows how. It would be easier to see what's going on with the plastic cover removed.
     
    #3 Rebound, Oct 30, 2016
  4. sosarahsays

    sosarahsays Member

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    @Rebound Thanks. I'll probably bring in a professional if it comes to pulling off the A-Pillar. I don't have a covered garage, unfortunately, and working around airbags kind of makes me nervous.
     
    #4 sosarahsays, Oct 30, 2016
  5. sosarahsays

    sosarahsays Member

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    Quick update on this -- I took it to my autobody and they ran a two hour systematic water pressure test on the windshield and sunroof and couldn't find any leaks! I guess it's good news, but still seems weird. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
     
    #5 sosarahsays, Nov 1, 2016
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks for the update, very odd.
     
    #6 bisco, Nov 1, 2016
  7. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Any chance that the small drip was merely a condensation drip from the inside of the windshield?
     
    #7 fuzzy1, Nov 1, 2016
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Replacement windshield would be my suspicion.
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Nov 5, 2016
  9. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    You can read how to remove the A-pillar in this thread:
    2010 Toyota Prius model II Head Unit Upgrade | PriusChat

    I would give that a try (remove the A-pillar plastic) and then hit the windshield area with a garden hose, both right at the affected spot, and also at the top of the windshield where water can drip down. I don't think it requires any tools at all, except some needle-nose to rotate a clip that holds the plastic in place. If the windshield is leaking, they can remove it and re-seal it. I'm surprised they looked for the leak without removing that plastic trim.
     
    #9 Rebound, Nov 5, 2016
  10. sosarahsays

    sosarahsays Member

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    Update on this! It is STILL leaking when it rains. Oddly, it appears to be a different place every time (and sometimes appears to leak from the small side window, not the windshield; see photo from today's leak). I usually notice it after I have been parked on a crowned road, which explains why they weren't able to replicate it when a pressure test on the flat surface of the shop. I'm beyond frustrated with this, and hoping to take it back to the shop next week. @Rebound, I'll see if I can maybe try talking THE A-pillar cover off, but the guide you posted just says to look online. :)

    I'm also still not sure if it's the drain channel for the sunroof or the windshield. The fact that it's leaking in different places lends me to think MAYBE it's the sunroof, but I don't know. Maybe I should just pay the money to have the windshield reattached and see if that fixes it? Grrr.
     

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    #10 sosarahsays, Feb 3, 2017
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  11. Robert Warren

    Robert Warren New Member

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    #11 Robert Warren, Apr 15, 2017
  12. Robert Warren

    Robert Warren New Member

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    Just left car wash. I have 200000 miles on my prius never a drop. When drove away my GPS screen went nuts and I found water on top or plastic cover on screen. When back to complain.
    After letting it dry out hoping the screen will recover no such luck. Went back to Car Wash following morning and they were adamant that the person cleaning inside the dash did not spray anything on the screen I was very angry. After I caused the commotion for 30 minutes at car wash on a busy Saturday morning we took the car through the carwash to see if there were any leaks. It's a 2011 Prius with 200,000 miles and never a drip anywhere ever anywhere in the car. As we're driving through the carwash with the attendant driving the car I'm still going at it telling him look no leak. At the very end when The Blower's are blowing the water off the car at this car wash The Blower's below strongly from the rear to the front at the roof. Just about when we pull out of garage car wash a stream of water comes from the eyeglass holder directly onto my GPS. I was so embarrassed it is very hard to try to test the windshield without high power pressure in that direction I'm not sure if I can fix it. I'm now going to look for these drains wherever they may be on the Prius
     
    #12 Robert Warren, Apr 15, 2017
  13. sosarahsays

    sosarahsays Member

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    Update! I finally figured this out and got it fixed! Those who suspected replacement windshield were right! Apparently you need to place it with the sealant at a 45 degree angle and it was placed dead on, so it didn't fully seal in some sections. It had some kind of "lip" so it was only leaking occasionally and the lack of solid seal in several places is why it didn't always show up in the same spot. I got it resealed and now it seems fine. Woohoo!
     
    #13 sosarahsays, Apr 18, 2017
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  14. MkPat

    MkPat New Member

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    I have the exact same issue on my 2011 Prius. What did you end up finding was the issue with yours?
     
    #14 MkPat, Jan 30, 2024
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