After dealing with wet floorboards, the Infiniti dealership assessed that my sunroof drains needed to be replaced. $1200 and six months later my floorboards are getting wet again. This time it seems as if it’s coming from behind the dashboard? But also see watermarks on my inner door panel. (Pictured) $1200 was already a steep price to pay for tubes. These leaks are starting to add up. Any suggestions or ideas are appreciated.

 

BUMMER
Did you read any of the DIY sunroof drain threads?
They'll show you why the dealer fix don't work
And how to fix it proper for less than 20 bucks

Also check out the "Cabin Air Filter iPad Cover Trick" thread
It covers the secondary leak you probably have

 

Thanks SkysG37, I just looked it up and will attempt the iPad cover trick. Have read many post about fixes but didn’t see a $20 fix, could you please provide a link? I’m to the point where I’m just going to start covering my car with a waterproof tarp every time it rains. Unfortunately I don’t have a garage so my car is always outside.

 

Simple test. IF your cabin air filter is wet, then you can consider the cowl leak as a possible culprit. IF the filter is dry then that is not your issue.

HOWEVER, judging from your pics, the issue is either the door seals or a clogged passageway underneath the exterior A-pillar. I know you are familiar with this this thread but re-read it starting at around posts #26-28. All of those water marks on the interior door card and the dash endcap indicate a door seal issue. If it were the sunroof drain there would be no water streaks in that area unless the interior A-pillar trim/ headliner is wet.

The "$20 fix" that SkysG37 is referring to is the sunroof drain bypass whereas it costs around $20 (or so) in parts from Home Depot or Lowers to reroute the drain to the AC evaporator drain in the floorboard. Sunroof Drain Bypass

 

Thanks ILM-NC. Those tips are helpful. About 6 months ago I had dealership replace sunroof drains, one of the symptoms was a wet A pillar. The pillar is no longer wet, so maybe it is the door seal. I’ve noticed when driving through car wash that drips off water run over my driver side car door speaker. So maybe replacing the rubber sealing my window sits over will stop the leaks. So frustrating, I feel like I’m rebuying my car with all these fixes.

 

There is also a way to reset how hard the windows push up into the above mentioned door seal.
Simply press and hold the window up switch immediately upon starting the car and hold them for at least 10 seconds.
This reset is necessary every time the batt is reconnected. And may help you get a better seal

 

There is also the DIY to adjust the glass height (within the frame) which some have "claimed" solved their leak issue. This thread explains in detail. For me, this did nothing.

I feel your agony. Been there/ done that/ spent plenty. Still would not trade the car for the world, though.

 

Follow your weatherstrip down to where it curves near the door hinges. I found that that was the source of my problem. Well one of them. I had a leak at the top where the weatherstrip drains the water towards the hinges and down to the cut out shown in the picture. I wasn’t sure if it was just my passenger side even though no water was getting through on the driver side. So I checked the driver side and that’s the side you see in the picture. I guess they cut a piece out of the seals to get them to lay flush around that curve. Not sure, either way it was an issue. I used 3m weatherstrip adhesive flex seal black rubber sealant and flex tape. Shortly after it rained for a week and haven’t had any issues since. Hope this helps, good luck!

 

Out of curiosity, did you get the part number of the new sunroof drains?
The reason why I ask is because the part has been recently re-designed to part number 74816-JU40D.

(Ive attached a picture comparing the new design on the left with the old design on the right)
The problem on the originals was water would overflow from the sides and seep down the felt gasket, eventually leading to failure of the gasket
The new style basically acts as a straw forcing the water to flow down a straight path away from the openings on the side of the plug where it can run past the gasket...

 

This was already discussed in this thread and even the new design has shown to be a failure.

The ONLY guaranteed way (IMO) to resolve this issue to do the bypass.

 

Its is not the sunroof drains or the firewall bulkhead plastic connectors, as you can see the water is coming in above the mirror mount and running down the door panel.

The issue is the rubber window corner support seal. I speak from experience because I just replaced mine for the exact same reason.

The seal is supposed to push up against the door seal but becomes cracked and depressed (no jokes please) with age allowing the water that comes down the a-pillar seal to run inside the door.