Acura TSX Forum banner

TSX Wagon Roof Leaks

4K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  rungel 
#1 ·
Following up on the post I started two years ago , I've made progress but not totally stopped the leaking yet. A few days ago I reported finding small cracks in the "bondo" that seals the roof seam just forward of the front roof rack mounts. I sealed these with silicone caulking and tested again the following day. That test did not yield any leaking. I waited a day for everything to dry out and yesterday I replaced the small trim pieces and put more silicone on them before clipping them into place. I also gave each front roof rack mount a generous application of butyl rubber sealant.

Today was rainy. Not pouring, just a steady drizzle. My wife used the car for a twenty mile trip and had it out in the rain for about three hours. She reported a small damp spot, low down, on the right-side A pillar garnish. The dampness was gone by the time she got home, apparently having been dried out by the heater.

I put on a raincoat and took a hose to give both sides a thorough dousing. After about fifteen minutes the small damp spot on the right A-pillar appeared. It is very low and I don't know if this means that the leak is way down there or that this is where the water finally escapes from wherever it comes from. The first appearance of any leaking was back in early 2020 and it appeared high on the right A-pillar.

I've left the car outside and I'll check it again tomorrow morning to see if anything has changed.

Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive tire Hood Automotive lighting
 
See less See more
1
#3 ·
No, this is not from the sunroof or drains. I've run gallons of water through that and nothing every shows up on the A-pillar garnishes - and the drains runs clear and freely. Interestingly, I've had the A-pillar garnishes off and run tests and never seen any water accumulating at all. This is some kind of small, slow leak. Based on the fact that sealing two cracks in the seam sealer has reduced the leaking, I suspect there may be additional cracks in the seam sealer behind the side windshield garnishes. I've finally found enough documentation on how to remove these garnishes to know how to do it, but removing them nearly always results in damage to the garnish or the clips that retain them. I'm not going to try and remove them unless the leaks become more problematic. The car is garaged at night and does not have to live out in the rain; I can live with a bit of wet A-pillar garnishes. If the leaks worsen I think it may be time for professional assistance.
 
#5 ·
You may want to take a look at this thread, Newer Post . I did finally pull the roof rack off and found no issues with roof rack mounting points. I did uncover "cracks" in the seam sealer and I put some caulking on this. This seems to have reduced the amount of leaking that I get but it has not stopped it. I think there may be more cracks in the seam sealer under the exterior windshield garnish, but this piece cannot be removed without damaging it, requiring expensive new parts. My main solution has been to keep the car garaged and only infrequently drive in the rain. This is not a practical solution but so far it has worked OK!
 
#6 · (Edited)
Doing a visual inspection, I am fairly certain the leak is going to be caused by a loose weather strip which is likely causing water to build up under it. Have you tested this theory already? I'm about to pull the trigger on brand new weather stripping and reinstall it in hopes that the new stripping fits more flush with the channel.

Edit: just saw in the post that you had some success sealing the bolts under the roof molding channels.
 
#9 ·
Oh, I thought you meant the door weather stripping. I did seal around the roof brackets but I don't think it helped. Sealing the cracks in seam sealer compound seems to have reduced the leaking but it is hard to tell. You can spray water on the car for half an hour and get no leaks. Walk away and come back in an hour an there might be evidence of a leak on the garnish - or not. I've pulled the garnishes off when they were wet and never been able to find where the water comes in. Plus, sometimes the top of the garnish gets wet. Other times it is the bottom. The problem is very inconsistent. I guess i should be happy that the weather here in New England does not suck too bad.
 
#10 ·
I have a 2013 TSX Sport Wagon with the same problem. I'm bringing it in on Nov 9th I got a feeling it's going to cost me. The car doesn't even have 50k on it. But I'm thinking the way it sits in the sun every day here in New England may have caused the weather striping to shrink up
 
#11 ·
2012 TSX Wagon here. Living in the Pacific NW (lots of moisture) Battled mysterious electrical issues - false alarms, various lights coming on, no start, no click. Finally diagnosed as water intrusion into fuse box and wiring harness causing corrosion ($5K replace/repair). The drains from the sunroof were checked previously

Acura dealer subcontracted leak detection and repair to Waterleak Techniques in Lynnwood WA. Super nice guy there told me it was due to poor welds in the roof and inferior sealant used under roof racks, allowing water to get in and go down the A pillar and wreak havoc on the electrical system. He said it's quite common in Acura RDX, MDX, etc and Honda Odyssey.

The Waterleak guy removed the racks, cleaned out old sealant and applied new sealant for $425, as a subcontractor to the Acura dealer. I think he said the sealant he uses stays sticky, so it doesn't dry out and shrink.

So bottom line is: if you're having weird electrical issues, check for water intrusion under the dash, and reseal your roof racks.
 
#12 ·
2012 TSX Wagon here. Living in the Pacific NW (lots of moisture) Battled mysterious electrical issues - false alarms, various lights coming on, no start, no click. Finally diagnosed as water intrusion into fuse box and wiring harness causing corrosion ($5K replace/repair). The drains from the sunroof were checked previously

Acura dealer subcontracted leak detection and repair to Waterleak Techniques in Lynnwood WA. Super nice guy there told me it was due to poor welds in the roof and inferior sealant used under roof racks, allowing water to get in and go down the A pillar and wreak havoc on the electrical system. He said it's quite common in Acura RDX, MDX, etc and Honda Odyssey.

The Waterleak guy removed the racks, cleaned out old sealant and applied new sealant for $425, as a subcontractor to the Acura dealer. I think he said the sealant he uses stays sticky, so it doesn't dry out and shrink.

So bottom line is: if you're having weird electrical issues, check for water intrusion under the dash, and reseal your roof racks.
Acura did this for me but I was still experiencing leaking. They told me originally they may have to remove the windshield and seal a seam that runs under there from the roof. Sure enough, I had to bring it back in. The total cost was around 800$. Which reminds me I better check that again with all the rain we're getting in the northeast.
 
Top