Have you actually "reamed" out the ends of the sunroof drains following the information on thundercad's "end the insanity..." thread? If so, and you have leaks where the two panels meet, then you probably need new seals.

 

Honestly after posting this I realized that might be the only thing I didn’t do, my front drains are working great, and once I think about it my rear drains do have some trouble draining don’t get me wrong they will drain but once the drain gets filled with water there will be a little puddle in the rear drains and it will slowly drain out even sometimes all at once causing a suction like noise. My reaming does he mean drilling through the rear grommet in the trunk itself?

 

The thread is a damn good read.

 

Stop the (soaking carpet) insanity forever! - Ultraview...

Hey everyone, I think I may have figured how to keep your Ultraview roof equipped CTS bone dry regardless of the cloudburst or carwash. Earlier this Spring I was cleaning the interior of my car and heard the definite sound of stepping in water when i put my foot down behind the driver's seat...

www.cadillacforums.com

One of the best. I added it to the FAQ/DIY

 

@tinman @Long thank you guys for the thread! I have never messed with the rear grommets themselves and I honestly think this could fix the problem. I’m happy you both are still active after years in these forums, this problem has literally been driving me nuts since I have bought my Cadillac a year ago.

 

Okay, Austinmtz3, where ya been for a year, don'tchaknow?

 

@tinman @Long you know I just can’t believe all of the design flaws from the beginning, it’s honestly baffling, this is my first Cadillac and I absolutely love it like seriously my fiancé is disgusted with me over it lol but this whole sunroof situation has been a nightmare I’ve really second guess ever owning another car with this “ultra view” “moonroof” feature.

 

All cars have design flaws, some more than others.
The same can be said about...a fiancee. 😅

The drain tube issues were reportedly corrected in later years.

 

Oooh. True.

 

I just went through the dreaded sunroof leak issue too. 2012 CTS Premium. Cleaned front and rear drains. STILL got water inside. went to the dealer (ARRGGGHHH) because I KNEW the headliner had to come down (far beyond my mechanical skills). They ignored me at first, but a MONTH in the shop and $2600 later (yup) the frame for the sunroof has been replaced "because the glue has disintegrated". I thought I would get better service at the dealer - NOPE.
My advice on this - if you're not up to taking down the headliner yourself and re-glueing the leaky bits, go to a body shop that you trust, explain what's going on, have them remove the headliner, re-do the glue on the frame, and replace the headliner. It HAS to be less expensive than what I just experienced.
And yes, I contacted Cadillac in Detroit - they were NO HELP. At one point in my ordeal I was told by the service department the shop bill was "up to $3000". I about blew a gasket. Raised enough you-know-what the final bill was under that amount by a little. I will NEVER buy another Cadillac (this one belongs to my mom) and I will NEVER set foot in a dealership again.

 

It's very rare that I see it mentioned and I do not recall ever seeing it mentioned on this forum, but the first line of defense for sunroof water resistance to entry, is the outer rubber seal around the glass. If water can't get past that, it can't get to the drains to overflow. If those seals are in any way deficient, or sealing poorly against the perimeter (wind noise could suggest it), water may enter the drain system at a high enough rate to potentially overflow treated drains. That seal after all the years that have gone by and its direct exposure to sunlight has undoubtedly shrunk, cracked and hardened to some degree, perhaps searching out a part # for all of us to consider for replacement would be in order.

I contacted Cadillac in Detroit - they were NO HELP. At one point in my ordeal I was told by the service department the shop bill was "up to $3000". I about blew a gasket. Raised enough you-know-what the final bill was under that amount by a little. I will NEVER buy another Cadillac (this one belongs to my mom) and I will NEVER set foot in a dealership again.

Some are unsympathetic to what is righteous anger and disgust, but I get it. Unfortunately, as is often the case, anger is displaced in these situations. Imaginatively speaking, you and the car should be angry with the dealer and GM, because they made your rotten day possible.

The easiest way to address a sunroof leak because of glue failure I suspect, is to find a shop that replaces headliners for what would be no doubt far less than what a dealer would charge to peak under it and ask them to check around the sunroof for a poor seal and get back with you.

 

And now I have TERRIBLE wind noise. I'm going to find the thread in this forum and see if I can fix that myself. wish me luck....

 

What makes you think it is only Cadillac dealerships that will screw you? Do you truly believe that all other dealerships are upright, trustworthy and sincere? You are mistaken, my man. Totally off base.

 

I don't think they're they only ones that will do that. I only took the car there because I thought they had the expertise to get the job done correctly and quickly. I was sorely mistaken.
And thanks for the dressing down. I appreciate that. Not.

 

You possibly could have a leak at one of the connection points in the drain system.
Sadly, if this is the case, the headliner may need to be dropped for the repairs.


Have you tested the drains for proper flow under controlled conditions, such as using a garden hose on the roof and checking for water exiting at the tube ends?

 

that's what I saw when it came down to the frame leaking, which was the glue they used in original manufacturing having failed. I did test and found that all of my drains were clear. Took me 15 days with the dealership denying I had a leak and a heavy rain with the car on their lot before they listened to me. I had told them when I took the car in that there was a leak other than the drains....


My suggestion: search this site for "sunroof leaking" and find the threads about glue that's gone bad. Other folks have taken down their headliners and re-done the glue themselves quite successfully. I didn't because I'm not comfortable with that.
(And for the record the reason I "acted like a little kid" about it was they wanted to charge me $1000 for a diagnostic charge when I told them in the first place what the problem was. I also really don't think the whole sunroof frame needed to be replaced, but I admit I was at a dealership....)

 

here's the thread I was thinking of:

I fixed my leaking sunroof and here is how

I posted about my sunroof problems and here is what I found. You can glean these bits of info for a piece that might be golden! I know how happy I was to finally have it fixed without having a hefty repair bill!! And, if I would have needed to buy these things, would have cost less than a $10...

www.cadillacforums.com

 

@FMC @Long @Joseph Upson look what we have here.... this is the passenger rear drain I have taken down the head liner... seems to be leaking from the that gap that is not covered in the white silicone (I applied that silicone a few weeks back and I also have taken out the bolt that screws into the frame I’m going to try some waterproof bolt thread sealant for the bolt) as for the gap I guess I’m just going to slather it in silicone? Geeze... this is never ending...

 

I also have sunroof leak. I thought it was just the seal that was old and cracked. But do I understand it correctly: water is actually supposed to leak past the seals, and then it's drained away inside the car?

 

seems so - into the channels and down the drains. but the darn part about it all is the glue that disintegrates and causes leaks. My car is a 2012 and developed the leak this year, so 9 years on the glue for me. ugh.

and water always wins regardless.

I have to wonder if that "flex paste" stuff that's being advertised so much might be something better than just silicone caulk. Anybody had any experience with that stuff? we've used the tape around here and it's great, but haven't tried the paste on anything yet.

 

Actually, the sunroof is just an annoyance. I never open it. Could I just seal up the whole thing solid with silicone to avoid any leaks?

 

@hostmadsen @FMC ill be honest I sealed the rear glass around the edges with the flex seal black silicone that comes in a caulk like tube, it stopped wind noise but I guess water is still coming from somewhere maybe the front. I’m ready to give up.

 

Ugh. Seems like a rather extreme solution. And I feel your pain. My next car will NEVER be a Cadillac after this experience, although I really LOVE driving this one.

 

Two good fixit videos:

 

@tinman
@Long
@FMC
@hostmadsen
@Excalibur

Okay guys, story time... I figured to tackle the leak from the starting point (I was trying to stop it from the exit point) I removed both the front and the rear glass. Mind you I have also had my head liner dropped for quite some time now, needed to do so for the shrink tubing of the drain lines to grommets attached to the sunroof, anyways as you can see in the picture I had circled two key areas on the rear sunroof track. The area that has clear silicone (I applied) was originally covered with one piece of clear tape, the tape was beat and ready to come off, I noticed there was a weld point there causing one of my leaks and I had decided to slather that in silicone, the other side that I also have circled in red is where my leak that was originally in the photo I had posted previously in this thread was coming from!!! This was key for me! (I verified that was my leak point by grabbing a bottle of water and only pouring a little bit where the black silicone is now) and Viola!!! That leak was causing ALL of my pain... I should have taken a picture of the disintegrated glue but you can clearly tell there was glue there at one point which was no longer there.. just left over bits. It almost will sike you out and make you think the leak is actually coming from one of the frame bolts as it will tend to drip from the bottom bolt on to the top of your headliner when it’s screwed in the bottom of the sunroof frame. I have attached a few pictures just so everyone can kind of get an idea of what I’m talking about here. I know this may sound confusing but trust me. This was definitely my problem, it’s only been one day since I’ve applied silicone and mind you this is for both sides of the sunroof not just one side I will keep you guys updated wether you care or not 😂 this could help someone else in dire need of an answer like I was.

in summary I have done all of this for my sunroof

• Reamed both front and rear exit grommets (drains like a damn waterfall now)
• Shrink tubed two of my drain lines that actually connect to the sunroof itself (they were leaking from the grommets)
• Silicone the rear top and bottom of my sunroof track (see pictures)
• and cleared every drain line with weed wacker line and made sure there was constant water flow with no interruption.

 

Perseverance pays off. Hope you're roof stays dry from here on out.

 

Good on you! Hard work does pay off. And today is National Cocktail Day. Now go celebrate!

 

Arghhh..... silicone has been cured and decided to go through the car wash.... still leaking 😪. Getting water from the bolt area again and also noticed water coming from the inner sunroof track where I had applied silicone. At this point I think I’m going to sell the car at a discounted price. I’ve been trying so hard to figure this out for about a week and a half now...

 

Recalled a secondary issue, did some digging and found this.
Before you throw in the towel, read this...

OK - now it's my turn - sunroof seal or tubes?

Ok so I've read all the threads on the tube modifications and actually did the rears over the summer but didn't get time to do the fronts yet. Last week I get in the ride after a heavy rain and notice the rear headliner has a huge wet spot directly in the center of the headliner, not on the...

www.cadillacforums.com

 

This sucks. Give it one last shot - for the Gipper.