05 solara convertible...leaking??

[QtPiie]

I plan on taking this to the shop monday afternoon after work but this weekend I took my car for a road trip. On the way back from FL it started raining and water was dripping on boths sides on the seat and ly left leg.

Yes the windows were all rolled up and it dripped for about 30 minutes. When it stopped raining the dripping stopped..

anyone else have this problem?

[woa_its_j3ff]

how's the weatherstripping? .. (not good with convertibles) but did you try taking it to the dealership?... hope everything works out for you.

[Lucky]

I was washing mine yesterday and I noticed that tiny bit of water had got inside and was running down the driver side window. Do you guys think this is a serious problem that I should address immediately?

[MCOjerry]

The only time mine has leaked is when I take through a car wash.

I read, in the manual, that you have to make sure you spray water downwards, or it may leak. Car washes spray water every which way. I have also know others that have owned other convertibles, and this is common becuase of the roof.

Now, your problem is a bit different. I would say that the likely cause is weather stripping that might be going bad. Weather stripping isn't made of very strong material, and it *can* dry out. This would cause a bad seal.

I would bet that is the problem, and it's minor. It should also be covered under warranty. After your warranty is up, I would think it would be a pretty low cost repair.

Let us know what the dealer says.

[Sentinel]

I know someone with a 2001ish (gen 1.5) and apparently they have to have work done on the weatherstripping of their convertible often.

[QtPiie]

well the weatherstripping was the first thing I checked and it seemed fine to me.

not sure but I will post up tomorrow and let you all know what happens

[PhreakdOut]

I don't have the ragtop, but I've noticed my driver's side door is slightly sagging. (Needs adjustment at the hinge.) I get some windnoise close to the B-Pillar and occasionally get a small amount of spray in high pressure washes.

I'll take a pic of the door tomorrow PM then stop by the dealer sometime this week. Perhaps this is a simliar problem with yours. It may be exaggerated by the way water rolls off the convertible top. (Water tends to cling to the contour of the car and may be rolling right into that gap.)

[MCOjerry]

^^that's definitely a possibillity too...I'm thinking (and hoping for you), that's a simple repair. Whether it be a door adjustment or replacing the weatherstripping.

[QtPiie]

u know what i thought was kinda weird...

one day it was raining out i went through the drive through window to get some KFC.

I got to the window and opened the window. Now there window is under a large umbrella... but there was water dripping in from the top of my car :-/ came right into the car

[MCOjerry]

u know what i thought was kinda weird...

one day it was raining out i went through the drive through window to get some KFC.

I got to the window and opened the window. Now there window is under a large umbrella... but there was water dripping in from the top of my car :-/ came right into the car

Mine does that. It's because the top absorbs water, and the very corner of the top hangs over the window. When you roll the window down, the water drips out of the top's cloth material because it's saturated and the water has to get out.

It's really annoying...it's the one truly bad thing I don't like about my car, but I put up with it because I love everything else

You may be able to apply some kindd of water repellent that would keep the top from absorbing water, but I don't know if that would hurt the top...or even work.

[PhreakdOut]

This is water adheasion. When we first developed the exhaust for the current model Sienna, Toyota did a water spray test on the Van and found the muffler was full of water. Now none of the nozzels were pointed into the tailpipe. All were coming from above.

As it turned out, the water would cling to the shape of the bumper. As it reached the bottom edge of the bumper, the water could cling just enough to run right into the tailpipe. (What are the odds of this happening?) We made a change to the angle of the tip and everything was corrected.

In your case, the shape of the roof is the issue. Water clings to it and rolls off right into the car. Unfortunately, I can't think of a thing to do to cause the water to run off differently.

Good luck studying this.

[PXLpainter]

No leaks when raining for me and we've had it rain so hard that you had to stop and pull over - ZERO VISABILITY - and no problems. However, if I do the car wash (hose-it-yourself-type) I might get an occasional trickle on either side, but that's probably from high-pressure blasts from the nozzle.

Now when I put Lambo door kit on it, I may run into a whole new set of problems - but that's a little ways downt he road anyway...

Good luck! Jeff

[Down2TheC]

My top still pools water and it's one of the first off the KY line. Usually it's just a seal problem. The only thing keeping water out is the pressure of the window against the rubber strip. You'll notice when you pick up your new car there a line of greasy looking stuff on the top edge of the window. That helps the seal and improves water and wind from getting in. Dry window on dry rubber lets in lots of wind and any water that's coming the right way. Also at high speed that window is being sucked outward further reducing the glass to rubber pressure.
So I'd bet you have no defect. Just get some silicone spray or an extremely light coat of vasoline with your finger along that rubber strip. It will keep it supple in the long run and as long as it's there it will improve the seal for wind and water. So you get a little schmutz on the top edge of the window... no big.

[Down2TheC]

In your case, the shape of the roof is the issue. Water clings to it and rolls off right into the car. Unfortunately, I can't think of a thing to do to cause the water to run off differently.

Good luck studying this.

Yup, gravity pulls it right into the crack that empties over the door speaker. Short of a window gutter (tough on a ragtop) there nothing to stop it. And heck, they ditched the gutters on every other car so the same thing happened on my Camry back in the day. Our top just focuses the river.

[QtPiie]

Ok well here is the verdict...

not sure what its exactly called but the toyota guy said that the top was not flush with the car. I have to bring my car back in tomorrow and leave it for a day so they can fix it.

I wil find out tomorrow whats it called