sunroof drain cleaning

[Off-choader]

The top of my sunroof had a seed plug in the drain hole, passenger headliner was soaked and there was 2” of water sitting in the passenger footwell, had to pull the carpet and pull out the rubber grommet drain plugs, :rant: if you frequently tilt the sunroof and park under a tree, open the sunroof and check for debris every now and then

 

[Sloan694]

I couldn't find much info about where the 5th Gen sunroof drains come out. I knew they came down the A pillars and somehow out the rear (Just like the 4th gens, there's one run through the tool area in the rear). My sunroof was holding water so I knew I had a clogged drain. Turns out it was 1 of 4 that was clogged the others seem to drain out of the pinch welds with no access to the "exit end" - Toyota this seems like a horrible idea.

My Front Driver drain was the one that was giving me issues so I spent a while trying to track it down. I had tried the weedeater string, and even a coated braided steel cable. It seemed to run the same length down each side before bottoming out so I wasn't sure what was causing the clog.

Once I stripped away some of the panels and electronics I pulled the hose out to find the small "filter plug" on the bottom. This is what was causing my tools to bottom out, and it's also what was causing the clog. Mine was packed full of debris. Figured I'd share a photo in case anyone else is having a problem tracking them down.

I cannot thank you enough for this! It’s pouring here and I could not get the clog to pop out! I popped the two panels and was done in ten minutes.

 

[Stewart]

Excellent write up. Thank you for the step by step directions and photos.

 

[Bertha1]

Thanks so much for the information and the pictures. They were very useful and allowed me to unblock the front drains. Now on to drying the carpet!

 

[cbreze]

May be Stupid but legitimate question, are these sunroofs being left open in the rain? How else would water get in there?

 

[SirWilliamGoes]

May be Stupid but legitimate question, are these sunroofs being left open in the rain? How else would water get in there?

I never use mine after having to replace the frame due to wheeling with it open. I was riding down a trail the other day and it started pouring and next thing you know water was leaking from the top console. Opened sunroof to inspect and found the driver side isn’t draining. So to answer question no sunroof doesn’t need to be left open

 

[SirWilliamGoes]

Thanks for the write up. I’ll probably just leave the filter out!!

This is the exact reason I didnt want a sunroof!! All sunroofs leak, no exception. A sunroof by design is a controlled leak.

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

The top of my sunroof had a seed plug in the drain hole, passenger headliner was soaked and there was 2” of water sitting in the passenger footwell, had to pull the carpet and pull out the rubber grommet drain plugs, :rant: if you frequently tilt the sunroof and park under a tree, open the sunroof and check for debris every now and then

This exactly. Not a 4Runner (this time) but SUV owned 10+ years never a problem not garaged / sitting outside until I started parking it DIRECTLY UNDER a tree… clogged in less than a year.

Buy some plastic fish tape from Lowe’s or online (plastic is usually twisted/round, metal is usually ribbon/flat, you don’t want that) and as long as it’s less than 1/4” diameter it should fit to clear the drains.


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[YEAHYEAHHH]

So clutch, excellent write up

 

[SoCalRunner]

THANK YOU WAZIOC and 4RUNNER2011! Y'ALL SAVED MY SANITY!
Its been pouring cats and dogs today and when i drove to HEB for supplies, water started dripping from my crawl control panel and other areas around the plastic there. I freaked out and thought it was a leaky sunroof. When i got home i started researching on YouTube and found some tips, cat5 cable or weed whacker string down the drain holes, i tried them both but i couldn't push them down after 3ft. They hit something and the water never drained out of the sunroof channel. I was stumped and couldn't find anymore info on what to do if that fails. So i jumped onto the best forum in the world to research and found this post. I was shocked to find my floors were wet under my spill proof floor mats! When i pulled off the plastic panels all the wires and electronics were wet! It took some effort to get to that pink pipe but sure enough it was clogged with black gook and slime. I popped it off and cleared the tube. I did NOT put the filter back on because i figured if it happens again, my weed whacker string will poke a hole through the slime and let it flush out. That darn filter holds everything in place and stops the string from pushing through! So i did both sides and about half a cup of water came out of both. Luckily i had a towel to catch it. The amazing thing about this is that since last summer the truck has had an earthy funk to it. I've cleaned and cleaned but could never get rid of it. Thanks to you i realized it was probably mold and that foul clog in the pipe. I cant wait until summer when the TEXAS sun bakes my 4runner dry as a bone. It should smell alot better!

 

[MY1990-22re]

Ordered a 22 last month, told the dealer the moonroof was a no-go.
Solid roofs don’t squeak or leak.

 

[RobS10]

I fed a piece of heavy weed wacker line through mine and attached it to a power drill, then blew them out with compressed air.
Also, check the weather stripping seam in the middle of the front edge of the SR. Our '99 started to open up and used some flow-able silicone to reseal the gap.

 

[RobS10]

Ordered a 22 last month, told the dealer the moonroof was a no-go.
Solid roofs don’t squeak or leak.

When I started looking for a '22 ORP last month, was thinking the same asyou, solid roof is stronger, more headroom with no SR, and no leake. But I noticed like 85-90% came with a sunroof, and will probably give up and get one. Our '99 has one, and we rarely use it. It also developed a leak 5 years ago that I traced to the weather stripping seam, which I have fixed. I do admit though, when I'm in the mood to open it, it really is pretty cool.

You can order one without, but probably going to delay delivery or you can get a pre-made one from the dealer's allocation quicker.

 

[MY1990-22re]

When I started looking for a '22 ORP last month, was thinking the same asyou, solid roof is stronger, more headroom with no SR, and no leake. But I noticed like 85-90% came with a sunroof, and will probably give up and get one. Our '99 has one, and we rarely use it. It also developed a leak 5 years ago that I traced to the weather stripping seam, which I have fixed. I do admit though, when I'm in the mood to open it, it really is pretty cool.

You can order one without, but probably going to delay delivery or you can get a pre-made one from the dealer's allocation quicker.

The only time the wife and I operated the sun roof on any of our vehicles was just to see if/how it worked. The loss of back seat headroom is the killer for me which eliminated the Pro from consideration as the moon roof is standard. Originally the plan was for a 2023, but we decided to try for a traditional loaded ORP 2022(the polar opposite of my $12k new stripper 90). We don’t need it, we just want it. I am fussy as I keep vehicles a very long time and when it comes to putting up +$50 grand I get super ultra fussy. If Toyota can’t come up with a 2022 to my liking I’ll try out a redesigned 2023. No hurry here.
Still have my 1990 to pinstripe wheeling in the meantime(w/TruTrac), millions of acres of BLM land in my backyard
.. The best, most reliable, versatile vehicle I have ever owned. Wish the newer one still had a tailgate.

 

[Geo-9446]

One of the most comprehensive posts ever on a forum, and spot on more than most as well. Thank you. I have so much pollen this time of year in NC, I found pollen debris everywhere the water was inside the floors of Gen 5. Worst part was because of control modules getting some moisture inside, system error lights everywhere until it dried out. Gotta love Toyota for tolerating this stuff and self-healing. I draw blood everytime. Four drain to clean, panels to remove, 4x bleeding. LOL

 

[Brandonium]

I use my sunroof daily unless it is raining. No leaks or anything. Funny how in 2022 people still talk about sunroofs as if they are voodoo. It is absurd. Here is a small tech tip. Open your sunroof and actually remove debris and keep it clean as you should like anything else and it will give you less issues. If you let debris rot in there and never check then that is less a sunroof issue and more of a neglect issue.

 

[RobS10]

I use my sunroof daily unless it is raining. No leaks or anything. Funny how in 2022 people still talk about sunroofs as if they are voodoo. It is absurd. Here is a small tech tip. Open your sunroof and actually remove debris and keep it clean as you should like anything else and it will give you less issues. If you let debris rot in there and never check then that is less a sunroof issue and more of a neglect issue.

Amazing how a little preventative maintenance can prevent problems .

 

[Brandonium]

Yep! Almost all 'sunroof leaking' issues are related to lack of preventative maintenance. Sure you do get the one off defect/issue but they are meant to leak...and drain from the pan out the 4 corners. Main issue is that whole neglected mulch pile sitting inside many sunroof trays. I was in my sunroof last weekend cleaning out every piece of debris I could find and I don't even park under tree's so I cannot imagine what it looks like in others.

Amazing how a little preventative maintenance can prevent problems .

 

[SoCalRunner]

4 drains? I only cleared the 2 in the front. Where are the other 2? My car still stinks!

 

[RobS10]

4 drains? I only cleared the 2 in the front. Where are the other 2? My car still stinks!

If they are similar to the 3rd Gen, they are in the back corners, a little difficult to see or get to, The drain tubes connected to them emptied out behind and below the gas filler on the driver's side (a little hard to find), and someplace else on the passenger side (easy to spot).
On our 3rd gen, I used compressed air on the front ones and ran some water from a squeeze bottle down them to double check. I think I did it (compressed air) from the bottom on the back ones, then the water test. Make sure water runs out of the drain tubes so you know they're clear. If it doesn't, run a piece of heavy nylon weed whacker line all the way through and hook the end up to a cordless drill and roto rooter them a little, then the water treatment.

The ironic thing is I did all this and the damn thing STILL leaked. Turns out a gap in the seam in the weather stripping surrounding the glass panel had opened up and water was pouring in through the gap. I used some "flowable" silicone sealer, and worked like a charm.