water leakage inside the car RX300 (2004)

[Lexus300rx]

Hi

Has anyone experienced water leakage inside the car? It rains a lot in the UK and for no reason that I am aware of, water started dripping from the frame on top of the driver's door (see pictures)onto the driver carpet. It got worse while driving and the water was dripping from the joint circled in red. The whole area of the top frame was dump reaching the back passenger frame, even if a lot less than in the front.

I have tried removing the seal of the outside rack on the roof but couldn't see anything wrong underneath, just bare metal and no rust.

Could water be coming in from the bolts that hold the rack? Any suggestion, experience would be appreciated 

Thank you

Mark

[The-Acre]

My guess would be blocked sun roof drains.

[Pharmer7]

Omg same thing happened to mums 2004 RX330 today! Except we noticed the leak coming through the sunroof mostly down the left side mechanism and all down into the LHS front passenger seat and carpet. Ruined the electrics too- can’t operate windows, side mirrors, AC, nor open the rear boot

 

i was on here for a solution to find the secondary fuse box and @Herbie graciously shared it 🙏so hopefully that’s one problem down. The other is to figure why it the sunroof leaked: perhaps old rubber seals? Or as our friend @The-Acre suggest: blocked drains …

[The-Acre]

13 minutes ago, Pharmer7 said:

Omg same thing happened to mums 2004 RX330 today! Except we noticed the leak coming through the sunroof mostly down the left side mechanism and all down into the LHS front passenger seat and carpet. Ruined the electrics too- can’t operate windows, side mirrors, AC, nor open the rear boot

 

i was on here for a solution to find the secondary fuse box and @Herbie graciously shared it 🙏so hopefully that’s one problem down. The other is to figure why it the sunroof leaked: perhaps old rubber seals? Or as our friend @The-Acre suggest: blocked drains …

It happens to other models too. There are two drain holes on each side, one at the front and one at the rear, they're not necessarily easily visible.  I used to have a length of thick industrial strimmer line that I used to unblock it, you don't want to use metal.  It first happened on my old LS400, alarm going off, electrics freaking out, but they did dry and work again.

 

[PCM]

A forum search will bring up lots of great advice, diagrams etc. 

[Lexus300rx]

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. The two drain holes next to the sunroof mechanism were discovered, but the pint of water I poured immediately drained,(on the road) indicating that there is no blockage. 

I even attempted carefully probing the holes with a wire, but all I found was a speck of dirt. 

Anyway It might sound a stupid question but why have drain holes in the sunroof? When the roof is closed the rubber seal around the glass should prevent any water entering the car.

[The-Acre]

15 hours ago, Lexus300rx said:

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. The two drain holes next to the sunroof mechanism were discovered, but the pint of water I poured immediately drained,(on the road) indicating that there is no blockage. 

I even attempted carefully probing the holes with a wire, but all I found was a speck of dirt. 

Anyway It might sound a stupid question but why have drain holes in the sunroof? When the roof is closed the rubber seal around the glass should prevent any water entering the car.

I don't think the rubber around the sunroof would give a completely water tight seal. Have you tried popping the plastic trim off the A pillar to see if that reveals where the water is coming in? 

[ColinBarber]

15 hours ago, Lexus300rx said:

Anyway It might sound a stupid question but why have drain holes in the sunroof? When the roof is closed the rubber seal around the glass should prevent any water entering the car.

To prevent rust, plus if you do open the sunroof at some point you don't want a couple of litres of water falling on you.

[b4u2]

@Lexus300rx

Just checking in, did you fix and sort this out?

[Lexus300rx]

Hi b4u2

dont know for sure yet. I think so but I will know for sure when it rains non stop. The weather has been good recently.