Thats a valid point however, mine goes through touchless washes fine with no leaks at all so hers should as well...

Incidentally... Handwashing is always better for the finish but for those of us who can't I wouldn't worry too much about the battery vent. The designers know the car is likely to go through high pressure wash. The channel must be designed so that water that gets in will drip away from anything important. Of course the obvious comeback to that is "Um... Tim, these are the same designers that designed the sunroof not to leak."

 

I would say try a different automatic car-wash before jumping to conclusions. It could very well have been just that particular car-wash or the pressure was somehow out of whack...

 

Shannon,
I take my wife's 2005 Chrysler Pacifica with a sunroof through a touchless high pressure carwash as well. When the blower moves over the top of her car, you can see the sunroof get pushed down slightly. However, I don't get rained on (been doing that to her car for 2 years now...)

One thing you may or may not want to look for is any hairline cracks in the body/roof of your FEH. I had to have a windshield replaced in my '92 Ranger. After I had it replaced, I noticed it leaked everytime it rained. When I took it back (both dealer and windshield repair facility) no one could find where it was leaking. After arguing with both places for months, I found 2 ahirline cracks in both upper corners of the windshield on the body of the truck. When they leak tested the windshield, they only sprayed the windshield and not the body of the truck. Just something else to have them (and you) think about....

Good Luck.

 

Thanks for all the additional comments. I've been making notes and am glad I posted this question -- I was convincing myself it was "just a sunroof 'thang" but you've all brought up good points/things to look for and consider.

To answer the question posed, yes, the car wash is one of those high pressure touchless car washes. I don't see very many non-touchless car washes here in Texas anymore (car washes are big business down here!)

 

UPDATE: It took me three months to get the FEH in to the dealership (my scheduling issues, not theirs; remember, I'm pregnant and due April 1 so it seems I'm living in appointments these days!)

I haven't tested it in a car wash yet, but among the various service I had done (including the intermediate drive shaft recall, which affected my vehicle), the sunroof was removed, the gutters/drains/whatever the proper term is were cleaned out and the sunroof was reinstalled and resealed. I don't know what all was wrong with it but they said it was missing sealant and also not calibrated properly. I had a bad roof rattle whenever the sunroof was open at all; the rattle was loudest if you sat in the right rear seat... the way I described it is it sounded to like wires in the roof area not secured and rattling around.

Anyway, all rattles are gone, the sunroof's seated nicely (visually; again, I haven't so much as hosed off the vehicle since picking it up after 2.5 days at the dealership) and reinstalled cleanly.

Good to go... knock on wood, anyway!

 

This thread reminds me of my old car mechanic days(I was a flat-rate line mechanic in a Chevrolet dealer for 12 years)

Back in those days, cars used to come with removeable T tops(two removeable glass panels in the roof). Those didn't slide open, you physically removed them when you wanted them open.

Those T tops ALWAYS leaked & where a service nightmare. You could spend two hours sealing a set up tight & after they where removed once they would start leaking all over again. We finally had the salesmen telling people if they bought a new car with T tops & it leaked that it was totally normal.

~John

 

Eeek, John, way to make a gal fee confortable with a hopefully resolved service issue!

 

LOL, the old T-tops where WAY more prone to leaking than any moonroof ever thought of being so you're probably OK.

You want to hear a funny story, the original moonroof/sunroof also came in a Chevy Monte Carlo. They had a problem in the 1st year where Chevy neglected to put water drains in them. When it rained hard, water would collect in this trough behind the roof, & then if you slammed on the brakes it would dump all the water on your head.

I had a very pissed off customer who was on his way to a formal dance(in a tuxedo), when someone cut him off & he & his date(in a formal dress)got about 2 gallons of water dumped over their heads.............

~John

 

Hehe! That reminds me of one of the early dates my now-husband and I were on as teenagers. He was so proud of himself because he'd just sold his parents ancient Toyota Corolla station wagon and purchased a used Honda Accord with sunroof and leather seats. It was a great car and a good deal. Anyway, he showed up at my house and it'd been a rainy day here in Texas. I can't remember if he'd opened the sunroof or if it was closed, but as he accelerated away from the house, with me in the passenger seat, a load of COLD greasy-smelling water poured right over my head and down my back!! He had to turn around and head back to my house so I could change before we could continue our date!

That was over 16 years ago, but we still joke occasionally that it was a darned good thing that wasn't our first date!