We've been getting some rain recently in Iowa, and a few weeks ago while driving ('99 Q45), I got the unpleasant surprise of water being sprinkled on me as I made a turn. The water came from the light/sunroof control panel thing and only seemed to come out as I made a turn. I do have some exterior rust around the top of my windshield, but none of it seems deep enough to let water in. I haven't had this problem before when it rains, it's pretty sudden. Has anyone had similar experiences in their Q?
Thanks

Probably clogged sunroof drains.

Ryantzer wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 13, 2021 3:59 pm

Probably clogged sunroof drains.

+1. The drains don't work the way people think. There's basically a "drip pan" running all the way around the sunroof with drain hoses at the corners. If the drip pan starts to fill up because of slow drainage, it can easily splash water past the rim of the headliner during a hard turn.

Thanks! How hard is it to clear the drains?

ash10hunt wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 13, 2021 5:17 pm

Thanks! How hard is it to clear the drains?

You're most welcome. Depends. I'm a Nissan guy, the only Infiniti I ever had to clear was an M35. That was a complete PITA, the drain outlets were buried behind the steering crossmember with absolutely no room for hands. But it's different for each car. I can give you some general tips, and there are several important things to understand about clogs.

1) Clogs are most often in the fittings and not the hoses. They usually happen at the bottom fittings where the drains exit the car. Clogs at the top are usually from obvious leaves and debris. It's rare for a hose to clog unless it's kinked, but don't ever try to straighten a kink, replace the hose. Fittings that exit the car "level" are much more prone to clogging than fittings with a slight down-angle.
2) Test before you go digging, open the roof and pour some clean water into the water channels. Specific models will tend to clog either the front drains or the rear, it's very rare to see both ends totally obstructed. That's because of roof angle, and the vast majority tend to clog the fronts. For the same reason, you may need to park on an uphill to test the rears. Water from a clear drain will generally come out behind the wheels at both front and rear.
3) if you normally park on an uphill or downhill, the clogs will almost always be at the end of the car that's lower.
4) Clogged rears are almost always easier to clear from the bottom up, because the entry holes are underneath the roof pane even when it's retracted. The entry holes for the fronts are usually exposed and can often be blown out or snaked from the top.
5) Clogs at the bottom are usually composed of an amalgam of mud and tree sap, so they can practically ossify. If the drain doesn't clear from normal methods, you'll need to get at the outlet fittings and "core them out" to restore flow. I have a small #1 phillips with a blade bent 90 degrees that I use for digging out stubborn crud. On most N/I models the fronts are at the top of the firewall and the rears are in the inner fender behind the rear wheels, so some disassembly is almost always needed.
6) If you don't have compressed air, the best-cheapest cleaning tool is a roll of grass-trimmer line.
7) If you do have compressed air, be acutely aware that you can blow the hose off one of the fittings and think you cleared it, only to be flooded with the next rain.
8) Look under your carpets once the blockage is resolved. Virtually all Nissan products have a plastic barrier layered into the carpet and foam spacers underneath it, so you can easily have gallons of water in the floor pan and never know it. I've actually found white pond scum growing in the pans of some cars with leakage problems that weren't handled properly, sometimes years after the initial repair.

Thanks! That was a lot of useful info!

You're most welcome. Hope you get it straightened away without too much trouble.

Vstar has you covered. The only thing I'd add is I found these on amazon and had them on my list so they might be handy.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TZGX37H/?c ... _lig_dp_it

Ludeaem wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 14, 2021 4:18 pm

Vstar has you covered. The only thing I'd add is I found these on amazon and had them on my list so they might be handy.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TZGX37H/?c ... _lig_dp_it

Never saw those before, very cool. The only thing is, I think for most front drains you'd need longer ones, and for rear drains they're definitely way too short for any Nissan model. Maybe they could be extended somehow?

Valid point! Here is one that's roughly 5 ft

https://www.amazon.com/Drain-Brush-Flex ... B07TZGX37H

Much better, 60" will handle just about any front and a lot of rears. If you or anybody else buys 'em, please post how they work out!

So I went and poured some water into the the drains, and all four ended up draining easily. However I still had water leaking into my car, and I can't find where it could be leaking into. Although when I took my light/sunroof control panel off, and the sunroof motor was dripping water as well. I'm not sure if that means anything to anyone, but I have no idea where this water is coming from.

With all drains open, it can't be a problem at the bottom if you're getting water at the roof console. You'll have to drop the front of the headliner to make sure a hose hasn't detached itself from the inlet nipples. Sometimes they pull loose from shrinkage. If you don't find a detached hose, check the upper windshield seal. It's also possible a rivet popped or a gasket went south in the sunroof frame.

Awesome, thank you.