My daughter has a 2011 Civic coupe. It's been leaking around the driver's side A pillar area when she goes thru the car wash, apparently intermittently 🤷♂️.
It seems to be temp related - ie she washed it last week when it was 70 and no problem. Doesn't leak when it rains.
I saw her yesterday, and it looks like on both sides the clips holding down the long trim pieces that run up the sides and into the gutters along the roof have broken. I could see white clips under them. I found replacements on Epay:
It was raining and sleeting sideways while we were there, so I didnt get a great look at it or take any pics.
I'm wondering if I pop up the trim, slather on some RTV along the edges and replace the clips will cure it? FWIW the weatherstripping across the top of the windshield still looks intact, but is available for like $12 on ebay.
My theory is that the car wash is flooding the channels under the side trim and backing up and into the top of the A pillar? From her pic, it looks like the center of the wet area is right at the corner of A pillar and roofline.
She'll be home next weekend, so I'll be able to get a better look then.
The windshield is glued in place, all of the trim around the outside is just for appearance.
Before you get crazy at the windshield, if it has a sunroof, open the sunroof and pour water into the sunroof channel and see if it goes down the drain, or if it backs up. Sunroofs don't actually seal to the roof, they rely on a gutter and drain arrangement to keep water out of the cabin. So if the drain is clogged, water will overflow and then soak the headliner. The other thing that happens is that the drain tube can come off of the sunroof assembly, which has similar effects.
If it's a non sunroof car, just call a windshield shop and tell them you need the windshield resealed. They'll be able to remove the glass without breakage, although it's tricky and you may still need to buy a new windshield anyway. They may also find rust damage that will need to be repaired before new glass can be installed.
Most likely, the glass had been replaced at some point and they missed a spot when applying the sealer, if it isn't a plugged sunroof drain.
Thanks Pete, it's a non-sunroof car, so one less thing to worry about there.
Not sure if it's been replaced, but it is pretty free of sandblasting. Now I wonder if the clips are broken from a shoddy windshield replacement or just from 14 years of living outside?
I did a quick search and there's an independent glass shop in BG right across from where she works, so I'll send her over there.
Good advice.
In reply to XLR99 (Forum Supporter) :
If it was local, I'd recommend Cuyahoga Auto Glass.
Do keep in mind that windshield removal has a good chance of cracking it even if all work is done with care, so they may not want to reseal it unless you are aware that you may be buying a windshield. And if they find rust, even surface rust, no reputable shop will install a windshield, so the car will need to be taken straight to a body shop for repair.
I only reiterate so that we're clear that the job could go from inconvenient to expensive in a hurry and you won't know until the only way out is through. I've been through this on multiple customer cars as well as my S40, which I got to drive without a windshield to Beetler's in Berea. (In the winter)
That you found a lot of damaged clips is a good sign that the windshield had merely been replaced poorly.
Just for giggles - look for the identity tag at the bottom corner of the glass to see if it is aftermarket or OE.
Pete yeah I kind of worried about that possibility unfortunately. On the plus side, I'm getting amusing mental images of all her unicorns and hello kitty stuff blowing around in the car while she's driving sans winshield...
Some more Google maps surfing and there's a body shop right next door that looks like it's part of a dealer or some sort. Also there's another one she could walk to from her apartment.
In reply to XLR99 (Forum Supporter) :
A glass place, especially around here, will have plenty of experience with this and won't leave you hanging.
A couple months ago I replaced a BCM and a bunch of wiring in an F150 that got killed because of a criminally incompetent windshield install. Like they just globbed adhesive over the old stuff without shaving it first, and the whole bottom and right side weren't even adhered. The windshield lifted off after cutting through about 2/3rd of the way around. They also didn't support the glass while it was curing so it had sunk a lot in the frame, so the top wasn't sealed well either.
I had a very similar leak in a previous 7th gen Accord. I chased sunroof and windshield for awhile. It ended up being body sealer failing on the seam where the roof panel connects to the body. RTV fixed it, but took awhile to find the since its under the side roof molding.
FWIW, both sides' trim on my daughter's 2006 Civic have been completely missing for the 6 years that she has owned the car, and the interior is dry as a bone. As Pete said earlier, those piece are purely cosmetic. I am pretty sure you can no longer buy the side trim pieces .. at least from Honda. Most every 8th gen Civic that I see in OH/KY has the same 'malady'
BLRB said:I had a very similar leak in a previous 7th gen Accord. I chased sunroof and windshield for awhile. It ended up being body sealer failing on the seam where the roof panel connects to the body. RTV fixed it, but took awhile to find the since its under the side roof molding.
I had a leak in a 2013 Civic. Same thing; seam sealer failed under the rain rails.
Interesting! Well I guess it can't hurt to pop the trim piece out and get eyes on that seam area. I have a set of clips on the way which should be here by the weekend. If the body seam looks fine, escalate to windshield shop.
OK brief update:
It does have an OEM windshield.
Hard to see, but it looks like that seam was just painted metal, so I globbed some RTV in there.
The clips I ordered were the wrong ones 🤦. They're a two part clip and the upper pieces were too tall. The little wings you see lock into the trim piece, the lowers have a stud on the A pillar, you put the uppers in place, line them up with the lowers, then push them all down at once to lock in position.
I was able to combine some of the new with a couple of the less broken uppers until a set of OEM ones arrive next week.
Also got new door window seals(?) for the bottom of the windows.
Fingers crossed, if it still leaks we'll go big with the windshield shop...
Make sure your glob doesn't obstruct the gutter. It needs to be able to drain out.
Oh geez good point!!!
We just got a brief break from monsoon rain, went out and from what I can tell peeking around rhe molding looks to be no standing water in there. Inside is completely dry, but the only time the leak showed up was in the car wash.
Update - she hit the car wash this morning. No leakage!
Thankfully, no need to play windshield russian roulette. For now.
The Touareg windshield was leaking. No glass shop would reseal it. Replacement only. Insurance covered the replacement.
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