Same old story as a million other V50 owners on here. Passenger side floor was full of water. Found the tubes visibly leaking at the firewall at the black ill-designed rubber elbows (clogged with water coming back up the tubes). I removed and hung the carpets for a week, dried out the floor of the car etc..

Replaced the original tubing with clean new tubing from home depot, completely bypassed the worthless black elbows at the firewall where the tubes connect by extending the new tubing through these holes. Tested it extensively with a hose over the sunroof, by pouring water into the drain, water clearly traveling down the new tubing and properly draining in the engine compartment. Drove it for a week in the rain and it appeared to have fixed the leaks. Reinstalled the carpets, drove for a week and wallah..... wet carpets again.



I'm at the end of my rope on this thing. There is no possible way the lines are the culprit, you can see them clearly drain down from the sunroof and with them going through the firewall theres no way they can be leaking at the joint because they have been removed. I have the headliner removed currently and there is not water coming in around the sunroof that I can find.

We haven't been running the A/C for a month and not at all since the tubing was replaced for the sunroof drains.

Is it possible that the AC evap tube/drain is the problem? Having not been running the AC for over a month, could it even be possible?

Any help would be much appreciated. I'm not comfortable letting my wife and child ride in a car where the wiring harness under the passenger carpet is submerged in water.....

 

The heater core leaks on the passenger side on the P1 cars. Just a suggestion.

 

Any tips you can pass on regarding removing the carpeting? I need to get mine out to dry as well.

 

Three thoughts:

1) You know there are FOUR drain tubes? (all four corners) Are all of them watertight? If you pour a measured cup of water in teh gutter, can you get a measured cup out the bottom?

2) in addition to the rubber elbows on the forward port and starboard drains, there is a rubber bend above the headliner between the gutter molding and the downtube. I found broken glass there on my V50 (!!!)

3) In addition to the heater lines, there is also an AC drain (not likely to be the problem in November, though!)

 

may be covered in this lawsuit Volvo Sunroof Leaks ? S40, S60, S80, V50, V70, and XC90 Vehicles - Chimicles & Tikellis LLP

 

My sunroof drain problem was an easy fix but the water was showing up in the rear passenger footwell, not the front. Could be another problem than the sunroof drain.

 

V40's have front and rear drain tubes for handling the sunroof drainage.
Assume the V50's are similar?

(sorry - this is repetitive. others have explained already I see on scrolling down properly)

 

Note that the floor pan is one piece on each side. There is no restriction on water flow from the front to the back. I have never heard of a leak caused by the rear tubes.

I put a water sensor alarm under the carpet after I dried mine. Otherwise you WILL NOT KNOW if water is leaking in until the "water table" gets above the 1 1/2" of foam.

 

Thanks to everyone on this forum especially mf70. Your posts about problems surrounding a leaking sunroof saved me from hours of aimlessly dismantling my car.
after removing the a pillar trim, passenger sun visor and roof handle. i blew out the drain with compressed air and pressurised water, removing a fair amount of debries which i collected in a container placed under the car.

at this stage i thought i would test the drain before reattaching all the trim.
i am lucky enough to have a massive 75mm water hose connected to a boom at work that i can park the car under to test.

placing this directly over the sun roof i turned it on (slightly more than a garden hose) jumped in the car and watched as all the water drained through the tubing as designed, no leak. beautiful!

now i thought why not turn it up a level. opened the valve slightly more, got back in the car and i could visibly see a large amount of water flowing in past the rubber seal that runs around the sun roof glass, and into the gutter and draining down the A pillar as it is meant to. it wasn't until about 20-30 seconds of this heavy flow of water that i spotted a leak. !

in the gutter drain assembly there is a large plastic piece at the front that pops up when the glass opens, this has a flat metal spring either side approximately 150mm long the ends of this flat spring /piece of metal are mounted into the gutter / drain assembly through a little hole. It is not until the sunroof recieves such a large amount of water more than the little drain holes can handle that it over flows back up the gutter / drain assembly along the track of the sunroof underneath the flat metal spring and through the hole. from here the water runs along the roof lining and can either overflow down the B pillar or (in my case) down the trim of the A pillar (My trim had water present in it when i removed it) behind the dash and run down the wall behind all the foam and carpet and into the foot well.

This can be demonstrated by opening the sun roof and filling the gutter drain with such a large amount of water that it overflows back up the track. just make sure you are keeping an eye on that little hole that the metal strip goes and stop before the water gets there.

i believe that a combination of an aged rubber seal around the sun roof glass and drains even slightly clogged cause this to happen i have ordered a new

sealSealing strip 31218248 $108.85

from a USA based web store. ( i was quoted $350 here in Australia)

With the new seal to slow down the ingress of water through the sunroof and clean drains i hope to have solved this annoying problem.

 

Could that much water pass the sealing strip? Hope your solution works out. Let us know.
Cheers

 

Hi - I am having similar issue on my S60 - all seems well with the drains but water is definitely getting through to the floor. Please let us know the update on your remedy!!!

Thanks

 

3 weeks ago paid $240 to "fix" sunroof drain that flooded 2007 S80 just purchased from volvo dealer in Jan. Caused approx $2000 worth of damages. Opted to dry out ourselves before fixing radio amp destroyed by water. Completely dry and left in rain last night. It FLOODED back passenger floor AGAIN.

So frustrated. Placed second complaint call to Volvo USA and logged concern/request for repair with dealer, Volvo of the Triad in Winston-Salem NC, today.

Please help either with advice on how to fix or to have addressed to compensate for purchase of car and money spent on repairs. We simply cannot have a car, and we loved this car, that can't be exposed to rain. This is crazy. Very unprofessional I am so disappointed in VOLVO. That is appears to not be able to be fixed is my primary concern. We can not live with this problem and worry about the dangers this damage will cause to our safety and health.

 

When a car gets old, the idea that the way the manufacturer did it was the only way gives way to common sense, like water flows until something blocks it - eliminate block potential and water is more likely to flow.

The front sunroof drains to the V50 S40 and similar Volvos are a multi-part design not intended for real world conditions, especially after the warranty expires.

• The hoses slip out and water flows into the passenger compartment
• The hoses clog or crack and water flows into the passenger compartment
• The end piece that is utterly inaccessible clogs what Volvo calls the "sound trap", an odd name for the lower end of the sunroof rainwater drain system

Most solutions try to work with the Volvo engineering (stick with the water egress route they designed). Some are very time consuming and of course some fail the next time something clogs. This video inspired my approach but when I had the plastic covers off, I saw what I think is a more reliable solution, albeit not endorsed by the manufacturer and done entirely at your own risk.

Water flows downhill, and debris tends to clog where there are restrictions that impede water flow, so eliminate the restrictions.

1) Buy clear, flexible plastic 10mm (3/8") tube at hardware store. I bought 5 metres which was more than I needed.



2. Remove (pop off):
a) the plastic covers over the "A" pillar that are along side the front windscreen
b) the plastic covers below the A pillar cover
c) the plastic carpet cover along the door so you can lift the carpet (probably wet)
d) Note: my car did not have any airbags, sensors or other risk-factors in the way. If yours does, deal with them safely.

3. Remove the old plastic tube that runs from the sunroof drain down the A pillar. You may want to carefully twist it first to break free of the sunroof male part so that part does not snap. Replace it with the new tube.




4. Run the new tube down the A pillar using the same clips as the old tube. If there is any location where you fear the tube may become compressed, cut a piece of rigid plastic electrical or plumbing pipe whose inner diameter is the same as the outer diameter of the tube, slide it over and position it at the potential crimp-spot, and tape it to not move.



5. Instead of going to the inaccessible sound trap, run the tube down to the floor inside the cabin. It will fit neatly behind the carpet and insulation (consider the rigid cover if there are any potential compression spots)




6. Take a drill with a 13mm metal bit and drill a hole in the floor, close to the exit point for the tube. Be careful to not let the drill bit "skate" and damage any of the nearby wires. If in doubt, use a punch first to set where the bit will cut. Also, before drilling look underneath to see where the hole comes out. Do not drill through brake or fuel lines, electrical or anything else you may regret. I found in the place where I drilled, there was a gap in the chassis so I was just drilling through a small bit of sheet metal. Use your eyes and common sense.

To prevent rust, spray the new hole with anti-rust paint and dab on a bit of silicone sealer surrounding the tube



7. Insert tube in the new hole and allow it to extend down to the ground.




8. Replace everything, being careful to not crimp or compress the tube. If you are worried, put some rigid plastic tube over the flex plastic tube where you fear it may compress

9. Trim the tube under the car so it looks professional.

Now when rain flows down the tube you only have one join... at the top where the sunroof fitting attaches to the new plastic flex tube. The vulnerable sound trap has been eliminated.

A final comment: If you live in an area that has mason bees (or equivalent) you may risk the insect making a nest in the bottom entrance to the tube. In such cases, leave the pipe a bit longer and check it from time to time or even insert a dishwasher plastic hose filter that you check during breeding season.

Lawyer Label: This is an idea that I did for my car. If you try it, you do so at your own risk. You are on your own. Also, if you live in a country where such modifications require engineering, or if your car is still under warranty, don't bother, just do it the way Volvo does it.or sell the car and buy one without a sunroof.

 

I have never heard of a leak caused by the rear tubes.

 

I have a V50 with a sunroof and like other have this issue. Have to say the guidance here was impeccable and I’m on the way to a fix. Had all the issues covered here plus the pop rivet issue (what Volvo idiot thought that was a good idea?). Also to add the seats need to unbolt but need not be removed to get the carpet out and you will absolutely need to have the carpet out. I didn’t take the centre console out, carpet can be removed with this in place but may be hard to get backin! Solved my drain pipe issue by using a single piece of poly pipe all the way down. Used hose clamps at the top and a cut off pen barrel at the bottom to extend the pipe well into the rubber drain hole at the base of the A pillar. Also used a hose clamp here between the poly pipe and pen barrel.

sealed the pop rivets with silicon top and bottom (fingers crossed). Now drying out the foam and carpets, refitting later today. Once again thanks so much for all the advice 🙂