Sunroof Drain-Disconnected at Front, Passenger Side

[Explorerlyon]

Chasing down a water leak at the A piller, passenger side. The drain tube is disconnected from the sunroof. Any tips for reconnecting? Is removing the entire headliner the only option? I have been hunting images on the internet to see how the tube connects to the sunroof track, but cannot find any of the actual connections. Lots of posts on unclogging the tubes and removing kinks though.

[Effduration]

I would try a couple of things before removing headliner.

#1
- working from open sunroof
- insert a flexible, claw grabber tool through the sunroof drain into the A-pillar area
- then insert grabber end into hose and expand claw grabber
- draw it back and see if the hose will connect to drain - maybe push it fully on with pliers or similar.
- retract grabber and withdraw

#2
-Loosen the front of the headliner only
-Use long angled needle nose pliers to try and reconnect

[guntherrex]

aye if you undo the front part of the headliner you should be able to reach the hose connector.

that being said: how do you know it's disconnected? i've been having issues in the carwash where the drains get overwhelmed and water spills over. I checked the koses for kinks in the A-pillars and found no issues, so I'm thinking about changing the rubber seal in the roof because it clearly has too much of a gap

[Explorerlyon]

Fixed.
I removed the passenger grab handle, sun visor and B pillar trim. That allowed me to pull the headliner down just enough. I used long pliers to reach in and pushed the drain hose back on the sunroof nipple. I would have liked to put a clamp or zip tie around the hose at the nipple, but that would require dropping more of the headliner to get my hands in there.

Originally Posted by guntherrex

I'm thinking about changing the rubber seal in the roof because it clearly has too much of a gap

I think I need to do the same. I am surprised how much water drains down that tube with a closed sunroof. It's a lot.

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by Explorerlyon

I would have liked to put a clamp or zip tie around the hose at the nipple, but that would require dropping more of the headliner to get my hands in there.

Originally Posted by guntherrex

I'm thinking about changing the rubber seal in the roof because it clearly has too much of a gap.

Originally Posted by Explorerlyon

I think I need to do the same. I am surprised how much water drains down that tube with a closed sunroof. It's a lot.

My sunroof drain clogged-up and flooded the driver's side (LHD) floor (with almost 2" of water after just one T-storm; I spent several days drying-out the area), so I removed the A-pillar cover to find the cause. I managed to secure the lower end of the tube (where it emerges from the metal tube) with zip ties and Gorilla tape, but didn't try to find the upper end of the drain tube. I tested all drains (after clearing the plugged front left tube) successfully, but as I hate and don't trust any

• 1) convertible tops (primarily the sewn-in rear window),
• 2) T-tops (I used to call them Thunderstorm-tops) because they will leak during such weather, new or not,
• 3) simple tilt & slide sunroofs/moonroofs, because they fail or leak eventually, especially
• 4) glass sunroofs/moonroofs/pano roofs, because "glass" fails/shatters completely, if large hail or branches fall on it

So, though I cleared the drains, lubed the seals (they were still flexible at 21 years old) and tracks, and saw that the sunroof functioned flawlessly, I removed the fuse, and sealed the seams with Paint Protection Film, so there would be no possioblility of inadvertent openings, nor leaking seals, during my ownership of my X5. I also made a roof rack on top, which will block debris or hailstones larger than 1/2" diameter from hitting the glass sunroof. No leaks, no broken sunroof, no worries.