Roof Leaking. Water coming in at visor attachment.Thoughts?

wcortesi · January 31, 2016

I apparently cured the situation. I took the drain tubes off in front and used some clear silicone to make sure the fittings don't leak and put some around the gasket on my OnStar antenna, although I couldn't see where either of them were leaking. No leaks for the last week and we've had our share of rain!

gecko454 · February 19, 2016

I have water that runs out the front of the headliner then down the side panel and into the fuse box area and the dash which then drips out the bottom onto the floor. I have also found water in the center console.

My truck is a 2014 and I have maybe 11000 miles on, it's not a daily driver, heck I think 5,000 of those miles were between 3 trips. When not being used it sits outside and has been out during many storms since new. I have found wet floor mats or center console on several occasions days after a heavy rain when the truck hasn't been used. It took a long time to figure out that something was actually leaking. At first I thought I was imagining things, then I thought maybe someone had got in and spilled water. Now that I've confirmed with 100% certainty that something is leaking I can look back and see several tell tale signs.

One thing that concerns me that I haven't heard anyone else mention is what short and long term effects the water could have on anything in its path like the headliner, dash, fusebox and other electrical components, carpet, unprotected metal, etc... Am I the only one concerned about this?

Edited February 19, 2016 by gecko454

HondaHawkGT · February 19, 2016

I applied clear kitchen and bath silicone around the base of my XM antenna and the leaks have stopped. I plan on doing a more thorough sealing job this summer. I believe the cold has a big effect on the sealing ability of the gasket under the antenna. I keep my truck outside 24/7 and it's gone through some pretty serious downpours without leaking a drop.

chuckl1218 · February 19, 2016

I have water that runs out the front of the headliner then down the side panel and into the fuse box area and the dash which then drips out the bottom onto the floor. I have also found water in the center console.

My truck is a 2014 and I have maybe 11000 miles on, it's not a daily driver, heck I think 5,000 of those miles were between 3 trips. When not being used it sits outside and has been out during many storms since new. I have found wet floor mats or center console on several occasions days after a heavy rain when the truck hasn't been used. It took a long time to figure out that something was actually leaking. At first I thought I was imagining things, then I thought maybe someone had got in and spilled water. Now that I've confirmed with 100% certainty that something is leaking I can look back and see several tell tale signs.

One thing that concerns me that I haven't heard anyone else mention is what short and long term effects the water could have on anything in its path like the headliner, dash, fusebox and other electrical components, carpet, unprotected metal, etc... Am I the only one concerned about this?

There is another thread on here about this very question...a member had the dealer replace the headliner due to concerns about mold. Carpet would be a candidate as well, but most are attempting to get theirs fixed before any other areas are affected. There was another member who had seat rails replaced due to rust. So yes, others are concerned, but it's what they do about it that varies based upon their circumstances.

JimCost2014 · February 25, 2016

my truck had both the shark fin antenna fail along with the sunroof glass seal. antenna water leaks are around the sun visor and A pillar, sunroof water leaks will be right above your head by the Bluetooth microphone and edge of head liner opening above drivers head. but have also heard about leaking windshields, and even a faulty weld in the roof seam. good luck.

waterndirt · March 9, 2016

New Here. First post. I've been getting water thru to my headliner for the past few years on and off, with the recent rains its been happening daily. Immediately checked the 4 sunroof drains. They all worked fine. I then removed the third brake light, once removed, I noticed water underneath it and that the upper lip that seats against the roof line has warped due to overheating, burnt out bulb, bad design etc. I ran a bit of RTV to seal up what I thought was the problem.

After so more rain, come to find out I still had leaks. I dropped the rear corner of the headline and poured some water in the sunroof drain channels, what do you know. There's a plastic piece that the rubber coupling / drain tube connects to, its clipped to the aluminum drain chain. There appears to be a rubber seal in there, well that's where it was leaking from. I will pull down the entire headliner to inspect all corners and report back with fix.

Thought I let everyone know since I haven't heard about this before, most problems do seem to lie with clogged tubes.

I will also be replacing my glass seal as water pours in when closed.

COP TZR · March 30, 2016

No sunroof here and truck parking with front end high, so will be interesting what excuse the dealer has.

Dirtbiker · May 21, 2016

I got in my truck to drive to work yesterday and the driver side pillar and one spot under the onstar antenna were wet. Turns out the onstar antenna is secured by plastic clips from the bottom that can not be adjusted. They "sometimes come loose" breaking the gasket seal.

In order to fix the leak it is a new antenna. $130. 1.5 hours to put it in, time to diagnose, all in $530.

Now in two years I have paid $2500 to fix stupid shit on this truck.

I asked if GM is updating this design to something better. Nope. They only see a few with this issue. And I get to pay for it so why would they?

Next time I will be siliconing it. Actually next time I will replace it with a Dodge antenna I think.

Two lemons in a row out of five GM trucks is not a good ratio. May as well try something different.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Dirtbiker

Selina · November 3, 2017

Last night I climbed into the drivers side to find my 2016 Tahoe LTZ to find the seat soaked, as well as the steering wheel and then felt drops on my left leg. A ton of water was dripping out from between the windshield and the visor. I had to get somewhere so I drove like that, water pouring all over me. I could hear sloshing at one point. Wasn’t sure where the noise was coming from because it was dark. I read up and searched YouTube when I got home and found out about the issue with the antenna. So I dried off the roof, covered the antenna with plastic and sealed it up for the night. It also rained yesterday and this didn’t happen. Odd it happened so suddenly. Also, my driveway is flat. Thought it worth mentioning. I left the car running with the heater blasting after I sealed it up and got it mostly dry. Nervous about taking her in tomorrow. I just know they are going to look at me like I’m dumb and say, “did you leave the window down?” or something like that. Any news on if this is a recall issue yet?

Crobinson16 · December 1, 2017

On 11/3/2017 at 7:19 AM, Selina said:

Last night I climbed into the drivers side to find my 2016 Tahoe LTZ to find the seat soaked, as well as the steering wheel and then felt drops on my left leg. A ton of water was dripping out from between the windshield and the visor. I had to get somewhere so I drove like that, water pouring all over me. I could hear sloshing at one point. Wasn’t sure where the noise was coming from because it was dark. I read up and searched YouTube when I got home and found out about the issue with the antenna. So I dried off the roof, covered the antenna with plastic and sealed it up for the night. It also rained yesterday and this didn’t happen. Odd it happened so suddenly. Also, my driveway is flat. Thought it worth mentioning. I left the car running with the heater blasting after I sealed it up and got it mostly dry. Nervous about taking her in tomorrow. I just know they are going to look at me like I’m dumb and say, “did you leave the window down?” or something like that. Any news on if this is a recall issue yet?

Just curious as to how you made out?

Selina · December 2, 2017

Got it fixed under warranty and because I caught it right away, sealed it up and ran the heater for a few hours, I was able to get the interior dried out sufficiently and there was no staining. I was informed that GM has not addressed this yet in a way that will cover us if this part were to fail again in the future. Seems as if they should. The same problem has been going on for years with this antenna and they still haven’t provided a solution. Here is a photo of the old part. It was the inner seal, the tech said. And he said the part was updated but it appears they are using the same inner and outer seals. We’ll see in a year or so. I bought this brand new and noticed the location not showing on my onstar app map over a year ago and just recently the water came in the cab. Happy it was fixed (for now) but expect it will happen again. Not happy with GM. They should extend the bumper to bumper warranty to cover this one specific part should this happen again, but they have not.

DEV1ST8R · January 27, 2018

Just now found my new 2017 LT to be leaking... Looks like I'm taking it in to get a new sharkfin )c:

tornadosarah · February 17, 2018

New here. I found this forum because I too am having the leaking antenna base on my 2015 Silverado Duramax 2500. Noticed the problem back in 2016 luckily while under the bumper to bumper warranty. The original leak was coming out of the pivot point for the visor. Took it to the dealership, they said it was a pretty common problem and they fixed it. They had my truck for 7 days....apparently the headliner and windshield had to be replaced because they broke them when pulling them out to get to the antenna base. Problem seemed to have been fixed...until a few days ago when I noticed a big water stain above the a-pillar drivers side. Water also poured out onto my foot from under the dashboard when I turned a corner last night. Apparently it is leaking all the way under the dash and coming out over the e-brake pedal....where a ton of dash wiring goes through. I contacted the dealership to see what they would do to fix the leak that they apparently didn't completely fix the first time ...only to find out the GM knows about the problem but they won't do anything about it, and the dealership won't honor the warranty they said they gave me to extend on this particular issue. My bumper to bumper warranty expired 4 months ago!! So I am supposed to pay the dealership $1200 dollars to keep it from raining in my $50,000 truck. That doesn't even cover replacing the headliner...only labor, a new windshield, and the silicone added under the xm antenna base. I AM SO PISSED!!!

I have contacted GM customer service and supposedly have been handed my case up to a senior advisor. RIIIIIGGGGGHHHHT.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to repair this issue. Is it ok to completely seal around the antenna base from the outside without taking out the headliner? Does heating the inside of the truck dry everything out enough that it won't mold on the inside?

To make matters even worse, I live in the Seattle area...sooooo leaks on a vehicle are a MAJOR issue!

I love my truck, but the man is convinced we should trade in for a Dodge Cummins.

Edited February 17, 2018 by tornadosarah

pjerzy · February 19, 2018

On 2/17/2018 at 3:15 PM, tornadosarah said:

New here. I found this forum because I too am having the leaking antenna base on my 2015 Silverado Duramax 2500. Noticed the problem back in 2016 luckily while under the bumper to bumper warranty. The original leak was coming out of the pivot point for the visor. Took it to the dealership, they said it was a pretty common problem and they fixed it. They had my truck for 7 days....apparently the headliner and windshield had to be replaced because they broke them when pulling them out to get to the antenna base. Problem seemed to have been fixed...until a few days ago when I noticed a big water stain above the a-pillar drivers side. Water also poured out onto my foot from under the dashboard when I turned a corner last night. Apparently it is leaking all the way under the dash and coming out over the e-brake pedal....where a ton of dash wiring goes through. I contacted the dealership to see what they would do to fix the leak that they apparently didn't completely fix the first time ...only to find out the GM knows about the problem but they won't do anything about it, and the dealership won't honor the warranty they said they gave me to extend on this particular issue. My bumper to bumper warranty expired 4 months ago!! So I am supposed to pay the dealership $1200 dollars to keep it from raining in my $50,000 truck. That doesn't even cover replacing the headliner...only labor, a new windshield, and the silicone added under the xm antenna base. I AM SO PISSED!!!

I have contacted GM customer service and supposedly have been handed my case up to a senior advisor. RIIIIIGGGGGHHHHT.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to repair this issue. Is it ok to completely seal around the antenna base from the outside without taking out the headliner? Does heating the inside of the truck dry everything out enough that it won't mold on the inside?

To make matters even worse, I live in the Seattle area...sooooo leaks on a vehicle are a MAJOR issue!

I love my truck, but the man is convinced we should trade in for a Dodge Cummins.

Get Gorilla 100% Silicone clear sealant. The company site states that it is OK to use on auto, metal, and plastic. I did a thin bead and spread it around with my finger around the shark fin. With it being clear you can't notice it. Also, it is not going to yellow or crack so that is a benefit.

While at it, go ahead and do the same for the top and both of the sides of third brake light. I have seen people state theirs is leaking there as well.

I did this quite a few months ago and have since taken my 15 silverado through a touchless car with 0 leaking issues which it did leak before.

Rick Nieuwenhuysen · April 16, 2018

Ok Reading this forum makes me wish I did not buy this Leaky Boat. Back in 2015 we ordered this truck from the factory custom this and that including a sun roof. We accepted the truck in good faith, paid $ 70 K Cash.

This truck is used primarily as a comfort ride (which it is) for long distances. Then we noticed the passenger seat belt, belt was wet after a rain storm. I figured it rained so what. Fast Forward to a couple of weeks ago when we had a lot of rain. Now the truck is usually on an up hill incline and we normally only have 1 driver and no passenger. So I parked it at my factory and after a day of working I walked out and noticed a water stream coming in from just in-front on the passenger window visor. I then noticed the weather passenger Tech mat had about a 1/2 " of water on the passenger side and the headliner was wet just in front of the passenger headliner bracket. I took pictures. We called our dealer and he said he would take care of it. Later after the dealer serviced the truck he told us the drainage tubes were blocked and they had cleared them. (We never use our sunroof it might have been opened 2 x. I was able to insert my finger in the roof liner and passenger sun roof, my finger came back dry). Anyway fast forward a week later and the truck has been sitting on an incline. The seatbelt is soaked, thanks GM for taking my truck for a day and what i gather will be another day and then another as I have no confidence that your organization has a clue on how to fix this.