Rain fried the computer, mechanic says she’s gone

my beloved 2017 black four runner wouldn’t start after heavy heavy rains

i was able to pull out of my drive way but when i tried to turn it on a second time about an hour later i got nothing but flashing lights

i ended up calling a tow truck and when they lifted it onto the bed water was pour out the passenger door which i noticed was sopping wet

the verdict from the mechanic was that the gutters from the sunroof were clogged and caused water to enter the car and has now fried the computer

at this point his verdict is to get a new car

im devastated

 

Why not replace the fried module?

 

Comprehensive insurance claim. They will probably replace the module, fix the drainage issue, and any other issues that may arise from the water damage.

 

6 years and the drainage got plugged?

 

current in the process of a comprehensive claim

mechanic says the cost to diagnose, replace parts - may as well get a new car as the water damage may have caused additional issues that may come up

waiting to see what the adjuster says

 

Forever cementing in my mind that a sunroof should be avoided at all cost. @2017fourrunforever - sorry for your trouble.

 

Was truck parked outside or garaged? There has been alot of debate on sunroof drains that clog.

 

I can't imagine this is worth throwing the vehicle away over.

Is this a dealership mechanic?

 

Wow. Can you share the paper? I'm surprised that they stated the vehicle is done. Hope the insurance cover it under comprehensive coverage.

 

If you always close your sunroof when in the woods, wouldn’t it be hard for it to clog? What is the best practice to avoid clogged drains? Am I correct in thinking it’s small leaves, pollen, any kind of vegetation that gets in the drains? Does anyone here test their drains? How do that? Get a Tygon tube and funnel water directly at each of 4 corners and look for water hitting the ground at 4 corners?

 

I am making a guess here. My bet is the mechanic is treating this as a flooded vehicle scenario. I have always been told not worth the risk of future problems and electrical gremlin problems.

 

Maybe he parks under trees all the time and sap and debris is constant.

 

It just happened all of a sudden? You had no prior cases of wet headliner, water running down the seatbelts, or wet carpet from previous rainstorms?

 

The sunroof is not water tight. Dirt and debris such as pine needles easily slip past the seal and buildup in and around the drains. You need to periodically clean the drains and the sunroof track. I'm pretty sure it even says so in the manual.

To test the drains you simply pour water into the sunroof drain area and make sure it's draining out of the bottom/back of the vehicle

 

That's weird, I park my truck on driveaway under huge fir trees. I got sap, pollen and needles on my truck depending of season. I often drive in the woods and park truck under some trees as well. After 10 years of that I got into really heavy rain on a logging road and I noticed that sunroof inside cover got wet. That I learned that my sunroof drain is clogged. Water was still going to drain bit too slow for a heavy rain. I cleaned drain with trimmer line and it all was good after that. It hard to imagine how it clogged that bad that it fried a computer. Theoretically if drain is clogged water just won't go to it and will be dripping from the ceiling. Maybe in your case drain line somehow got punctured by something...

 

Just had a 19 towed in yesterday for same problem. Dash lights flickering ,multiple can communication issues etc. Ptcm got soaked from clogged sunroof drains. We had real bad storms here a few days ago. I guess a psa would be to verify roof drains are clear.

 

Happened to me. Water all over the driver's side floor. There's an X shaped fitting on the bottom of the front drain line. It collects schmutz and clogs. Trimmer line goes through it but it didn't clear mine. Had to take off the kick panel.

The front drains empty through press welds under the truck.

Oh, threw that *#@×+% fitting away...

 

such a bummer really thought i’d have this one forever like christian bale and his tacoma

and yes i park it outside and am surrounded by trees

should’ve checked when i first smelled mildew a week ago but tbh i didnt even know those gutters existed

wish i found this forum earlier

will post a followup once i get the final word from geico

 

Sorry to hear this OP wow who would ever think. I avoid trees in general just to avoid sap etc but never thought of the moonroof. Glad mine stays in garage also. In hindsight wish I could have got mine without the roof but no allocations without or much more difficult. I don’t even use it but maybe once or twice

 

Has anyone ever experienced sunroof leak problems when it's a garage kept vehicle? I had a 82 Celica beater as a kid that leaked. As an adult most of our vehicles have had sunroofs and never an issue and I never have cleaned the drains.

Garaged is the only thing I can think of. I know there is potential for problems I have just never experienced.

 

Garage is part of it (protects from sun heat and UV for seals), and newer manufacturing processes for todays vehicle also improves vs the past. I think if you check it once a month in the months you use it, you’ll prevent or at least reduce risk drastically.

 

I have an 05 Accord spent half its life outside here in MI but washed regularly and never under trees for long. Knock on wood no issues.

it seems with most vehicles unless totally bare bones you almost have to get the sunroof.

 

That's been my experience on getting a sunroof over the years. I have not specifically wanted one more the model/feature/trim level they had sunroofs.

 

I would caulk sunroof with silicone and pull out fuse.