2020 Explorer Platinum-Clogged sunroof drains

[Explorerrr]

Hi all, I could really use your opinions on this.
Short story is I purchased this about 3 months ago from a Ford dealership and about 1.5 months after I noticed a leak running down the inside back passenger side when we had a hard rain. There’s some in between that I’ll get to, but fast forward to yesterday, the Ford dealership I purchased from is telling me it’ll cost almost $750 to remove and clean all drains. This seems like an exorbitant amount and from what I’ve been reading, may be something I can do myself.
The “in between” part of the story for anyone wanting to read, just makes me question dealerships in general. When this first happened, I called the dealership where I purchased it and asked whether they thought it’d be a Ford warranty issue since it was less than 3 years old and if it mattered if I brought it to a different dealership to have it assessed. The dealership it was purchased from is almost an hour away and it is a major inconvenience to get it there. The person I spoke to said if it was a warranty issue, it shouldnt matter where I brought it. So, I brought it to a dealership about 2 miles from my house.
The closer dealership had it for about 5 days and said they couldn’t find any leak after running it through the car wash, but they did find that the rear windshield wiper hose was disconnected and that must have been where the leak came from. They reconnected it and charged me $180. I knew that wasn’t it, but what can you do. They said bring it back if that didn’t fix it. Of course it happened again so I brought it back. They had it for another 5 days and said that they found that it’s leaking from the sunroof and that the original dealership had done some work in there and must have installed it incorrectly and that they couldn’t do anything with it since they didn’t do the original work .
I then called the original dealership and let them know I was very upset and they needed to amend this. They were good about it and sent somone out to pick up the car and bring me a loaner. After looking at it, we’re where we are today with them saying it’s a $750 fix.
I’m confused about what kind of work they may have done up there, why the rear windshield wiper hose was disconnected and why the heck this is happening with a 2020 vehicle. Opinions appreciated!

 

[bobter3]

Hi all, I could really use your opinions on this.
Short story is I purchased this about 3 months ago from a Ford dealership and about 1.5 months after I noticed a leak running down the inside back passenger side when we had a hard rain. There’s some in between that I’ll get to, but fast forward to yesterday, the Ford dealership I purchased from is telling me it’ll cost almost $750 to remove and clean all drains. This seems like an exorbitant amount and from what I’ve been reading, may be something I can do myself.
The “in between” part of the story for anyone wanting to read, just makes me question dealerships in general. When this first happened, I called the dealership where I purchased it and asked whether they thought it’d be a Ford warranty issue since it was less than 3 years old and if it mattered if I brought it to a different dealership to have it assessed. The dealership it was purchased from is almost an hour away and it is a major inconvenience to get it there. The person I spoke to said if it was a warranty issue, it shouldnt matter where I brought it. So, I brought it to a dealership about 2 miles from my house.
The closer dealership had it for about 5 days and said they couldn’t find any leak after running it through the car wash, but they did find that the rear windshield wiper hose was disconnected and that must have been where the leak came from. They reconnected it and charged me $180. I knew that wasn’t it, but what can you do. They said bring it back if that didn’t fix it. Of course it happened again so I brought it back. They had it for another 5 days and said that they found that it’s leaking from the sunroof and that the original dealership had done some work in there and must have installed it incorrectly and that they couldn’t do anything with it since they didn’t do the original work .
I then called the original dealership and let them know I was very upset and they needed to amend this. They were good about it and sent somone out to pick up the car and bring me a loaner. After looking at it, we’re where we are today with them saying it’s a $750 fix.
I’m confused about what kind of work they may have done up there, why the rear windshield wiper hose was disconnected and why the heck this is happening with a 2020 vehicle. Opinions appreciated!

Sounds like you might have 2 dealers trying to pull one over on you. What work did the first dealer(closest to you) say was done? If there was work done, it should show in Oasis records for the vehicle. No way I would spend that much. Was there no warranty whatsoever from the selling dealer? 3 months doesn't sound like enough time for a clogged line to develop in your ownership.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
There are members who have fixed plugged drain tubes on the 5th gen themselves and the drain tubes did not have to be removed. I don't know if the layout of the tubes is the same as those of the 5th gen or not. In any case, I don't understand having to clean all the tubes if only one is at fault. Plugged tubes in the 5th gen usually resulted in water pooling in the footwells, depending upon which drain(s) was plugged. A disconnected wiper washer hose would cause water to probably pool in the spare tire well. Did the original dealer admit to doing work on the sunroof? It sounds like they are back to the drain tube issue. FYI, the latest Explorers and Aviators no longer have rear camera washers. Some that were manufactured after the deletion of the feature still had a hose but it wasn't connected
There is a diagram of the 5th gen setup in this link. Water leak/wet carpet on passenger side

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

Drain plugs are accessible from the moonroof track. Get a compressor and blow some air through it.. start gently to not blow the tubes off.

Factory moonroof? If so, non-work a dealer could do would cause it to be a customer pay. If in the 3yr/36k bumper to bumper, it is a covered repair. If over mileage, it's a customer pay job. $750 sounds like 6-7 hours labor which is excessive unless they are pulling the headliner. Even that, don't know why they would have to since you can see the drain holes from the top.

 

[hbalek]

Your mistake was to purchase a 2029. Should have waited until the bugs got worked out! (Your profile says 2029) Seriouisly though this should be under warranty. You should call Ford and complain about both dealerships!

 

[J_C]

^ More likely the mistake was just parking where trees or whatever were causing debris. Here, I have huge oak trees that grow moss on them in spring and I have to watch where I park... all the moss falls off within 2-3 days and can clog anything, even house roof downspouts.

 

[themishmosh]

All that should have been covered under warranty. Even the $180 you paid. People have reported faulty moonroof drains coming from the factory. I think both of your dealers suck and maybe try elsewhere

 

[J_C]

Hi all, I could really use your opinions on this.
Short story is I purchased this about 3 months ago from a Ford dealership and about 1.5 months after I noticed a leak running down the inside back passenger side when we had a hard rain. There’s some in between that I’ll get to, but fast forward to yesterday, the Ford dealership I purchased from is telling me it’ll cost almost $750 to remove and clean all drains.

It might cost that to remove and clean, but they shouldn't need removed. If someone previously installed them incorrectly or used excessive force or air pressure to clean them, a hose might have disconnected and that's the problem.

... they did find that the rear windshield wiper hose was disconnected and that must have been where the leak came from. They reconnected it and charged me $180.

That wouldn't be covered under warranty as a factory defect?

I knew that wasn’t it, but what can you do. They said bring it back if that didn’t fix it. Of course it happened again so I brought it back. They had it for another 5 days and said that they found that it’s leaking from the sunroof and that the original dealership had done some work in there and must have installed it incorrectly and that they couldn’t do anything with it since they didn’t do the original work .

This seems like they just don't want to bother, as it does not make sense that they "couldn't do anything", like maybe they have plenty of work and don't want to settle for lower paying warranty work? I'd want to know exactly what work the original dealership did. Maybe it was just clogged previously and they either did not completely unclog it (then debris grew fungus with subsequent rain to re-clog it) or they blew off or damage the drain tubing.

I then called the original dealership and let them know I was very upset and they needed to amend this. They were good about it and sent somone out to pick up the car and bring me a loaner. After looking at it, we’re where we are today with them saying it’s a $750 fix.
I’m confused about what kind of work they may have done up there, why the rear windshield wiper hose was disconnected and why the heck this is happening with a 2020 vehicle. Opinions appreciated!

I'd complain to the service manager then owner, then Ford, with this seeming like it ought to be covered under warranty unless it's just a debris clog and if it is, then you should be able to DIY fix it. If you don't have a gentle (regulated to low pressure) air compressor source, some people try running string trimmer line through the tubes. You could then try forcing a little water through with a turkey baster. Even better if it's the square type trimmer line and you twist it (at slow speed) with a power drill, but I'd start twisting by hand to see if there's too much resistance before getting a drill involved.

 

[Explorerrr]

Sounds like you might have 2 dealers trying to pull one over on you. What work did the first dealer(closest to you) say was done? If there was work done, it should show in Oasis records for the vehicle. No way I would spend that much. Was there no warranty whatsoever from the selling dealer? 3 months doesn't sound like enough time for a clogged line to develop in your ownership.

Yea, I feel screwed over by both dealers. I didn’t make an issue with the first dealer because the cost for me didn’t outweigh the inconvenience and time it would have taken to complain about it.
There was a 90 day warranty with dealership and car was still under for warranty, BUT they denied being able to do anything under warranty because they can’t be responsible for acts of nature, ie leaves and whatnot clogging up line. It’s total BS. Ut they weren’t going to budge. I am 100% sure that they sold me the car with clogged lines.
Anyway, I picked it up today and am going to attempt to clean them out myself. I’m angry about the whole thing but at this point I’m throwing up my hands. This is my third explorer and I’ve never had an issue.

 

[Explorerrr]

It might cost that to remove and clean, but they shouldn't need removed. If someone previously installed them incorrectly or used excessive force or air pressure to clean them, a hose might have disconnected and that's the problem.



That wouldn't be covered under warranty as a factory defect?


This seems like they just don't want to bother, as it does not make sense that they "couldn't do anything", like maybe they have plenty of work and don't want to settle for lower paying warranty work? I'd want to know exactly what work the original dealership did. Maybe it was just clogged previously and they either did not completely unclog it (then debris grew fungus with subsequent rain to re-clog it) or they blew off or damage the drain tubing.


I'd complain to the service manager then owner, then Ford, with this seeming like it ought to be covered under warranty unless it's just a debris clog and if it is, then you should be able to DIY fix it. If you don't have a gentle (regulated to low pressure) air compressor source, some people try running string trimmer line through the tubes. You could then try forcing a little water through with a turkey baster. Even better if it's the square type trimmer line and you twist it (at slow speed) with a power drill, but I'd start twisting by hand to see if there's too much resistance before getting a drill involved.

Thanks, according to them it’s just a clogged line which makes it highway robbery to charge someone $750 to clean out!

 

[Explorerrr]

It might cost that to remove and clean, but they shouldn't need removed. If someone previously installed them incorrectly or used excessive force or air pressure to clean them, a hose might have disconnected and that's the problem.



That wouldn't be covered under warranty as a factory defect?


This seems like they just don't want to bother, as it does not make sense that they "couldn't do anything", like maybe they have plenty of work and don't want to settle for lower paying warranty work? I'd want to know exactly what work the original dealership did. Maybe it was just clogged previously and they either did not completely unclog it (then debris grew fungus with subsequent rain to re-clog it) or they blew off or damage the drain tubing.


I'd complain to the service manager then owner, then Ford, with this seeming like it ought to be covered under warranty unless it's just a debris clog and if it is, then you should be able to DIY fix it. If you don't have a gentle (regulated to low pressure) air compressor source, some people try running string trimmer line through the tubes. You could then try forcing a little water through with a turkey baster. Even better if it's the square type trimmer line and you twist it (at slow speed) with a power drill, but I'd start twisting by hand to see if there's too much resistance before getting a drill involved.

Thanks, I’ve thought about complaining more than I already have, but at this point it’s not worth my time if I’m able to clean out the clog myself. So frustrating and these dealers don’t think about the sales they’ll miss out on in the future. In a few months I’ll be in the market for a f150 hybrid and definitely won’t be buying from either of these dealerships.

 

[Explorerrr]

Welcome to the Forum.
There are members who have fixed plugged drain tubes on the 5th gen themselves and the drain tubes did not have to be removed. I don't know if the layout of the tubes is the same as those of the 5th gen or not. In any case, I don't understand having to clean all the tubes if only one is at fault. Plugged tubes in the 5th gen usually resulted in water pooling in the footwells, depending upon which drain(s) was plugged. A disconnected wiper washer hose would cause water to probably pool in the spare tire well. Did the original dealer admit to doing work on the sunroof? It sounds like they are back to the drain tube issue. FYI, the latest Explorers and Aviators no longer have rear camera washers. Some that were manufactured after the deletion of the feature still had a hose but it wasn't connected
There is a diagram of the 5th gen setup in this link. Water leak/wet carpet on passenger side

Peter

Thank you very much for your insight! Original dealer says they replaced the tracks on the sunroof, but that it didn’t have anything to do with the water leak. At this point I don’t trust either dealership!

 

[bobter3]

Yea, I feel screwed over by both dealers. I didn’t make an issue with the first dealer because the cost for me didn’t outweigh the inconvenience and time it would have taken to complain about it.
There was a 90 day warranty with dealership and car was still under for warranty, BUT they denied being able to do anything under warranty because they can’t be responsible for acts of nature, ie leaves and whatnot clogging up line. It’s total BS. Ut they weren’t going to budge. I am 100% sure that they sold me the car with clogged lines.
Anyway, I picked it up today and am going to attempt to clean them out myself. I’m angry about the whole thing but at this point I’m throwing up my hands. This is my third explorer and I’ve never had an issue.

That sucks that they won't work with you after just buying from them. I have no trustworthy dealers near me either. I moved to WV 2 years ago and the dealers near me are horrible. I just took my '21 Ex to the dealer I have a 25+ year relationship (5 hr. 1 way) with to get the trans pan replaced. Take your time and do it yourself. Low pressure air and water!!

 

[peterk9]

Thanks, according to them it’s just a clogged line which makes it highway robbery to charge someone $750 to clean out!

Going by your initial post I'm guessing that cost includes removing and reinstalling the drains after cleaning. Not being sure of the draining system on the 6th gen, it might be labour intensive. It is also very likely that the dealer was not aware of the clogged drain(s). I don't think that is on any dealer's inspection list. Good luck.

Peter

 

[J_C]

I wonder if once upon a time ago, someone at a dealership tried to just use full pressure from an air compressor, blew the line off and the subsequent leak test flooded the headliner... and they had to eat the cost to replace it, so from then on, SOP is pull the lines, clean, reinstall, at higher customer cost of course.