Honda Ridgeline Owners Club Forums banner

Headliner wet around edges

20K views 28 replies 12 participants last post by  Montro25 
#1 ·
I moved this from my intro thread......I have been lurking here for over a year, and I finally pulled the trigger on my "new to me Ridgeline". I heard that these trucks were buletproof, and most reviews seem to support that. I purchased a 2008 RTS, 80k milkes, White body , Tan cloth interior with roofrack and afetrmarket moonroof. The vehicle is beautiful and I am exited.
My initial complaints are the tan seats, and how bad they stain, a slight whistle when going 47 - 50 mph, and a cycling sound when shifting into reverse. These items dont bother me too bad.....However, my excitement was short lived, I ran into an issue today, and need help.

We have had a lot of rain and I was surprized to find a leak in the interior of the vehicle. I checked the forum, and I cant seem to find the exact issue.

My Ridge is wet around the perimiter of the headliner, all sides. Its not dripping, but if I push on it, I get water spillage. There is no water on the floor anywhere. Both front seatbelts are wet. ...I checked the sunroof, and all drains are clear (It was professionally installed and it it not leaking from there..totally dry around it. It seems to be originating from right rear above the rear airbag in the pillar (C). I wanted to take teh 3rd brake light panel off, but Im scared I wont be able to get it back on, and I do not have the clips that are needed. Any Advice on where to look. I sooo want to love this truck, but is hard when dealing with problems right off the bat.
Thanks in advance for any help.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Re: Haedliner wet around edges

If you checked the sunroof drains, and the seals on the aftermarket installation of it, then looking under the CHMSL panel would be where I'd look next. There are clips & plugs there, and a grommet where the antenna runs through.

You should be able to order the replacement clips online, through someone like Majestic Honda. Order extra, just in case.

Chip H.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Montro25
#4 ·
Here is what I figured out... Long post.. Pics to follow

I poured water into the sunroof tray, and it ran out the drains under the truck... Just like it's supposed to. I then poured water in the track ( left rear and it went under the mount, and disappeared. I immediately checked the headliner at the left rear. Sure enough..leaking! ... I removed the roof rack. And found that the black inserts in the channel were simply placed there... No clips to hold them down. After I cleaned the debris...I poured more water and watched it closely... I can seem to find where it is entering. It runs down the front and pools by the windshield... In the back, it goes under the 3rd brake light plastic cover. Haven't taken it off yet, because I do not have clips, and I need to drive it tomorrow. It's funny that when water is poured, it comes through the headliner within a few seconds right at the attach point for the rack, but with the each removed, I can't see it going in there. I feel that once it goes behind the brake light panel, the water is too low to get back up there to the corner of the headliner.

Anyone know if this has happened before? Any ideas? Are there clips to hold the black inserts in? So many questions... I'll keep tracking it down.
Thanks in advance for the help.
 
#7 ·
More picks of all the trim removed... Sorry if they are upside down... Hard to edit. It's weird that everywhere I had the most moisture inside was at each attach point.. And the passenger front has a clip and loads of sealant on it from the previous owner.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
Let me say upfront that I have never had the roof channels off my trucks and am not fully aware of how they are supposed to work. I also do not know how they normally drain. I've never had the sunroof or roof rack so I also don't know how these interconnect. Just thinking out loud.

Is it possible the channels fill with water and "overflow" down the side and behind the door seals into the headliner? I guess I should go look at mine. One thing I see in the photo and you mention is sealant installed which makes me wonder if it is clogging something.
 
#10 ·
"CHMSL" = Center High Mount Stop Light, which is the official name for it.

Given the quantity of water coming through - I don't think it's a small crack or anything -- looks more like a missing plug, or the seam sealer was never applied at the factory.

Chip H.
 
#11 ·
I could not quit last night, so I looked more. I poured more water into the track and watched all the small specks of dirt move. They all weint towards the caulking in the channel. I pulled the headliner down in that spot and sure enough...dripping. I figure that several small pinholes are letting in tiny amounts of water, and they are collecting and running down the headliner to the lowest point. I am going to reseal the entire length of the channel. Anyone know what type of sealant to use. Can I get it at Home Depot..or do I need it special for automotive purposes?
 
#12 ·
Id also like to mention that for eveyone else having leaking issues with the windsheild or at the A pillar (Which I dont have apparenly) check the tracks. The water runs towards the front and the channel ends at the windsheild seam. A little sealant in this part would help the water disperse, instead of pooling right near the windshield seal. I hope the pics help others with this issue.
 
#29 ·
Thank you for this! I'm going to check my truck tomorrow!
 
#13 ·
I would look at getting some 3M #8308 Heavy-bodied seam sealer -- it's thicker so it won't run down while it cures. Not sure if you need to scrape off what's there first.

Really though, I'd take it to a body shop - they're set up for repairs like this.

Chip H.
 
#14 ·
Ditto this....

BUT, if you're intent on doing it yourself, be sure sure sure to prep it properly.... solvent clean kind of prep (alcohol or ???). You really need to have a pristine surface for proper adhesion. If you have any residual oil or dirt, you will be asking for more leaks in the future. The prepping is key to a good seal.
 
#15 ·
Scrubbed the channel out... Hit it with mineral spirits and denatured alcohol. Ran a bead of silicone the length and let it dry overnight. Talked to a body guy and he said that marine silicone was fine. I tested the channel to make sure it still drained. No leaks found yet. I sat the truck out in the rain today... Gonna keep checking for leaks.... Fingers crossed
 
#17 ·
I've been following this thread, but ran out of helpful advice so I've been sitting on my hands and reading along. Great detective work Gary, fingers crossed that pesky leak is fixed for good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Montro25
#20 ·
Do you really make use of the factory roof rack? It really is pretty much a piece of fluff with no significant load carrying capacity. IMHO it is butt ugly too . . .
Perhaps you would be better off not reinstalling it? New cover strips for the tracks are pretty cheap from Honda.

I am a bit surprised that you are leaking from one of the hard mounting points. It is most likely manufacturing defect that has been there to some degree since "birth".

I have a custom roof rack that uses Yakima tracks that mount to an adapter piece that sits down in the gutter groove and bolts the studs that the factory roof rack mount to. The groove is seamless metal that shouldn't be prone to leaking (this is a good thing for a rain gutter of course). Somehow when the stud plate was welded on yours it must of perforated the metal.

Glad you figured out where it was coming from. . .
 
#22 ·
A baby might be butt ugly too, but don't tell it's Mama that! :) I actually like the look... or I probably wouldn't have got it. Aesthetics are always subjective.
I have used it a few times, and while it's load carrying capacity is limited, if you're carrying light stuff, it really doesn't matter. And I personally would doubt that a different make of rack could have higher capacity if it's mounted in the same manner as OEM. The "above roof" structure seems way more than adequate to me for the load limit assigned... I'm thinking weak link is the attach points.
If I didn't have it, I would not have missed it all that much... except for the look. The actual usage of it in my case certainly did not justify the cost.... but I wasn't making that value judgement either. I WILL say that when you DO need it, it is extremely handy! Just like tie down points in the bed for someone who only used them a couple of times.
 
#23 ·
This exact same problem was happening on my wife's 05 Accord sedan. The driver's seatbelt was getting soaked while out in the rain, but no other instances of moisture anywhere else. After a pile of research and "detective work", I finally pulled back the roof molding. Sure enough, I found three small pinholes in the seam sealer directly above where the B-pillar was. Water was collecting there and slowly dripping on top of the seatbelt. I did exactly what you did and cleaned/prepped the surface extremely well. I used clear exterior-grade silicone to seal the entire channel. I did the passenger side, too, for good measure. Nearly four years later and no leaks. Good work on finding your issue. Wish I would have seen this a few days ago when you originally posted it!
 
#25 ·
Remember this is a Unibody truck. The rear quarterpanel actually extends forward to the horizontal midpoint of the rear door opening on top and bottom. 2008 Honda Ridgeline 4 Door RTS KA 5AT outer panel - HondaPartsNow.com The upper tack weld points are in the rain channel which is leaking and the bottom tack weld points are underneath the plastic door threshold and door weather seal U-channel. To ensure a water tight seal, seam sealer is used between fitted body parts before the truck is painted. You may find that between the collection of dirt and resulting acidic decay, the seam sealer has opened up in the upper channel. Also periodically check under the door threshold and door seal U-channel as well. If you position a worklight under the rocker panel (shining upward) with the lower body parts seam revealed and can see the light between the fitted body parts, then you have all the makings of water working itself through the seam and soaking the rear floor pan and carpet.
 
#26 ·
I chased a leak in my '07 RTL for over a year, and spent way too much time going after possible leaks to check from advice on line. With me, all I knew at first is that I had a bad mildew smell in the truck with no obvious wet rugs or puddles.

I think you are lucky in a way in that you know close to where the leak is coming from, the roof! I'd pull the entire headliner and then hose the thing down hard and long. Then wait for the drips- don't look for a gusher, look carefully for the slightest stream of water.

The top brake light hardware is really not that fussy. You must have read the same thread I did that made it sound like it was rocket science to remove the top panel. I've had mine off twice looking for the leak. I have not had to buy any extra clips at all on that or the roof rack panel clips.

Again, I'd pull the headliner. There is a good Youtube vid on how to do it. It's fussy, but I really think that's the trail you should take.

Best,

Bluemill
 
#28 ·
I have a 2011 Ridge I bought in august of 2019. It immediately leaked on both passenger and drivers side B pillars. The dealer troubleshot it, no longer had leaks until last week. I pulled the roof moulding and saw the dealership played the caulk game like @garyalbritton did to his.

Today I cleaned and caulked like Gary did, we’ll see if it worked this week
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top