David commented on a post about GM Water Leaks and posed the following question:
I have had my 2008 Saturn Outlook for 13 months. In that time I have taken it in twice and will be going for a third time to resolve water leaks. The first was the spare tire compartment. It was filled with water and the mat was soaked. The second was the headliner near the garage door opener was soaked and leaked into the center console destroying my cell phone. Now I have water on the passenger side floor. What can I do? Tired of the back and forth.
I have seen numerous water leaks in Saturn Outlooks, as well as in GMC Acadias and Buick Enclaves, primarily in those equipped with a power moon roof. Most leaks are due to a defect in the sunroof track and are caused by the inability of the drains to properly disperse water. The water instead comes into the passenger cabin and damages interior parts and electrical components and creates mold and mildew due to standing water. I have also seen many other water leak issues with Outlooks not equipped with the moon roof. I would take the vehicle in for the 3rd repair attempt. Thereafter, if the vehicle still leaks, smells damp or moldy, or has electrical defects due to the leak, e-mail us back and we will either guide you or refer you to someone who can (depends on the state of purchase and vehicle registration).
I have just brought my 2008 Saturn Aura to the dealers for steering box “knocking” which he wrote up on the service ticket. The service person noted to me a mildew odor in the car and this turned into the “discovery” of a real serious water leak. The service person went immediately to the source; He quickly revealed standing water under the front passengers side carpet!
Now Saturn is going to locate and fix the problem? and replace all carpeting.
My concern is…CAN this type of problem really be fixed? Is this not a serious health issue?
Hello Art,
Thank you for your inquiry. We’ve turned your question into a new post, which you can find here with an answer to your question:
http://www.gmlemonlaw.com/2009/10/steering-defects-water-leaks/
Please let us know if we can be of assistance if the problems continue.
all, the saturn outlook has a known problem with leakage due to improperly installed or defective sunroof drains. the problem is extremely damaging because the water runs down the A and B pillars. The A pillars drain into the dashboard and its vital electronics. The B pillar drains into the carpet and corrodes underfloor wiring such as rear window power.
My saturn aura just began leaking near the roof mounted antenna. anyone have ideas?
We purchased a used 2008 Saturn Outlook XR w/sunroof. We have had a couple of issues regarding electronics in the car and were told that some water was found in the fusebox. Every once in awhile we get an oder of mildew.
The vehicle was covered under warranty and they kept fixing the small electronic problems at a Saturn repair shop. Now the warranty has expired and we were driving in a severe rainstorm and water started pouring through the headliner, onto the console and down both sides of the interior flooding the floor.
I keep reading about the same leaking problem on several different sites, but no suggestions on what we can do about avoiding drowning in our own car without getting soaked by repair bills…. Someone please throw us a life saving device in the form of guidance…
Wet, but hopefull..
k92stalker@comcast.net
I purchased a 2008 GMC acadia brand new, It now has 55000 miles on it, I have had several problems with this car from day 1.. My biggest problem is the water leakage coming from sunroof I suppose, My dealership keeps fixin the problem so the say and still same ole problem, It is currently in ths shop again for the same issue, and to no suprise to me cant get noone for gm to call me back, have left several messges with someone. Is this really how GM wants to treat there consumers, how about we stop buying there vehicles altoghter then they may realize they the company has issues they need to resolve, Im thinking we should have never bailed them out to begin with if this is how we get treated.Im sure none of them are driving leaky vehicles.Its pretty bad when u drive the car in rain storm u have to have umbrellas on the inside of the car so u dont get wet…the headliner has been preplaced once but now im every once in a while I will get a foul order as if mildew is growing and now a musky oder…and this to me is very serious problem, for my husband has bad ashtma and allergies and cant ride in the car with out getting bad headache and sneezing and my 5 yr old has ashtma as well…Someone please help..
Hi Shelley,
Thanks for posting about your GMC Acadia water leak issue. We’ll be getting back to you directly with how we can help, we see issues like this all the time.
Hi there,
I have a 2008 gmc Acadia as well since brand new. We have also had our vehicle in numerous times to the dealer for water leakage from the sun roof. It leaks through the air bag signs in the front of the car and as I write is causing the park assist to turn off which also causes a continuous beeping sound while your driving. We are traveling in the rain on a 2 hour trip and it us highly annoying. The last visit to gmc we were told that there was nothing more they can do to fix this problem, yet here we sit with water pouring in. Please help. In fact the body shop manager tox haver should have bought a Honda
Hi there,
I have a 2008 gmc Acadia as well since brand new. We have also had our vehicle in numerous times to the dealer for water leakage from the sun roof. It leaks through the air bag signs in the front of the car and as I write is causing the park assist to turn off which also causes a continuous beeping sound while your driving. We are traveling in the rain on a 2 hour trip and it us highly annoying. The last visit to gmc we were told that there was nothing more they can do to fix this problem, yet here we sit with water pouring in. Please help. In fact the body shop manager told us we should have bought a Honda
I have an 2008 Acadia with water leakage issues. I do not have a sunroof thank god. I cant imagine any more water than I have. So far I haven’t had any electrical problem yet. GM has had phone calls from me and the only response is “unfortunatly there is no recall at this time we can’t help.” My mechanic says it will be at least 1000.00 he’ll have to pull out seats, dash, trim, and run a water hose over the car to find where the water is coming form. Gm i guess thinks I should tarp the car when it rains and not wash it. This is a manufactors problem and shouldnt be at my expense.
I have a 2008 Buick Enclave that every time there is a heavy rain, water pools in the head liner and runs down the window pillar on the passenger side.
Absolutely ridiculaous that this many people can have a problem, GM acknowledges it and won’t repair it.
The last GM product I will ever buy. And they wonder why people buy Japanese vehicles….
My 2008 Enclave has a water leak coming fron the drivers side roof rack rail. It’s been in for repair for the 5th time. I troubleshot it myself when the dealer said they “couldn’t find the source”. All it took was a water hose in the leak area. Duh!! Nothing but lip service. I’m going to stay on them till it gets fixed properly. This is my last shot at returning to American cars.
I just purchased a used 2008 GMC Acadia three days ago. I woke up this morning after a night of rain and opened my car door, it smelled like mold. I noticed the front driver & passanger floors were all wet & it seemed that the car was leaking from under the dash. I see that a lot of people are having this problem but the recall was only for sunroofs. Any ideas? Thanks
I have seen quite a few of these platform GM vehicles with water that leaks in primarily from inadequate sunroof drainage system into the vehicle interior and on the floors. The sunroof unit problems are well documented with GM water leak technical service bulletins. If you vehicle is not equipped with a factory sunroof then I would look at the windshield cowl for a water sealing problems and possibly defective windshield seal. If the water leak problem was presented 3 times under the GM warranty and continues to exist you can contact 1 800 Lemon Law – Robert Ruch
Shortly after I purchased my 2007 Saturn Outlook I found the same leak described by Allison, water was leaking on my left foot under the dashboard near the parking brake. After 5 visits to my Saturn dealer the sunroof leak, that is where they said the water was coming from, was finally fixed. It has now been several years since that was fixed and now I have a water leak over the left front passenger seat…the water actually is draining out of the joint where the visor comes out of the roof. I have called my local GM servicing dealer and they are telling me that they don’t believe that this problem will be covered. I must say that I am beyond disgusted. As I look around on the internet it is VERY CLEAR that this is a known issue. If GM is aware, which they obviously are by the way that they add comments to this and other web boards, they should try being proactive. No RECALL is a sure way to ensure that I will not purchase another AMERICAN car. That pains me greatly to say, but this was an expensive car and GM should be taking some responsibility. I really do love this car…except for this water leak!
I have a 2008 Buick Enclave. I have had water leaks on and off for some time, but let it go. We have had so much rain lately, I can’t let it go. The driver’s side pillar is soaked, water runs from my visor onto my steering wheel that has electronics on it, drips around the emergency brake, dripped on my toes on the accelerator, drips on the foot rest by my left foot, dripping on the passenger side, and the strangest ones of all, water was leaking out of the far rear passenger overhead seatbelt holders, both of them. When you drive and make a turn, you can hear the water sloshing above you. If you open the sun roof, and put your hand right above your head, there is so much water in there. My car smells so bad. I too am worried about the electrical damage. I called GM customer service and told him about all the posts I read and he basically said everyone was making it up and lying. My car is way out of warranty. Clearly this issue has been around for some time and I really feel like we are getting ripped off. How can we make GM cover this defect. Clearly this is a manufacturers defect. GM needs to make this right and keep it’s customers happy. My husband did not want me to buy this car. I hope he doesn’t say, I told you so.”
I have a Saturn Outlook 2008 and of course I have the leak problem too! It is not under warranty anymore. How can we get a recall on this, so they will have to fix the problem for free.
Yvonne, did these problems occur during the warranty period?
Hello,
I have a 2007 Saturn Outlook. I have major water leak in my outlook as well. We have had this problem for sometime now and like others lived with it but this time the water effected the electrical system which created some malfunctions. While the engine is off there is an electical hissing sound and the check engine light remains on. When turning of the ignition the engine does not turn off right away. It actually conks a bit before turning off. This car has been a nightmare. We even had it in for transmission problems 3 times now.
Any advise to what we can do. It’s obvious there are tons of complaints about this safety problem. Thanks.
Hi Joe, sadly the Saturn water leak problem is alive and well, even as the brand itself has gone by the wayside. One thing you do not mention is how many times you were at a General Motors authorized dealer to address the leak problem, or the mold and mildew that came of it. If you have been back at least three or more times under warranty to address the matter, you may want to contact a lemon law lawyer in your state (see http://www.gmlemonlaw.com/lemon-law-lawyers/) to find out if you are entitled to recourse. But, please do this soon as the statute of limitations may have expired in your State to file.
All GM owners should also be aware that GM has a problem with their HVAC system. It doesn’t allow for the evaporator coil to dry out after using the A/c. Any mold spores, dirt, bacteria that gets on it from the outside air can start growing. Nothing like mold and infection causing bacteria to blast at you from your HVAC system. Their TSB indicates that this is a problem for all GM vehicles from 1993-2010.