Nissan Armada & Infiniti QX56 Forums banner

QX56 roof leak - headliner stain

421 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  areview
Its raining right now, and my roof appears to be leaking above the drivers head on the A-pillar. When I first noticed the leak the truck was parked uphill. I then parked it downhill to see if it made a difference. Couldn't tell if the leak was much different, but I did notice the pillar trim was getting wetter farther down past the handle after parking down hill. The sunroof drains are not clogged in either case. I opened SR and there was no standing water to speak of. I then tested both front drains with a big cup of water and they drained without hesitancy. I did notice that the weatherstrip seal along the front of the SR had come off on the passenger side so I reattached it. I'd be willing to replace that just because its time, but it seems like that would make it leak on the passenger side were that the issue. Any ideas? I've read a million threads out there about roof leaks and they all seem to blame the drains but they don't seem to be an issue unless they are just cracked tubes that are not clogged but just leaking. Anyone have a part number for that weather strip?



Automotive tire Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Gas
Light Automotive design Motor vehicle Automotive mirror Automotive exterior
Tire Automotive tire Hood Bumper Automotive exterior
See less See more
3
1 - 4 of 7 Posts
What you are seeing is dirt and its all over everything including the weatherstrip that was hanging down. I agree it could use a cleaning. I can't seem to find the part # for the weatherstrip though. I can only assume the wind deflector that its attached to is sold as one piece. The part number I found on Infiniti parts is 91280-7S010. If anyone knows how to get the weatherstrip itself, lemme know. I think I am going to take mine all the way off and clean it and reinstall. I've replaced headliners before, so I think I will attempt to pull mine down at least enough to diagnose that area. Does anyone know of a DIY thread on headliners for a first gen QX56?


I found a thread that sounds exactly the same, although passenger side (below). TLDR, the issue was the windshield seal. When it was raining the other day I had checked the windshield seal, but nothing more than a glance really. When I didn't see a gaping hole, I didn't investigate further. After looking at it again today, it looks like the seal is coming up out of the groove on the driver side and there is rust along the entire leading edge of the seal. I tried pushing it back down but the seal seemed perished and was just squishing inwards on itself and not regaining its form. As I did this it came away from the leading edge and formed a crevice between the glass and the roof. I could see rust in the crevice, and I could definitely see that water had been getting in there. This isn't proof that this is the issue, however the windshield is also cracked and scratched so needs replacing ($262 quoted).

I wouldn't want to just replace the windshield though without addressing the rust, so I think I'm going to take it to a paint guy near me and have him remove the glass, fix the rust around the entire windshield, then have the windshield replaced. Once I do all that, if its still leaking, at least I hadn't tried to fix the headliner without resolving the leak. I'll try to get some pictures of what the rust looks like with the windshield removed, and of course report back on whether it fixed the leak or not.


Automotive tire Wood Automotive exterior Bumper Tread
Hood Automotive lighting Bumper Motor vehicle Automotive parking light


I just went to the paint and body place today and they said I am missing trim around the windshield and down the luggage rack tracks on the left and right. That didn't sound right to me, but I told him I'd research the "missing parts". Using Google, I hadn't found very close pictures of the roof or windshields but I didn't see these "trims" he said I was missing. I also didn't find any parts on Infiniti's parts site like he was talking about. I'm certain there isn't supposed to be plastic trim going down the luggage rack tracks (to fill the gaps), and the only thing I found was the windshield gasket for the windshield which Infiniti calls "rubber trim". I assume that is what I am already seeing (in the first pic). In my pictures above, this looks like a normal (albeit rusty) front windshield and luggage rack track correct (bottom of first pic)????
See less See more
2
What year? I can't tell what part of the vehicle we are looking at there because you are so closely zoomed. That strip of rubber however does not look like a separate part. That appears to be a leading edge of an actual weatherstrip underneath that chrome trim that has begun to rot off. If that is your roofline, then it looks like you have chrome trim around it. If you could please explain and/or take another picture a couple feet back that would help me because it certainly doesn't look like my '04 QX56.
An '04 QX56 and a '19 Armada have little in common in this instance, other than the fact that Nissan can't make a truck windshield that doesn't leak. In your case I think you could get away with just having a window guy come out and remove and replace your windshield with new gaskets. I was quoted $262 for my Q for a brand new windshield and gaskets installed, so minus the windshield I'd think you could get it fixed pretty cheap. With such a new vehicle, I'd prefer to do it the right way than bugger it up with silicone. Mine will require body work/paint to repair the rust, so you don't want to get to that point.
  • Like
Reactions: 1
1 - 4 of 7 Posts
Top